Page 2 of Psycho

“You have asked me out every day for the last six months. Why?”

Theo doesn’t bother to sit down, because he knows he has five minutes before I tell him to go.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets nervously, he shrugs his shoulders, and speaks far more confidently than he should.

“Eventually, I’ll wear you down. You’ll give in, and that will be the beginning of our story.”

Glancing away from him, I look at the door, hoping he’ll catch my drift. I try to be nice, but he makes it difficult. How many times do I have to tell him I’m not interested? He’s a nice-looking guy, but I’m not dating anyone. My focus is on work and my mother. There is no room in my life for romance, or whatever else he wants.

‘Your pussy. The rest of you is worthless.’I hear Carlo in my head, his voice an always present reminder of my past.

Narrowing his gaze at me, Theo leans over my desk and spots the paperwork, with a photograph of a Bonetti warehouse laying on top. Shaking his head, he says, “I told you to leave them alone. You will not win this, Anastasia. If they catch wind of your investigation, they’ll kill you, long before RICO charges are brought against them. There will be no warning, it’ll be over and done. These are not men to mess with.”

For the second time since he’s been in my office, I fight myself to not roll my eyes. He doesn’t know my history, but I know this family far better than he does. Yes, if I’m not careful, I’ll end up on their long list of victims. Theo is one of the few people that knows my plans. I cannot go to my boss, the DA, without concrete evidence. With an exasperated sigh, he turns on his heel and leaves my office.

My colleagues have reasons for entering the law profession, we all do, but theirs differ from mine. Theo came from a family of lawyers, and it was expected he’d follow in his father’s footsteps. Squeaky clean Tabitha wants to change the world for the better. Everybody thinks I’m a good girl that wants to rid the world of scum, and I suppose I do.

Bonetti scum.

My reason is pure vengeance.

They took something from me I can never get back. It’s why I’m a lawyer, and worked my ass off to make it to the District Attorney’s office.

The end of the Bonetti Brothers is here. Lucky me, I’ll have a front-row seat to watch their destruction.

CHAPTER TWO

PSYCHO

One Month Before Reaper’s Wedding…

I stitch my victim’s arm to slow the bleeding, while whistling. His whimpers are muffled, because of the duct tape over his mouth.

Looking down at him, I flash him an evil grin, and his return gaze is one of terror.

“Shall we start on the other side?”

Theo lies strapped to my metal table, trembling with fear, and unable to speak. I did give him the opportunity to spill everything he knows about the nosy Assistant District Attorney, but he didn’t want to talk, so here we are.

I drag the knife down his left arm, and watch the blood spill from the wound. It’s a beautiful sight, but not as much as it will be when I get my hands on her. The woman coming after my family. Anastasia Crowne is the true target. Theo is for information purposes, because the goddamn background check on her provided nothing.

“Would you like to talk now, or do I keep going?”

The muffled words against the tape cause me to chuckle. He talks rapidly, but, of course, I can’t make out a single unintelligible word.

Grabbing one side of the duct tape, I pull it off, as he gulps for air like he couldn’t breathe. He still has a fucking nose. I don’t know why he’s being dramatic.

“I gave you the opportunity to talk before, and you didn’t take it. So now, you talk, and I’ll work.”

He catches my drift, as I drag my knife down his stomach, cutting into his flesh, but I’m not trying to kill him yet. Just terrorize him a bit. Not only to get him to give over the information I want, but because, fuck, it’s fun. Should I feel bad, since he hasn’t done a fucking thing to deserve this? Probably, but I don’t. He’s guilty by association.

“Okay, okay,” he sobs loudly.

I chuckle darkly as I pull the knife out, and push it in on the other side of his stomach, deeper, but still not enough to be fatal. This isn’t about prolonging torture for my enjoyment, the only thing I seek is information. Although, I’m enjoying it a bit. They don’t call me Psycho for no reason. Still, if he gives me what I need, the pain will end. Usually the people on my table have wronged me, or my family. He has done nothing other than take a job at the District Attorney’s office. Unfortunate mistake.

“She hates your family.”

Holding the knife inside him, I stop moving, as I knit my brows together in confusion. It sounds personal, and doesn’t make sense, since we had never met this woman when she started her bullshit.

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