Page 74 of Brutal Queen

I arch an eyebrow at him. “We’ll discuss this later because I swear to fuck if you go off solo without checking in again, I will retire you myself, you stubborn fool.”

“In my defence, I gave my earpiece to the team to stay in contact,” he replies.

“And not one of them knew where you were.” I lean in close and bring him into a tight embrace, whispering in his ear, “Don’t you dare pull this solo shit on me again. I can’t lose you too, Stef.”

“Yes, Don Bianchi.” He brings an arm around my shoulders and squeezes me hard for the briefest of moments before releasing me. We both turn and take in the broken, mangled heap on the floor. Stefano’s jaw ticks under the strain of how hard he’s clenching it. “Can I give you some advice?”

“Feel free,” I say.

“Say whatever it is you need to say now. Before the last breath leaves his body, then send him to hell with the burden of his failure.”

“Soliloquies aren’t my style, Stefano,” I reply, and chuckle a little when all I get from him in return is a little shrug. He walks back to the edge of the room to stand shoulder to shoulder with the others while he stretches out what I’m assuming are some rather painful bumps and bruises, judging from the anguish that flares across his face.

Nico and Sinclair stroll across from the gantry stairs andfall into step behind me. “Time to finish him off,” Nico says with a smirk.

“You don’t have to do this,” I say, laying a hand over his forearm. “I wouldn’t ask you to kill your own blood.”

“This man is no family of mine, phoenix.” Nico’s brow furrows into a hard line and he pulls back like I’ve slapped him clear across the face. I search his eyes, trying to find something that will tell me I won’t break this man forever if I order him to kill his brother. He can see how torn I am and pulls me into him, holding me tight as his hard muscles soften and mould themselves around me. “I know I scared the shit out of you before. But I have to be part of this. I need to see this through. I need to watch him pay.”

I nod against his chest before flattening my hand against it and pushing away from him. I cup his face and force him to hold my stare as I search his eyes for the truth of his words. Satisfied that whatever happens next, he’s strong enough to withstand it.

“Understood. Now go and bring your man over here. The stubborn asshole won’t let anyone help him. He’ll listen to you.”

Nico nods and I hook a finger, summoning Enzo to my side. Nico approaches Benny and ignores his protestations when he slides his arm under his and joins us.

Max is drifting in and out of consciousness. His stab wound is serious but not life-threatening and the knife still firmly lodged in his belly is staunching a lot of the bleeding. It’s unlikely to hold for the next part, so I guess it’s time to finish this.

I nudge his hand with the edge of my boot and his head rolls towards me in response. “I will always be a part of you,principessa,” he croaks.

I tilt my head as I consider his words before crouchingdown low and meeting his soulless stare. “Whether you will or you won’t, you won’t be here to witness it.” His eyes widen with some sort of emotion I can’t place. Is it fear? Regret? The more I try to figure it out, the less I care. I push down on my knees, coming to stand and turn to my family. Enzo, Sinclair, Nico, and Benny all standing to attention ready for my command, with a sea of faces behind them all patiently waiting.

“String him up,” I instruct Nico and Sinclair. They move in tandem, one to Max’s head and the other to his feet, lifting him roughly and carrying him over to where the chain hangs down. They toss him on the floor, and I can’t help but enjoy every scream of agony that erupts from Max’s gaping mouth. Between cries, he spews his poisonous words, prophesying my failure and the death of the Bianchi family.

Nico takes one end of the chain from one of Dom’s men and instructs Sinclair to sit him up and hold him still. Just as he starts to snake the heavy metal chain around Max’s throat, Benny reaches into one of his pockets and calls out, “Wait.” We all turn to look at him as he gingerly drops down on his knees and secures what looks like a collar around Max’s neck.

“What are you up to, Bambi?” Nico asks with a suspicious but intrigued smile.

“Trust me, this will help with the clean up,” he says, tapping the side of his nose and then pointing back at Nico with a cheeky twinkle in his eyes. Enzo leans in to help Benny back up and we stand back as Nico continues to wrap the chain tight around Max’s neck.

Reaching into one of his many pockets, Nico pulls out a padlock, and after pulling the chains so tight that Max’s ramblings are silenced and his face starts to redden, he secures the chains tightly above the collar. He makes his way over tothe person holding the other end of the chain and takes it from him.

“Let him go,” Nico tells Sinclair and Max doesn’t even get the opportunity to hit the ground before Nico pulls the chain taut, applying enough tension to lift his torso upright and cause his colour to shift from red to purple as the chains compress his windpipe.

Without even having to ask, Enzo and Sinclair join him, picking up the tail of the chain behind Nico to share the burden of execution. I tip my head towards them, and as one, they step backwards and heave, then pull at the chain, arm over arm, hauling Max clear off the floor.

He convulses and struggles, causing the knife in his gut to shift and release rhythmic gushes of blood that trickle down, saturating his pants and dripping to the concrete below. I get a little lost in my thoughts, watching the pattern Max’s wriggling legs paint on the grey canvas below us. It’s only when I feel the presence of my four men at my back that I notice they’ve tied the end of the chain to the iron railings on the wall of the warehouse and have come back to join me.

The clanking and scraping of the chain against the gantry railings dies down as Max finally starts to succumb. His eyes zero in on mine and I refuse to blink as I watch the light die in them. The second they glaze over, I release the breath I was holding, feeling lighter than I have in months.

Turning to the crowd around me I see every emotion that’s churning around my head reflected in them. Taking them all in, I slowly acknowledge each and every one of them.

“Today, we’ve restored our family to its rightful place and eliminated the biggest threat to our continued legacy. We made a mistake when we negotiated away our autonomy. There was no honour in The Syndicate, no honour in aligning ourselves with the De Lucas. I loved my father, but he waswrong to sacrifice so much for the illusion of peace. The De Lucas were a cancer that was corrupting us from the inside out. This was always going to end in war and bloodshed, and I thank each and every one of you for standing by my side tonight. You will never fully understand the respect I have for you and the gratitude I have for the faith you place in me.”

There’s no grand applause or chattering of thanks. I didn’t expect there to be, nor did I want that. My words came from my heart and I needed to say them. They needed to hear them. We’ve all been held hostage to the corruption of the De Lucas family for so many years and are finally free.

I don’t expect what happens next and it will be something I hold in my heart for an eternity. One by one, each man and woman before me bows their head and takes a knee. I’m speechless. Emotion clogs my throat when the last men to kneel are mine.

Enzo, Sinclair, Nico, and Benedict kneel together and drop their chins to their chest in reverence. Reaching out, I hook a finger under Enzo’s chin and tilt it up gently.

---