Page 68 of Satin Empire

“I’m going to take his tongue and his eyes and I’m going to let him live after that.” The Russian sobs harder, the pathetic bastard. “He’ll be a warning to everyone in the fucking city. If you come anywhere near my family, this is what happens.”

Saul whistles and shakes his head. “Sick shit.”

“I’m aware.” I stare at him hard. “Would you do anything different for your wife?”

“Not at all.” He stretches his back and sighs. “Let’s get this over with. I’m fucking starving.”

The Russian screams and begs in a combination of his native tongue and English, but none of it matters, and I don’t show any mercy.

* * *

“This is really good coffee,” Alana says as she takes a sip. She leans against my shoulder. “Did you make it yourself?”

“Yeah, right,” Molly says with a sharp laugh. “Carlo, make coffee?”

“He cooked for me,” Alana says, grinning huge.

Everyone stares at me. I sigh and lean back with a smug smile. “You all think you know me so damn well, but I’m full of surprises.”

“Full of something,” Maddie mutters, getting a laugh from everyone.

The back garden looks gorgeous in the early morning. The butterfly bushes wave in the breeze, and little Brando is running around with Saul’s kid, Vincenzo. Even Renzo makes an appearance. He limps down from his office, still moving stiffly from his injury last year, and sits beside Maddie at the table. Gian and Allegra show up, and they unleash Cassie on the other littles, and the kid pack roams around the flowers and bushes while the adults have a pleasant, oddly normal conversation, considering the slaughter that just took place downstairs.

“Do you two have any plans for what you’re doing with that warehouse?” Allegra asks, making conversation. I glance over at Alana, but she’s busy talking to Molly about motherhood. I like the way my wife’s cheeks are pink and she looks so damn happy sitting with everyone like this.

“I’ve got some ideas. Turns out, my wife isn’t all that interested in helping me out, though.”

Allegra waves that away. “That’s a good thing, right? It’s better if you two aren’t doing the exact same stuff all the time.”

“I don’t know, you should’ve seen the way she handled the warehouse’s former owner. He was this crotchety old German guy, and Alana practically sweet-talked him into selling. I doubt I would’ve gotten it without her.”

“He was totally useless,” Alana says, suddenly paying attention to my conversation. “You should’ve seen him. It’s like Carlo doesn’t know the word diplomatic.”

“Yep, sounds like him,” Saul agrees.

“Carlo can be diplomatic, but only if the diplomacy involves a gun,” Renzo adds, which is extremely helpful.

I glare at them all. “I am a very subtle and friendly person.”

“Friendly, maybe, but definitely not subtle.” Allegra waves a fork at me. “I guess you’re lucky you married a good one.”

I lean back and smirk at my lovely wife. She’s blushing a bit, and I can tell she doesn’t like all the positive attention. “We’re trying to figure out what she wants to do now that she’s not stuck dealing with my little project. Any ideas?”

“I could always use help in the garden,” Maddie says.

Molly throws a napkin at her. “Quit trying to make people dig holes for you. Nobody wants to dig holes.”

“It’s not all digging,” Maddie complains.

“If she’s good with people, she should think about doing something with that,” Allegra says, looking thoughtful.

I agree with her. Alana tries to argue that she just got lucky, but nobody’s buying her false modesty, and anyway, I was there. I saw the way she put on the charm for that old bastard. The second she started batting her eyelashes and acting all cute and nice, he basically crumpled and handed over the keys.

“We have sales positions,” Renzo says through a mouth full of bagel. “She could do something with that.”

“My wife isn’t going to be a salesman for one of your shitty businesses,” I say, glaring at my older brother.

“What about nursing?” Molly asks. “I mean, you’d need a degree, but you’re still pretty young.”

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