Men of Mayhem (35 page)

When it became apparent it wasn’t possible to steady my racing heart, I levelled my father with a serious gaze. “You wanted to find a way to weaken the Aletti family, right?”

He gave a curt nod.

“I’ve found a way.”

He tilted his head to the side, not able to hide the intrigue sparkling in his eyes. “Go on.”

“For the last eight months, I’ve been winning the trust of Brianna Aletti. She’s fallen in love with me and I’ve convinced her we’re going to run away together. She’s coming here tonight, expecting us to leave.”

My father clapped his hands together and a roar of laughter burst from his lips. “That’s genius.”

“I thought so, and she fell for it so quickly.”

“You’re sure she’s not playing you like you’re trying to play her?” he asked sternly, composing himself into the professional boss again.

“No. It’s real, all right. You’ll see the way she looks at me when she gets here. Anyway, what purpose would she have coming into our territory if she’s trying to play me? It’s suicide.”

He hummed in agreement, folding his arms across his chest. The grin that lit up his face showed all of his teeth. He wasn’t usually a man to show his emotions in business, but this revelation had him unable to control them. “I’m assuming you’re telling me this for a reason?”

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly as dry and rough as sandpaper. “I want to be the one to run things. I have a plan and I want to see it through. It has to be me who deals the final blow.”

“Don’t you always?”

My gut twisted at his words, and I had to concentrate on not reacting. “Yes, but this one’s personal, and I want to be alone when I do it.”

“You realise this is going to mean we’re at war with the Aletti family?”

I shrugged. “It’s been inevitable for a long time. There’s no other way to gain their territory, and the guys are more than ready to deal with any repercussions.”

“All right, I’ll let you handle it.” He stood up, clapping me on the back as he passed. “I’m proud of you, Nico.”

Well, that made one of us. He may have been proud, but I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of what was to come. Never before had the idea of offing someone made bile rise in my throat, but I couldn’t allow myself to focus on it. I had to keep my head in the game and do what I’d been bred to.

Standing to follow my dad from the room, a high-pitched shriek came from outside, causing us both to stiffen momentarily.

“Right on time,” I muttered under my breath, striding through the house and out to the patio. As I stepped around my father, I saw her. Restrained by two enforcers, she struggled in their grip, grunting and shrieking to be let go. Her hair was a mess, stuck to hair face from her actions, and there was a deranged sneer twisting her mouth as she fought against them. I refused to be moved by the sight or her curses. She asked for this and it was time to finish things.

Brianna

I’d been shoved from man to man, tied up, hauled down the stairs, and was now resting on my knees in some kind of basement. Nico had watched everything with a dark, murderous glimmer in his eyes. He didn’t order the men to back off or treat me with care. If anything, he smirked at my predicament.

With every glimpse of that twisted smile my palms became sweatier and my pulse increased. Blood pounded in my head, allowing me to hear the frantic beats of my heart combined with my shallow breaths. Only hours ago I’d been breathless for an entirely different reason because of him, and I was beginning to think I’d made a tremendous mistake in trusting Nico.

If that was the case, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of allowing him to see me crumble. The bastard didn’t deserve that type of satisfaction.

As if tuned into my thoughts, heavy footsteps came down the stairs until Nico entered the room, his father not far behind. Nico pointed to the two men who had been guarding me and barked at them to leave. They hurried to comply, abandoning me to the two most senior members of the Salvato family who were regarding me with disdain. Nico held my phone. He was spinning it around and allowing the silence to drag out.

I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. None of this had been in the plan, and I was out of my depth and outnumbered. We’d agreed to meet at our usual spot nearest his estate and run away. We didn’t discuss any of this; his goons ambushing me and hauling me back to the house was never part of the plan.

“What’s your passcode?” Nico snapped, drawing my attention to him. I rattled off the four digit code without hesitation, thankful my voice didn’t crack.

Nico tapped around on my phone in silence, then glanced across at Nicolai Salvato. “Let’s see how much the princess here is worth to her daddy.” He then turned to me. “Here’s the deal, sweetheart. You persuade your dear old dad to sign over his territory to us and you go free.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I think you can figure that out for yourself, princess.”

He was holding it out in front of his face when my father’s voice barked from the loud speaker. “Brianna! Why the hell are you FaceTiming me at this time in the morn—what the fuck are
you
doing with my daughter’s phone?”

Nico grinned. “We caught your daughter trying to get into our house. She’s with me now and will remain unharmed if you comply with our requests.”

“Show me.”

Nico must have switched to use the back camera as he lowered the phone to point it in my direction.

“What were you fucking thinking, Brianna? I warned you. I forbade you. I did everything but lock you in your room, and the message still didn’t sink into your thick skull.”

