children.
“Let me talk to my nephew,” Fausto orders.
With a shrug, I flip the screen around, and when Fausto sees what’s become of Christian, he gasps, but soon pulls it together. “Is this true?”
Christian turns his cheek to look at the phone.
With pathetic puppy dog eyes, he nods. “Yes, Zio. Forgive me.”
Fausto is clearly disgusted. “How could you, bastardo? You’ve brought shame to this family! If this gets out…we will be ruined!”
Vincenzo places a hand over his mouth, torn between duty and loyalty. If this were anyone else, they’d kill them. Christian betrayed them in the worst possible way and has shamed the family name. It takes a special kind of sociopath to deal in child trafficking.
“Your nephew was also planning on stealing from you and selling to me. It was to be our little secret,” I say, placing my pointer over my lips.
“Vincenzo!” Fausto shouts. “This cannot be left unpunished.”
“I know,” he replies, his pain palpable. “But he’s my son.”
“You have two others,” I reply casually.
“What do you want? Tell us.”
Looking at both men on the screen, I smirk. “I want your drugs. You’re going to deal to me at cost. We’re not going to see or talk to one another. Our exchange will be made monthly, but as far as associating with you, we don’t know one another.”
“And what do we get in return?” Fausto asks.
“My silence, of course. I won’t tell everyone what Christian was doing and you save face. I don’t think your Sicilian colleagues would be too pleased to know your family was dealing in child trafficking.”
Family is everything to Sicilians. They are ruthless, but when it comes to family, you don’t fuck with them. So the knowledge that Christian is selling kids would have every Sicilian out for his blood.
Christian’s greed could bring down their empire, and I know what that feels like firsthand. No man would ever want that to befall them.
“And what about Christian?” Vincenzo asks, peering at his son, who lay prone and broken.
“What about him?”
“What will become of him?”
Fausto looks at his nephew with nothing but disgust. Vincenzo, however, hopes I will be merciful. But I will not.
“I’m at Tura. You may come fetch him.”
Vincenzo’s relief is apparent, but when I say fetch him…I mean fetch his corpse.
Before they can ask further questions, I hand the phone to Ella. “You may want to look away, красавица.”
With shaky hands, she focuses the phone on Christian but doesn’t turn her head. We’re in this together.
Gripping Christian’s hair, I yank his head back at a painful angle, forcing him to look at me. “You are the vilest creature I have ever met, and trust me, I’ve met a lot of sickos in my lifetime.”
I yank out the letter opener from his shoulder, curling my lip in disgust when he begins to cry like a baby. He slumps onto the desk, blood spurting from the wound. But I don’t give him time to rest. Hauling him to his feet by the collar of his shirt, I walk him backward, anger fueling my every step.
This is for every child he sold. Every child whose life has been ruined because of his greed.
“Please, no!” he begs, but he made his choice. It’s time he dealt with the repercussions.
He fights with all that he has, but it’s not enough. I won’t give him the luxury of having any last words. He doesn’t deserve it. With a roar, I lift him high and impale him on the horns of the antelope trophy he has hanging above the fireplace.
Blood coats my face and chest—warpaint I wear with pride.
His eyes widen as his body responds to the shock of him being his own trophy. He won’t die right away. I’ve done this with intent. I’ve positioned him so that he’ll eventually bleed out. I could have gone for a kill shot, but that’s far too merciful for scum like him.
I stand before him, watching as he takes labored breaths, feeling the horns sticking out of his body. He is fighting to stay alive. The blood seeping from the two puncture wounds in his abdomen has me smirking because no matter how hard he fights, it’s all in vain.
I don’t know what Vincenzo and Fausto intend to do, but I will keep my word if they do. I won’t divulge what a deranged man Christian was, saving face for their family as long as they supply my drugs. I know this is contradictory, as most would step back from this world and