Page 121 of Beautiful Beast

“Or stupid. Dante is pissed. He now has incentive go on a fucking rampage. We were close to finding out where he lived. It would’ve been better to do a sneak attack on him. Now, he’s expecting us, and because you kidnapped a twelve-year-old girl, more men are going to be angry, which means more trigger-happy folks and more chances of someone dying.”

Sergei gets right in my face and points his finger at me. “I did what needed to be done. You should be thanking me. The goal is to kill Dante, and that’s what we’re going to do. Who cares who else we hurt in the process.”

“I care,” I realize as I speak.

He takes one look at me and scoffs. “You’ve gotten fucking soft. I swear, it’s because of my daughter. I never should’ve married her to you. It was a mistake. You’re not the fucking boogeyman any longer. You’re nothing but a pussy.”

I stand tall before Sergei, towering over him. “Leave. Cool down.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to talk to the girl and see if she can tell us where Dante lives. We still might be able to do a sneak attack on him.”

“I’m not going to tell you anything,” Aria says.

“You’re going to have to torture her, Erik, and you know it. If you want any information out of her. Are you prepared to do that? Because I am.”

“I’m not going to torture a twelve year old.”

“She’s not innocent. She’s part of the Mafia. They’re never innocent. They’re born witches right out of the womb, and you know it. She’ll grow up to hate the Bratva, and she’ll marry an Italian who’ll want to destroy us. You know how this works. It’s the fucking circle of life. So, either torture the girl for information, or we’re doing it my way.”

“Or there’s another option.”

“What?”

“We’re done.”

Sergei blinks, then scoffs. “You can’t be serious. We’re not done.”

“We’re done, Sergei. You went against my orders with Aria.”

“And you went against my orders when you went after Dante to save Anya.”

“You’re terrible to your daughter. Both of them. When we first teamed up, I was able to overlook it. I didn’t care about Anya then, but I do now. I can’t work with you anymore, Sergei. Not when you’re putting my entire plan at risk over this.” I point at Aria. “This was a stupid mistake, one I have to correct. Because now, I won’t have just Dante coming after me. I’ll have the entire fucking Mafia coming after me. No one likes it when their kid daughter is stolen. You just made things worse. Even if I kill Dante, more men will be angry with what you did. So, thanks for that.”

“It doesn’t matter. Once we kill Dante, his men will scatter. They won’t have a leader to follow. We’ll be able to pick them off one by one.”

“We’re done. I won’t hear it anymore. You refused to stop hurting my wife after I’ve told you to stop. You kidnapped Aria when I told you not to. You want to do things your way. If that’s the case, I can’t be a part of it. So, we’re done.”

“Then I’m taking the girl. You don’t get to question her.”

I step in front of Sergei. “I do. Get out. Now.”

“This is my apartment.”

“Then go wait in the fucking kitchen. I’m going to ask this girl where Dante lives, and if she refuses to tell me, I’m going to bring her home. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Dante will be there. Where did you find her anyway?”

“I picked her up from her school. I don’t know where she lives.”

I grumble under my breath and turn to Aria. “Tell me Dante’s home address. If your father is close with Dante, surely you’ve been to his home.”

“I won’t tell you anything,” she says with a fierceness in her eye that reminds me so much of Anya, and I can’t help but smile.

I crouch in front of her. “I know a woman a lot like you. She’s brave. Fierce. Even though you’re twelve, I’m sure you can withstand a lot of torture before you crack. But you will crack. Now, I have no desire to hurt you. And I won’t, but the man behind me will. He’s already hit you. He’ll do it again. He will fight me if I try to bring you from this apartment. So, why don’t you spare us all the pain and tell us Dante’s home address.”

She spits in my face.

“I’m impressed,” I say, chuckling as I wipe her spit off my cheek. “But, Aria, you have no power here, and you know it. I hate that this is how you’re going to learn that lesson. You’re tied up. Your father doesn’t know where you are. Dante doesn’t knowwhere you are. You’re on your own. If you want to save yourself, you’ll give Dante up.”

---