Page 79 of Taken By the Mafia King
How easily could it have been me in her position? What more would it take for me to crack like this? She annoyed me, sure, but she didn’t deserve this. Nobody did. And the blame rested with one man.
It was time he started giving a shit.
“Come with me, right now.” I wrapped the cloth back around the severed digit, scooped it off the table, and headed for the door, not waiting for her reply.
We needed to act fast because I was holding a fucking finger.
CHAPTER 56
SERA
“No,” Delaney pleaded, trying to tug her wrist free from my grasp.
We faced the closed door of Killian’s office. Male voices came from the other side, muffled and unintelligible.
“We must,” I said.
“No,” she said again. “I’ll go back to my room. I’ll be good. I swear. Just don’t make me go back to the basement.”
“You deserve answers. He can’t keep you like this. Be brave, Delaney. For your father.”
Her bottom lip trembled, but she lifted her chin at the mention of her father, and I saw a devoted daughter in her watery gaze. I saw myself. At least, the version of myself that used to exist.
She nodded, and that was all the permission I needed.
I shoved the door to Killian’s office open so hard it bounced off the wall. Eight men dressed in fine Italian suits stood around the room. Killian’s back was to me from his spot in front of the fireplace. He didn’t turn to look at the disturbance, but every other head in the room whipped toward me. Delaney hovered over the threshold, her bravery only letting her get so far.
“Killian,” I said.
The men turned to look at him.
Killian’s shoulders rolled like he was shrugging off irritation. He turned his head to the side, the light of the fire casting his profile into shadow. If he was surprised to see me he didn’t show it.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and saw Francesco and Mikey kick off the far wall lined with windows where they’d been causally perched. Even Tommaso moved toward us, although a bit slower than his comrades.
I stalked forward, looking each man in the eye as I placed myself in the center of the semi-circle they’d formed around the Hand of Death.
Then I dropped the finger down on the coffee table. It didn’t quite have the dramatic effect I was going for. A severed finger hitting a surface didn’t make much noise. The ring around the digit clanged, though, and all eyes shifted to the finger, except for Killian’s.
He finally turned to face me, looking bored.
Someone behind me risked a chuckle but was quickly and nervously shushed by a few of the men standing around us, watching like they were at a soccer match.
“What is this?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. Killian only narrowed his eyes at me. “What is this?” I repeated through gritted teeth.
Delaney’s whimpering broke into sobs, which caused a flurry of uncomfortable movement in the room. These men could claim lives, hold people prisoner, and cut off fingers—among other worse things, I assumed—but they couldn’t stomach a girl crying?
I wanted to scream at them all.
“Get Lombardi out of here,” Killian said with cool, dry calm. In an instant, Delaney’s cries were silenced. I didn’t look over my shoulder to see who had escorted her out of the room or whereshe’d been taken. I kept my eyes on Killian, knowing he could read the expression on my face through and through.
He stepped forward. “Come with me.” He expected me to flinch and step out of his way but I stood my ground. Grabbing my arm, he yanked me toward the door and dragged me into the hallway, my bare heels gliding over his freshly waxed floors. The door slammed shut, and in a split second he had me pinned against the wall.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Do you know who was in that room?”
“Let me guess,” I sneered, nose to nose with my captor. “More men likeyou.”
“Men I need on my side. And your schemes are growing tiresome, Sera.”
