And Bruno was going to burn.
There was a lesson in there somewhere.
“Tell us what we need to know, and I’ll make this quick.” I kept my voice calm, almost bored. I turned the knife in my hand, letting the light catch along the edge. “We don’t have a lot of time, but there’s no need for you to suffer for Rocco. We already have him behind bars, so you’re not protecting him by keeping his secrets.”
Bruno spat blood on the floor. “Go fuck yourselves.”
His eyes were on Dante, though, which rankled. I was used to being the biggest, baddest motherfucker in the room, and this sucked, losing my crown. Not that I’d argue with the bastard. He’d probably set me on fire.
My chair scraped loudly across the stone, Bruno flinching before I even touched him.
I didn’t rush, my movements smooth as I grabbed his jaw, forced his head up, and gripped the end of the hook protruding from his neck. His eyes were wild now, panic gnawing away at whatever bravado he had left.
“This is for Emberline,” I told him softly, reminding myself not to kill him just yet, that we still needed answers. Didn’t mean he couldn’t suffer, though.
I grasped the metal end and twisted.
After Bruno regained consciousness,he couldn’tstoptalking.
“Please… please, I’ll tell you everything.”
“You should’ve started there,” I interrupted.
Blood poured from the wound in his neck, soaking his two-hundred-dollar shirt, his lips almost gray from blood loss.
I traded a look with Dante. He was losing a lot of blood, and we’d have better luck getting information from him than Rocco. Something told me Demente would manage to talk his way out of his predicament, the slippery bastard.
Bruno…he wasn’t slipping out of anything. But we had to make this fast.
“Start talking,” I said. “Tell us about Rocco. His involvement with Giovanni and with Blackwood.”
That name changed everything.
Even through the pain, something sharp flickered in his expression, and I smiled.
“That’s right, we know all about Lord Blackwood. Tell us how he came to be involved, and I’ll end you quick. You have to know you’re not walking away from this. That was his wife you hurt.” I pointed the tip of my knife at Dante.
“You only think you know what Blackwood is,” the coward whined, and when the smell of urine tinged the air, I knew Bruno would give us anything we asked for.
Bruno’s eyes darted between us, desperation turning to calculation. “Giovanni didn’t want Blackwood involved. He took some convincing.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Bullshit.”
“I swear,” Bruno gasped. “He said Blackwood was too powerful. Told Rocco once they brought him in, they wouldn’t control the council anymore.”
The reasoning was solid. Lord Blackwood had a dangerous reputation, and Giovanni didn’t like competition.
“Then why contact him at all?” Dante asked, voice low.
Bruno’s throat bobbed, the hook moving with it. “Rocco claimed Blackwood had the reach, power, and connections they couldn’t match. He said if Blackwood would throw his full weight behind their takeover, he could use the Basin in return.”
Dante’s eyes swung to mine, both of us in agreement.
Blackwood having access to the Basin was a nightmare that could never happen. All vampires were treacherous, but Blackwood was on a whole other level. I’d had my own dealings with him, and his brand of evil was something I never wanted to see again.
“Rocco reached out to Blackwood. You’re sure?”
Bruno nodded frantically. “I was there. He set the meeting, made the offer, and told Giovanni about it after. Boxed him in, so he didn’t have a choice.” A short pause, and then, “The boss was clever like that. Blackwood and he swore a blood oath, so there was no reneging.”
