45. Salvatore
45
SALVATORE
“I’ll ask again.” Gabriel speaks around a grin as his son watches on, waiting for the cue to punch me again. “Where are you keeping my daughter?”
I strain against my shackled wrists, gritting my teeth through the pain of a dislocated shoulder and suspected broken ribs. I can’t even feel the bullet to the thigh anymore. “My guess is she’s already dead.” I spit blood to the sandstone floor, the metallic taste coating my tongue. “An eye for an eye and all that.”
“Have you already forgotten how you murdered my brother and his son?” He gets closer. “Lorenzo is only the tip of my retaliation.”
I smirk. “You can’t claim a death without a body. And I’m almost certain we made sure those two won’t be found.”
He chuckles, his malice growing as he shoots a glance to Alonso and inclines his head in a silent command.
I brace for impact, for the force of clenched knuckles to pound into my gut and slam me back against the wall.
I hunch with the blow, holding in the agony.
“You aren’t a smart man, are you, Salvatore?” Gabriel cocks his head. “You’re only making this worse for yourself.”
“I’m not afraid to die.”
“Such valiant words from someone who needs to be more concerned about the ways in which we will increase his torture while we let him live.” A cell beeps and the older man retrieves the device from his shirt pocket, his grin growing wider. “But it seems we no longer need your assistance in finding my Isabella.”
My heart stops. He’s bluffing. “My brothers wouldn’t give her up.”
“They didn’t need to. It sounds like she’s doing it herself.” He turns the cell toward me. Her message is clear.
Ivy
If I come to you, will you let Salvatore live?
Fuck .
“She was always such a dutiful daughter when she was younger. Obedient and naive to a fault. At least until she learned too much about the family business.” He lets the phone fall limp in his hand. “I plan to rectify her stubborn morality streak once she’s back where she belongs.”
I clench my fists, fighting against restraints that don’t budge.
“You care for her, don’t you?” He gets up close, staring at me from a few inches away. “I see the fear in your eyes. I know what it looks like when a man is about to lose the only woman he’s ever loved. Because that’s what stared back at me in the mirror for years after she deserted our family.”
“The only thing I care about is ridding the earth of your bloodline. And if I can’t do it myself, I know my brothers will.”
Gabriel’s smirk lingers, dark amusement dancing behind those soulless eyes. “We shall see about that.” He turns to his son. “Feel free to keep him occupied until your sister arrives. But don’t have too much fun. I want him kept alive.”
“You sure you want her coming out here?” I grit my teeth, bracing against the blinding fear for Ivy’s life. “You don’t think she’s leading my brothers to you?”
“I’ll take my chances.” He walks from the bunker, calm and confident, the metal door clanging shut behind him.
“Your old man is going to get you killed.” I tug on my shackles, narrowing my attention on Alonso who prowls toward me, clearly hungry for more of my blood. “It must sting knowing he doesn’t give a shit about you or your sister.”
“Oh, he cares for her. Just not in a socially acceptable way.” He stares me dead in the eye. “She’s the one who got away.”
“That must sting, considering how much you’re gagging for your dad’s dick.” If Ivy turns up, I want him worn out on rage. I need him so spent and tired from hating me that he doesn’t even have the energy to look at her. “Tell me, Gonso, have you ever let Daddy touch you?”
He curls a fist, landing a blow directly against my cracked ribs.
The pain is blinding, shorting my vision, turning everything black.
When the world comes back into view, I’m hanging forward by my wrists, the agony from my dislocated shoulder slicing down the entire left side of my body.
I groan, raising my head, finding that fucker across the room talking to the two guards like they’re on a coffee break.
Alonso cuts the conversation short mid-sentence. “Ready for more pain?” He strolls toward me, pulling a switchblade from his jeans.
I scan the room. Still no Ivy.
That’s all I care about.
“Where were we?” He stops before me, flicking open the blade.
“I think we were in the middle of you getting triggered by the topic of your dad’s dick.”
His eyes flare. “You don’t learn, do you, Costa?”
“I do.” I shrug my good shoulder. “But you’re fun to mess with. You’ve got the temper of a five-year-old.”
He raises the blade, placing the tip to the top of my sternum.
“Don’t forget Daddy told you not to kill me, motherfucker.” I attempt a grin, but even that hurts. Not that I’m confident he won’t betray his father’s order. It’s just all about the triggers.
Keep Ivy safe.
Help her survive.
“He did.” He slowly drags the knife down my chest, a light-slicing tease, deep enough to draw blood but not enough to part skin. “Problem is, I have a hard time listening to authority.”
I wish he’d get close enough for me to be able to grab hold of, but I’m not sure my dislocated arm even works anymore. “One of Lorenzo’s men had the same problem today. Or should I refer to him as one of yours?”
He smirks, the blade pausing a moment. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Figures. I didn’t think Gabriel would tell you the big boy plans. But just so you know, I had to teach the guy a lesson of the permanent variety.”
His smirk falters, a sneer taking its place. “You enjoy killing our men, don’t you, Costa?”
“Without a doubt. Especially when they’re dumb enough to come into enemy territory.” I close my eyes as he cuts deeper, the blunt metal dragging through my skin. “He barely lasted five minutes. The cleanup took longer than the slaughter.”
“Is that so?”
“I almost didn’t have to slit his throat at all. He was choking on your secrets as they spilled out.”
A low growl emanates from him as I clench my teeth through the pain, my thoughts consumed with Ivy—her smile, her laugh, her sass.
“Do you want to know what he told me?” I open tired eyes and meet his gaze.
“I’m dying to hear,” he snarls.
I chuckle to myself, just because I can, because it hurts him, because it increases his blinding anger. “He said Gabriel thinks you don’t have the brain capacity to run the family and plans to replace you.”
He’s silent a beat, his cheeks darkening as the blade stops halfway down my sternum. “Fucking liar.”
“Am I though? It feels like a sensitive topic.”
“I’ve got the fucking brain capacity, puta . Just wait and see what’s in store for Isabella.” He plunges the knife between my ribs, stealing the air from my lungs. “What he’s going to do to her was all my idea.”