Page 14 of Devour
The note came pinned to a fucking human skull, nailed through with a rusted blade like a goddamn message from the underworld. Delivered straight to my office in a black wooden box. I drop it on the meeting room table. Metal clangs against the wood as the blade slides free.
“Came in this morning,” I say, my voice low. Controlled. Too fucking calm for what I’m feeling.
Axel steps beside me, his expression a mirror of mine, stone cold and simmering just beneath the surface. He doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t need to.
“This isn’t about turf.” I stare down at the skull. “This is a setup. Someone’s stirring the pot between us and the Italians—pushing for war.” Dominic’s jaw ticks.
“Who?”
The only person I can think of is Vito
“My uncle.” The words taste like venom. “Old bastard’s been circling my seat since the day I took it. He wants the title. Wants me out.” And this? This is how he thinks he’ll get it.
“Fuck, I wanna put my fist through a wall. Where’s the bastard who got us into this mess?” Dominic doesn’t flinch.
“He’s dead. The boys are disposing of the body as we speak.”
I grit my teeth, chest heaving. “Lucky son of a bitch. He should be thanking the bullet that ended him, ‘cause if I got to him first—”.
“—I’d carve out his balls and shove ’em down his fucking throat. Make him choke on his regret.” My voice drops, low and lethal.
“They want a war. Fine. We’ll give it to ’em. Blood for blood.” One of the boys, Rocco, walks in.
“Don, we caught a rat.”
Fuck. Just what I needed. A rat. Another reason to unleash hell. Two of the boys, Nino and Anthony, drag her in none too gently. The force knocks her to her knees.
“She was eavesdropping,” Rocco adds. “Tried to run when I caught her.”
Her mouth is gagged, hands bound behind her back, face partially covered but I know that face.
Arie.
Tears slip from beneath the dark cloth wrapped over her eyes, tracing a silent path down her cheek to her throat and disappearing into the V of her shirt. I see a bruise forming below her right temple. One of them must’ve hit her.
The sight makes my blood boil. I was pissed before. Now all I see is red. No one touches her. No one marks her. Not unless it’s me. As if reading my mind, Dominic speaks.
“Who hit her?”
“I’m sorry, Boss,” Rocco says quickly. “She was putting up too much of a fight—”
“So, you fucking hit her?”
Dominic doesn’t wait for an answer. He throws a fist straight into Rocco’s face. The impact sends him crashing to the floor. If he hadn’t done it, I would’ve and I don’t think I would’ve stopped.
“Get the fuck out,” I growl, louder than intended. Nino and Anthony rush to help Rocco to his feet. They all scramble out of sight.
“She’s got on a waitress uniform,” the voice comes from Axel.
It’s the first thing he’s said since the boys dragged her in. His gaze is sharp.
“She could be a spy.”
Arie tries to speak through the gag, but it’s all muffled noise, fear, and confusion tangled in her voice. I crouch in front of her, staring into her eyes even if they’re hidden behind the cloth, I can still feel them watching me.
“If you scream,” I murmur, voice low and dangerous, “you won’t like what happens next.” She freezes. Her body tenses under the threat.
I reach for the gag and slowly pull it down from her mouth. Her lips are trembling, wet from tears, but she doesn’t make a sound. Not even a whisper. Good girl.
