Twisted Pride (The Camorra Chronicles Book 3)

by Cora Reilly

  “Go into the basement and help Nino torture the Outfit asshole.”

  I could feel the color draining from my face. I’d heard the shooting, had prayed that the Outfit would win ...

  I forced myself to stand when the lock turned.

  Remo came in covered in blood, and I started trembling, terrified my greatest horrors had come true.

  For a couple of heartbeats, Remo regarded me. “Your brother tried to save you.”

  Terror gripped me like a vise. I could not breathe. I didn’t want to believe it. “You’re lying,” I gasped out, voice broken and hollow.

  A dark smile curled his lips. “He’s a brave one.”

  I rushed toward Remo, clutched his bloody shirt.

  Remo’s dark eyes held mine. The predatory gleam in them made my heart thud even faster.

  “No,” I said again. “Samuel isn’t here. He wouldn’t risk it. Dante wouldn’t allow it.”

  “I think your twin would gladly put his life down for you, Angel. I doubt he came on your uncle’s orders. That means no reinforcement.”

  I swallowed. Oh Samuel. My protector. How could you be so stupid?

  If Samuel was dead, I couldn’t go on living, not with the knowledge that he’d died to save me. Tears burned a hot trail down my cheeks. “If you ... if you ...” I couldn’t even say it. “Then kill me now.”

  “He’s not dead yet,” Remo murmured, dark eyes scanning my face. “We’ll see how long he lasts, though.”

  Samuel wasn’t dead. Not yet.

  My eyes widened. “Let me see him.”

  Remo touched my throat, coming closer. “Why? So you can say goodbye?”

  I bit my lip. “To see the truth.”

  Remo smiled. “I’m not lying.” He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of my room. He led me down into the basement, and holding me by the arm so I couldn’t storm inside, he opened one of the cells. Inside lay Samuel, covered in blood and not moving except for the shallow rise and fall of his chest. His blond hair was matted with blood. My chest constricted so tightly I was sure to pass out any second.

  “What did you do?”

  “Not much yet,” he said as he closed the door. “Hit him over the head. Once he wakes, Nino and I will tend to him.” I knew what that meant.

  A terrifying, agonized scream echoed through the basement. I flinched violently.

  “That’s Nino’s doing. He’s talking to the other survivor.”

  Soon those would be Samuel’s cries. Soon he’d be submitted to the horrors he’d wanted to save me from. Horrors I’d been spared. Bile traveled up my throat.

  My twin would suffer and die for me.

  I grasped Remo’s arm, my eyes begging with him, even though I knew he didn’t have a heart I could soften. “Please don’t. Torture me instead.”

  Remo smiled darkly, cupping my face. “I don’t want to torture you. And I told you I won’t ever cut you again, Angel.”

  Of course. I knew what he wanted, what he’d wanted from the start, and today he’d get it. Swallowing my pride because it wasn’t worth Samuel’s life, I lowered myself to my knees right in front of Remo. I tilted my face up, tears stinging in my eyes. “I’m on my knees. I’m begging you to spare him. Whatever you want, it’s yours, Remo. Take it. Take everything.”

  His dark eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn’t read. “You didn’t beg for your own life. You didn’t offer me your body to avoid pain, but you do for your brother?”

  “I do. I’d do anything for him,” I whispered. “I’m offering you everything. You can have it all. I’m giving it to you freely, willingly, if you spare my brother.”

  Remo grasped my arm and hoisted me to my feet. Without another word, he dragged me upstairs and into his bedroom. He released me and closed the door. His breathing was harsh.

  My fingers shook as I reached for my dress and pulled it over my head. Remo’s eyes scorched my skin as I reached for my bra and unhooked it, letting it drop to the floor. With a hard swallow, I pushed my panties down my hips until they joined my bra on the floor.

  “It’s yours,” I said quietly. All I could think about was Samuel down in that basement, lying in his own blood and the torture that awaited him at the hands of Remo and Nino. I had heard the rumors of what they’d done to Kiara’s uncle.

