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LORENZO
“Iassure you, Mr. Gruco, it was an honest mistake. It won’t happen again.”
I bark out a laugh and flash my teeth at Joe, my right-hand man, who’s standing next to me. My younger brother, Anthony, is on my left, and two of my soldiers, Jasper and Dominic, hang back by the only door leading out of this concrete enclosure.
We’re in the basement of my casino, which also happens to house my office, but I like this room more. Down below us, my animals lazily lounge around the lion’s den, waiting for their next meal.
Standing in front of me are… well, I don’t remember their names, but they’re Lachlan Valentine’s guys. The fucking wannabe crime lord sends his prostitutes into my hotel and doesn’t have the decency to come to speak with me about it himself. Instead, he sends these two useless middlemen.
“An honest mistake?” I echo. “What do you think, Joe? Do you think it was an honest mistake?”
Joe doesn’t share my humor, so his face is hard as stone as he stares down the two men.
“I don’t know, boss. There’s a big fucking sign outside.”
“Abigfucking sign,” I agree. “The lion statues are a pretty good giveaway too. Did either of you notice those on the way up?”
“Yes sir,” the one with a throbbing neck vein says. He looks nervous, and his eyes dart beneath the railing where the lion, lioness and tigers are. “But the girls that you found here were new. They didn’t realize whose territory this was.”
“They didn’t strike me asnew.”
“Our girls are well trained,” the other one pipes up.
I move my gaze to him. He’s significantly less nervous than the other one. He’s got his hands at his sides, and he doesn’t fidget or break eye contact. I respect that. Not enough to let him keep his life, but I respect it. I wonder what it’ll take to break that composure.
“You know what I think?” I tuck my hands into my slacks and tilt my head. “I think somebody sent those girls here because they didn’t think I’d notice.”
“Of course not. Sir, Mr. Valentine would never—”
“Did you just interrupt me?”
His eyes go wide, and he shakes his head, but I’m almost positive that isn’t an answer to my question. I sigh like I’m disappointed, although I’m not, and gesture to the man. Jasper comes toward the guy, and he just looks around like he doesn’t know what to do. His lip trembles, and it causes mine to curl. I hate weak men. They disgust me.
The guy yelps as Jasper takes him by the arm and drags him over to the railing. “Wait! Hold on. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any disrespect. Ple—”
His words are cut off by his own shrieking as Jasper lifts him over the railing and drops his body twenty feet to the dirt floor of the lion’s den.
His body lands with a thump and the shrieking stops. I step to the edge and peer at the man’s body, now being circled by my cats. Big, beautiful,hungrycats. A cloud of dust surrounds them. He isn’t moving. He’s either dead or he’s about to be.
Lucian, my first and most favored lion, is the first to take a bite. Good boy.
“Sir.”
“Hmm?” I ask, turning my head Joe’s way. He nods to the other man like I’ve forgotten he was there. I haven’t. I just really like fucking with people. I glance over my shoulder at my other guest. Sure enough, my watching his colleague being eaten has produced a sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead. His hands, once steady at his sides, are now shaking. “Ah, yes.”
I clear my throat and face the man again. “I need to deliver a message to Lachlan Valentine. Could you please help me with that?”
“Yes, of course,” he says, shifting so he stands taller. “What would you like me to tell him?”
“Oh,” I chuckle. “I won’t be using words.”
His eyes go wide, and he looks between Jasper and Joe as they step up and grab each of his arms. Unlike the first guy, he doesn’t beg. He yells and curses, but doesn’t beg. It makes me respect him even more.
They force him to the edge, but not without him putting up a hell of a fight. As he’s tossed over and falling to the ground beneath my feet, I lean against the railing and watch this time as the body splats on the ground. The cats are busy with the first guy, but three of them shift over to the newcomer. There’s five total, three tigers, a lion, and a lioness, and each of them will be well fed by the end of the hour.
I check the time on my watch then go back to observing.
“You’re a sick motherfucker, you know that right?” Anthony asks, leaning against the railing beside me.
