Page 117 of Cassio (Belles & Mobsters 3)

The barn was being used as a garage. Bingo! One car. Registered to the one and only New York City State’s Attorney, Chad Stewart.

Boo, motherfucker!

We slipped through the side door into the barn and entered a hallway. It was midday but this side of the house had no windows so daylight didn’t come through. We had to let our eyes adjust.

The creak of a floorboard upstairs drew my attention. Sharing a glance with Luca and Alessio, we decided to split up. Luca and Alessio downstairs, while I made my way to the side staircase. I kept my steps light and silent. You never knew with old homes which damn floorboard would make a sound.

Squeak.Like fucking now.

I paused my step, waiting for any signs that I was discovered. More shuffling upstairs, the movement unperturbed, which told me I wasn’t heard. Knowing Chad Steward, the fucker thought he was untouchable here.

The sound of the water filled the silence and the old pipes in the house clanked as it was forced through them. He must be getting in the shower. How lovely, I get to see him butt-ass naked. I waited another second, then continued making my way up. He wouldn’t be able to hear a thing with the shower on.

I reached the top of the stairs and waited. Patience was, after all, my virtue. I waited a long time for Áine, five minutes for this sick fucker wouldn’t make a difference. As his shower ended, I waited silently against the wall outside the room. In my position, he wouldn’t see me when he came out, and I could slice his neck in one swift move.

But I had other plans. Questions that needed answers.

Just as he walked through the door with a towel around his waist, my hand reached out swiftly, the blade of my knife pressed against his throat.

“Don’t move, motherfucker,” I hissed in a low voice. His head jerked backwards, and I shoved my elbow into his back, making him fall onto his knees. The thump of his knees against the wood flooring echoed through the old house. “Which part ofdon’t movedon’t you understand?”

He instantly stilled. Slow learner that one. Not sure how in the hell he became the distinguished state’s attorney. I could hear Luca’s and Alessio’s boots behind me, rushing up the stairs. They’d probably fall through the damn wood with their big frames.

“P-please, don’t hurt me.” His voice was full of terror. I felt no pity for him, only rage knowing what his plans for Áine were. My wife.

“Don’t worry,” I said quietly, eerily. “We won’t give you the same fate you planned for my wife.”

His head whipped back and he paled when he saw me, his eyes wide with terror. A flicker of recognition flashed in his dilated pupils. His nostrils flared but he quickly got himself together.

Luca and Alessio joined us.

“Tie him up, Luca,” I ordered my little brother.

“Fucking bullshit,” Luca spat out. “Why couldn’t you wait until the fucker at least put some clothes on?”

I could see it in Chad’s eyes before he even moved. He launched at me, probably hoping to tackle me to the floor. My knife slammed into his shoulder and a bloodcurdling scream erupted from him, as the towel slid off his hips, leaving him naked as the day he was born. How convenient, he would die naked too!

“Try something stupid one more time,” I hissed, twisting the blade buried in his shoulder, “and I’ll listen to your screams all night.”

I ripped the knife out and he planted into the wall behind me, his face hitting the picture frame.

“Okay, barefoot princess,” Luca grabbed him by his hair. “Let’s tie you up. Touch me with that dick, and it will be the first thing I slice off you.”

Luca sat him in the wooden chair. The fear wafting from him was almost tangible. His body was rigid as Alessio held him at gunpoint. Pulling the wire from his back pocket, Luca tied-twisted it around his feet, before moving up to his wrist and then mid-torso. The wire cut into his skin as he whimpered each time Luca pulled it a bit tighter. I reveled in the sounds he made. I'd make sure he'd never hurt another woman. I could only imagine the number of women Marco had gifted him since their agreement had been made. The number of women he'd hurt, fucked, used and abused before discarding them like trash. This wasn't just for Áine, it was for all of them.

“You can dish it but can’t take it, huh?” I taunted menacingly. This was what our father raised us to do, torture to extract information and then dispose of the body, never to be found again.

I was putting my skills to good use.

ChapterThirty-Eight

ÁINE

The doorbell had me running to answer it. The second I opened it, I noted two of Cassio’s men, one on the left side and other on the right guarding the exits of the public hallway. Margaret stood there in her loud pink raincoat, though the skies were clear. Who in the hell knew why she wore a raincoat! Maybe the weather called for rain later.

I quickly pulled Margaret inside and shut the door.

“That happy to see me, huh?” she teased.

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