  Not taking his eyes off my face, Remo advanced on me. His hands touched my waist and I trembled. “So strong,” Remo murmured. “So very difficult to break.”

  “You won. You broke me. I begged you. I’m offering you my body. Please spare Samuel.”

  His eyes traveled the length of my body before they locked on mine once more. “You aren’t broken, Angel. Sacrificing yourself for someone you love isn’t weakness.”

  “Spare my brother, Remo.” With shaking hands I reached for his belt, but he stopped me. And my world fell apart because if he didn’t take me up on my offer, what else could I give him in return for my brother’s life? What else did he want?

  Remo leaned down to my ear. “Such a tantalizing offer.” He exhaled. “You’d hate me fiercely.”

  “I would,” I whispered.

  “You would. So you don’t hate me fiercely yet?”

  I shuddered. I couldn’t bear his mind games, not now, not when Samuel’s life depended on it.

  Remo kissed the spot below my ear. “I will spare your brother, Angel,” he said in a low voice, and I froze because I couldn’t believe it. “I will send him back to the Outfit with a message. It needs to be loud and clear so they understand I won’t have my territory breached.”

  I nodded mutely. I’d agree to anything to save my brother. I didn’t understand any of this.

  “You will come down with me into the cell beside Samuel’s. I will have a talk with him.” I stiffened in Remo’s hold. “Just a talk and tell him that his actions have consequences, and then I’ll return to your cell and you’re going to scream and beg as if I’m hurting you. You will make him believe it. Then I will release him so he can return home with the remains of the other Outfit soldier and the knowledge that you will suffer brutally for every single one of their mistakes.”

  I gave a nod. Samuel would hate himself for it. He would suffer worse than before, but it was better than the alternative. I needed to save him no matter the cost. I could tell him the truth once I was back home.

  “Good,” Remo said quietly. He gathered my clothes from the ground, his eyes level with my center for a moment before he straightened. “Now get dressed.”

  I didn’t understand why he hadn’t taken me when it was obvious how much he wanted me. He could have had me in every way he wanted. I wouldn’t have fought him. He could have sent the warning message by recording Samuel’s torture and my screams and sending the video to my family. He didn’t have to keep Samuel alive to deliver it.

  What else could he want?

  REMO

  Serafina had offered herself to me, but she’d done it out of despair, out of love for her brother. Not because she wanted to.

  She loved her brother fiercely, wanted to protect him at any cost, like I would my brothers. I could respect that. I’d never admired a woman on her knees more than I did Serafina. She followed me quietly through the mansion. I could have asked anything of her, but that wasn’t how I wanted things to go. Far from it.

  I opened the door to the cell beside Samuel’s, and Serafina stepped in.

  The door to the third cell swung open, and Nino stepped out, covered in blood, his brows drawing together when he spotted Serafina. I closed the door and faced him.

  “What’s going on?” he asked. His eyes scanned my face. “Remo.”

  I smirked. “Change of plans.”

  He moved closer. “We’re not letting him go.”

  “We will.”

  Savio joined us in the hallway, clothes drenched in blood as well. He didn’t say anything, only regarded us carefully.

  Nino shook his head. “You’re losing yourself in your game.”

  “I’m not. I kn
ow exactly what I’m doing, Nino. Torturing and killing Samuel won’t make the same impact as my plan does. He’d become a martyr. His death would forge Dante and his family closer together. They would unite in their loss. But shame and guilt will rip them apart.”

  “So this isn’t about Serafina?”

  “Of course it is. She’s the center of my game.”

  Nino shook his head again. “We promised Fabiano his father, and I want this game over. I want her out of our mansion. Speed up the process.”

  “Some things take time.”

  “Your game has been evolving a lot since we kidnapped her. Are you sure it’s because you think it necessary or is it because she’s making you?”

  “She’s not making me do anything. You know me. I can’t be coerced to do anything.”

  “I’m going to Kiara. Adamo took her back to our wing. I don’t have the necessary patience for you tonight.” Nino stalked off.

  Savio raised his eyebrows.

