Page 217 of Forced Vows

I can forgive him. Maybe.

And only because I am as much to blame as he is. I was there too.

"You're not just a criminal," I say with disgust. "You're a stupid criminal. Because you tried to take what is mine and you will pay for that."

"Starting now." Róise wraps her hand around her kubotan like it's an icepick.

Just like I taught her. Then her thumb over the bottom of the stick, adding her free hand for more power.

This is going to hurt. Anticipation for the cries of pain coming have me almost smiling.

My fierce fiancée jabs straight into his solar plexus. "That's for carrying me around like a sack of potatoes and jamming your stupid shoulder into my diaphragm."

She's not done. Her next strike is his groin area. Right in the nuts, like she said she wanted to.

It's a good target for maximizing pain. The man shrieks.

She turns to the mission leader. "You were right about one thing. I desire the man I'm going to marry very much, but he doesn't need to try to rule over me to feel powerful." She gives me a heated look. "He's too strong to need to prop himself up like that."

I don't know what this stronzo said to Róise but it sure pissed her off. Her first strike is to his groin and the second to his temple, knocking him out cold.

"You think you're tough," the other younger man sneers. "You have to have a man hold me so you can get us."

"And you had to have two men hold me so you could put those zip ties on me, asshole." She strikes him on the throat with enough force to collapse his trachea.

He throws his head back, mouth gaping, but he's not breathing much less speaking.

"Oh, did I crush your windpipe?" Róise asks with fake sweetness. "That's too bad. I'm sure you have so much more to say."

"I'm so turned on right now."

Róise doesn't answer. She's watching the man struggle to get air but it's not happening.

She looks up at me with absolute trust tinged by panic. "Do something. I don't want to kill someone."

I pull out my knife and stab him directly in the heart. "There. Now you didn't kill him."

"Thank you."

My guys let him drop to the pavement.

But that's not enough for Ollie, who stomps his head. "Fecking AOG scum."

"What are you doing, man?" the only still lucid member of the kidnap team whines. "You can't just kill him."

"This is Cosa Nostra territory. I can do whatever the fuck I want." I dismiss him by turning my back. "Allessio."

"Yes, boss?"

I jerk my head toward the parked SUVs. "Get this mess cleaned up. I want all security and traffic cams wiped for a four block radius."

"On it."

I turn to one of my other men. "Take them to The Box. Make sure they can't try what those Lucchesi cowards did."

Our new policy is to use ball gags with all prisoners so they cannot bite their tongues off and choke to death on their own blood like the Lucchesi soldiers who attacked my cousin's fiancée did a couple months back.

"Ollie, you're with us."

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