Greg stared at the video on his phone with a newfound anger. This time not aimed at Nora.

Blake had sent him the link with the warning that Greg needed to listen to Nora. Get as much of the story from her as possible before he went off halfcocked.

Greg had snorted at the text. He didn’t do halfcocked. He went full cock every time. And his fucking brother should know that.

Pressing play, he watched the video again.

Antonio Carpelli had been found, shot in the back of his flower shop. The police were looking for the shop worker, wanting to question her. Nora’s picture appeared on the screen with the name Elenora Santucci.

Clicking off the video, he dropped the phone onto the counter. Going back to Chicago would be tricky. Even if she gave a statement of what she witnessed, he doubted it would matter. If the brothers had let Antonio’s body be found, and let the investigation point at Nora, it’s because they had wanted it to.

There would be no fair trial here. Nora would take the fall for the hit.

He scrubbed his hands over his face. Well, fuck! Now he had to extract the truth from Nora, then inform her of the turn of events, and then figure out a fucking way to get her out of the mess.

He hadn’t been named on the news. The cops who’d shown up at The Bar either weren’t cops, or they worked for the Santinelli family and weren’t on the investigation team.

The cage rattling from the other room drew his attention. She’d been in there for almost an hour.

When he first plucked the cane from his cabinet he’d been sure she wouldn’t be able to handle more than a few licks. He would have stopped once he was sure she’d be cooperative. But he hadn’t planned on seeing her unfold before him.

Positioned as she was, he had been able to make out every bit of her pussy while he disciplined her. She had clenched and wiggled, but after only three strokes of the cane her pussy lips were coated with her arousal. He doubted she had even realized that between her cries, she moaned for him.

He’d had to ramp up the punishment then. He needed her to focus on the negative; she needed to know that if she wasn’t going to be a good girl, she’d regret it.

Walking down the hall toward his playroom, he heard a sniffle. He let out a long breath. He’d never spanked a woman like he had Nora. This wasn’t a game, this wasn’t just a little punishment before some hardcore fucking. This was life and death. This was her needing to realize she wasn’t in control anymore.

He was.

Leaning against the doorframe, he took in the sight of her in the cage. She was huddled in the far corner, her knees drawn up to her chest and his T-shirt tugged over her legs. Her forehead was pressed against her knees, and her shoulders shook slightly. The short locks of her hair shrouded her features.

“Nora.” He cleared his throat and stepped into the room. “This is your last chance to be a good girl and tell me everything.” He kept his tone even, hiding his concern from her. If she knew the danger surrounding her now, she’d be more likely to fight him to leave than to listen to him.

She nodded. A small gesture, but he caught it.

He unlocked the door and opened the cage, the slight squeal of the metal lingering between them.

“Come out now,” he ordered, standing to the side of the opening. He wouldn’t let her get to her feet, not yet anyway. Not until she’d cooperated.

Slowly, she moved to her hands and knees and made her way out of the cage. Once in front of him, she started to rise, but he stilled her with a hand on her shoulder. “No. Stay.”

He noted the little flare of her nostrils and the tightness of her jaw. His little pet didn’t like taking orders. But at least she didn’t argue with him.

Smart pet.

“Now, tell me everything.” The command was given low and firm. There would be no other chances, this was it. “Understand that any dishonesty will be dealt with, Nora. I won’t tolerate it.”

She nodded again. “My ass hurts,” she said.

He shrugged with indifference.

“Not my fault or my problem. Now speak.” He snapped his fingers.

A heavy sigh fell from her lips, but when she raised her gaze up, the strength she carried glimmered up at him. Her cheeks were stained with tears, her eyes red and puffy, but the steel in her hadn’t softened.

Good.

“Nora—”

“Give me a second,” she snapped.

“No. No more seconds.” He shook his head.

“Antonio was responsible for my father’s death,” she huffed. “Fuck that, he killed my father.”

“Okay, so you were working at the shop for what? Revenge? You were going to kill him? Or maybe you hired Teo and Anthony? Is that what they meant by they had business with you?”

She shook her head.

“No. I’m not sure why they killed him, or what they meant by that.”

“You were going to kill Antonio?”

She laughed. “Yeah. That had been the original plan.” She ran her fingers over her cheeks, wiping away the last bit of moisture left from her tears.

“And now?”

“Now?”

“Yeah, you said you had planned to kill him. So, what changed?”

“Well, for one, he’s already dead.” She raised her eyebrows at him. “But, well, I wasn’t positive he’d been the one to pull the trigger on my dad. I knew it in my gut, but I wanted to be certain. Have proof.”

“How the hell were you going to get that?” Greg imagined her poking her nose around Antonio’s office, into his business dealings, and getting caught. The little caning he’d given her would have been a blessing compared to what those men would do to her.

“I hadn’t figured that out yet. First, I needed to get close to him.” Nora groaned and put her head back. She was tired, worn out from the crying and the spanking.

“Have you ever killed someone before?” Greg asked after letting a long stretch of silence pass them.

