Chapter 18 Interrogation 101
Eighteen
Serafina
Last night’s dream turned into a nightmare.
I wanted to be strong for Eros, but after we got home, I fell apart.
The sounds of people screaming and guns going off are ingrained in my head.
Eros took me upstairs and got me undressed and in my PJs.
I didn’t even notice him having on his PJ bottoms until he settled me into bed and wrapped himself around me.
In my ear, he whispered over and over, “I’ve got you, Fi. You’re safe.” He held me, stroking my hair, and all I could do was cry. I must have cried myself to sleep.
I wake up this morning in Eros’s arms. He’s wide awake, focused solely on me, watching me intently as I open my eyes.
“Hey, baby, how are you feeling this morning?” His voice is a soft rumble.
“Better.” I sit up, turning to face my husband. “I’m sorry I was such a mess. I’ll try harder to be brave.”
He’s sitting too by this point, reaching out to move my messy hair away from my face. “Anyone would have reacted the same way. There’s no need to be sorry.”
“You didn’t. The guys didn’t lose their cool.
Even Milana held herself together.” I lower my lids and shake my head slightly.
“I don’t understand. One minute, we were dancing and laughing, then…
” I snap my fingers. “Poof. The room exploded with bullets. I can still hear people shouting and crying.” I can’t stop the shiver that runs through me.
Eros pulls me closer and settles me on his lap. His hands cup my face.
“You should never have had to experience what happened last night. I took great precautions to ensure the club was safe before we arrived. I never would have brought you there if even for a second I thought shit was going to go bad. I wouldn’t do that to you.
Someone who is in my command is feeding information to our enemies, and I’m going to find out who it is and make them pay.
” Eros pauses, clearly trying to decide how much he thinks I can handle.
“I’d rather know than not know,” I urge.
“Please. A marriage is sharing the good and the bad. It doesn’t matter how bad, because I want to be a wife who supports you in every way.
” I lick my lips and inhale deeply, then let a breath out slowly.
“Sock it to me,” I say, and do my best to give him a brave smile.
“Your brother did a wonderful job of creating a divide within his own soldiers. Those who stroked his ego and kissed his ass were his pets. Before his death, I believe Giusto was planning his retaliation against me and La Famiglia. I’m not sure how, but I have a strong feeling that last night’s chaos came from Giusto’s men.
We were attacked by low-end thugs. They had no finesse and didn’t have a prayer of making it out of that club alive.
They didn’t know it, but they were set up,” Eros confides.
“That’s crazy! Giusto is gone. Marco made you their boss. That’s treason. They’ve got to know that if they’re caught, it will be their certain death.”
“Not if they thought they could make it look like the Russians, or any other one of our enemies, were responsible,” Eros says. “We have several in a cell, and very shortly, I must leave you and go interrogate the prisoners. I hope that this leads to the names of those responsible.”
“You think it’s one of our own.”
Eros nods.
“Then none of us are safe. Everyone in La Famiglia is at risk,” I say, telling him what he already knows.
“Marco is aware of the situation. Nero, Luciano, and I thought that after Giusto was removed, things would settle. But deep down inside, I felt the looming dark cloud. The threat isn’t over, but we’ll be a hell of a lot closer after I’m done with the men sitting in the cells,” he declares, his expression ominous.
He’s downright terrifying when he gets that look.
I don’t mind it outside our home, but not here, and definitely not in our bed.
I caress his cheek. “We need to get up, and I’m going to make you a hearty breakfast so you can go do your job and keep us safe.
” Automatically, his features gentle, and he touches his lips to mine.
“I wish I could spend the day with you, gioia, but Nero is waiting for me,” he replies with a sigh. I shuffle off his lap and run into the bathroom to clean up, but not before I kiss him and receive a loving tap on my behind.
Making breakfast is a wasted effort because as soon as Eros makes it downstairs, his phone rings. He has just enough time for me to turn his bacon and eggs into a toasted western and wrap it up before he heads out the door.
Vincenzo and Danilo are my bodyguards for the day.
Instead of letting all this food go to waste, I invite Bianca, the girls, and Mom to come over.
The girls are in their glory when I make waffles, and Mom enjoys her coffee.
At first, Danilo refuses to join us, but the constant begging of two little girls with big eyes and bigger pouty lips melts his heart, and he ends up sitting between the two of them.
Vincenzo needs only to be asked once. His plate is piled high, and he chats with Bianca.
Bianca offers to help clear the table, but I know that the girls have playdates scheduled, and I don’t want them to be late.
The school situation has improved exponentially, and I’ve never seen the girls so excited to get ready in the morning.
Even when Giusto was alive, the girls were rarely allowed to play at other children’s homes. This is all new for them and Bianca.
“They’ll have a great time. Stop worrying,” I tell Bianca.
“I think I’m more scared that I’ll say something out of turn than the girls,” she admits. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been around other moms from the school.”
