hand.
My uncle shook his hand.
“ Grazie , and take care of my brother and nephew.”
“ Not your
niece? ”
“ Just keep her alive to
make my nephew happy.”
The Black Russian
nodded .
Letting go of his hand, Christo
turned to me, giving my cheek an affectionate pat. “Enjoy yourself
and I’ll see you in a week.”
I nodded, leaning in to give him a
hug. He hugged me back, then headed for his car with the soldier
who’d carried my auntie into the plane.
“ He’s crazy like me,” the Black
Russian said, watching him get into the car. “That’s why I won’t
kill him.”
I frowned. “Why would you even consider
killing him?”
“ That’s a mute point, plus he’ll
be dead from the cancer soon ,” he said, watching my uncle’s car drive off,
followed by the other one. Once they had disappeared, he looked
down at me. “I have a question for you. Were you at the D’Angelo
house when your family took it over?”
“ No. Why?”
He held out his right hand. “Grip my hand
with both of yours.”
Wondering what the fuck this
was about, I
took a hold of his hand, yelping as one of my fingers touched
something spiky. I whipped my hand back, seeing blood on my middle
finger. “What the hell?”
The Black Russian turned his hand
over. My eyes went wide at the ring on his middle finger. Its top
was flipped open, a needle sticking out of it. It reminded me of
the one I’d given my sister to inject the Landi soldier
with.
“ Did you poison me? I said,
looking up at the Black Russian in shock.
He smiled. “No. I
j ust gave
you something to make you sluggish so you don’t give me trouble. I
know about your fighting skills, and right now, I want you to be a
pussy cat, not a tiger.” He closed the ring’s lid. “Hence, why this
was necessary.”
I stepped away from him. “What the hell is
going on?” I said, aware there was nowhere to run. Christo was
gone, while the Russian guards were now pointing their guns at
me.
T he Black Russian reached out to grab my
arm. “Calm down, pretty.”
“ Like fuck I will.” I yanked my arm
away from him, almost losing my balance. I attempted to steady
myself, my limps feeling wobbly. “Why are you doing this to me?
We’re meant to be allies.”
“ Not after your family killed
four of my Black Guards and kidnapped another.” He lunged for me as
my legs gave out, stopping me from hitting the ground. He lifted me
into his arms as though I weighed nothing. “You’re lucky you
weren’t there when it happened, because I would’ve tortured you for
it.”
I stared at him, the full
brevity of what he was saying hitting me. I remembered seeing a
stunning blond Russian in the House of Whores; I just didn’t
realize he was a Black Guard. Numerous nationalities had occupied
the cells, Slavic people amongst them, which had been why I hadn’t
paid him special attention, even more so since he wasn’t my taste
in men, plus the Padre had dealt with him.
The Black Russian grimaced. “I see
understanding in your pretty eyes. You know what’s happening, don’t
you? Vengeance.”
“ You’re going to kill
me?”
“ Oh no, you’re too lovely
to kill. Instead, you’re going to be my newest pleasure
slave.”
“ Let me go!” I yelled, now
panicking.
He tightened his grip on
me. “No,
Matteo, you belong to me now, along with Jagger’s brother. I have
waited a long time to fuck a D’Angelo.”
“ The Padre— ”
“— w ill get his just desserts at the hands of
my sister. And really, I don’t understand why you Donatelli ever
thought I would help you?”
“ Because you’re friends with
Christo.”
“ If he was a true friend he
wouldn’t have allowed my guards to be killed.”
“ He had no part in what happened
to them. He wasn’t the Don at the time. He wasn’t even in the
fucking country. The ones responsible are dead.”
“ The priest is still
alive.”
“ Then kill him and let me
go.”
“ You’re n ot a very loyal
nephew.”
“ I
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