  “What did the Outfit bastard say?” I muttered.

  “He was one of the younger soldiers. Made Men from Samuel’s group. Apparently, the blond asshole has already quite the loyal following in the Minneapolis Outfit.”

  “I assume Dante and Pietro Mione didn’t know?”

  “They didn’t.”

  “You can leave. I’ll handle this alone.”

  Savio hesitated. “Are you really sure your plan is going to work? Nino is the logical genius.”

  “He doesn’t take emotions into consideration. Emotional warfare is far more effective in this case than open violence.”

  “Not as much fun if you ask me.”

  I shook my head. “Oh, it’s fun for me, trust me.”

  Savio snorted. “I’ll go take a shower. You have whatever kind of fun you prefer.”

  He sauntered off and I stepped into Samuel’s cell. His wrists and ankles were tied together, but his eyes were open in his bloody face and full of hatred. “You fucking bastard,” he rasped.

  I smiled. “I’d be careful with the insults if I were you.”

  “Fuck you,” Samuel spat. “As if anything I say matters. You’re going to torture me to death anyway.”

  I knelt beside him. “I don’t think that’s the right punishment for you, Sam.”

  Fear replaced the hatred in his eyes. He arched up. “Don’t! Don’t you dare touch her.”

  I straightened. “Someone will have to suffer for this. And I know you will suffer twice as much if I hurt your twin.”

  “No! Torture me. Kill me.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s not an option. You will return to the Outfit with the memory of your sister’s screams.”

  Samuel froze. “No,” he gasped out.

  I turned.

  “Remo!” he roared, but I closed the cell door.

  I stepped into Serafina’s cell. She was pale and still so painstakingly proud and beautiful, I allowed myself a moment to admire her.

  She tilted her head toward me, her blue eyes burning with emotion. “Samuel will be safe?”

  “By my honor.”

  Her lips curled, but she didn’t say anything.

  “I hope you can be convincing. I want your best screams.”

  Her eyes narrowed briefly, giving me a fucking kick as usual. It was so much better than her desperate surrender.

  She closed her eyes, chest heaving, elegant throat flexing.

  I needed to own this woman. Body and soul and everything else she could offer. I fucking burned with the desire to possess her in every way possible.

  Finally, Serafina screamed, and it was so fucking real that my body reacted to the sound, but not in a way it usually did, not with excitement and the thrill of the hunt. There was something close to revulsion filling my body, hearing her agonized cries and imagining they were real.

  My hands curled to fists, my muscles tensing because a deeply buried instinct wanted me to protect her from whatever caused those screams. Unfortunately for her, nothing could protect her from me.

  I couldn’t fucking take it anymore. I stalked toward her, gripped her arm. “Enough,” I growled, breathing harshly.

  Serafina’s eyes snapped open. They searched my face, and a second too late I realized she got deeper than anyone was allowed. “Enough,” I repeated, my voice shaking with rage and confusion.

  “Enough?” she whispered so softly. The sound was like a fucking caress.

  Maybe I should end it now. Do what Nino said, end this fucking game. Get rid of Serafina and Samuel both.

  I cupped her head and pressed my forehead to hers. She trembled, overwhelmed.

  “Maybe I should kill you.”

  “Maybe,” she breathed. “But you won’t.”

  I should have contradicted her, but she was right and she knew it.

  “You promised.”

  I pulled back from her. “And I will keep my promise. I’ll release your brother now. I’ll have one of my men fly him and the corpses to Kansas City. How he gets back to Outfit territory from there is his own problem.”

  She nodded.

  “Come,” I ordered.

  I didn’t touch her as I led her back to her bedroom. She moved toward the window and perched on the windowsill, pulling her legs against her chest. I stopped with my fingers against the light switch then lowered them, leaving the room in the dark.

  Serafina twisted her head, staring at me. She was backlit by the silver moonlight as she perched in the window frame. She’d never looked more like an angel than in this fucking moment, and I realized I was on a precarious path.

