Page 6 of Charity's Torment

“I will. Don’t fret.”

If she knew the real danger I put myself in daily, she’d have a coronary. My bike should be the least of her worries. I took off out the door before she could say another word and pulled out my phone to check my messages.

Luca: Don’t test my patience.

Typical Luca.

I swung my leg over my bike and took off for the restaurant Luca owns.

Fifteen minutes of alone time in my head was too long. It gave the monsters a chance to surface and remind me of all the things I’ve screwed up in my life. I pulled into the lot ofLa Famigliaand parked.

Max stood outside, speaking with someone when he noticed me. He quickly ended his conversation and met me at the door. “Bella.What the fuck? I told you he’d be pissed.”

“I was going to send him a text whenmyfamily dinner was over. It seems someone was a little impatient.” I shrugged.

I didn’t like it when Luca directed his wrath for me on others. It wasn’t right, and I know that was what he did to Max. I accepted the consequences of my actions, and he knew it bothered me for others to play the whipping boy on my behalf. I’mnotas heartless as I appear.

“It was the first thing he asked when I got back.” Max tamed the fly-aways on my head, then tucked a strand behind my ear. “You better get in there.”

I shivered and braced for impact—the impact of his unpredictability. Luca stayed unpredictable so his enemies couldn’t get the upper hand. How could you predict someone’s moves when theydidn’t know them until it happened?

It made his capos and soldiers fearful, but his enemies even more-so.

I hurried to his table to find him surrounded by his men while sipping liquor and bullshitting about new business. Luca was a delectable specimen of a man wearing a three-piece suit. But I would never admit my attraction aloud to anyone, especially him. His ego was big enough for both of us. I know mine would be if I controlled the largest mob family in the US.

Technically, he is theUnderboss. Arturo Moreno—theDon—is currently serving life in prison for a triple homicide. Two of those were his dearly departed wife, Paulette, and the man she was sleeping with. Arturo killed the man’s wife in front of them to make a point. He is a ruthless human being, and his son didn’t fall far from the tree either.

I pulled a chair from a table and placed it down backward, straddling it loosely with my thighs. “Hi, boys.”

Luca glared over his glass of brandy as he took a sip. “You’re late.”

It was a simple statement that sent my heart into a palpitating fit. “I was told to come in. Not a specific time to do so.”

With this family, it was in your best interest not to show fear. To them, fear is like a bitch in heat—they come circling with anticipation.

Luca locked eyes with me and stood. “Follow me.”

I followed him down the stairs to the dimly lit basement. The fluorescent bulbs flickered and hummed as the power coursed through their tubes. The dingy smell of damp cement and blood hit my senses. My hands shook with elation.

Those men upstairs weren’t the only predators in the bunch. I had a wicked temperament, and my demons liked to come out and play. I heard the bellowing of a man coming from behind the door we were about to enter. I put my hand on Luca’s powerful arm and stopped him in place. “How long is this going to take? I have an unexpected date in the morning.” I have already been awake for going on seventeen hours now, and my eyes burned.

“As long as it takes.” He jerked his arm from my grip and strolled into the room. “Vinny!” he said with too much enthusiasm. “I brought you a friend.”

My eyes wandered over the man hanging by his feet, and I became enthralled. Blood dripped down his face, and it came to settle in a viscous pool beneath him. The bright crimson substance mesmerized me, and I knew I was sick in the head. The apple doesn’t fall far from my family tree, either.

Vinny’s eyes went wide with dread when Luca introduced me. My lips tipped up with a gentle smile. I wasn’t in the mood to slake my blood lust. Tom satisfied it today, even though he didn’t bleed as he deserved.

“Hi, Vinny. You appear to be on the wrong side of the knife today.” I ran my fingertips in the blood on his face, smearing it around as I made the shape of a phallus on his cheek. I snickered and looked at Luca while pointing out my artwork. His demeanor never faltered from dangerous, but I knew he thought it was funny. I wiped the grin from my face and got back to work. “What are you hiding from Luca?” It was quite simple, really. You tell Luca what he needs to know, and he makes it quick and relatively painless. Unless you need to become an example or don’t comply… well, then that’s where I come in.

“Vinny here failed to mention where he stashed the money he was skimming from my collections,” Luca said, filling me in on the information I needed to fetch.

Seemed easy enough. People were less likely to give up a person than they were a location. I’d be out of here in ten minutes, tops. I was that confident in my ability. The best interrogator taught me, and I don’t mean my dad, although I took some pointers from him.

“I don’t want to be here long. So you give me the answer or… I’m going to make this as excruciating as possible andmakeyou give me what I want,” I whispered close to his ear. “I’ll remind you that youareupside down. So when you piss yourself from pain and fear… it’s going to go in the wrong direction.”

“I-I don’t have the money.” His body shuddered, and tears pooled in his eyes. The chains rattled as his legs shook violently.

“Where is the money then, V?” I pulled a long serrated dagger from the table, admiring its style.

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