Page 169 of Devoted

“Both, then.” I shrug, and Grayson laughs behind me.

Shedding my jacket, I roll up my sleeves and slide out my tie. Amputations can be messy. “Frankie, hold him back, then you can do the other one.” It’s the least I can do for kneeing him in the nuts earlier.

A sadistic grin creeps up on his lips.

“Gladly.”Frankie’s eyes are dark as he wraps his arm under Dante’s chin.

“This is for touching her,” I hiss. Dante shakes against the metal chains. I hold down his clenched fist and put all my pressure onto the hacksaw as the teeth start to tear through his flesh.

By the time I hit bone, he slumps in his chair.

“Hit him up with some adrenaline. He needs to feel everything,” I call out. Grayson jabs a needle into his neck and pushes the liquid in.

“He’ll be right as rain in a minute.”

I slap his cheeks. “Wakey! Wakey! We still have a little while left.”

He groans, his one eye flickering open.

“You don’t get to die yet. You’ve tortured Rosa for years. It’s only fair you feel her pain.”I drag the serrated edge over the last flap of skin. The lifeless hand lands with a soft thud.

Yellow liquid pools next to my feet.

I look at him with disgust.“Really? I expected better from Romano’s firstborn.”

“My dad will kill you.”

“Well, he can join you and your brother down in hell. A little family reunion.”

Grayson works on patching up his hand, burning the stump and wrapping it. The cooking meat stench has me cringing.

“Why do I suddenly want a hot dog?” Grayson chuckles, wrapping the stub left of Dante’s arm.

I rip open his shirt, revealing his hairy chest, and pull the small blade out from my pocket.

“This is for her nightmares.”

I scatter deep cuts across his chest and abdomen, his muscles tense as I slice away, creating a pattern of fissures.

He gasps for breath between each pass of my blade, barely able to keep his head up. I glance over to Frankie. He’s itching to get to him. If anyone can get Dante to speak, it’s Frankie.

I step back and beckon to him with the tip of my knife. “You’re up.”

Frankie grabs Dante by the throat, forcing him to look at him. “One last chance before I cut your dick clean off. Where the fuck is Eva?”

“Get fucked, Frankie,” Dante coughs.

Frankie stands back, lifts his foot, and kicks him in the chest, toppling over his chair.

“Reckon he will really cut his dick off?” Grayson appears beside me, his arms crossed, watching Frankie. I swear there is a glimmer of approval from Grayson.

“I’m banking on it.”

Frankie’s wild eyes look over to us. “Keller, unchain him and hold him down.”

Keller cuts Dante’s ties, lays him flat on the ground, and pins his legs.

“Grayson. Grab his arms.”

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