Page 66 of The Madman and his broken Princess
I blinked up at him as he stepped back from me and began to change into dark pants and socks, but nothing else. “Tonight, I’ll be back with the boy.”
Amelia’s worried gaze followed me out of the room. She felt responsible for the boy. I knew she’d be heartbroken if something happened to him. That was my main incentive to save him, but surprisingly, it wasn’t the only one. I wanted to spare the child the torture and trauma I had endured. My rescue had come too late to save the boy I had been, but I had become a man capable of doing atrocities. Today, Corvin and his co-conspirators would learn just how atrocious I could be.
Niccolo paced the open space between the massive wood desk I never used and the armchairs facing yet another fireplace. The walls were filled with more trophies, mostly hands and feet from our enemies.
Niccolo paused when I stepped in. “They aren’t happy with the place you suggested.”
“Their happiness is no requirement.”
“Indeed.” Niccolo shrugged. “They eventually agreed after a few more threats to remove parts of the boy. The meeting will take place at midnight in Terminal 24 as you ordered.”
“Good. The perfect place for a spectacle.”
Niccolo leaned against the mantel and crossed his arms. “Will you enlighten me about your plans, or will I be surprised like Corvin?”
I chuckled. Niccolo’s bursts of annoyance toward me used to make me angry. Now I enjoyed his acts of defiance. Fear and deference weren’t as much fun with the people I wanted in my life. “I need you to tell Sasha to prepare the trailers and calculate how much sedative we need to subdue the chimps for two hours.”
Niccolo’s face slackened with shock. He shoved away from the chimney piece. “You want to use the chimps?”
“I do. They’ve become an unpredictable risk, and it’s only a matter of time before we have to let them go. That way, they can have some fun as a last hurrah.”
“Fuck,” Niccolo said, his face twisting with a mix of horror and admiration. “You really want to make Corvin pay.”
“I do, and he will.”
“You know we can’t control those chimps even when drugged, so they might very well attack us, and I’d really hate to have my balls ripped off by a one-hundred-and-eighty-pound chimp.”
“The female could just as easily rip them off. Don’t underestimate her.”
“I don’t, trust me. I’ve seen what they did to poor Jorge. That guy was unrecognizable when we got him out.”
I nodded. “Everything will go according to the plan. Chaos will be on our side.”
“I really hope you’re right. I doubt Amelia will be happy if she finds out chimps ripped apart the boy.”
“I’ll make sure he’s safe.”
“Maybe then he actually stands a chance.” He let out a string of laughter, shaking his head as he brought his phone to his ear. “Hey, Sasha. We need you…”
I gave Niccolo a few more instructions before I left him to his task of coordinating everything.
I had somewhere else I needed to be. I had lost count of the times I’d descended the stairs toward the basement. My heart still sped up when I entered the dank, dark basement. I wondered if that would ever change.
Achille cowered on his cot in the last cell and made himself even smaller as I approached him.
“Your nephew Corvin wants to get you out of here.”
Achille lifted his head, suspicion and hope battling on his deformed face. “Corvin is a wimp and a fool. Do you really think I believe that?”
I grinned. “Well, he seems to think he can blackmail you out of here with your own son, Luciano.”
Achille sat up, suddenly perky. “He kidnapped the boy?”
“Your son. Indeed. I don’t suppose you would put down your life for your child?”
His lips twisted. “I’d kill the kid myself to punish that whore Flavia.”
“That’s what I thought, which is why I devised a plan to save the boy without your cooperation. Your deranged chimps will help, though.”
