Page 105 of Corrupted Temptation (Mafia Kings: Corrupted 2)

Tommaso sat back on his heels. “This,” he said, looking down at me, “was never part of the plan.”

“Plans change.” Diego shrugged. He’d managed to stem the blood flowing from his nose, but even in the dark light, it seemed more crooked than it had been. Clearly broken. At least I’d managed to do that much. “Besides, it makes no difference if I have a little fun with our guest. Tell me you haven’t thought of all the fun you could have with Costa’s pretty little whore?”

My jaw clenched. I tried to wriggle out from under Tommaso, but he put a restraining hand on my hip and shot me a warning look.

“This was never about ‘fun,’ Diego,” Tommaso said, turning his attention back to his brother.

Diego laughed, though it sounded more like a bark. “You don’t think I know what this is about? You don’t think I’ve fantasized about this day every minute since this whore’s family killed our mother?”

“What?” The word slipped out before I could stop it. No member of my family would ever have murdered a young mother. They were criminals, yes, but heartless killers, no. I couldn’t believe it.

Tommaso was glaring daggers at me, but Diego was laughing. “Don’t act so surprised,signorina.You didn’t think your father was a saint, did you? It washisjob to watch over the whores who made him his fortune—the women, like my mother, who spread their legs to help keep Vincent Luca a rich man. But he couldn’t always be watching, could he? He let my mother slip through the cracks, didn’t even know that some nameless john had beaten her to death until it was too late. I was nine years old, and all I had washim,”he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Tommaso, “to watch over me.”

“I did my best, Diego. I was a kid too,” Tommaso said, his shoulders slumping.

“Your best?” Diego cocked a doubting eyebrow. “Your best landed you a dead-end job in a Costa skin club. If it weren’t for me, you would have been stuck there the rest of your miserable life.”

“This was never about me, Diego. The moment I agreed to help dig you out of the hole you’ve gotten yourself into, my life ended. I die tonight, and you know it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Diego said, but even I could hear the insincerity in his tone.

“Don’t lie to me, Diego. You never were very good at it.” Tommaso sighed.

Tommaso sounded tired. His hair had been mussed in his scuffle with Gabe, and now, with it framing his face, I could see the vague resemblance between Tommaso and his brother. Similar jaw structure and high foreheads, the same sharp eyes, but there were dark bags beneath Tommaso’s eyes now and a hollowness within them.

Diego chuckled. “I suppose not. Now, stand the girl up, would you? I don’t imagine we have much time left, and I’d like to enjoy these few moments.”

Tommaso clenched his jaw, but he grabbed me beneath my arms and hauled me to my feet. Instead of gift-wrapping me for his brother, he shoved me behind him and walked us backward.

“No more, Diego,” he said as another arm wrapped around me and drew me back into the solid wall of a chest.

From behind, Gabe felt so much like Nico, it made my heart ache like an open wound.

“You still don’t get it, do you, brother?” Diego said, still unperturbed. He had a gun in his hand again, and he held it up menacingly. “You don’t call the shots anymore.”

Then he fired his gun.

Chapter Forty-Six

Nico

One gunshot.

It shot through my eardrums, louder than any sound I’d ever heard.

Raven or Gabe?

The question beat along with my heart, faster and faster.

Blood dripped from the blade of the knife in my hand. I’d lost count of the number of throats we’d slit. Two dozen? Probably more. Most of them were clean kills—quick slices from behind.

At first, every step next to a Luca had felt like it went against the grain, but now, despite my pounding heart, we moved like a well-oiled machine.

Dominic was intuitive and skilled, anticipating every move I made. It wasn’t much different than working with Gabe by my side.

It surprised me that Leo worked as efficiently as Dominic. Usually, the youngest family members tended to be coddled longer, less prepared for the sometimes-gruesome tasks our world required of us. But then, it was Raven who had been the youngest of the Luca siblings, and while she might never have been exposed to the horrors of our world, she’d lived her own nightmares.

You’re the reason for her nightmares,my mind taunted,and you’re the reason she and Gabe are in danger now.

---