I pulled out my tray of instruments and started setting shit up. I had no plans on killing him just yet, as he’s been a longtime customer and you can’t collect money from a dead man. Besides, he didn’t quite owe enough to warrant death.
I was just going to play with him a little.
As Drew sat limp in the chair and I organized my shit, my mind wandered my sister, as it often does these days.
Frankie.
It’s been a month since she was kidnapped and beaten, but the scar that runs down her left cheek is a harsh reminder of what she went though. And, as much fun as I had with that bastard, Randy Masterson, it still hadn’t been enough. Phoenix got to kill him, as was his right as Frankie’s husband, but I’m her brother. I should have…done more. As much as I loved and respected Phoenix, Frankie was my sister. I should have. Just. Done. More. And, now, because guilt was like a stack of bricks on my head, weighing me down, I tended to take that guilt out on my current victims.
Frankie and I lost our parents when she was almost eighteen and I had barely been twenty for about a month. And I had done my best to make sure she graduated from high school and continued to go to college. It had been hard, but working for the Benetti Family, I had made it happen. I had managed to keep a roof over her head and send her to school. Granted, I hadn’t done it all alone, she had been dating Phoenix and was Luca’s best friend, but I had been the final say in her life.
That is, until we fucked up.
And after getting her back, we fucked up again by not watching her closely enough.
We were always fucking up when it came to that girl, and the disappointment and guilt was eating me alive. Even though I knew Luca and Phoenix would take a bullet for me, Frankie was my only blood family. At thirty-years-old, she was two years younger than I was and I’ve always looked out for her, but I was cocking that up something awful. Sure, Phoenix and Luca were fucking it up too, but she was my sister.
My baby sister.
Then there was the other issue.
Roberta Regal.
Robbie.
Francesca’s close friend, and the girl who had, inadvertently, gotten Frankie kidnapped. It was our fault because we hadn’t kept a better eye on her, but it was Robbie’s fault for blurting to her loser boyfriend who Frankie was. Once Robbie had told Randy that Frankie was my sister, Phoenix’s wife, and Luca Benetti’s best friend, he had devised his brilliant kidnapping plan. The fool had asked for ten million dollars. Instead, he got to spend a couple of days in my funhouse; first, spending time with Luca, then me, and finally Phoenix.
Nix had no choice but to accept her once Frankie had made it clear that Robbie was going to continue to be a part of her life. And Luca was reserving judgement at this time, even though we knew he’d never accept anyone into our fold who might pose as a danger to Frankie. Luca and Frankie had a weird bond that Nix and I never understood, but also never questioned.
As for me, I couldn’t get past seeing my sister strapped to a chair, bloody, bruised, with her shirt torn to shreds. Randy and his two buddies hadn’t raped her, but it hadn’t mattered. A woman should never have to show that part of herself to anyone unwillingly. Sure, she still had her bra on, but that was something that should only ever be seen by Phoenix.
All three men were killed, but they had still put hands on my sister. I wasn’t sure how Nix wasn’t losing his mind, but then he got to sleep beside her every night. I think that helped. He got to witness Frankie safe and sound every night and every morning.
I heard a faint moan, and it was like music to my ears. I turned to look over at my man, Drew, and I could see his head lolling about as he regained consciousness.
I grabbed an ice pick and headed on over. I dropped on my haunches and smiled. “I need you to wake up now, Drew,” I cajoled. “It’s time, buddy.”
His eyelids fluttered and it was a real struggle for him to wake from his nap, so I decided to help the guy along. I walked back to my tray of goodies and picked up another ice pick. Ice picks were my favorite, so I tended to keep around more than one.
I walked back over to Drew, but this time when I dropped in front of him, the ice picks I held in my hand came down with me as they pierced the top of his thighs. Drew’s head fell back as he screamed in a torrid of pain.
Drew was finally awake.
Chapter 2
Roberta~
My fingers were still broken, and my ribs were still healing, but a girl had to work. I’d given it a month, but that was all I could spare. My manager at Brighton Steak House had been super understanding about the ‘car wreck’ I was in a month ago, but even I knew a month away from work put a strain on more than just my finances. I knew for a fact that a couple of fellow waitresses, Mona and Lydia, had taken some of my shifts, and while I knew they appreciated the extra money, it was tiresome.
And, yeah, it hurt like a bitch to move, but it was worse to starve. Luckily, my bills had been paid up for the month,