I couldn’t see him, but I didn’t need to. I knew what his expression would be. I could imagine his disapproval and anger as clearly as if he was in the room.

“Please just do as they say, Dad. I promise to never disobey you again.”

“What do you want?”

Nico was back to staring at the screen again, no doubt having turned it back around. “Your territory, of course. Sign it over or you won’t see your princess again.”

“He played me, Daddy. I promise I’ll never leave the house again if you save me.” I hated begging. If you were in a position where you needed to resort to begging, it was probably already too late. I knew what my dad would say before the words came from the phone, but I had to at least try.

“What’s it going to be,
sir
? Your territory or your daughter?” Nico passed the phone to his father then pulled a gun from the back of his jeans and pointed it at me. Nicolai had stepped back, making sure to get the entire scene on to the video.

“Please, Daddy!” I cried, in one last ditch attempt to save myself, although I knew he’d never choose me over his business and lifestyle.

“You made your own bed, Brianna. I’m sorry. You’re not getting your hands on my territory, Salvato, and her death will not come without consequences.”

A twisted smile pulled at Nico’s lips. “Want to say goodbye?”

The phone disconnected, the silence that lingered deafening. I could have sworn everyone could hear my heart shattering. Even having prepared myself for his response, it didn’t stop the stabbing pain coursing through me. I dropped my gaze to the floor, shutting my eyes for a second to compose myself.

I inhaled deeply, then blowing it out I redirected my pain to anger. If I was going to die, I wouldn’t die crying. I would go out in a blazing ball of fury.

Snapping my eyes open, I fixed Nico with a steely glare. “Do it.”

I was staring so hard I saw the small tremor in his hand as he realigned the weapon with my forehead. Maybe there was a small amount of feeling towards me.

“Go on. What are you waiting for?”

He placed a finger on the trigger, but still didn’t fire.

“I said pull the fucking trigger, Salvato!” I shouted, daring him to do it. From what I’d heard of his reputation, this never happened. “You’re weak. You’re a worthless traitor. How does it feel betraying someone who gave you their heart? Who trusted you?” I spat at his feet. “Pull the goddamned trigger, or give me the gun and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

How I would love to point that gun at him. If his father had still been in the room I wouldn’t have hesitated to fire a few bullets into his head too, but he’d left after setting up the phone to no doubt record my death.

“How about a blowjob first? For old time’s sake.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, my nostrils flaring, before I spat at his feet again. This time it hit his shoe. “Fuck you.”

“You already have, sweetheart. Numerous times. That’s why you’re in this shit.”

My heart clenched at his words, bile rising in my throat. How could I have been so stupid?

Regardless, I wasn’t going to allow him to see how much his words cut me. Instead, I glowered at him. “Do you torment all of your victims this way? Is that what gets you off at night—what you’re thinking about when you’re jerking off? Will you think of my pretty face, lifeless, tonight and cry out my name?”

He dipped the barrel of the gun.

“You’re not going to do it, are you?”

“I guess that’s a no to the blowjob?”

“I’d rather die.”

“Oh, you will. Don’t worry about that, princess.”

“Kill me,” I hissed. I wanted it to be over before I lost it. I was barely restraining the emotions in my chest, all of the betrayal mounting up. I couldn’t keep up the pretences much longer.

He laughed, the sound demented and cruel. “So eager to die.”

“If I’m dead, I don’t have to feel the pain you’ve caused me. Death would be a blessing over knowing you—”

Suddenly there was a
thwump
and my body jerked backwards. I didn’t even have time to register any pain before blackness engulfed me.

Nico

I’d shot the only woman I’d ever loved.

The one person I’d never wanted to hurt was lying on the floor with blood seeping through her shirt to create a crimson pool.

My heart clenched at the sight, my hands shaking by my side. I needed to remember where I was, though. Fighting back the crashing wave of guilt, I stormed over to Bri’s phone and switched off the video. As quickly as I could, I forwarded it to her father before I slipped it back into my pocket. I prayed it wouldn’t take the Aletti family long to react. I’d single-handedly started a turf war between both of our families that would no doubt cost many lives, but I was banking on it covering our tracks. If everyone focused on fighting amongst themselves, I could slip away with Bri. I’d convinced myself the change of plan was needed. Without a distraction, they’d have tracked us down in days.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back to face Bri. My heart almost stopped at the sight of the blood pooling on her body. I couldn’t believe I’d been able to follow through.

As if feeling my stare, she groaned faintly. Her breaths were shaky, but her eyes fluttered open.

Thank God.

Not wasting another second, I scooped her up into my arms, ignoring the groan of pain. Holding her tightly, I hurried out of the second exit.

“I’m sorry, Bri. So fucking sorry. It was the only way.” I whispered into her hair. “Just hang in there for me, princess. I’ll get us out of here.”