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“Don’t know what to do about children being sold… Seems pretty simple to me. Call the authorities. The news. Blast the person everywhere they could. Why wouldn’t they do that?” The pinch of tears clogs my nose, and I just grow madder. I hate the way I feel right now. Vulnerable, fearful, like a little girl hiding from the bloodshed of her parents.
“It’s not so cut and dry, Nicola.” Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t.
“Would you stay quiet?”
His answer is immediate. “I’d burn the house to the ground.”
“Then let’s do that.”
Chapter 10
Domino
Ihad intended to be home by the time Nicola awoke, but the deeper I questioned Santini, the more blood I wanted to shed. He held out longer than Pace or I thought he would, and it wasn’t until he’d lost all the fingers on one hand and I was moving onto the next that he finally spoke up.
Vincenzo Salvatore is the brains of their operation, which isn’t surprising. However, the police chief would provide his cousin with names of people who had been arrested or affiliated with criminal activity. Nicola’s father just so happened to beat a man to within an inch of his life because the other man had hit on Nicola’s mother aggressively, putting him in their sights.
I can’t lie and say I wouldn’t do the exact same thing to anyone who dared try to steal Nic away from me too.
Salvatore wanted money, Santini wanted money, they found a relatively easy way to attain it without getting caught. Because who in their right mind would suspect the chief of police of trafficking children to sadistic fucking people.
“What do you want to do with him?” Pace asks as we stare at the unconscious man. Passed out from blood loss or pain, I have no idea, nor do I care.
“Drop him on the steps of thecommissariatowith the tape.” We voice recorded the entire interrogation. The same recording will find its way to media outlets as well. If nothing is done, I’ll be back, and I won’t quit at limbs; I’ll rip his beating heart from his chest.
By the time news of the chief’s deception hits airwaves, I expect Salvatore to be on the run, and that’s when we plan to grab him. And the wife for Nicola. They both have a lot to answer for, and I intend to be their judge, jury, and, if requested by my woman, their executioner.
Tying the chief up, we load him back up in the trunk just as my burner phone begins to ring. Only my brothers have this number.
“What?” I bark.
“Well, you should know, your woman is a filthy liar, she’s sick, and she wants to burn down the house of the man who raised her. Which might have been my idea. How long are you going to be?” Donato’s rapid-fire words leave my head spinning.
“What do you mean she’s sick?” I focus on the most concerning matter.
“I was following behind her when she pulled over, and she was vomiting before her door was even open.” I can hear her in the background as she continues.
“What did she lie about?” I rub the bridge of my nose with two fingers.
“Said she needed to get books from school, then left. We’re currently sitting four houses down from Salvatore’s residence.”Fuck.
“Why the fuck would you even let her get that fucking far, Donato?” I shout the question, pissed he’d allow her so close to the man.
“Hey man, you never said restrain her. You, in fact, told us that if we put one fucking hand on her, you’d rip our limbs from our bodies. This is your fault.” Pace snorts at our brother’s explanation, shrugging a shoulder when I glare at him.
I can feel the headache growing the longer I listen to this bullshit. I’m the youngest of the lot; how are they so fucking dense?
“Take her home. Call the doctor, and for the love of fuck, don’t let her burn any houses down, or I’ll rip your head off your shoulders. Got it, Don?”
There’s a beat of silence before he says, “Got it,” and hangs up.
“Burn any houses down?” Pace questions as he slams the trunk shut on Mario Santini.
“Seems Donato put the idea in Nicola’s head after she took off to do god knows what.” I’m more worried about her being sick than what she could do to the man who ruined her life.
Pace’s laughter doesn’t help my headache as we slip into the car and head back to Palermo. If I’d known coming home was going to be so fucking complicated, I may not have come.
But then I remember the sight of Nicola standing in the parking lot of the detention center over a week ago, and I know I wouldn’t change anything about the events that have occurred.
