“I’ll never lie to you, Emilia. Even if it hurts you.”
She nodded, dashing more tears on my skin. Fuck.
“It’s unlikely that your uncle’s only underboss was unaware of his dealings.” I gripped her face, bringing her gaze to mine. “I’m sorry, Emilia. You deserve better.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I am going to destroy Sergio for what he did to you. Then Matteo.” Then the entire Outfit. I brushed my lips over hers. “I’ll gift you his head.”
I rolled her onto her back and stroked her hair away from her face. “Just don’t hide from me again, piccola.”
“I’m not like you, Gio. I can’t just kill someone and carry on.” Her words were a hushed breath. “I don’t know who I am now.”
“You’re mine.”
Roberto, Sergio…dead or alive, they didn’t get to have a hold on her. They didn’t get to occupy a thought in her pretty head, and they sure as fuck didn’t get her tears.
“And I will remind you of it again and again until you remember.”
4
GIO
Jackson kicked in the door pretty easily, given how expensive this apartment building was. You’d think their security would be better. We stepped inside the pristine apartment, and I took in the view of Lake Michigan in the distance.
Don’t get me wrong, the DA was well paid, but not this well paid. No, this was was what corruption and blood money bought. But it came at a price.
My men moved through the apartment, securing it, ensuring no one called anyone they shouldn’t, like law enforcement.
A woman’s high-pitched shriek came from one of the back rooms before a blonde was dragged into the living room and shoved down onto the couch. She clutched her silk robe around her, pressing a hand to her mouth to try to quell her sobs. Maybe she thought we’d kill her for being too annoying.
Then Howard came stumbling onto the scene, his hair sticking up in all directions, his pajamas in place. “What is the meaning of this, Guerra?” He acted brave, but his gaze flicked to his wife.
I wondered if she knew how corrupt he was. Surely she realized this lifestyle had to be dirty money. My dirty money.
Jackson grabbed Howard’s shoulder and pushed him down onto the couch beside his wife. “Sit there, and shut the fuck up.”
I let out a dramatic sigh as I moved over to the window and shoved my hands into the pockets of my pants. Nothing made a man more nervous than casual and calm. Rage and violence were predictable, obvious. It was the anticipation of violence that truly broke a man.
“You insist on disrespecting me, Howard. Despite everything I’ve given you.” I glanced at the DA, and he swallowed heavily.
“It’s not—”
“You don’t answer my calls, and I’m forced to come here—to batter down your door and threaten your wife.”
The woman whimpered, tears streaking down her face in black lines.
I moved toward him. “You see, I pay you well to be at my disposal, Howard. This apartment, your nice car, your three vacations a year.” I stopped in front of him. “All me.”
His face turned red, jaw clenching. “I’m the DA—”
In a rare show of temper, I shift to the side, gripping the back of his neck and slamming his face into the coffee table in front of the couch. His wife screamed before someone clamped a hand over her mouth.
I was usually more tactful, but I was all out of patience today. Gripping a handful of Howard’s hair, I yanked his head back. He groaned, hands fluttering over his broken nose as blood ran down his face.
“You are my fucking bitch. I expect your obedience. When I call, you answer; when I tell you to do something, it gets done. Do you understand?”
He gave a jerky nod, blood now dripping onto the cream couch, staining his pajamas.
“Good. You will stop pursuing the mob and start pursuing The Outfit.”
He shook his head while tipping his face back, trying to quell the bleeding. “I can’t. It’ll raise suspicion if I have no cause.”
“Your department is aware of Outfit activity, is it not?”
“Yes, but they don’t cause any trouble. It’s not—”
“And if bodies were to start littering the streets? If there were a ‘gang war’?”
His gaze met mine, and I could see the fear in his eyes. I delighted in it in a way I would never admit to anyone.
“Then they would open an investigation.”
My lips twitched. “Good.”
I patted his cheek and stepped away. Jackson released the wife, who looked like she was about to throw up or pass out.
“And Howard? If you ignore my calls again, if you don’t do what I want, remember, I know where you live. I know where your children go to school. And I will always know. There is nowhere you can hide, no outrunning me…” I let the threat hang in the air before his wife started sobbing.