“Go into the basement and help Nino torture the Outfit asshole.”
I could feel the color draining from my face. I’d heard the shooting, had prayed that the Outfit would win ...
I forced myself to stand when the lock turned.
Remo came in covered in blood, and I started trembling, terrified my greatest horrors had come true.
For a couple of heartbeats, Remo regarded me. “Your brother tried to save you.”
Terror gripped me like a vise. I could not breathe. I didn’t want to believe it. “You’re lying,” I gasped out, voice broken and hollow.
A dark smile curled his lips. “He’s a brave one.”
I rushed toward Remo, clutched his bloody shirt.
Remo’s dark eyes held mine. The predatory gleam in them made my heart thud even faster.
“No,” I said again. “Samuel isn’t here. He wouldn’t risk it. Dante wouldn’t allow it.”
“I think your twin would gladly put his life down for you, Angel. I doubt he came on your uncle’s orders. That means no reinforcement.”
I swallowed. Oh Samuel. My protector. How could you be so stupid?
If Samuel was dead, I couldn’t go on living, not with the knowledge that he’d died to save me. Tears burned a hot trail down my cheeks. “If you ... if you ...” I couldn’t even say it. “Then kill me now.”
“He’s not dead yet,” Remo murmured, dark eyes scanning my face. “We’ll see how long he lasts, though.”
Samuel wasn’t dead. Not yet.
My eyes widened. “Let me see him.”
Remo touched my throat, coming closer. “Why? So you can say goodbye?”
I bit my lip. “To see the truth.”
Remo smiled. “I’m not lying.” He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of my room. He led me down into the basement, and holding me by the arm so I couldn’t storm inside, he opened one of the cells. Inside lay Samuel, covered in blood and not moving except for the shallow rise and fall of his chest. His blond hair was matted with blood. My chest constricted so tightly I was sure to pass out any second.
“What did you do?”
“Not much yet,” he said as he closed the door. “Hit him over the head. Once he wakes, Nino and I will tend to him.” I knew what that meant.
A terrifying, agonized scream echoed through the basement. I flinched violently.
“That’s Nino’s doing. He’s talking to the other survivor.”
Soon those would be Samuel’s cries. Soon he’d be submitted to the horrors he’d wanted to save me from. Horrors I’d been spared. Bile traveled up my throat.
My twin would suffer and die for me.
I grasped Remo’s arm, my eyes begging with him, even though I knew he didn’t have a heart I could soften. “Please don’t. Torture me instead.”
Remo smiled darkly, cupping my face. “I don’t want to torture you. And I told you I won’t ever cut you again, Angel.”
Of course. I knew what he wanted, what he’d wanted from the start, and today he’d get it. Swallowing my pride because it wasn’t worth Samuel’s life, I lowered myself to my knees right in front of Remo. I tilted my face up, tears stinging in my eyes. “I’m on my knees. I’m begging you to spare him. Whatever you want, it’s yours, Remo. Take it. Take everything.”
His dark eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn’t read. “You didn’t beg for your own life. You didn’t offer me your body to avoid pain, but you do for your brother?”
“I do. I’d do anything for him,” I whispered. “I’m offering you everything. You can have it all. I’m giving it to you freely, willingly, if you spare my brother.”
Remo grasped my arm and hoisted me to my feet. Without another word, he dragged me upstairs and into his bedroom. He released me and closed the door. His breathing was harsh.
My fingers shook as I reached for my dress and pulled it over my head. Remo’s eyes scorched my skin as I reached for my bra and unhooked it, letting it drop to the floor. With a hard swallow, I pushed my panties down my hips until they joined my bra on the floor.
“It’s yours,” I said quietly. All I could think about was Samuel down in that basement, lying in his own blood and the torture that awaited him at the hands of Remo and Nino. I had heard the rumors of what they’d done to Kiara’s uncle.
Not taking his eyes off my face, Remo advanced on me. His hands touched my waist and I trembled. “So strong,” Remo murmured. “So very difficult to break.”
