Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
THREE DAYS LATER
ROSALIA
Between Nico’s made men and assistance from the Five Packs, we have a decent sized group for today.
Like everything else in life, it took time to blackmail a maid to poison the milk in the main house, and doctor the water that goes to the guard house.
Even if not everyone is affected, it’ll certainly put a dent in Elio’s security.
Shifting on my feet, I watch as people begin to jump the privacy bushes Elio has around the perimeter of his home.
Dario holds his hands together for me with a small smirk, and I roll my eyes in my black ski mask. All of us are disguising our identities so this doesn’t come back to bite us later. There are cameras all over the outside of the privacy bushes, and they appear to be new.
That is Elio for you though, always copying my father, even as he gets ready to go to war with him.
He’s a poor man’s Renzo Accetta and always will be.
It’s why the legacy has to die with my father.
No one is ruthless enough to hold things together without everyone fighting amongst themselves.
Even now, my uncle is showing he isn’t alpha enough to take the family from my father.
Funny enough for Papa, this may look as if I’m being a good little daughter by killing Elio. However, even if this looks like it aligns with his interests, I am only serving my own tonight.
Walking forward in my black tactical gear, I swallow back my gasp as I step into Dario’s hand and he launches me up and over the bushes.
Thankfully, Nico is there to catch me, despite my racing heart.
Pablo and Verona are staying back with Silas and Lyle tonight because they’re not quite ready for a tactical move like this.
Over the coming weeks, I’m going to be spending more time at the range with my pack to ensure all of them have the ability to remain safe, and I also want to book in more time at the gym to spar.
My family doesn’t play fair, which means Nico and I are going to show our pack how to spar while breaking all the rules.
Moving through the dark yard, I pull my weapon from my holster and stay in between Nico and Ciro. Our group fans out, and quietly snap the necks of anyone they come across. Silence is going to be our best friend in an effort to fly under the radar.
Pablo is on his computer at home, fucking with the signal for the video cameras. They’re all going dark with fuzzy pictures as we move through the property. It’s just enough to look like a fluke, while the outer perimeter cameras where we aren’t come in crystal clear.
This way, Pablo can monitor our progress and keep us safe in his own way. Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes, they’re adorable nerds with great computer skills.
“Fuck,” a guard groans. “Do you think Elio will kill me if I leave my post to take a shit?”
“Dig a hole and fertilize his fancy fucking grass. He’ll definitely kill you if you leave,” his companion mutters. “I think my asshole is pissed at me. I’m never eating anything my girlfriend makes me again.”
“Nah, you didn’t get sick till after you started your shift—”
Leaping onto his back, I press my gun to the back of his head and pull the trigger.
My silencer keeps the noise minimal, while Nico snaps the neck of his companion with the puckered asshole.
It’ll suck for him to forever be called that in my mind.
Our people get rid of the bodies, and I keep making my way to the main house as they continue to clear the yard of guards.
The back door is unlocked, and my lips twist in disgust at how much my uncle seems to trust his money to protect him. His children are all grown, and he’s trying to marry them off, much the way Papa has. Yet, he doesn’t have the same connections my father has, and his daughters are ugly.
Testing to see if the security system is on, I slowly open the door, my forehead crinkling when there’s no alarm blaring. It’s two in the morning, my house would be locked down, even if I was still awake.
Walking carefully inside, I duck behind a wall as I listen for signs of life.
“Elio! Our daughter. She’s dead!” Marissa sobs, coughing as the poison begins to eat away at her lungs. Depending on how much of the milk is ingested, the speed the poison works will vary.
“This shouldn’t be happening,” Elio croaks out. “I don’t understand! No one has been here.”
Yet, he’s wrong. The maid Shiloh got to, wished to leave Elio’s employment, and she knew the only way to do that was with her own exit package.
His house is in shambles now as he watches his family die.
I know he has a full house here based on the drone we flew over to see how many cars are in the driveway.
We’re going to need to clear the entire area of family members, which shouldn’t be too difficult.
His men are dying outside, too distracted to do their jobs, and I don’t hear any of his guards inside.
“Someone obviously poisoned us,” Marco groans. Ah, yet another of his brothers. Wonderful.
They’re all very close. When one of them decides to have a fight, the others choose sides as well.
Pulling off my mask, I shove it in my back pocket, attempting to ignore Dario’s hand signaling me to stop.
