Page 67 of Malevolent King

A roar of anger and the thick whack of flesh meeting flesh, and Sofia fell.

Black rage descended over me at the sight of her, crumpled on the floor. Carmella fell beside her, clutching her head, blood on her hands. Her loud sobs filled the basement.

“Now look what you idiot bitches have made me do,” Silvio cursed, gathering his calm and fiddling with his lapels. “That’s not on me, Sofia. That was your fault. Not that your father is around to do anything about it.”

Sofia had her face lowered and her hand hidden beneath her hair. Black fury crawled through my blood as I watched her collect herself. Possession so thick it choked descended.

After a long moment, she moved. Crawling over to Carmella, she wrapped an arm around the older woman’s shaking shoulders and rubbed her back reassuringly.

“Get out of here, both of you. Nikolai and I have unfinished business,” Silvio said after a minute.

The tension was thick, and his men were quiet. It was one thing to posture and boast, it was another to hit thecapo’sdaughter, even if she was your cousin.

Sofia stood, and I finally saw her face. A red hand mark marred one olive cheek, the corner of her mouth was bleeding, and her eye was rapidly blackening. How the hell the fucker had done so much damage with one heavy fist, I had no idea, but it was a certain kind of skill. He was a man practiced in hitting women, and for that reason alone, and no other, I’d skin him slowly before he died.

Sofia’s eyes met mine as she helped Carmella toward the door. She looked mournful, like she was sorry she had to leave me there with her animal of a cousin.

I tipped my head to her, a silent nod.You go, I told her with that look.I can take care of myself.

I watched her until her shadow in the stone hallway beyond the door disappeared.

“It’s not smart to smack the boss’s daughter around, is it? I guess you were first in line when they were handing out shit for brains.”

Silvio chuckled darkly. “I think you worry a little too much about the boss’s daughter. If she continues to be a problem, a prude who can’t attract a man, Antonio might just give her to me.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “You know she’s your cousin, right? I take it you skipped biology at school.”

He didn’t like that. The smart comment earned me a sharp kick to the ribs, sending me slumping to the side. I wheezed out a breath as my muscles cramped all at once.

“You don’t need to worry about my cousin. She’s mine. Maybe I’ll fuck her in here, right in front of you. Would you like that, bratva pig?”

Anger like nothing I’d ever felt before washed through me, burning hot like lava, bubbling in my veins.

I forced the image of Silvio, skinned and roasting over a spit, to the forefront of my mind to hide my reaction to his words.Soon.

Silvio reared back as my manic laughter hit the air, his anger spiking at my cheerful mood.“What the fuck are you laughing about?”

“I’m just thinking about what your wasted muscle will taste like. Then again, you have plenty of fat, which should make it more delicious,” I wheezed, and shifted my weight with an effort. His boot had cracked a few ribs.

“Oh, yeah? You want to enlighten the party and tell me what the fuck you’re talking about?”

Gathering my anger, I held it close like a life preserver in a turbulent sea. I dropped my mask of indifferent glee for a moment and let Silvio see the face of the man who would kill him slowly.“I’m talking about when I skin you, roast you, chop your body up for ease of handling… and eat you.”

My words stilled every man in the room. It wasn’t just the promise they held, it was the stone-cold, lethal certainty that rang in them. Not one of Silvio’s men doubted that I wasn’t lying. Prey knows when it’s outmatched, and Silvio paled, knowing that his death would soon be upon him.

Just to piss him off more, I lunged forward, ribs screaming, muscles protesting, and snapped my teeth at him. “Yum, yum.”

He jerked back like I’d punched him and slipped over his own shiny, pretentious loafers. He flailed without his other hand to hold on to the wall as he tried to get his balance.

When he finally caught himself, cursing and red-cheeked, he turned eyes full of hatred on me. Then he flicked his fingers at his men, needing to make up macho points for that bumbling act of embarrassment.

They descended on me in a fit of kicks and punches. Some inventive soul even employed his lit cigarette. Was it smart to goad him like that when I had no power to stop them? Probably not, but fuck me, it was worth it.

* * *

Later,an endless amount of time later, a sharp voice spoke from the door, and the beating ceased. My body blazed with pain, and I floated there, in that nothing place, untethered from the world.

Words flittered through my consciousness, disjointed and nonsensical.

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