Page 37 of Malevolent King

I wondered if Silvio could tell that she was lying.

“Good. I didn’t know if he’d give up that easily, that’s all. He’s a psychopath. You need to tell me if you see him around. We can’t talk about it at Casa Nera in case someone hears. No one can know we went out that night and met him,” Silvio said, sounding relieved.

“Okay, I get it,” Sofia said quietly.

Silence fell between them, and I burned with curiosity. What were they doing now?

A bang suddenly sounded in the room, as if something heavy had fallen, and then the sound of a ringing slap.

“Don’t! Silvio, what are you doing?” Sofia cried.

I had to stop myself from pushing in there and cutting his throat right then.

He laughed, a cruel, arrogant sound. “Relax, Sofia. You’re the one standing there wearing next to nothing. You’re asking for a feel.”

“No, I’m not, and I don’t want to be touched by you,” Sofia said.

“Whatever. You hardly have a figure to tempt me. Try putting on a few pounds if you want to attract a real man,” Silvio said and barged from the changing room.

He was flushed, his piggy face excited, and I’d bet he had a pathetic little stump of a chub in his ill-fitting slacks.

He strode out of the store, smoothing his greasy hair back, and Sofia turned the lock of the door.

I withdrew, silent as a shadow. Silvio already had a debt to me, considering how he had dragged Sofia away when I’d won her, but now, he’d just added to his tally.

It was time to collect.

Men like Silviowere easy because they were lazy and lived their lives by predictable routines. On a Tuesdays, he went to a whorehouse over on Mulberry Street, just like clockwork. He only took a couple of bodyguards with him.

The bodyguards were easily incapacitated. They were as lazy as their boss. I gave Silvio a good twenty minutes to get into it with his chosen company that night before barging into the room.

Silvio was lying on the bed, the twisted sheets pooling around his flabby middle. The shower was running in the bathroom, and Silvio was smoking what seemed like a postcoital cigarette.

I raised an eyebrow at him.“Don’t tell me you’re done already? I thought I’d be interrupting something, but I guess I gave you too much credit. I suppose under five minutes was a safer bet.” I stepped into the room and locked the door behind me.

Silvio’s eyes widened, and he scrambled out of bed. “What are you doing here? My men are outside,” he babbled.

I nodded, giving him a grin that sent him pale. “Yes, they were,” I said conversationally, strolling toward the bathroom. “They aren’t now.”

I knocked gently on the bathroom door.

The shower shut off.

Clearing my throat, I spoke to the woman through the door. “Sweetheart, Silvio needs to have a grown-up talk out here, and I don’t want to be interrupted. I also can’t have you seeing my face, so I’d prefer if you’d stay in there, lock the door, and don’t move until everything is quiet and done out here, okay?”

Silence met my words.

“Don’t be a hero and try to call someone. Believe me, Silvio isn’t worth it. If you understand me, get back in the shower and have a good scrub.”

After a moment, the shower switched back on.

Silvio stared between me and the door and then at his clothes lying behind me on the chair.

I reached for the pile.“Let me guess. Your gun is in here? Not very prepared, are you, Silvio?”

“What do you want, Chernov?”

“I want what I’m owed. Sofia. You bet her. I won her.”

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