Page 38 of Vincenzo's Promise
The stench of piss,blood, and ammonia were welcomed when I entered the warehouse along with Angelo and my future father-in-law, who’d decided to meet us there when I’d informed him I was keeping Isabella’s stalker. He’d made it quite clear, in no uncertain terms, he wouldn’t miss this for the world. He was angry he hadn’t been able to find the bastard himself, but he was grateful I was protecting his daughter like I said I would.
“It seems your father was right about you, Vincenzo,” Cyrus said, pulling the lapels of his black trench coat closer to his frail body. “He always said you would protect her, if ever given the chance. I didn’t believe him then, but looking at the fury in your eyes now, I most certainly do believe my dear friend was right.”
When he laughed at his own revelation, he began to cough. Isabella may have been right when she said she thought her father was sick and he was hiding his illness from her. His normal sun kissed skin was now jaundiced. Deep, dark circles highlighted his sunken in eyes. Cyrus wasn’t doing well, and his death would hit Isabella hard. Despite not being around like a normal father, she absolutely adored him, and when he took his last breath, I would be there to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.
“What are you talking about?” I asked when his coughing fit died down.
He wiped his mouth with a white handkerchief. “Like I said, Vincenzo, there’s more to the story. I’ll make sure we talk about it after this piece of shit takes his last breath for terrorizing my daughter.”
We stepped into the back room of the abandoned warehouse where we’d deemed would be every bastard’s final destination who decided to go against the De Maio clan. I wasn’t surprised Dr. Daniels looked a little less like himself. My boys had worked him over really good.
Pools of blood littered the concrete floor under Dr. Daniels—a concrete floor that had been bleached many times before, but the blood would never completely wash away. Dark stains told the story of the countless men who had been secured to the stone wall with thick iron chains and shackles I’d had especially built for such an occasion. Angelo always accused me of being a sadistic son of a bitch because when it came to getting answers to my questions, I enjoyed everything about this room. From the smell to the screams and moans of pain that filtered through my ears right before I took a life.
I took off my black wool peacoat and handed it to one of the guards, who smirked when he saw me enter. He knew exactly what I had in store.
I rolled up the sleeves of my navy dress shirt to my elbows and stood before a battered and bruised Dr. David Daniels. His golden boy looks were now disheveled. His blond hair was matted with globs of bright red blood, both eyes were blackened, and he had also lost a few teeth. I couldn’t even tell it was him, except for the hate in his eyes when I pulled his head back so I could get a good look at him.
“Dr. Daniels, it’s good to see you again.”
“Fuck you!” he screamed. “You piece of shit!”
I looked around the room at the men surrounding me. All remained quiet, despite the tension rising a few notches. The anger on their faces was evident. One thing in my world that wasn’t tolerated was disrespect, and no one fucked with the Boss or Donna and got away with it. These men wanted his blood, and I was more than willing to give it to them.
“Fuck me?” I punched him in the gut. He grunted, his head fell forward, and the chains clanged together. “Fuck me? No fuck you, motherfucker! Did you think you could get away with threatening my woman!”
I punched him repeatedly in the stomach while I relished in the whimpers seeping from his lips, the blood dripping from his already battered face.
“She’s mine!” He screamed, yanking at the iron chains keeping him suspended against the wall. “She’s always been mine. You can’t have her.”
Cyrus stepped forward. “Who are you?”
I looked at Cyrus then back at Dr. Daniels.
“You were able to escape me, and the only way you could do that is to have money and power,” Cyrus added. “So, I’ll ask you again...who the fuck are you?”
“I’ve always loved her, and you took her away from me!” Dr. Daniels yelled at Cyrus, and I saw recognition flash in Cyrus’s eyes. “I wasn’t good enough, you said, and you made me leave. But I am. She’s mine! He can’t have her.”
“Do you know what he’s talking about, Cyrus?” I asked.
“I do. He’s the son of a State Senator. So, tread lightly when you dispose of him. Make sure nothing is left.”
Son of a bitch! I definitely don’t need eyes on me right now, but I won’t let him live.
“Where’s Isabella? I want to see her,” Dr. Daniels demanded, yanking on the chains as if he could free himself. It was all in vain. He would die strung up from my wall of horrors, as Angelo like to call it. “If she knew you were doing this to me, she’d have your head.”
I yanked his hair back. “Why do you think she would want to see you? Isabella said you give her the creeps, Dr. Daniels. That you repulse her. That’s why she rejected you.” I tightened my grip on his bloody hair. “She can’t stand to be around you!”
“Fuck you! She wouldn’t say that about me. She loves me!”
I laughed, and I could see the anger in his eyes. If he could have killed me right then, he would have.
“Shut up! Shut up! Stop laughing at me!”
“You’ll never see her again.”
He began to weep, which was alarming at first to hear that type of agony rip from the mouth of a grown man, but I couldn’t care less. He’d tortured my Bella. He had her afraid to live, so he would die a long, agonizing death.
I took a step back and walked over to Angelo who placed a four-inch blade in my hand. Then, I ambled back over to Isabella’s stalker. He slowly lifted his head, and a glob of bloody spit landed on my face. I took the handkerchief from one of my men’s hand and wiped the shit from my face.
