Page 131 of Never Say Never

My mouth stayed shut until the girls were fully out of my sight. Even then, I waited to hear a slam of a door, anything to tell me they were somewhat shielded from everything that was going to happen. I turned to meet both the leaders. Next, I needed their focus to stay on me and off York.

"Don't say something stupid, like let him go," Tasso said. “Not going to happen.” He glared at York like he was something to be squashed. "An FBI agent." Tasso spat on the floor. "Come è caduto in basso il grande nome di Vitale. Vanno a letto con i maiali."

"What do you two want?"

Tasso shook his head. "Come on, I know you aren't the brains but you have to have a little something up there."

I understood why the boss who started it all, Andrew Aceto, turned on us and attacked. His brother was killed. Yeah, he was a dirty rat, but still, blood was important amongst the families. Andrew Aceto had been taken care of. Tasso, however, wasn't his son or brother.

"You getting revenge for Andrew?"

Tasso laughed. "Fuck no! That weak minded bastard." He crossed himself. "May he rest with the mother." He said a quick prayer in Italian before leaving me with a snide smile. "Nothing like that. I just saw an opportunity."

He wanted to be on top. I laughed. What else was I supposed to do? "You will never be us."

Tasso took a step toward York like he was going to hurt him.

"What? You mad ‘cause you needed to get on your knees and suck Qiang’s cock to get this close to the top?"

Tasso stopped in his tracks. He turned, his face impassive, but I knew my words were getting to him. I briefly held York's gaze before I continued to laugh at Tasso.

"Man, you're pathetic. How does Qiang's cock taste?" I looked to the Triad leader. "His blowjob skills any good?"

Qiang laughed. "He's an idiot, isn't he?"

Tasso charged at me with his fist raised. My hands were still taped behind my back, leaving me mostly defenseless. His balled-up fist slammed into my cheek, cutting the skin there with the cheap rings he wore. Pain flared but it only brought me to life. As long as I was the one being hurt, no one else would be. The men around me held me tighter as Tasso laid into me. His hits were heavy, rocking my entire body with each blow.

I grunted, holding back any sound of pain. I smiled at the idiot. "You hit like a bitch.” A grin stretched my lips. “Kind of like your sister." I had never met either but it was fun as hell bringing it up regardless.

Tasso stopped, my blood covering his knuckles. "Che cos'era?"

"Red hair, septum piercing, and talks a mile a minute? She was mediocre at best, but your mom? I can see why so many of your men frequent her place."

Tasso's cool facade shattered as his face went red. His rapid-fire Italian only made me laugh louder. I might have been on leave from work, but I still had access to a lot of the files as they came in. It took no time to find out who the new leader of the Aceto's was and his family ties. He was bottom of the totem pole, and he shouldn't even have been able to become the leader. But there was such a thing as the right place at the right time. Too bad for Tasso, his shit wasn't nearly as protected.

His hits started up again. My ribcage was on fire. Each shallow breath was like poking my lungs with a fire poker. I laughed and took everything he had.

"That's enough. You waste time," Qiang said.

Tasso's breathing was labored as he dropped his fists.

I spat a wad of blood on his face just to spite him. "Yeah, listen to your daddy."

Tasso turned only to cock his fist back. He swung with his entire body, his fist driving into my face. My head whipped to the side, and dark spots took over my vision, threatening to take me away. My knees caved under me, and I couldn't tell if I was still upright or lying flat on the ground.

"Paolo!" York called my name again and again.

Fuck, get up.

I blinked a few times, groaned, and turned my head on the dirty ground. The world was blurry as my stomach twisted and turned. Bile slid in the back of my throat and the urge to puke grew stronger with every passing second.

"We warned you to stop investigating us," Qiang said to York.

I coughed up some blood. It tasted better than the vomit that I had to keep swallowing down. Gotta get them off York.

"You started a war. What do you expect? For law enforcement to turn a blind eye while innocent people die?"

"I expect when we push the Vitales in front of you for you to knock them down a bit so we can erase their existence instead of sleeping with them," Tasso spat. He stepped toward York, pulling his gun out.