“What are you saying? Felicia and Grazia have kids at that school, and they adore you. Quit putting yourself down. Chin up and get out of here,” I say, giving her a little nudge toward the door. “You’ve been monopolizing my mother, and we’re going to spend the day lolling about,” I tease.
Bianca is still unsure, but puts a smile on her lips and gets into the waiting car, where her bodyguard is waiting for her. The girls wave wildly from the back seat, and I blow them kisses as they drive off.
Eros
Nero decided to get the party started before I arrived.
He’s in a vicious mood. The room is splattered with blood, and with all I see, I’m not sure if he’s gotten very much in the way of information.
That’s when I see his tactic. He’s making an example out of one prisoner to loosen the tongues of the others.
The man hanging on the meat hook literally has his innards hanging out, and gasps, moments away from certain death.
Nero’s shirtsleeves are rolled up to his elbows and his hands are covered in blood, but he turns to me and, in the sickest, most sadistically eerie tone, says, “Ah, Eros. I see you’ve arrived.
” This is followed by a mischievous grin.
He holds out a dart, like one from a dartboard game. “Want a turn?”
I see that he’s made the man on the meat hook into a human dartboard. And let me tell you, Nero has excellent aim. It’s a gruesome sight, and a lesser man would become violently ill to see it.
“Hmm, I’d hate to interrupt your perfect score,” I reply. “Besides, it’s no fun when the man’s about to breathe his last breath.” I shrug.
Nero tosses the last dart, hitting the man directly in his left eye. Not that it matters because he’s no longer breathing. He then looks at the remaining two men chained to their chairs. “Who wants to play next?” he asks in a slithering, maniacal voice.
“Why don’t you sit this one out?” I suggest. “After all, I think since it was me they attacked, I should have the pleasure of dismembering them.” My gaze shifts from one man to the other.
They are both scared shitless, as they should be.
They’re going to die today. The only question that remains is if it will be a quick death or an excruciatingly slow and painful one.
Interrogating the enemy is an art. If I were a good man and followed ethical protocols, I would start with direct confrontation, then move on to creating dominance and deflecting any excuses or objections.
I might even try to be empathetic to gain their trust. However, I’m not a good man, and I’m tired of the bullshit.
They attacked me, my wife, my friends, and my men.
Alessandro shed blood for me and deserves retribution on the attackers.
I need answers, because this game needs to be over.
The mental torture that Nero just put them through has set them up for my plan.
I stare first at the man sitting on the left.
He can’t be more than twenty-five. His head is shaved, and the suit he’s wearing doesn’t even fit him properly.
He doesn’t belong to the Russians. No soldier from the Russian mob would be caught dead looking as haggard as this guy.
The other man is even younger and still has a baby face.
I doubt if he even has enough whiskers to shave.
Based on the appearance of the two men, the older one probably knows who was behind the attack.
The room is silent. Silence can be both good and bad.
When the world is spinning, silence can calm the mind.
Silence can also be a place where the mind wanders into the worst scenarios, playing havoc with your thoughts.
I take a step toward the bench at the far end of the room, where a variety of torture devices are strewn about.
I take my time choosing, but even with my back turned, I can hear the intake of breath from one of the men in chains, bracing for what comes next.
I pick up a very sharply pointed dagger with a black handle.
As I turn, I play with the dagger, not making eye contact with either man.
“Nero likes the color red, as you can see.” I motion to the sea of red covering the floor and dripping from their friend’s corpse.
“I’m partial to it myself, but I prefer to keep the mess to a minimum.
” I pause and let the words sink in. “So, this is what I’m proposing.
” I glance up and meet the eyes of the older soldier.
“I’m going to ask the questions, and if you answer them honestly, you’ll earn yourself a much less painful death than your friend there.
” I point at the body hanging from the hook.
“If I think you’re lying, I choose a place on your body where I will stick you with my dagger.
It will hurt like a motherfucker. You’ll feel pain like you’ve never felt before, but you’ll live, and I’ll keep asking the same question over and over with the same result until I hear the truth. ”
Syd Randall took two stabs, one to the thigh and the other to the gut.
After the second, he sang his heart out.
The orders came from Livio Sergente. He’s one of mine, and prior to my takeover, he was Giusto’s right-hand man.
Livio’s not alone in this and is working with one of the politicians we have on payroll.
It appears that Giusto had a deal going with Mayor Campbell that was lining Giusto’s pockets rather well.
With me out of the way, Livio and Campbell believed they could continue fleecing La Famiglia.
“He’s not going to stop. Livio said that he’ll take down everyone who means anything to you, just like Giusto was going to,” Syd says, moaning in pain. “If he couldn’t get to you, then he swore he’d get to your wife. I swear, that’s all I know.”
I know he’s telling the truth. These men are too weak to hold back information. They could have been good soldiers one day with the right tutelage, but now, that will never be. I look to Nero, and he gives me the nod I need to do what’s necessary.
It’s quick. A bullet for each of them, and it’s over. In some ways, the end could mean peace.