“What?” I mouth, my eyes widening to show him exactly what I think about his hand. He points to his eye and then the wall, and I make a face at him in annoyance.
Ugh. Of course I’m going to check before I walk out there. Does he think I’m an amateur?
Pulling my knife from my belt, I ease down the hallway, watching for any movements. There are too many hidden alcoves in this house, and it’s making me twitchy. Looking into the main room, I wince as I see bodies littering the area.
“What if it’s the plague?” Frank asks, one of my cousins. He’s also chosen a side, and he looks pale as he leans against the wall, breathing heavily. “This is a bad omen, Uncle.”
“Pah! You make your own luck, Frank. Go back home if you don’t want to be here,” Elio grumbles. “We have guards outside, but the sickness is in here. What good are they?”
“Indeed. They all have the shits, dear uncle. Is it that hard to employ people with stronger bowels?” I ask, stepping into the room slowly. “Consider this karmic justice, Elio. Tell me, would you have raped me too if I hadn’t cut off your fingers?”
“You said you had an accident…” Frank looks between us, trying to figure out the truth. “She’s your niece!”
“They all took turns,” I hiss. “And Papa let them. This family is cursed. I hope it doesn’t follow you into the afterlife.”
Since he was nice enough to have a little decency about what happened to me, I do him a solid and shoot him in the head.
“Aunt Marissa,” I croon. “Meet the plague that’s killing your family.”
“Undo this!” she screeches. “We didn’t touch you or your cunt. If your father decided to discipline you, that’s between you and him.”
“Rape isn’t discipline. Wrong answer,” I say in a sing-song voice, killing her next.
My pack follows me, heading upstairs to exterminate whoever is left. This isn’t a good old fashioned killing, but rather an execution with some flare. They know I can handle myself.
I’m not scared of this pathetic alpha anymore, not when the bodies of his unprotected family lay around him. He is just as angry, but mine burns hotter.
“Get on your knees, Elio. Beg me for your life.”
“Fuck you!” His hand attempts to pull his gun, and I shoot his arm and right knee, getting him to do as I insisted earlier.
“And how the mighty fall,” I croon, kicking his gun away from him when it falls to the ground.
The door opens loudly and my hand with the gun swings in that direction a second before my eyes follow.
“We’re just here for back up,” Carter says, pulling off his mask. “Do whatever you need to without judgment.”
Pack Nisim stands quietly at the wall, and Grant tosses a bag toward me.
“I like to bring my own torture tools to a party,” he says, his blue eyes sparkling with danger behind his mask. He holds himself in a way that reminds me of a police officer or someone in the military, and I nod in thanks as I reach for the bag.
Elio groans, and I pull out a stun gun in his line of sight.
“I will ask these nice men to fry your knot until I’m ready for you if you don’t shut up,” I grumble.
“I’ll happily do that,” Carter smirks. “Grant, lock the door behind me. I’m going in.”
My lips twitch at his light heartedness as he wrestles off Elio’s pants.
He’s still fully dressed for this late at night.
It’s amazing to me that he didn’t bother to call a doctor, though my family isn’t much for hospitals.
Dr. Walsh is no longer employed by the Accetta’s, which is bad luck for them.
Picking up the stun gun, Carter punches my uncle in the face while his other hand fries his knot. He continues the process every time Elio looks like he’s going to fight back.
“Is anyone else alive in this room?” I ask, finding fun treasures in the bag. Pack Nisim knows how to party.
While one of them checks the bodies in the room, I pick up some barbed wire while Carter shifts his focus to hold down my uncle for me.
“The reason I was such easy prey for you all is because Papa forced me to drink whiskey until I could barely stand,” I murmur, wrapping the wire tightly around Elio’s thigh. He hisses as it cuts into him, and I painstakingly continue to wrap different pieces around random body parts.
Blood slides down his skin, staining it as I lift a hammer next. “I’m not drunk or weak now, stronzo. If you wanted to go to war with Papa, maybe you should have made sure I wasn’t a threat.”
“Why are you protecting him?” Elio screams.
“I’m not. I just want to punish him for his very real crimes against his kin. Same as I’m doing now.”
Slamming down the club hammer onto the wire, I laugh when he screams in pain. I can’t help how unhinged it sounds.
“Keep going,” Carter grunts. “I’ve never seen anyone use a hammer quite like that before. I’m impressed.”
“I may as well use the foundation I’ve laid, right?”