Page 159 of Matteo
Fuck.
“They lied, baby.” A whimper had me tearing my gaze from Arianna to the last surviving attacker. “I’m sure Hannah’s safe too.”
She gripped my jacket, shaking me with force. “But you can’t be sure. Matteo?—”
The anguish in her voice gutted me and I cupped her cheeks.
“Let’s question the assailant.” We both glanced at the guy bleeding out and whimpering like a pig. “He won’t last long, so we need to act fast.”
I shot up, helped Ari, and then headed over to the wounded man. His breath was coming out in jerky gasps, his face starkly pale against the crimson stain on his white snowsuit.
Arianna remained standing as I crouched in front of the dying man.
“Who sent you?”
“Fuck you,” he rasped.
Not willing to waste time roughing him up, I reached inside his pocket and pulled out his wallet, then said, “Don’t make this more difficult for yourself. Who are you?”
His upper lip twisted in a snarl. “Fuck. You.”
I flipped through his wallet, finding his identity, along with a few family pictures tucked behind a key card.
“You can tell us or I’ll find your family and ask them these questions, Mr. Johnson.”
Arianna gasped, but she didn’t say anything.
Of course I wouldn’t hurt his family if they were innocent, but this man didn’t know that. Arianna understood our world, but I imagined she was in a good amount of shock, unable to keep herself contained.
I casually pulled a knife out of my pocket, flipping the switchblade.
“Last chance.” I smiled darkly, rammed my knife into his kidney, and twisted as I shoved the photo of his family in front of his face. The scream that ripped from his throat sent birds soaring from the trees. “Who sent you?”
When he remained quiet, I slashed through the pants of his snowsuit, exposing his limp dick.
“I don’t know,” he screamed, his eyes darting to Arianna wildly. “I swear. It was a job we got through the dark web. It was supposed to be a… quick one. In and out.”
“And my sister?” Arianna asked. “You said my twin?—”
When he remained quiet, I brought the knife to his shriveled dick.
“We have her.” He coughed, spitting up blood. “We have her, okay?”
“Her?”
“The crazy twin.”Fuck.
I shared a glance with my wife, then returned to glare at the killer whose face was getting paler with each breath.
“Who sends you instructions?” I demanded. When his eyelids closed, I shook him hard. “Who?”
“The King heir.” He laughed, spitting up blood. “Every family that worked against the Belles and Mobsters auctions is on the list.”
Within seconds, his eyes grew vacant and his chest stopped moving as his head lolled to the side.
I stood up and met Arianna’s stunned gaze. “You’re right, baby. It’s time we go home.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
