Page 36 of Brutal Queen

“About as easily as you opened your legs for these mongrels, I would imagine,” Manny hisses out once he’s caught his breath.

I lift my hand to halt the guys. I can see them seething, ready to tear him to pieces for his insolence. He’s trying to bait us. More specifically me into losing my temper, but just like every other misogynist prick I’ve known, he’s underestimating me. I broke his nose because I wanted to, not because I was losing control of my emotions. If I can withstand Max De Luca, there’s nothing this asshole can do to me that would touch the sides of the endless well of patience I have.

“After years of loyalty, why choose a De Luca over my father?” I couldn’t give two shits about what hisreasonsare. He’s not a difficult man to figure out. The answer is power coupled with a complete lack of loyalty. He’s a man with no honour and I couldn’t care less why he thinks he deserved more than he had.

“Fuck you,” is the only response I get.

I head back to grab one of the crowbars we brought. Swinging it in a lackadaisical fashion from the hooked end like Gene Kelly with his umbrella inSinging in the Rain. I return and slowly walk around him in circles. He spins himself on the chain, keeping his eyes on me while simultaneously trying to avoid choking himself.

It’s time to get down to business.

“Were you working for Max all along, or did you only hitch your wagon to his once he killed his father? Did you betray one don or two?”

Nothing.

I swing, cracking the flat of the bar across his ribs. He howls.

“One.” Swing. “Or.” Swing. “Two?” Swing.

He’s coughing up blood and I step back, letting his little crimson fountain display run its course. I roll my shoulders before faking another swing, watching him flinch but at the last moment, I kick his legs out from under him and his eyes bulge as the chain pulls taut, forcing him to scramble to get his feet back under him.

“Your turn,” I say to Nico and Sin and they seem to understand the assignment, taking turns holding him up while the other strikes his face and body mercilessly.

Manny lasts longer than I thought he would, but he ultimately folds like we all expected. I would die before I betrayed those I love. But maybe that's the point. This cunt doesn’t love anyone more than he loves himself.

“Stop, please stop,” he cries out weakly. “I’ll tell you.”

I hold up my hand and the beating stops instantly. “I’m listening.”

“Max, it was always Max.” Manny is wheezing hard, sounding like a broken set of bagpipes that rattle and moan inall the wrong tones. “When his father started turning your father’s capos to his cause, Max decided that to out-manoeuvre him, his best bet was to have someone further up the Bianchi food chain in his corner.”

“You’re all as bad as each other. Fighting over scraps of power with no thought for the organisation you run, for the people who work for you and depend on you,” I grate. “Never mind the betrayal of my father. You betrayed every one of your men when you traded your support to Max.”

Manny’s eyes darken. “Like I would ever take orders from a cunt and her bastards,” he screams, stopping himself only to hack the blood pooling in his throat and spit it at my feet.

Twat. I like these boots.

I plaster a malevolent smile across my features, happy to have riled him. So I continue to pick at his unravelling threads. “You’re such a fucking idiot, Manny. All these years I’ve overestimated you. Aligning yourself with Max De Luca was idiotic and thinking you would benefit in any way from it was even more ridiculous. If there’s one thing I know about my husband, it’s that he doesn’t play well with others. Did you honestly think he would ever trust you enough to elevate you to be his underboss? You, a man who betrayed his closest friend of forty fucking years for what was essentially a promise of a fraction more power?”

“You’re fucking wrong.” He screams it so loudly it bounces off the stone walls for a few seconds after he’s finished.

“I mean, it’s obvious how much he trusts you based on how involved you are in his organisation right now.”

“He was keeping me safe.” His voice cracks and breaks under the strain of his emotion.

“He was keeping you out of his way. The only value you have now is based on how much you know about his current plans, and I’m beginning to think you’re fucking worthless tome. Do you have any information on his current plans, Manny?”

“You won’t get anything from me.”

I can see how much my words are affecting him by the way his fists clench, and the muscle in his jaw ticks. It won’t take much more to break him—for him to tell us everything he knows.

But where’s the fun in that?

I pick up the discarded duct tape and reposition it over his mouth. “I don’t think I want to hear any more from you right now,” I say as I ruffle his greasy hair. “Time for Nico to have some fun with you.”

I sneer as I wipe my hands against my top, eager to get the feel of him off me. His eyes flare wide, and fear rolls off him in waves, filling me with a glorious sense of satisfaction.

“Mind if I play with some of your toys, phoenix?” he asks, wrapping his arm around me from behind and dipping his chin to my shoulder. “I really want to see how far I can push him.”

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