27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
V iktor
“I want this cleaned up,” I barked at my men while pointing to Isabella’s dead body. “No trace found. You got it? Find her car. Make it disappear. Find her men. They won’t be far. Eliminate them. Get the name of every business between here and the Italians. No one saw anything. I want this bitch vanished.”
My men moved quickly, with the lead delegating who did what, taking the Italian’s body with them. Roger already had our computer people altering footage throughout the area. I only had my wife left to contend with.
I marched into the bedroom, ready to beat her ass. But when I walked in, I found her standing with her nose in the corner. It soothed my temper some. She really did try to be a good girl for me.
I sat on the bed. “Come here, milyy. Stand before me.”
Tiffany did what she was told without hesitation. She kept her head bowed.
“Did you invite her here?”
Tiffany shrugged. “Why would you think that?”
“Because you are dressed to receive guests, Isabella’s men are not here with her, and any visitors to the building would have not been allowed past security without your express permission.”
“Yes, I invited her,” she confessed.
“Why?”
When she inhaled deeply, I knew she was going to lie. But then the heavy exhale told me she changed her mind. “So I could kill her.”
“How?”
“Poison.”
“Ingested?”
Tiffany shook her head.
“Then how?”
“My ring scratched her when she fake hugged me.”
I had noticed the vintage trinket on her finger, and had made a note to replace it with something more suitable, but figured it was a family heirloom because she never took it off.
I held out my palm. “Give it to me.”
My wife’s shoulders slumped as she pulled the ring off and handed it over. I studied the poison jewelry, while recalling memories I had of her fidgeting with it every time I upset her. I opened it to find a tiny needle; one that was overly sharp, and likely hollow like a fang on a snake.
“You have put me in a difficult position,” I said, with more control than I felt. I closed and pocketed the ring.
“She tried to kill me first.”
“She should have not been here in the first place.” I began undressing my wife. “Have I ever told you about Alexie?”
“No.”
“I’m second born. My brother, Alexie, used to be the heir.”
“What happened?” she asked, stepping out of the pool of fabric around her ankles.
“He betrayed my father by sleeping with the Don’s wife. He was banished. The alliance between us and the Italians has been strained since.”
I paused to reflect, thinking back to him impregnating Gianna. I couldn’t help but feel that he would have run the Bratva into the ground if he had been in charge. Reckless.
“Then he got what he deserved,” she said quietly as I removed my belt. “Don’t you think?”
“Yes, but you too have put us in a precarious position with the mafia. This might be the slight that tips the scales, propelling us into an all-out war with the Italian syndicate in the area.”
“I’m sorry.” She looked at the folded belt in my hand, then ducked her head and worried her fingers.
“You undermine my authority when you make decisions like this without me.” I pulled her over my lap. “I cannot allow that, Tiffany.”
What I did next was brutal.
When it was all said and done, I had laid enough stripes across her ass and thighs to break her. She didn’t even plead for mercy anymore. Just sobbed quietly. There was usually something satisfying about breaking the spirit of those I tortured, but this made me sad.
We sat in the quiet after I had put aside the belt. I rubbed her back until her breathing evened out. I then moved Tiffany to the bed, keeping her on her stomach. I gave her proper aftercare, so the few welts that broke the skin didn’t get infected.
I then got in the bed and held her until she fell asleep.
Tomorrow, I would have to move us to my father’s house. This place was no longer safe, especially for Tiffany to be home alone.