Page 25 of The Madman and his broken Princess
The brother exchanged a look with Remo. While they shared facial features and dark hair, the calm gray in the brother’s eyes was replaced with dark irises that reflected the same feverish rage and hunger for destruction that ravaged my broken body. The same blood, but so different.
“My brother Nino can tend to your wounds. And hers,” he said, eyes firm on mine, cautious but not hostile.
“Why are you here?” My voice lacked the gratefulness I felt for the freedom he had given me, but a savior could be a new enemy in disguise. With Amelia’s safety on the line, I couldn’t risk being trusting. Trust was a luxury I would never risk again.
“I am Remo Falcone, the man who’ll rule over the entire Camorra once all the rats are off the ship. And you, Nestore, can rule as Underboss under my rule. The Romanos were loyal.”
“Loyalty got my father killed by your father. Loyalty turned me into a prisoner of a monster.”
“You were loyal to a man who never understood what that phrase means. My father was a monster.”
“And you’re not?” I narrowed my eyes at the blood covering his clothes and skin. He carried it like a badge of honor. Blood was his friend, but it was mine too.
He laughed, a rough sound that made Amelia flinch in my hold. I tightened my arm around her, my muscles tautening. “Oh, make no mistake, I’m a monster of his making, but I’m a monster that rewards loyalty and values it over blood. What about yourself, Nestore? Do you reckon yourself not monstrous?”
I bared my teeth. “Are you worried I’m too monstrous to control?” I’d die before I’d let anyone cage me in again, but I would take as many lives with me as I could.
A hard smile twisted Remo’s mouth. “Do I look like someone who concerns himself with control? You can unleash your monster as long as you are loyal to me.”
I tilted my head. “I’m not sure I want to rule over the men who followed Lamorgese’s command. I have other plans for them.”
“It’s curious that you hold a Lamorgese in your arms when another made you suffer more than most humans can fathom.”
Amelia released a shuddery breath against my bare chest.
“She’s the reason I’m still here. She’s the air I breathe, the water I drink, the food I crave. She’s the reason for everything.”
Something wet hit my chest. I peered down at Amelia’s crown, catching a tear glittering on my scarred chest. I had seen too many of Amelia’s tears.
I could see that Remo didn’t understand what I meant. “You choose the men you rule over. What you do to the others is your decision. But make sure they aren’t the rats we want to purge from our territory. I think you have a loyal right-hand man in your cousin Niccolo.”
As a boy, I had imagined myself ruling over Los Angeles, over my city. But now? What I craved with a bone-crushing intensity was revenge. The first taste of it still lingered on my tongue.
I wiped the back of my hand across my lips. My skin came away covered in silky blood, beautifully red. It was a familiar sight, but for once, it wasn’t my own blood. Pain was the static in my bones, the familiar hum under my skin. A life without it? Unfathomable.
Remo scanned me from head to toe. “I have something for you as a present.”
He gave his brother a curt nod. Nino disappeared in long, purposeful strides. Both men were young, maybe in their early twenties, perhaps even younger. For them to rule over the Camorra, utmost brutality would be required. I needed what they had to rule over my territory. Nobody would take it from me ever again.
When Nino returned, a moment of pure animal fear took hold of me. My heart clenched in anticipation of agony. Nino dragged a struggling Achille into the room. My tormentor.
I despised my body for its initial reaction to Lamorgese. Nino dragged him closer. A bloody trail marked their passage over to us as a wound in Achille’s calf dripped blood.
Amelia lifted her head a fraction, a wispy gasp leaving her lips.
Nino tossed Lamorgese to the ground in front of my feet. Part of me wanted to run, run from a terror born from years of pain and humiliation.
Remo motioned at my tormentor. “He can be yours if you want. Whenever you’re ready, you can serve justice.”
Lamorgese lifted his gaze and noticed me for the first time. Realization morphed into trepidation, then fear in the merciless blue eyes that had regarded me without pity for years.
“Justice?” I echoed. I looked away, unable to bear his gaze, and nodded at Remo. I didn’t know what justice meant. How could I ever get justice for years lost, for all I had endured, and for the horrors Amelia had to endure and witness?
I motioned at Lamorgese without looking at him. “Why didn’t you kill him yourself? It would make you look stronger to kill the man who declared himself Capo.”
Remo came over, and I angled my body to shield Amelia.
“He was one of many who masqueraded as Capo since my Father’s death. He’s nothing to me.” He gave me a knowing smile. “I would give anything to kill my father, to exact the revenge I so crave, but you, Nestore, have the power to break the man who tried to break you. You have the power to be the master over life and death, to serve him the pain he deserves. That’s precious, and that’s my gift to you. I want you by my side when we destroy the men who thought they could rule over my territory and the men who took yours, too. Take your power back.”
