Page 69 of Marco DeLuca

“I...I haven’t done anything,” she whimpers.

I snatch her by the arm and pull her forward toward the cabin.

The sliver of light shines through when the door opens again and outlines Lauren’s form.

“Lauren!” Eric screams, and she bolts to where he’s tied to a chair.

“You bastards!” he shouts as his wife throws her arms around him, almost knocking him back.

Antonio is quick to jerk her back and away from Eric.

“Give us the answers we need, and you can have your wife all to yourself again,” Alessandro says. “Fuck us around, and she’ll be eating the same metal that you will.”

“Eric, please,” Lauren cries. “Tell them what they want to know!”

“I told you! I don’t know a damn thing!” he barks, glaring at me.

I slowly stalk towards him with my eyes on his wife, never breaking her gaze.

“Eric! Tell him something!” she cries as I snatch her arm.

I pull her body close to mine and grip her tightly. Pressing the blade of my knife against her throat, I wait until I see that trickle of blood, and then I sniff it, causing her to shudder.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” he screams.

“The way that you fuckers killed my wife?”

I take the knife and throw it, landing it in his thigh. He screams bloody murder, and Lauren jerks trying to break my grip on her.

“Please,” she whispers.

“You knew. You knew what they would do to her and did nothing to stop them.”

“I didn’t know!” she cries. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You fucking knew!” I growl.

“Marco! Right here! Now!” Massimo growls, standing in front of me.

My eyes meet his.

“Are you going fucking insane?”

Laughing, I remind him, “Did that years ago.”

“She doesn’t know anything, Marco,” Alessandro says.

I look at her as I answer Alessandro. “This bitch was there. Rocco told me his cousins from America were in town on vacation. He left early the day before to spend time with them. I thought nothing about it when he came back by the house that evening. I saw them on the cameras in the car with him. At the time, I thought he was stopping by to pick up something he’d left behind, but I know better now. He was plotting. This bitch knew about the planned break-in and did nothing to stop them.”

I hear a faint gasp, which lets me know I’ve guessed right.

“You knew your husband and his cousin were coming to my house, and you heard their plans. Did you call the police? Did you tell them not to do it? Did you even fucking call the police when they came back with her blood on their hands?” I thunder.

She sobs and shakes her head. “I...I couldn’t. I was scared of them!”

“I want her tied up,” I say to Nico.

He nods and grabs the rope to secure her hands like he’d done her husband earlier.

---