Stephan

“Are you sure you want to do this?” My cousin, Damon, asked me first, and I said yes without hesitation.

Like Nino and me, Damon was tall, with black wavy hair, olive skin, and around the same build. Most of the men on our father’s side of the family looked like Grandpa Sal.

After thinking over our father’s deception, my brother agreed to come with me to Italy. Together, we could start a new life with Isabella and our Calabrian family.

Damon’s gaze shifted to Nino. “You going, too?”

Nino took a sip from his glass of scotch and nodded. “How soon do we leave?”

“I have a ship arriving in Boston in the morning. You’d have to leave in the next few hours if you want to make it in time. It’s not the same accommodations as last time.”

He was referring to the boat Isabella was on with Carmella.

“That’s fine.” I set my scotch on the table between us. “I don’t care if we have to sleep in the engine room. Just get us out of the country. When will Isabella be in Calabria?”

“In a few days.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s on Grandpa Sal’s yacht. Dom is taking care of her.”

I gave him a sideways look, wondering what that meant. But I didn’t bother to ask. Dom was my cousin, one of my grandfather’s most trusted men, and loyal to the family. Unlike my father. I still couldn’t get over the fact he was a rat. At least with Dom, Isabella was safe. I knew he would take care of her and keep his hands to himself.

“What about the Senator?”

He scratched the corner of his jaw, a smirk slowly forming on his face. “My men picked him up earlier. Want to see him?”

A smile turned up the corners of my mouth. “As if you even had to ask.”

Damon finished off the amber liquid in his glass and set it on the table as he rose to his feet. “What do you want me to do with him?”

“Slit his fucking throat,” Nino said.

“No,” I shot back. “Death is too easy. He deserves to have everything taken from him piece by piece.”

Damon’s hazel eyes gleamed under the lights in his dark club. “What do you have in mind?”

“I need a confession first.”

Damon buttoned his suit jacket. “Torture, then?”

I nodded.

Nino rubbed his hands together with a creepy grin.

After all the years of being forced to do Senator Parisi’s dirty work, Nino was more than ready to take this motherfucker down. He deserved much worse than what I had planned. But we had a short window before we had to leave for Boston.

I grinned so fucking much my face hurt. Senator Parisi was strung up in the basement of Damon’s club by his ankles, without a shirt, and his hands tied behind his back. A handkerchief covered his mouth. Tears streamed down his reddened cheeks. He tried to scream when he looked at me, his dark eyes full of hatred. The more he tried to kick and shake free from his shackles, the more energy he wasted. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Even when I had control over this man, he still couldn’t stop fighting. At least he wasn’t a fucking pussy. I had to give him that. Most men would have crumbled in this situation, maybe even begged for mercy. But not Senator Robert Parisi. He still thought he was invincible.

Standing in front of him, with a wicked smirk plastered on my face, I tugged the fabric away from his mouth.

“Let me down, you piece of shit,” he yelled.

I crossed my arms over my chest and laughed. This was the first and only time I would ever get the best of this man. Because of that, I wanted to savor every second.

Nino stood at my side, a sharpened blade in his hand and the same evil grin crossing his lips. We had used this tactic dozens of times. With the blood rushing to Senator Parisi’s head, it wouldn’t be long after Nino sliced him open before he lost consciousness. Even though I wanted my vengeance, I let Nino do the honors.

Nino dragged the knife along the Senator’s chest. A trail of blood ran down his body, over his right shoulder, and onto the floor. I wanted to cut into his flesh until every last drop of his blood was pooled on the floor at my feet. But I needed information from him. His confession was the key to Isabella’s freedom as well as mine. And his downfall couldn’t be his death. That would be too kind. He hadn’t earned my mercy.

“You sick fucks,” Senator Parisi growled. “You will pay for this. Mark my words.” His last breath was ragged as if he expelled the last of his energy to get it out. He closed his eyes for a second and breathed through his nose.

“If anyone is going to pay, it will be you, Senator,” I shot back.

