Page 57 of Sweet Revenge

Once I was tied up, she belched and opened her laptop. The guy rushed out of the room like he had more important things to do, and he probably did. They were expecting a response from Daemon, after all, and I wasn’t going anywhere. Although the fact that he hadn’t tied my ankles or gagged medidleave my options open.Amateur.

“I can’t believe how rude you are, you little bitch. Your mother was always so much kinder than you are. For years, I manipulated your father behind the scenes, getting him to do my bidding. All the while, I put the Petrov family leaders’ attention on the La Rosas. When the day finally came that I could use Daemon’s hunger for power to knock off his father, I took advantage of it. He had never gotten over Jenny’s death, not realizing I was the one who had her murdered. All I had to do was tell Daemon his father had done it. Daemon did the rest. Love weakens a man. Clearly.” She gave me a onceover and made ahumphnoise in the back of her throat. Then, returning her attention to her laptop, she pushed a few keys, taking her time.

I had no idea what she was doing. I doubted she was going to call the capos in for a PowerPoint presentation on how to fend off an attack, but whatever she was up to had to be important, at least to her.

“Once Daemon thought he had control, I had to use the Savages and more of your father’s resources to make him look weak. It wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it would be. Lots of the leaders in our own family had respect for him. That and they’re old school, thinking a person can’t run a syndicate without a dick. But I’ve made it work.” Again, she smiled at me, more like a beast about to pounce than a human being.

I stared back at her, the pain in my head beginning to subside as I tried to think about how to get the fuck out of here. She was playing to win, and she didn’t care who died in the process. It had to be her—not me.

Not Daemon.

“Now,” she continued, that devious look still on her face, “I’ve finally got all the pieces in place. I’ll squash the last remaining remnants of my son’s resistance, and then no one will ever be able to challenge me again. The Petrovs and the La Rosas will finally be united—under my reign.” The laugh that poured out of her left no question the woman had come unhinged.

I glared back at her, swearing on my mother’s dead body I would end Lillian Petrov once and for all.

CHAPTER34

DAEMON

The musty stench that invaded my lungs every time I entered this old house stung my nostrils as I led my brothers and the other guys who’d been hand-selected for this mission into the house I’d bought next to the family mansion. Even though I tried to come over every once in a while and air the place out, it seemed like old houses always smelled bad when no one lived in them.

“You bought this place?” Vin slowly turned around in the living room, taking it all in. Faded floral wallpaper covered most of the walls. A few random pieces of furniture still remained, a few of them broken or stained. Above the fireplace, the portrait of an older man and woman smiled down on us, their black and white faces frozen in forced grins that looked nothing but uncomfortable.

“This the original owner and his wife?” Mikel chuckled as he tapped the picture frame. It slid from its nail, clattering against the wooden mantel. He managed to catch it before it shattered on the hearth.

“Let’s not upset the ghosts,” Vin told him, punching him in the arm.

“Sorry.” Mikel set the portrait aside, and we all snickered before the gravity of the situation came back to us, and we quieted down.

“Come with me,” I told them, beckoning with one hand as I turned to head to the basement.

Behind me, they shuffled along, all good soldiers. Well, all except for one. Dezzy had begged us to let him come along so that he could prove himself, and even though it rubbed me the wrong way to do so, I’d ended up giving in. If he did anything to betray me on this mission, I wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet through his skull, and I’d let everyone else in our party know they could do the same.

The basement was the sort of place one might see in a ghost-hunting show. Cobwebs hung from the wooden beams above us, and inexplicable dark patches hovered along the walls. I’d never been afraid of ghosts, but I wasn’t eager to meet one. I had created my fair share of them.

Along the wall nearest my family mansion, a steel door waited for us, gleaming in the faint light that made it down the staircase from the floor above us. Thoughts of what was about to happen had my pulse racing. This was it—the final showdown. My mother had proven herself to be a snake in the grass. Now, I was going to hoe her in half. Either that, or I was going to lead my last attack against an enemy and die saving the woman I loved.

For Elisa’s sake, I hoped this wouldn’t be our last blaze of glory.

I approached the door without hesitation and threw it open. Inside, the tunnel was tall enough for us to walk through without ducking. I’d taken great care to make sure the builders used the highest quality materials. Soft lighting marked the floors to keep us from tripping as we began our journey. The passageway even had a ventilation system.

Both houses had large estates, so it took a while for us to reach the other end of the tunnel. When we got there, I turned back to face my men. All of them had been prepped and knew what to expect.

“When I had this place built, it was in case we needed to escape the mansion,” I said. “I never expected to use it to break in. I never expected any of this mess we’re in. But we’re ending it today. Right now. Are you ready?”

A flurry of guns cocking confirmed they were. I punched in the code to the door, and silently, it opened.

I went first, stepping into the basement of my mother’s domain. We were in the gym, the entryway hidden from view behind a large mirror and a row of storage shelves I’d recently had put in to hold boxing gloves and the like. I didn’t hear anyone down here, though footsteps from overhead met my ear. With my gun drawn and ready to shoot, I motioned for them to follow.

Vin darted around me. Back when we were planning the attack in the warehouse, he insisted he needed to go first. After all, he was the deadliest with a knife. Both hands grasped long, razor-sharp blades. Gliding across the floor, he approached the staircase that led to the first floor with a stealthiness the rest of us struggled to replicate.

Once we reached the door that opened up to the first floor, the situation escalated dramatically. The creaking didn’t seem to alert anyone, but when Vin stepped through, he nearly ran into one of Ma’s thugs who was making his way down the hallway in a hurry.

Vin used one fist to steady the brute’s shoulder as he spun him around and ran his knife across his throat. Blood spurted out, sounds of choking filling the narrow hallway. Vin tossed him aside, ready for more.

A flurry of footsteps coming from the direction of the living room alerted us that we had company. Fanning out, we all got ready to fight. Though we had silencers on our weapons, I’d told the guys not to fire if we could help it. All of us were familiar with the sound of a gun firing through a silencer. Once the shooting started, things would be chaos.

Six large men in suits rounded the corner. I watched the expressions of the leaders as they recognized what was happening. Vin tossed a knife into the throat of one of them while I snagged the other and cranked his head around, breaking his neck. The rest of them were taken down by my men, mostly with knives, but when one of Ma’s men fired, my guys used their guns as well, figuring we’d lost our element of surprise.