Page 549 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

But Christ, I’d happily let them sting every inch of me if I could save my brother, the one person who has always had my back.

Messina’s thug pushes me into a room. I almost gag once I’m inside. The stench of rotting garbage infiltrates my lungs, making my stomach roil. I swallow hard, desperate to hold myself together, praying it isn’t my brother’s decaying corpse that I smell.

Another door opens at the far end of the room, and another one of Messina’s crew drags a bloody and bruised form behind him. My spine stiffens, bile rising in my throat as I run my eyes over Gallo’s body. He’s been beaten to shit, the bare skin of his back and chest vibrant with red and purple slashes. When the guy drops the body, I run over to him, crumbling to my knees, a roar erupting from my chest.

“I guess you didn’t know that Gallo booked himself on an earlier flight out here,” Messina says. “We decided to meet him at the airport and give him a lift. Don’t worry. He’s not dead yet. We needed to keep him alive for this next part. But we couldn’t resist kicking the little fucker’s ass once we got him here.”

“Goddamn you!” I scream, the echo thundering through the small space. I drop to my knees and stare at my brother Gallo, his chest trembling and rising with a labored breath. I leap off the floor and dive at Messina, but it’s a sloppy move, one he was expecting, so he easily sidesteps me. His gun is still pointed in my direction, and I know he won’t hesitate to shoot me if I derail his plan.

“How do you feel, Zeno?” he seethes, creeping toward me, a grimace twisting his lips. “Seeing your baby brother helpless, nearly beaten to death, because of your bad judgment? Your evil plot to destroy my family and legacy? I want to know how you feel, knowing that you’re about to lose everything!” he roars, swinging his fist at me once again. This time, I duck away in enough time, avoiding the crushing hit.

“I went after you in Palermo in retaliation for what you did to my family,” I grunt. “I wanted to send you a message. It was my idea, not Gallo’s. He had nothing to do with it!”

“You sent your message, along with Gallo’s help,” he said in an eerily calm voice. “And I got it, loud and clear. It told me you wanted a war. And then you got into bed with Joe Salesi and confirmed it. Now you’re on the front line, facing off with the enemy. Only problem is, you have no fucking army, Zeno. You’re on your own, exactly the way my son was when you killed him!”

“I didn’t know it was your son!” I yell. “I took an order. I thought they were a couple of guys in your crew! That was the information I got.”

“They were,” he says. “Important guys. Blood.” He inches closer, leaning down so we’re face to face. “You see, you going after me at my casino that night in Palermo? I could forgive that. I’d have done the same thing to someone who tried to muscle their way into one of my territories. But you getting involved with Joe Salesi and carrying out an attack on my son? The heir to my organization? Gutting him just enough that he’d feel the pain of being burned alive before incinerating him in that dumpster?” He waves the gun in my face. “That is punishable by death. Your death, Gallo’s death, and your friend Lily Salesi’s death.” He glares at me. “Because your families both need to suffer in the same way you made mine!”

“Well, your plan failed. You didn’t get Lily,” I say, my throat tight. “She got away.Again.”

The door to the room slams open and a tall, lanky guy storms inside. The whole right side of his face is caked with blood and his eye socket is…fucked.

I don’t even want to think about how that happened.

All I know is that Lily isn’t with him.

“Yes,” Messina says in a tight voice, staring at the guy. “Well, there’s a reason why he’s not the one I intended to run my organization.”

The guy clenches his fists into tight balls. “Enough, Papa!” he screams. “I’ve been living in Berto’s shadow my whole life! I know he’d have never let her get away, but I’m not my brother! And you make sure to remind me of that every fucking day!” Messina’s son lunges for me, throwing me back against a cement wall, so hard that the force scrambles my brain for a second. I stagger to my feet, rubbing the back of my head.

The punch comes out of nowhere, and because my vision is slightly blurred, I take another fist to the side of my mouth.

“My brother and cousin were never going to kill Lily Salesi,” the guy hisses. “They were given the order to kidnap her until Joe Salesi came to his fucking senses and agreed to work with my family.”

“You people have an odd way of convincing others that you’re sane and trustworthy business partners,” I grunt, spitting blood at his feet. “Did you ever think that Salesi was a no-go because he knew what sick bastards you are? I think he made a damn good choice by telling you to shove your deal up your asses. Besides, you lost.” I nod at the guy’s bloody eye. “Lily got away from you. Salesi still wins, you assholes. His daughter is safe.”

“Step aside, Johnny,” Messina orders his son. “And no more outbursts like that or I’ll make you wish you were lying dead next to your brother!”

Johnny lets me go and backs away, murder still very much alive in his hate-filled eyes. Although, right now, I’m not sure if the murder is intended for me or his father.

Maybe both?

Messina turns back toward me. “For now, you are right. She is safe. And that’s an unfortunate twist. But we have a backup plan, thanks to your pal, Bruno Marcone.”

Oh, God, no…

The disturbing memory of Bruno tied to his bed flashes in my mind.

Rayleigh!

“What the fuck did she do?” I grunt.

“Let’s just say that we needed some information from Bruno that we couldn’t get just by asking politely.” Messina’s eyes narrow, his lips curling into a sinister smirk. “So Rayleigh found a more, shall we say,creativeway of doing it.” He lets out a dry chuckle. “And there is nothing you can do to stop what’s about to happen. Nobody can save you, Zeno. Just like nobody could save my son and nephew. I want you to really experience that feeling of true helplessness and know that the end is coming soon. You felt it last night when you found out we’d hacked into your security system and stolen your money, didn’t you? You knew the end was near, that my plan would come together quickly. You knew I was closing in and that your time was short. But make no mistake, your end won’t be a relief. It will be the worst kind of torture you can imagine.”

A deep chill settles into my bones as my eyes flicker toward Gallo’s listless body.

He’s still alive. I’m still alive.

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