I step out of the shadows, lifting my chin to the call girl I paid enough to get out of town and start up someplace else. Everybody has a price. Just like I asked, Roberto is tied to the bed naked. A ball gag already in place, drool drips down his chin; his hard cock, angry and weeping.
His eyes follow the blonde out of the room as he starts yelling, but the red ball only lets muffled sounds escape.
I walk around the room, running my fingers over the different instruments; paddles, canes, whips. Used in the right way, they can make a body arch and fall so far into lust you are no longer a part of this world. Completely lost in a euphoria more potent than any drug. He is not here for pleasure, purely pain.
I let my fingers run across the different woods and thickness before turning to look over my shoulder. “You don’t recognise me. Do you?” My voice comes out low, dark.
He stops twisting, and his eyes rake over every inch of my skin taking me in. The frown between his brows gives his answer before he shakes his head back and forth. Spit dribbles down his chin as he screams this is a mistake and the family will kill me.
Only it isn’t a mistake. He’s number five on my list; the first step in my revenge. I would never forget his face. What he did to me. Even if my mind lost all memory, the scars across my body would show their own story.
I grab the cane, walking across the room, swinging my arm, and the air breaks with a swishing sound that has his eyes locked on the long piece of bamboo in my hand.
He shouts behind the gag, threatening my life, and the harm he will cause.
His mind playing out my death. Only he doesn’t realise the Grim Reaper isn’t coming for me. Not tonight.
I lean down to whisper two words, “Remy Marchetti.”
His whole-body freezes, and his eyes widen, no longer seeing my death, but his own.
He fights against the bonds as blood runs down his wrists like crimson tears.
The harsh tones turn into pleas of mercy. Something I will never give him.
I trail the cane across his skin. “Surprised to see me. Alive?” I hiss, the same time as I whack the cane across his thigh, which splits the skin instantly. My lips tilt as his muffled screams fill the room like the finest symphony, and I admire the blood seeping from the wound.
He shakes his head, screams words that don’t even register over the pounding of my heart. The adrenaline that flies through my veins mixed with burning rage. My chest is heaving, and my hand aching by the time I get my breathing back under control and focus. Now, there's only a bloody mess of a man chained to the bed. Barely alive, his own mother wouldn’t recognise him, just a mask of broken and bloody skin.
I drop the cane walking back to the head of the bed. Grabbing his jaw, a poor excuse of a groan leaves his lips. Grabbing my knife, I slice the leather straps of the ball gag, catching the skin underneath. A macabre Glasgow smile. He doesn't even flinch at the slice of his skin, already held in too much pain. The human body isn’t built to withstand such pain, which makes it all the sweeter knowing the agony he must be feeling.
“Mercy,” falls from his lips with a mixture of blood and saliva. I grab my phone recording him begging for his life. When I’ve got the perfect footage, I send the cryptic message--This little piggy went to a whore house, and now he is dead--before shoving it back in my pocket.
“Did you give mercy?” I growl, as a flashback attacks, tilting my vision. Another low moan escapes his lips bringing me back to reality. I grab his hair holding the tough strands tight as I pull his head back. “It’s okay, the others will be joining you very soon,” whispering next to his ear as I slide the gleaming blade across his throat, watching as his blood pours down his chest. I wipe my knife clean on the silk bed sheets, savouring the sight in front of me.
Hearing footsteps racing towards the door, I slip back into the hidden room. I watch through the one-way mirror as the Capo’s men all run in, seeing their boss tied up, bloody and dead. I pull the paper out of my pocket and cross off the first name. For the first time in years, I feel alive. Alive with revenge.
Chapter Two
Romeo
I walk through the main room, everyone parts as if they can see the anger coming off me in waves as I head for my office. The whole house was in chaos last night when one of the men got killed; brutally. Fuck, the photos even turned my stomach. And I have seen every corner of violence this world holds.
I run my hands through my hair, reading over the message I was sent. This isn’t another killing, a grudge, or another family. To do what this man did to Roberto. This was more, so much more. Killing, no matter how many lives you take, how dark you are, it takes a slice of your soul. But this? This has no words. This is something darker.
He must have watched Roberto for months, to know where he was. I look up just as Dante walks in the room, my breath stills for a second. He is handsome, sinfully so. Tall, dark curly hair that is shaved on the sides. Dark brows that make his eyes appear even darker. A strong jaw that always holds a thin layer of stubble, making the scar on his lip stand out. Wide shoulders, that his tapered jacket fits perfectly, no
