Page 8 of Blood and Lies (A Twisted Duet 1)

I straightened my suit jacket before turning around facing Vico, who had been watching everything on the monitor.

“She’s lying,” he stated firmly.

“I know.”

“Mancini,” Vico scoffed. “Fucking lying slut. Does she really think we’ll fall for her bullshit? There is no way she didn’t know who he really was. He was a Fattore, for Christ sake.”

“Maybe that’s it. Maybe they figured out who he was, felt threatened by our family, and decided to take him out.”

“They’d be right to feel threatened. But now all they did was sign every member of their family’s death warrant.”

I let out a breath. “Calm down, Vico. I told you earlier, you need to keep your temper intact…and vanity,” I added in a whisper which Vico didn’t hear.

“I know. Sorry. But the fact that she is underestimating us with her bullshit riles me up.” He turned back to the monitor. “Look at her with her fake fucking tears. She is one hell of an actress, I’ll give her that. That was an Oscar-winning performance.”

I pulled my palm down my face, frustration pulsing through my veins, making my muscles twitch.

Vico sighed. “I just can’t believe that Carlo, of all people, didn’t realize what her family was capable of.”

I snapped my gaze up at him. “The Linscotts are one of the most powerful families in the US, if not the world, Vico.”

“Exactly, so how could Carlo have been so stupid as to underestimate them? Did he really think he could fuck the rich American girl and not carry the consequences?”

“Enough!” My voice boomed through the room, slamming against the walls.

Vico stared at me with widened eyes, and I took a deep breath, struggling to keep my rage contained. “We don’t know what happened. All we know is that the Linscotts had Carlo murdered.” I rounded the table and walked up behind Vico, staring at the monitor. “But I’ll get to the truth. I’ll crack her wide open and extract every goddamn secret she has,” I vowed while watching the blonde woman cry into her palms.

As she cried, her entire body was shaking. Did I care? No. She deserved all the panic and fear she was currently experiencing. In fact, she deserved more than that. She deserved pain too, which in time, she would get…by my hand.

“You left the box in there, man.” Vico looked back at me.

I smiled. “I know.”

Just then, she lifted her head and spotted the plain brown box I had placed on the bed earlier. My intention was to make her open it while I was still in the room, but unfortunately, the lies that spewed from her mouth forced me to leave, because I was on the verge of choking those lies out of her—along with her last breath.

Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I continued to watch her, knowing that sooner or later her curiosity would get the better of her. Right now, she was staring at the box like she was convinced it was a trap. But the human mind was a wonderful place. Recklessness always accompanied curiosity, hence the saying curiosity killed the cat. Now, this cat was one I couldn’t wait to kill, to look into her face when she realized the game she played had ultimately brought on her demise…and the demise of those she cared most about.

“How long do you think it’s going to take for her to budge?” Vico tapped a finger on the table, and I scoffed at his blatant impatience.

“Relax, brother. Just watch.”

While she wiped her face with the rag she was wearing, she settled a little, crossing her legs beneath her while she continued to stare at the box. When Vico brought her in almost twenty-four hours ago, she looked like every other spoiled, rich girl, wearing her expensive designer blouse, jeans, and heels. Besides the fact that she was unconscious, she looked worth much more than she really was—which was why I instructed Doc to strip her of the wealth she didn’t deserve and dress her in a two-dollar piece of fabric that was old and tattered.

It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours yet, and already she looked like she’d been through Hell. She looked pathetic, poor, and broken while she sat there with her dirty hair and tired eyes. I hadn’t even begun to exact my revenge, and already she seemed like she was close to crumbling. But, to be honest, I couldn’t say I was surprised. Carlo liked his women modest and reserved. A woman who lacked a voice and a spine. A woman who was born and bred to submit and be nothing more than a pretty face to complement the man’s image.

I, on the other hand, preferred the more complex kind of woman. The type of woman who would get my blood boiling and my adrenaline pumping. I loved the chase, I yearned for the fight, and I craved the rage. There was nothing better or more powerful than forcing a strong woman to her knees, to see equal measures of fight and surrender. I wanted to see obedience when I looked at a woman’s body, but I wanted to see the fire of her strength burn bright in her irises when I stared into her eyes. It was the most rewarding sight when you broke a strong-willed creature into submission, forcing her to accept that you were the ruler of the world she existed in. But her mind should be a fortress, a stronghold that would ensure she always stayed strong enough to handle the monster in me.

I watched patiently as Tatum still stared at the box, until finally she reached out but then pulled back. I almost laughed at her cowardly behavior. Not something I expected from a Linscott.

“She’s too scared, man.” Vico pulled his hands through his hair, barely containing his frustration. “She’s not going to fucking open it.”

“You need to work on your patience, little brother. Patience is a virtue.”

“Oh God, you know I hate it when you say shit like that.”

I lifted a brow. “Shit like what?”

He glanced my way. “Shit like, ‘patience is a virtue.’ You act like a fucking fifty-year-old with all the smart shit you like to say.”

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