“You won. You broke me. I begged you. I’m offering you my body. Please spare Samuel.”
His eyes traveled the length of my body before they locked on mine once more. “You aren’t broken, Angel. Sacrificing yourself for someone you love isn’t weakness.”
“Spare my brother, Remo.” With shaking hands I reached for his belt, but he stopped me. And my world fell apart because if he didn’t take me up on my offer, what else could I give him in return for my brother’s life? What else did he want?
Remo leaned down to my ear. “Such a tantalizing offer.” He exhaled. “You’d hate me fiercely.”
“I would,” I whispered.
“You would. So you don’t hate me fiercely yet?”
I shuddered. I couldn’t bear his mind games, not now, not when Samuel’s life depended on it.
Remo kissed the spot below my ear. “I will spare your brother, Angel,” he said in a low voice, and I froze because I couldn’t believe it. “I will send him back to the Outfit with a message. It needs to be loud and clear so they understand I won’t have my territory breached.”
I nodded mutely. I’d agree to anything to save my brother. I didn’t understand any of this.
“You will come down with me into the cell beside Samuel’s. I will have a talk with him.” I stiffened in Remo’s hold. “Just a talk and tell him that his actions have consequences, and then I’ll return to your cell and you’re going to scream and beg as if I’m hurting you. You will make him believe it. Then I will release him so he can return home with the remains of the other Outfit soldier and the knowledge that you will suffer brutally for every single one of their mistakes.”
I gave a nod. Samuel would hate himself for it. He would suffer worse than before, but it was better than the alternative. I needed to save him no matter the cost. I could tell him the truth once I was back home.
“Good,” Remo said quietly. He gathered my clothes from the ground, his eyes level with my center for a moment before he straightened. “Now get dressed.”
I didn’t understand why he hadn’t taken me when it was obvious how much he wanted me. He could have had me in every way he wanted. I wouldn’t have fought him. He could have sent the warning message by recording Samuel’s torture and my screams and sending the video to my family. He didn’t have to keep Samuel alive to deliver it.
What else could he want?
REMO
Serafina had offered herself to me, but she’d done it out of despair, out of love for her brother. Not because she wanted to.
She loved her brother fiercely, wanted to protect him at any cost, like I would my brothers. I could respect that. I’d never admired a woman on her knees more than I did Serafina. She followed me quietly through the mansion. I could have asked anything of her, but that wasn’t how I wanted things to go. Far from it.
I opened the door to the cell beside Samuel’s, and Serafina stepped in.
The door to the third cell swung open, and Nino stepped out, covered in blood, his brows drawing together when he spotted Serafina. I closed the door and faced him.
“What’s going on?” he asked. His eyes scanned my face. “Remo.”
I smirked. “Change of plans.”
He moved closer. “We’re not letting him go.”
“We will.”
Savio joined us in the hallway, clothes drenched in blood as well. He didn’t say anything, only regarded us carefully.
Nino shook his head. “You’re losing yourself in your game.”
“I’m not. I know exactly what I’m doing, Nino. Torturing and killing Samuel won’t make the same impact as my plan does. He’d become a martyr. His death would forge Dante and his family closer together. They would unite in their loss. But shame and guilt will rip them apart.”
“So this isn’t about Serafina?”
“Of course it is. She’s the center of my game.”
Nino shook his head again. “We promised Fabiano his father, and I want this game over. I want her out of our mansion. Speed up the process.”
“Some things take time.”
“Your game has been evolving a lot since we kidnapped her. Are you sure it’s because you think it necessary or is it because she’s making you?”
“She’s not making me do anything. You know me. I can’t be coerced to do anything.”
“I’m going to Kiara. Adamo took her back to our wing. I don’t have the necessary patience for you tonight.” Nino stalked off.
Savio raised his eyebrows.
“What did the Outfit bastard say?” I muttered.
“He was one of the younger soldiers. Made Men from Samuel’s group. Apparently, the blond asshole has already quite the loyal following in the Minneapolis Outfit.”