“No.” She looked back into his eyes. For once, he believed her, completely. “Have you?”

His insides jerked at the question, but he kept his gaze steady on her. She’d been honest with him, and he wouldn’t become a hypocrite now.

“Yes.” He gave a sharp nod. “I told you I was in the marines.” He reached over to her, running his hand over her head and enjoying the feel of her soft tresses. “You’re tired and need some rest.”

She started to get up again, but he pressed down on her head. “No, pet. You stay here.” He jerked his thumb back to the cage. “I’ll get you a blanket and pillow, but this is where you stay until we come up with a plan.”

“I’m not your fucking pet, Greg. I’m Nora. A human fucking being.” She bounded to her feet and shoved at him with both hands. He had been ready for her though and caught her wrists.

Spinning her around, he shoved her toward the wall. Pinning her against it, he delivered a dozen swats to her already red and slightly bruised backside. She screamed, but it was more out of frustration than the pain of it, he figured, since she hadn’t struggled to get away from him.

“I’m well aware of who you are. And after you have a nap, after I feed you your lunch, we’ll talk about what our next steps are. But I like you this way, caged and punished. You’re more honest, you’re more open, more settled this way.” He grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it up over her head. She yanked back, trying to stop him, but she wasn’t much of a match for him with all her fight having been used during her attempt to push him over.

“No!” She tried to grab for it, but he pushed her back against the wall. Pressing his body to her naked back, he swiped the hair away from her ear.

“You’re my little pet now, Nora. You’ll do everything I say when I say it. If I call you, you’ll come. If I feed you, you’ll eat, and if I tell you go to your cage, you’ll go.” His hands roamed down her back, delighting in the curves of her body, pinching her hip when he came to it. His already attentive cock pulsed in his jeans at the high-pitched squeal she gave.

His fingers ran over the welts, but he didn’t push on them—this time. Moving lower, he watched her mouth; her lips parted, the breath rushing out from between them as his fingers sought out her heat.

And when he did, when his fingers became coated in her arousal, she closed those beautiful brown eyes of hers, and bit down on her lower lip.

“You like being my pet,” he whispered into her ear.

“No. I don’t know why—I don’t.” She tried to shake her head, but he was too close.

Slipping a finger up into her sex, he grinned at the low moan she let slip.

“You don’t understand it, but you do.” He pressed his lips to the outer shell of her ear, then to just behind her ear. “And I like it, too.” He pumped his fingers in and out of her, fast and hard, giving her enough space between their bodies for her to move, when she started to wiggle with his movements. Her ass pushed out, her legs widened. She didn’t like this? Bullshit. She didn’t like loving it.

“Such a good pet,” he whispered again. “Do you want to come for me? Do you want to coat my hand with your cum?”

“No.” She shook her head, but then arched her back to meet his thrust when he plowed his fingers inside her again.

“Are we back to lying, pet?” he asked with a chuckle.

“No. Oh, fuck. No.” She slapped her hands against the wall, clenching her eyes closed. Her pussy, tight and hot, squeezed his fingers. She was close to becoming unraveled.

“You can’t come unless you admit you want it. Tell me you want me to make you come. Beg me to let you fucking come all over my fingers.” He twisted his hand, curling his fingers and finding that little spot that shoved her right to the edge.

“Oh!” she cried out, slapping the wall again. “Oh, fuck. Yes. Yes.” She nodded, moving her hips with the motions of his hand, fucking his fingers as much he was fucking her.

“Tell me, pet, ask me to let you come.” He found her swollen clit with his little finger and flicked over it gently.

“Yes! Greg! Please. I have to come, please let me! Let me come! Please!”

The urge to deny her was outweighed by the plea in her tone.

“Oh, please.” She bit down on her bottom lip. Her orgasm was at the boiling point, she was going to explode, but she was waiting for him. She really was trying to hold back until he gave permission.

She was fucking perfect.

“Come for me, pet,” he whispered and watched in awe as she nodded and let her body go. Her pussy gripped down on his fingers, but he continued to pump into her, guiding her to the crest of her pleasure and easing her back down. She screamed and cried and cursed through every wave. His little pet held nothing back from him.

How could he have gotten so lucky to have found her?

When her orgasm ebbed to silence and her body sagged against him, he removed his fingers from her and sucked them clean, needing a taste of her. He would crave her now, but it didn’t matter. He tucked her against his chest and carried her back to the cage.

She eased down to her knees with no more pressure from him and lazily crawled inside. Lying down on her side, she pulled her knees up again, exposing her swollen and wet sex to him.

He quickly retrieved a blanket and a pillow from the closet and put them inside the cage. It wasn’t large enough for him to go inside to cover her—a fact that had never pissed him off before but did now. He would have to build a larger one.

“Sleep, Nora.” He patted her bare foot, the only part of her body he could reach and closed the door, once again locking her inside.

She’d given him a lot of information to think about.

And the hardest cock he’d ever suffered in his life.