Glancing at Nino, I tilted my head to Senator Parisi to tell him to keep going. This time, Nino stuck the knife into his neck, slicing deeper than before. Blood dripped onto the cement floor, right in front of my Ferragamo oxfords. I took a step back, careful not to ruin my dress shoes.

“What did you do with my daughter?” Senator Parisi could barely get out the words.

“Ruined her,” I said to piss him off even more. “Like I’m going to do to you.”

“You’re just a boy.” He spoke with one eye open, kicking his feet to try to shake free without any luck. “You have no power.”

“For someone who’s tied up and bleeding to death, you still think you hold all the cards.” I hunched down next to him. “You killed your own son. I know the truth. Your daughter knows the truth, too.”

“Mark wasn’t my son,” he countered.

“But you killed him. Admit it. You had someone push Mark off the roof at the charity event, and then you tried to pin it on me.”

“What’s your point?”

He was so fucking stubborn, something we had in common. But even I knew when I was on the losing side. There was no way he was getting out of this basement without giving me what I needed. His demise was the only way I could have a legitimate future with Isabella. She deserved better than a fugitive who would have to be on the run for the rest of his life, which would make her one, too. And I couldn’t do that to her.

“Just admit it, Senator.” I squeezed the cut on his neck and smirked as his blood poured onto the floor. “And maybe I’ll let you live.”

“I had Mark killed,” he confessed. “Satisfied? Now let me down.”

I looked up at Nino, who had a greedy look in his eyes. He wanted to kill Senator Parisi. Nino was part of every bullshit mission I had to endure over the years, all at the Senator’s request. Under different circumstances, I would have helped him whack this asshole in a second. If only that were possible.

Damon remained quiet, with his cell phone held out in front of him to record our conversation. Mark’s death wasn’t enough to force the Senator’s hand. We needed more.

“I never threatened you,” I said to Senator Parisi. “You fabricated the evidence.”

He shot me a pained look. “So, what? You were interfering with my plans for my daughter. I did what I had to do to get you out of the equation.”

“You mean I was messing with your re-election campaign. Don’t even pretend like you give a shit about Isabella.”

“I love my daughter,” he said, defensive. It was hard to believe he loved anyone but himself. “What did you do to her?”

“You’ll never see her again. She wants nothing to do with you.”

Sucking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes. The Senator wouldn’t last much longer at this rate. He was losing consciousness by the second. I had to get this over with—and fast. Damon raised his other arm to show me the Rolex on his wrist, telling me we didn’t have much time left. The ship was departing from Boston in the morning, leaving us without much room.

“Got what we need?” I asked Damon.

He nodded.

I pushed myself up from the floor and brushed my hands down the front of my slacks. “Thanks, Senator. I have everything I need from you.”

He sucked in a sharp breath and sighed. “Just kill me and get it over with already.”

I laughed. “I’m not going to kill you.”

“Then what the fuck do you want?”

“Tomorrow, you’re going to have the charges dropped against me. Tell the FBI it was a misunderstanding and that you overreacted. And then you’re going to withdraw your nomination to the Senate.”

He snorted. “Not gonna happen. I’ve been a United States Senator for over twenty years.”

“If you don’t, you’ll get a piece of Isabella in the mail every week for the next year.”

“You wouldn’t,” he growled.

Staring down at him, I moved my hands to my hips. “Try me.”

“And then we’ll repeat the same process with every member of your family,” Nino added, “saving you for last.”

“I don’t have any family left.”

“Your mother is still alive,” Nino said. “She lives in Connecticut with your younger sister. We’ll start with them.”

“Fine,” Senator Parisi whispered.

I’d never seen him so vulnerable, and it brought a smile to my face. He’d caused Isabella so much pain, so much heartbreak. Everything he had coming to him was well deserved. Too bad I wouldn’t be there to watch his downfall.

“If you try to back out, Damon and his men will be there, watching over you. My father can’t help you anymore.”

He closed his eyes and kept them shut. Blood ran down his chest and neck, still dripping onto the floor. As expected, he lost consciousness.

Isabella was free from this man. I couldn’t wait to see the look on her beautiful face when I told her everything was about to change, and this time, for the better.