Page 59 of I Would Die For You

“You’re even more boxed mac and cheese than Val.”

“Okay, so if you twostronzosare done,” Valentino chides with a raised brow, but he’s smiling, so the barb doesn’t hit so hard. “Can we wake them now?”

I nod. “Go ahead.”

A syringe of adrenaline is slammed into each of their thighs, making them jerk awake. It’s usually not recommended, but these two aren’t going to see the light of sunrise again, so recommendations can take a flying leap.

We’re all watching in silence.

“So you’re thecuginewho thought killing my father would get you made,” Val says quietly.

I swear, the low, almost toneless quality of his deep voice sends chills down my spine. He never sounded like this in Torino.

“And you’re the whore who egged him on,” he adds, turning to the woman.

Her eyes are wide with terror.

“Good thing you’re opening these baby-blues so big. It will make my job easier,” Val continues. He produces a thin long blade from the inside pocket of his jacket and stares at it. “It still has my father’s blood on it, did you know?”

I’m not sure who he’s asking this question to.

“You saw a bright future ahead of you, didn’t you, Mandy?” Slowly, he approaches her, then his hand lashes out, and the knife is embedded into her eye. “How’s it looking now?”

She’s screaming in pain—her boyfriend is jerking out of his chair, at least trying to.

“And you, Rocco. You were so ready to climb the ladder, by any means. That has consequences.” He nods at Marco, who comes forward with pliers in hand and proceeds to pull out the guy’s thumbnail.

His scream resounds. He starts cursing, then crying, then begging for mercy. Valentino is unmoved, as are all of us. Actions have consequences—it’s the first rule of being on the ground in the Mafia.

Valentino waits until Rocco’s wailing has reverted to pitiful moans, then he has Marco pull out another nail. The screaming starts anew. One by one, this goes on. When they’re done, it’s the first knuckle that gets cut off. Rocco is woken up by a shot of adrenaline every time it’s taking too long between cuts and Valentino seems pissed with waiting.

It’s sunrise by the time Rocco exhales his last breath. Mandy has passed on during the night, not so much from her eye injury but probably from a deeper bleed in her brain as the blade passed through the ocular space into her skull cavity. Not that we care. Her body, with the blade still in her eye, will be sent to the boss her boyfriend was trying to impress, a message telling him he’s being watched by the Andrettis. Rocco’s nails and cut knuckles will also be part of the package, even though he’ll end up swimming with the fishes somewhere.

I needn’t have worried. Valentino has got this.

Me, I’m not so sure. Because as the dawn brightens the surroundings, a text lands on my phone. It’s from Don Giacomo. Kaya’s Family Reunification visa has been approved and will be on the system whenever we touch down in Italy. It can take up to two weeks for this to happen; it took less than forty-eight hours in our case. Must be the Don at work. Around midday yesterday, a courier came for me with an envelope containing a brand-new passport for Kaya. It showed her having left Italy within three months of her initial arrival and the rest of the year spent around countries of Eastern Europe before she reentered the country again. It’s a fake, yes, but it got the job done.

We can now go home.

Problem is, I don’t want to. Because I will lose whatever I have left of my wife once there.

Worse, it could mean I’ll lose my life. Don Rossi has shown mercy once where a wayward enforcer of his was concerned. I can’t count on my mother to also save my ass this time.

Yet, I refuse to give up Kaya.

I refuse to let the Don take my wife as his woman should this be what he’s expecting when we return. I’m his enforcer, but I will disobey at the risk of triggering his wrath if he asks this of me.

She will forever belong to only one man.

She may have started off as the Don’s girl, but now she will only belong to me.

For my wife, I’d go against my Don… I would die for her.

So be it if this is my fate. She is mine.

My wife. My heart. My everything.

Chapter 19 Stefano

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