  Her whispered words broke the silence. “I wonder whose game is more dangerous, yours or mine, Remo?”

  CHAPTER 14

  SERAFINA

  Over the next couple of days, Remo kept his distance. We didn’t go on runs, and Kiara or one of his brothers brought me food.

  The look in his eyes when I’d screamed in the basement, it was difficult to describe, but I knew for some reason it had bothered him.

  Nino had informed me this morning that Samuel was back in Minneapolis. I believed him. Remo had promised and despite my difficult feelings toward the Capo, I knew he’d keep this promise. I also knew that Samuel and my family were suffering every day I was here.

  Nino treated me even colder than before—if that was even possible. I had a feeling things between Remo and him were strained because of Samuel. Nino probably would have killed my brother. It was the obvious solution, the one Dante would have chosen. But Remo ... he was unpredictable. Cruel. Fierce.

  I didn’t understand him.

  If he’d tortured and killed Samuel, I would have hated him with brutal abandon, would have done anything I could to kill him. But he hadn’t. I was scared about his motives, but more than that ... I was scared because a twisted part of me was grateful. I wasn’t sure exactly why, but Remo had done this because of me.

  It was way past midnight when I heard my door open. I couldn’t sleep, my mind whirring with thoughts.

  Lying on my side, I watched the tall figure step in. I knew it was Remo from the way he moved, from his tall frame, the shock of his black hair. “You’re awake,” he said in a low voice.

  “Did you want to watch me sleep?”

  He moved closer. His face lay in shadows, and my pulse picked up. He sank down on the edge of the bed, and I rolled onto my back.

  “No,” he said in a strange tone. “I prefer you awake.”

  He leaned over me, one of his arms braced beside my hip.

  “What do you want?” I muttered.

  “I want you gone.”

  My eyes widened. “Then let me go.”

  “I fear it’s not that easy.” He bent lower and then his palm touched my belly and slowly slid down. I held my breath, becoming still in a mix of shock and anticipation. He cupped me through the covers and my clothes. The touch was light, almost questioning, and I was completely frozen. My center tingled and that, more than Remo’s touch, sent a fierce stab of fear through me.
I wanted him to touch me without a barrier between us, wanted to get a taste of something utterly forbidden, something I wasn’t allowed to want.

  Neither of us said anything. I knew what paralyzed me, but what restrained Remo?

  He exhaled slowly and stood. Without another word, he disappeared. Good Lord, what was happening? With him. With me. With the both of us.

  That middle of the night visit seemed to have done something to Remo because he returned to our previous routine of taking me on runs and walks through the gardens. I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved or worried. I’d almost missed our daily arguments because he took me seriously and was strangely excited about my comebacks. He didn’t want me to be the restrained lady. Far from it. Remo thrived on chaos and conflict. His presence left me breathless and overwhelmed.

  I slanted Remo a look as he walked beside me in silence. His expression was harsh, his dark eyes forbidding. I stopped and after a moment he did too. He narrowed his eyes.

  “Why did you really let Samuel go? I want the truth.”

  Remo glared down at me. “I think you’re forgetting what you are. I don’t owe you the truth. I don’t even owe you these fucking strolls through the gardens. You are my captive, Serafina.”

  Serafina? “What about ‘Angel?’” I retorted.

  Remo gripped my upper arms. “Careful. I think handling you with kid gloves gave you the wrong idea.”

  “I think I have exactly the right idea.”

  Remo’s fingers tightened. I lifted my hands and pressed them to his chest. The muscles flexed under my touch. Remo lowered his gaze to my hands then slowly looked back up. The expression on his face burned a fierce trail through my body. Fury and desire.

  Remo jerked me against him, knocking the air out of me. One hand gripped my neck, and his mouth pressed against my ear. “I don’t remember you pushing me away when I touched your pussy a few nights ago, Angel,” he growled.

  Shame washed over me from the memory, but worse, so much worse ... longing.

  “Every fucking day you want me a little more. I can see it in your eyes, can see the struggle in them. You aren’t allowed to have me like I’m not allowed to have you.”