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“Exactly,” I say with a smile, leaning back in my seat.
I’m not sure why I needed validation over something I already know. But I get this uneasy feeling in my chest anytime I think about Tony. Like I want to see him again. Which would be ridiculous. I’ve even been staying away from the hotel. I’m pretty sure it’s a regular spot for him which means I could find him so easily.
But I never do anything without a good reason. And the truth there’s no reason to see Tony again.
* * *
I’m seated,legs crossed as a man is waterboarded in front of me. When I raise a hand to stop them, they immediately do so. Cain gasps painfully as his head is finally pulled out of the water. He falls to the floor, trying desperately to fill his lungs with air.
“Cain, darling,” I begin, my voice deceptively soft, “It doesn’t have to be this way. Just tell me what I need to know.”
“Screw you, Sophia,” he spits.
I smile. Oh how I love it when they make this fun.
“Really? That’s how you want to play this?” I ask. I look towards the man closest him. “Punch him in the face. Make it hurt really bad.”
He does so without hesitation and Cain crumples to the floor. I blow out a soft breath, my eyes trailing to my nails. I’m in serious need of a manicure. When Cain spits blood onto the ground, I consider painting my nails red to match. He heaves out a breath, his eyes meeting mine. He opens his mouth to say something obscene I’m sure.
“If the next words out of your mouth isn’t information about who you’ve been supplying to, I promise you’ll lose an ear. You know me, Cain. I don’t bluff.”
He swallows looking nervously around the room. He knows there’s not a single man who wouldn’t do as I ordered without hesitation. He might work with them, maybe he’s close to one or two but they wouldn’t blink an eye if I asked them to put a bullet in their skull.
That’s power. It’s addictive and used to fill me with a rush. But recently, all this feels like a chore. I’m terribly bored. My sister should be the one here. She deals with stuff like this. I’m not usually so hands on. But she hasn’t been available the past few days.
“His name’s Teddy,” Cain finally admits nervously. “He works for the Russo’s. He needed my help and I thought he’d give it back. I swear I didn’t mean it.”
“Aw, you were helping a friend. That’s cute.”
What’s not cute? The fact that his friend is a Russo. I briefly consider what his punishment should be. Cain has worked for my family for a long time. I want to believe he’s loyal but actions have consequences. I tap my fingers against my knee.
“What am I going to do to you, Cain? Perhaps, chop all your hair off?” I wonder aloud.
A chuckle from beside me, “A little harsh, cousin,” Rico murmurs.
We all know how much Cain loves his hair. It’s pretty too. Long, brown hair. He’s vain about his hair. I sigh softly.
“A few more punches to the face and then lock him up for a few days,” I finally decide on. “You’re lucky it’s me and not Kat, Cain. If it was Kat, you’d have lost a finger or an ear for sure.”
“Thanks, Sophia,” he murmurs and I see gratitude plain as day in his brown eyes.
He’s pulled up and hauled out of the room. When he’s gone, I look up at my cousin who’s shaking his head. “Your dad will be upset.”
“Yeah. But he’ll trust my judgement. Cain didn’t have malicious intentions,” I state.
I try not to shed blood unless it’s absolutely necessary. It’s what makes me different from my sister and my father. I get to my feet and Rico ruffles my hair. His dad and mine are brothers, which makes him family. Apart from Kat, Rico’s the person I’m closest to.
We walk out of the room and head towards my office in the building. This is our headquarters, the only building we meet at safely because it’s pretty well hidden and contains most of our cash and secret documents.
“Is Kat back?” he asks.
“She said they were coming back today. I’m just waiting on her to text me so I can head home.”
“Their trip took a long time, huh?”
My dad and sister went to Moscow a few days ago to secure their alliances. My dad’s getting more antsy about the whole De Luca thing. I finally found out what went down and frankly I can’t blame him. I love my dad, truly I do but what he did to that family was a little harsh. But it’s the way of our world and it doesn’t matter what he did, I’ll protect him no matter what.
I’m poring over some files later when my sister finally texts that they’re back. I head home immediately going straight to her bedroom. As expected she’s still working. Katerina never rests. She looks up at me with a smile.
