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Pushing the door open makes it creak, and I’m greeted with the sound of a woman sobbing.
It’s the girl.
My gaze lands on Mark holding her as they sit in the corner of the dank room. The lighting is dim, but it’s bright enough to see them. Mark with his salt and pepper hair pressed against his daughter’s long brown hair that’s a matted mess. Fear oozes from them. It’s so thick it could be tangible.
The fear is visible when he looks up and sees me. At least I can give this motherfucker some credit for looking ashamed.Ashamed, and from what I can see, stoned.
Stoned from drugs he bought with my money.
I’m not a saint, and I won’t claim to be anything other than the mobster I am, but fuck, the first rule we know to follow as Giordanos is to keep our heads out of shit. This man has not only turned cops toward me but the fucking feds,again.
Bastard.
I hate feds more than I ever did because they were involved in the whole plot to destroy me which resulted in Sorcha’s death.
“Get up and fucking come here,” I order him, and I’m glad he has the good sense to do as I say.
He shuffles out of the girl’s arms and is visibly shaking. I look to her, and my frown deepens when I see her tear-stained face.
She’s beautiful, has the kind of beauty that’s striking and makes you want to stop and stare. It’s pure beauty, and the innocent plea in her eyes makes me think she couldn’t have known what her old man’s been up to.
At least I don’t think so. She looks at me, and more tears stream down her blotchy cheeks.
My eyes drift down what I can see of her body, curled in as she hugs her knees to her chest.
She shouldn’t be here. Something about the way she looks at me gets me though. Her stare seeps into me and touches something deep down. Something locked away. I don’t know what that something is… it’s not my soul, and I can’t take the time now to acknowledge it. Eight years I’ve known Mark, and I never thought to look a little deeper into his family.
I never had any cause to, and other than the standard checks to make sure my staff are suitable for my business, I don’t dig deeper than that.
I snap my gaze back to Mark and reach for my gun in my back pocket. Ava cries harder when she sees it.
“Kneel!” I shout. My voice carries across the room.
Mark drops to his knees, and I look at him.
Mercy is the thing that cripples us.
I will not give it tonight. People don’t take the act of mercy to mean what it should—they see it as weakness for a guy like me.
“So, how are you going to pay me back? Two million dollars, Mark, and my name gone out the door just like that. You gambled away two million dollars of my money and tied me up with drugs and prostitution,” I begin.
I’m not looking directly at Ava, but out the corner of my eye I see her flinch at the snapshot of the revelation of the truth.
“I’m sorry, Vincent. I’m so sorry. Please… I’ll pay you back,” Mark says with a nod, like he really believes he can pay me back.
I actually laugh, although I feel like starting my damage with his knees. Blow off his kneecaps and work my way up. I laugh, and it’s not laughter or humor. It’s a crude sardonic sound that pours from me.
“How the fuck are you going to do that? I want it now!” I lash out and knock him over with the back of my gun. Ava screams, and it throws me off. It’s another reason why she shouldn’t fucking be here. “You motherfucker, evil bastard. You know you can’t fucking pay it back. I’m your boss. I don’t pay you that much, and obviously, you no longer have a fucking job with me. What do you really expect me to do here?”
Mark wiggles back on his arms crying like the motherfucker he is.
“Please, Vincent. I had some problems… I wasn’t thinking straight,” he sputters.
I cock the gun and fire one bullet that hits the wall. I can’t take this shit. “You have problems? You fucking bastard. You started stealing from me whenIhad problems.” I’m talking like I still don’t have those same problems. “That’s when this started. What do you want me to do? John was beaten to near death because the Montagues thought it was him who was stealing from them. But it was you. He’s in the hospital now with two broken legs. Wife and children at his side. How is that fair? Dino nearly lost an eye and got a bullet in his arm because the Stevensons thought it was him who was stealing from them. But it was you. Should I continue?”
I prod because there’s fucking more. The two million is just the start. That was what he took from me personally.
To date, the total amount of money Mark has had in his fucking hands is two and a half million.Motherfucker.
