Page 98 of Born into Sin

His eyes remain swollen shut, but he turns his head at the sound of my voice. It’s not a big movement, but it’s enough to let me know that he’s still alive and coherent. He mumbles something, but with the way they’ve torn his mouth to shreds from all the punches, there’s no way in hell he’s going to be able to form words.

“I’m Dominic Alessi,” I tell him, saving us all the frustration of having to listen to him mumble and moan an answer. “When I first saw you, you had just beaten my fiancée and were in the process of trying to rape her.” I scoot in closer so the next time I speak, I’m inches from his face, making him flinch in surprise. “My pregnant fiancée.”

He moans, and I’m sure if he could speak, he would go on and on about how sorry he is, about how he didn’t mean to, and about how he never would’ve dared lay a finger on her if he’d known she was mine. He’d spew all kinds of bullshit if he thought it might save him or earn him a quick end to his misery. Too bad for him I’m not the forgiving type, especially not when it comes to my principessa.

“There are few things I hate in life as much as a fucking rapist, Alexei. You’re an asshole, a fucking pathetic man who preys on women, and you deserve every fucking thing I’m about to do to you.”

I step back and take my suit jacket off and toss it at Sandro. He almost doesn’t catch it because Vitaly has apparently decided to share his snacks with him as well and his hand is full of them. I try not to think about sticky hands touching my expensive Armani jacket.

Alexei has no idea what’s coming, and his body shakes in fear, trying like hell to guess what’s about to happen. Making him unable to see was a stroke of fucking genius, and I’m glad it adds to his torment. I’m sure it’s nothing compared to how scared my girl was, though.

I punch him in the side, hitting the ribs that someone has already broken, earning a satisfying scream from Alexei. I let it run through me, feeding the darkness that’s always lived inside me. Normal men don’t survive in the mafia. It’s not a job that any sane man can handle, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve fucking thrived in it. It’s the only kind of life I know, so I embrace it and punch him again and again and again, only stopping when I know a few more punches will kill him, and he’s not allowed to die yet.

Grabbing his limp dick, I press the blade against the base of his shaft. “Natalya says hi, Alexei. This is from her,” I tell him, smiling at the whimper he gives when I press the blade in harder and see-saw the knife across his tender skin. I fight back my own need to cringe, because as much as he deserves this, I still can’t help but imagine how fucking bad this would hurt.

When I’m halfway through, I hear Vitaly say, “Ouch. It’s making my dick hurt just watching this.”

A few more back-and-forth swipes of the blade and his dick is severed and I’m tossing it aside to roll away on the concrete floor.

Alexei gasps, sobbing as blood and snot seep from his broken nose. He has only a few minutes left, so I make the most of it. I press the blade against his balls, angling the blade so I’m as high up as I can get.

“And this is from me,” I tell him, sawing through and cutting off his nutsack before tossing it to lay next to his severed dick.

“Fucking gross, man,” Vitaly tells me, but I’m too busy watching Alexei bleed out from the gaping wound I’ve given him to comment.

He’s going to die exactly how a fucking piece of shit like him should die—in an extreme amount of pain and knowing that not a single person is going to give a fuck that he’s no longer breathing. I make no excuses for the cold-blooded killer I am, but I don’t prey on women, and I’ve never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it. Is that toeing the line of ethics? Maybe, but I don’t give a fuck. Life is never black and white, and for those of us who live in the dark grey areas, there are still lines that no man should ever cross.

“Nicely done,” Lev says, walking over and standing next to me so we can both watch Alexei take his last, shaky breath. I keep my eyes on his chest, making damn sure it’s no longer rising and falling, and when I’m satisfied that he is really dead, I hold my hand out so Dario can toss me a rag. After I’ve cleaned the blade, I hand it back to Lev.

“Thanks for letting me end him.”

Lev’s arms are crossed over his chest, one hand scratching at the scruff on his face, deep in thought and clearly not eager to say what he’s about to say. Finally, he looks over at me.

“It was your kill. He beat and tried to rape Natalya. She may be my daughter, but she’s your woman. When Sebastian hurt Jolene, all I could think about was hurting him and making him pay. If her dad wasn’t the piece of shit he was, I still wouldn’t have wanted to step aside and let him take care of it. The kill was mine, just like this was yours.”

Lev and I may not ever be the hugging type with one another, but this kill was the sweetest damn gift he could’ve ever given me, and I won’t forget it.

“I’ll call some of our guys to come and take care of this,” Roman says, already pulling out his phone to text someone.

“How’s Vitya doing?” I ask them, knowing Natalya’s been worried about him.

“He’ll make it,” Vitaly tells me. “He’s damn lucky Sveta found him when she did.” I can hear how proud he is of her when he says, “I can’t believe she demanded they do an immediate blood transfusion. Vein to fucking vein, Dominic.”

“She’s stubborn,” I tell him, not that he doesn’t already know that.

“She fucking hates the sight of blood,” he says with a laugh.

Val comes to stand beside us. “She’s never going to let him forget that she saved him. He’s going to wish she’d never found him.”

Vitaly laughs and nudges his son’s shoulder with his own. “I’m going to have to make sure she doesn’t convince him to let her break the rules because he owes her his life.”

“You think my sweet niece would do that?” Danil asks with a smile. “That doesn’t sound like Sveta at all.”

“Yeah, yeah, have your fun,” Vitaly tells us. “She is her father’s child.”

“She probably ate a bag of fruit snacks on the way to the hospital,” Matvey jokes.

“That’s my girl,” Vitaly says. Turning to me, he smiles. “It’s an excellent source of vitamin C.”

---