“I will make them pay. I love you, always,” I whisper before standing and brush the dirt off my knees.
I walk back to the car with a new energy. The revenge in me stronger than ever with my family fresh in my mind.
I pop open the boot grabbing Alec, dropping him to the ground. Grabbing his legs, I pull him along the rough gravel to the wet grass. His head bumps over the stones and uneven ground along the way, and a small groan escapes his lips as the sedative starts to wear off.
I get to the freshly dug hole, and my lips tilt seeing the empty box at the bottom. I jump down pulling Alec along with me, his body landing with a thud. Another groan leaves his lips, only this one sounds painful as his senses start coming back.
Now I wait.
It takes around ten minutes before Alec’s eyes focus on mine. “You?” I can't help the twitch of my lips as I nod. His eyes widen. “How, you're dead?” My teeth bare as I look at him.
“You mean you killed me? You came into my family home, a friend, and betrayed me. Enzo loved you.” I lift my foot, slamming it into his stomach. The air is pushed from his lungs.
“Remy, I was a kid. We all were. That night...” the words trail off as his eyes glass.
“That night you left me for dead, you watched as Roberto raped my mother and sister, you watched as Luca slit their throat to stop the screaming.” My chest heaves as I try to get a deep breath. “You watched as they broke Enzo and as Gianni pissed on us.” Tears run down his face; remorse clear in eyes as well as shame, but it's too late. Nothing he can say or do can fix the past.
“What are you going to do?” Fear shakes his words as his eyes frantically look for a way out. Though there is none.
I bend down. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Confusion fills his eyes, and I tap his cheek as I stand up, pulling my phone out to use the torch to find the drill, the screws sellotaped around the handle. I walk back to Alec. “You can’t move, it's a muscle relaxer. It will wear off eventually, just not in time.” As my words register, he tries to move, realising he can’t move anything below the shoulders, only a little twitch of his fingers.
“Remember when we were younger, and we all went down to the cellar? Romeo was nearly sick seeing that man. But you didn’t care because there was only one fear you had. What was it again?”
“No, please. I beg you, anything. Mercy, Remy. Mercy,” he pleads as I place the lid on the box to silence his screams. “That’s right, buried alive.”
I start to drill in the screws, making sure they are as tight as they will go. Just as I get to the top, I lean down, speaking through the little gap.
“I’ll show you the same mercy you showed them.” I stand screwing in the last one. His scream muffled. I pull out the note, blackening the fourth name. Only one left.
Grabbing out my phone, I film the box and Alec’s screams getting weaker, but I don’t send it, that will come tomorrow.
Chucking the dirt on the coffin, I write my message.
This little piggy has no air.
The night soon falls silent again, and I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. One name left: the biggest of them all. The head of the Russo family. Romeo himself.
Chapter Eight
Romeo
The cars are turning into the cemetery, and Dante still hasn’t spoken to me. I wish it didn’t bother me, but the truth is it felt like sandpaper against my skin. He will drop his bratty behaviour later or I’d spank it out of him.
I watch from the blacked-out window as he gets out, straightening his cuffs and jacket. Those dark eyes turn towards my window for a split second, a dark look flashes across his eyes, letting me know his temper hasn’t disappeared. No time for this, I try Alec's number again, cursing when it rings and goes straight to the voicemail. I know he was pissed after I showed him disrespect yesterday, but in this world I can’t seem weak. That included Alec, my own cousin. I can’t believe he hasn’t turned up today. These men had been a part of the family, and Alec had worked under Gianni for years. Rico opens my door, when whispers instantly catch my attention, and I see Matteo and Samuel coming straight to me. Both look pale, their mouths opening and closing with no words.
“What is it?” I growl, today is not the day, especially as the family cars are only minutes behind us.
“Sir, there is already a coffin in the grave.” The words don’t register correctly. As I storm past them, towards the grave in question, I see some of the men’s eyes wide in shock, others in anger, but the fear is evident in the air, circling around like a hurricane.
I look down at the already dug grave to see a coffin, but the words written in the mud on top of the box send a shiver down my spine. This little piggy has no air.
“Get down there,” I roar, praying I’m fucking wrong about who’s in that box. The men just look at me. “Now,” I yell as a few men all jump in, lifting the box so it is beside the grave. “Get it open.” The fury building in my veins, shakes my whole body.
Matteo runs off towards a shed, kicking the door through in three heavy kicks. He returns, out of breath, with a crowbar. I grab it off him, unable to wait for the answer of who is dead because I already know.
I prise the lid open to
