Page 43 of Malevolent King

Silvio shook his head, blowing out a hard sigh as if the urge to wring my neck was nearly too strong. “I’m threateningyou. Watch your back,” he tossed over his shoulder at me before striding out of the room, fussing with his wet slacks.

I watched him go and then turned to the burning eyes staring a hole in my face. Antonio sat with his fingers steepled, frowning at me over his fingertips. Conversation had resumed, but his attention didn’t waver.

He summoned me to his side with a jerk of his head. “You look tired. Check on our guest and make sure he eats something. Kirill Chernov is cutting us a nice slice of profit and will continue to do so, but we can’t let his brother die, unfortunately. Take Angelo with you.”

My heart leaped at the same time as nerves crashed against it inside my weak chest. Did I seriously want to see Nikolai? Yes, I did. I wanted to know how he was with my own eyes, crazy as that was. He’d saved my life only hours ago, and nothing could change that. The very fact of it had changed us both. No one had ever sacrificed something for me before. It filled me with an unfamiliar sensation of gratitude and guilt.

I left the room, anticipation brewing in my veins. Would he hate me now that he knew I’d betrayed him? Would he turn his back to me or be furious? For some twisted reason, I felt like I’d prefer his wrath to his dismissal.

I was almost in the kitchen when Silvio caught up to me. Clamping a hard hand on my arm, he dragged me down a small corridor. Angelo waited at the top, his face impassive. My bodyguard was well-versed in the hierarchy in Casa Nera and knew better than to interfere. Silvio and Franco were above my father’s rules when it came to me.

“What is it?” I demanded, ripping my arm from Silvio’s grip.

Silvio leered at me. There was a note of excitement in his eyes. The man looked like he was on something strong, and for all I knew, he was.

“Did Chernov say anything to you about what happened five years ago?”

I rolled my eyes. “What, the poker game?”

Silvio flinched. “No,stupida, the hand.”

The mention of Silvio’s missing appendage pulled my eyes toward his empty jacket sleeve. A faint feeling of nausea rose in me at the sight. “What would he say? You made a bet, lost, and decided not to keep it. He took your hand in punishment. What else is there to say?”

The memory of what had happened to Silvio’s hand turned my stomach. Silvio had never elaborated on the exact events, but I knew it was Nikolai who had cut it off, despite my cousin lying to Antonio. Silvio had no doubt feared telling his capo why he’d gotten into that situation in the first place, so had made up an excuse instead.

I knew it was Nikolai because he’d sent me the severed hand in a gift-wrapped box. He’d placed it inside my locker at school for me to open before class. I’d never forget the sight of the severed hand nestled in pretty pink tissue paper.

Silvio snorted and looked back and forth along the corridor, stepping into me. His eyes turned speculative. “So, what happened between you two?”

I fought to hide my guilty expression. “Nothing.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Nothing? You mean to tell me Nikolai fucking Chernov had you alone for days, and nothing happened? You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie?”

“Because you don’t want Antonio to find out you’re more damaged goods than he thought you were,” Silvio said. He pressed me back one more step, and I shuddered. “Maybe you gave it up to him, or he took it, and you’re covering for him.”

“If he took anything from me, I wouldn’t hide it. I’d let my father kill him. Him and any other man who tried it,” I said, my voice barely wavering.

Silvio paused, narrowing his eyes at me. The tension between us swarmed with our shared past, his lust, and my disgust.

Then he smirked. “Well, maybe I should suggest toZioAntonio that he have you checked. I’m sure I could scare up a doctor who does that sort of thing, or I’ll volunteer. What do you think, cousin? A little just-the-tip action to prove that you didn’t give it up to the punk downstairs.”

His hand was still holding my arm, and his thumb stroked upward, and I shivered with anger. My skin felt like it might crawl right off my body.

“Take your goddamn hand off me, or I’ll go to my father and tell him everything. All about the poker game, your hand, and the fact that you have a pathetic little hard-on for your own cousin.”

My scathing tone sent red crawling up Silvio’s face. He stepped back, and I pulled my arm firmly from his grip. Weakness was a siren call to men like Silvio, and I couldn’t afford to show it.

“Now, if you’d care to fuck off, I have something to do for the boss. The man who owns you, remember?” I drew my dignity around me like a cloak. I couldn’t let Silvio get to me. He was looking for a reaction, any tiny one would do, and I didn’t want to give him any kind of win.

He studied me for a long moment. I knew that look. Silvio might not be an intelligent man, but he was cunning in a way that unnerved me.

“You run along to that business then, but don’t forget, you aren’t alone with Chernov anymore. If I see even a hint of sympathy for the man who maimed me, I won’t hesitate to tell Antonio my suspicions, and that fucker won’t leave here alive.”

14

SOFIA

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