Chapter 5 The Warning
Lila POV
"What the hell is going on?" I asked, my voice shaky. "I bet that tiny little mind of yours is spinning trying to figure out whose finger is laying on the floor."
I stepped backward toward the wall, scanning the room.
"You recognize the ring, don't you?".I glanced up. "What kind of twisted game are you playing?" "It's a game called cat and mouse." "And you think I'm the mouse?"
"By the way your body is shivering against that wall, your fear vibrating through every bone...yes, you are."
I closed my eyes, cursing my weakness. "So tell me, little mouse, do you recognize the ring?"
Gathering courage, I pushed off the wall. "Yes. I recognize the ring, you fucking psycho!" "Good." A hiss of air from the wall made me lurch back. I regretted insulting him.
The door opened. It was the same man I met earlier. My heart ached, my body trembled. He looked so much like him Nikolai...
Nico stepped in, bold and debonair in a black suit. Midnight hair perfectly styled, chiseled jaw with a short beard. Sophistication, power...hate in his dark eyes.
He straightened his shirt sleeves. "Did you like my gift, Miss Falcone?" I stared into the black depths, noticing the scar above his right eye.
"You already seem pissed off to me," I whispered. He smirked wickedly. "Believe me, Miss Falcone, you haven't seen me pissed off...yet."
He stepped back, letting me breathe.
"Why did you put that finger in a box for me?" I asked. "It's a warning."
"A warning for what?" "The better question: a warning to whom." I studied his face. I wouldn't fall for his coaxing.
"That ring, Miss Falcone, belonged to the man your father hired to kill my brother."
I gasped softly. "You seem surprised." "My father didn't hire anyone."
"Are you sure? How much do you know about your father's business? How he runs his empire?"
I didn't answer. I knew nothing. All I wanted was art, drawing, and my imagination.
He smiled. "As I suspected. You don't know a thing. Let me enlighten you." He paced, rubbing his chin. "Your father has a legion of men. He sits on his throne while others do his dirty work. In this case, killing my brother. The hired murderer got a paycheck...and a ring."
I shook my head. "Why would my father want Nikolai dead?"
"That, little mouse, is for you to answer." "There's just no motive," I muttered. His gaze moved over me. "I see plenty of motive right here in front of me."
"My dad never met Nikolai. So why would he want him dead?"
"You really don't know why, do you?" "I swear, Nico. I have no idea. You have it all wrong. My father didn't have Nikolai killed. There's no motive."
"That you know of." Silence enveloped us. My heart pounded.
"You said the finger was a warning for someone. I take it that someone is me?" I asked softly.
"Oh no, Miss Falcone. Having you trapped here is warning enough for now."
"For now?" He only smiled, darkness in his eyes.
"The warning is for your father, Lila." "Then why give it to me?"
He stepped closer, scent overwhelming. "Who do you think will receive the rest of that hand?"
"My father," I whispered. Nico laughed, maniacally.
"You think he's coming now? That he knows I have you?" He traced my jaw. "I wanted time with you. That hand won't be sent for seventy-two hours." My heart stopped. My lungs froze. "What do you think I'm capable of in seventy-two hours, Lila?"
It wasn't a question. It was a threat.
Abruptly, he stepped back. "Now, let's start with a few rules. This" he waved "is your new home. Live it, breathe it, get used to it. The sooner, the better."
I crossed my arms. "How long do you plan on keeping me here?"
A wicked grin. "Oh, Miss Falcone, until they carry you out...in a body bag."
NICO POV
Watching the fear spread across her face her eyes widening as she tried to process what I just revealed was one of those moments I would wrap with a bow of gold and safely place in a drawer at the back of my mind, cherishing it forever.
This would be one of many moments I'd remember in ten, twenty, or even thirty years' time, thinking of how fucking great it felt to exact my revenge.
People say revenge doesn't cure, that justice doesn't heal, but I beg to differ. It's only been a day, and I can already feel my blackened soul starting to rise out of the ashes as I witness the dread of the unknown wrack through Lila Falcone body.
Sunshine. The devil woman standing before me will burn in hell once I'm done with her that's if there's anything left to burn. She and every goddamn Falcone will suffer my wrath. None of them will come out of this unharmed or unscathed.
They will all pay.
They killed no, murdered my brother in cold blood because they thought they were better than us. Because their little innocent princess needed a "better" man to warm her bed and spread her legs.
She might not have pulled the trigger, but by inviting my brother to her bed, she lured him to his death.
I stepped back and leaned against the wall across from her.
"What's wrong, my pet? Cat got your tongue?"
Bittersweet tears rolled down her cheeks bitter for her, but so goddamn sweet for me.
"Why are you doing this?" Her voice trembled, and the sound made my soul come alive.
I shrugged. "I told you you killed my brother."
"I didn't kill him!" she shouted between sobs, wiping her tears harshly with the back of her hand. "I told you I didn't kill him! I didn't even fucking know he was dead. I thought he left me. All this time, I truly believed he left me."
"Let me warn you again, Miss Falcone your lies will only make this harder."
"I'm not lying!" She fell to her knees, wailing like a banshee about to meet her own death. It was fucking music to my ears. "I'm not lying! You have to believe me!"
I crossed my arms over my chest, completely unaffected by her display of despair.
"Now, now, Miss Falcone. Don't waste your energy putting up this charade. You'll need it for what I have in store for you."
"You got it all wrong," she continued, rocking back and forth as she clutched her stomach. "I loved him, and I"
"Shut the fuck up!" I pushed off the wall and stormed toward her.
She scurried back on her hands and knees until her back hit the wall. Hearing her say she loved my brother fed the monster inside me letting it growl, claw, and slam against the gates I tried so desperately to keep it behind.
I glared down at her. "You Falcone know nothing of love or loyalty. All you know is how to steal, lie, and take what doesn't belong to you."
"That's not true," she hissed.