Page 81 of His Captive
“That’s not a plan.” Leo shakes his head. “Well, at least we’ll be together when we die, right? I’d say I’ll see the two of you on the other side, but I don’t think you’re going where I’m going. Unless you’d like to repent, so I can put in a good word for you.”
“I don’t think we’ll live long enough for me to list all my sins,Father,” I grumble.
Erica and the guys with her are talking. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but judging by their glances, they’re discussing us. We’re in some sort of warehouse. Probably one of Emilio’s. I don’t guess it matters where we die.
“Anyone who thinks killing three members of the Morandi family is a bad idea, it’s not too late,” I bluff, looking around. “You know what will happen. Our father isn’t going to rest until he has vengeance. Someone will talk…”
“Really?” Erica laughs, walking away from the group. “And who do you think is going to talk? Paulie? Your father has treated him like shit for years. He should be a Capo, instead of a soldier.”
Erica fires off the names, laying out the reasons each of them is standing by her side. All I see is a bunch of fucking traitors the Morandi family is better off without. Except they’ll still have their position after this. Our father will have no idea they were responsible.
“And the Bratva?” Erica asks. “Obviously, they want you dead.”
“Yeah,” I mutter.
“I’m curious, though,” Erica says. “How did you find out about Layla? And who is thisgirlwho stabbed Claudio before he could take his shot?”
My lip twitches and I bite my tongue. She doesn’t deserve an answer to her first question, and no amount of torture will give her the answer to the second one.
“Doesn’t matter. The Claudio loose end is already tied up. I should have known I couldn’t trust him.” Erica shakes her head.“We’ll find the girl. She left Isola Selvaggia with you, so she must be in Las Vegas. Your safehouses are being ransacked as we speak.”
They don’t have Lea’s name. That’s a relief. Theo got rid of her stuff before Erica’s men could get to it.
“Just a girl who didn’t want me to die,” I say dryly. “She’s nobody.”
Erica smiles and it almost looks sinister. “Nice try, Massimo, but I know you better than that. You haven’t even looked at a woman since Layla died, and we didn’t even get the knife under Claudio’s skin before he told us everything he knew. You told him to take the shot, which means you didn’t know about Layla until… well, we’ll figure that out when we find the girl.”
I pull at the handcuffs, no longer caring how much my shoulder hurts. I’m not in the position to make threats.
“By then, this place will be on fire, and the three of you will go…” Erica pulls a cigarette out of her purse, lights it, and exhales. “Up in smoke.”
“I loved you, you fucking bitch!” Emilio yells, yanking at his restraints. “We’ve been together since we were kids! How could you do this?”
“I never loved you, Emilio,” Erica sighs, taking a drag from her cigarette as she walks over to my brother. “I saw how powerful your family was, and after Massimo wouldn’t give me a second look, I realized you were my way in. I certainly wasn’t going to get anywhere with the priest.”
“I should have told Emilio what you tried back then,” Leo growls. “I thought you were just a mixed-up kid.”
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned,” Erica mocks, but her lips spread into a grin. “It’s been… two weeks since I’ve had ahard cockin my mouth. You were tempted, Leo. I saw it in your eyes.”
“You kept that from me?” Emilio snarls, his anger now directed at Leo.
“I’ve already repented for all of my sins,” Leo sighs. “Even that one. I thought I made the right choice after you two got married. Lots of kids get mixed up when they’re sixteen.”
“Did she throw herself at you, too, Mo?” Emilio asks, looking at me.
“There was no fucking point,” Erica chuckles. “Massimo is a brick wall. An emotionless void. I didn’t even think he was capable of love until he met Layla. I guess he has a thing for sweet, innocent girls.”
“Fuck you,” I snap.
“I bet that’s what this mysterious girl from the island was, before she ran into you,” Erica says. “Less than a week with you, and she’s stabbing people? I bet she’ll scream beautifully when we start peeling her skin off—and we won’t stop, even after she tells us what we want to know. I’ll leave a strip of it in your coffin, so you have something to remember her by.”
If willpower could get me out of this chair, I’d rip these handcuffs off. I pull at them until my wrists are bleeding, but the steel is stronger than my willpower.
“We picked up something on a security camera,” Paulie says, walking over to Erica and showing her his phone. “That’s her in the passenger seat. I’m having your tech guy run the image.”
“Splendid!” Erica says with sickening excitement in her voice. “Once we tie up that loose end, we’ll set this place on fire, and I’ll go play the grieving widow.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Paulie says, nodding to her.
