Luca's pov
"We rounded up eight of them, had we been a second late they'd have torched up the fucking place." Dominic, my consigliere and closest friend relayed to me, his expression pissed.
The Russians had just tried to fuck with my biggest drug warehouse. A business responsible for eighty percent of the syndicate's income. An explosive left my lips and I tried to reign in my anger.
A cold laugh rumbled in my chest. The fuckers had really tried to sneak me. A move I found beneath them. Not like I would have preferred it but a murder attempt on my father or me would have been a more honorable thing to do. I was disappointed to say the least.
I turned to my consigliere and the slow smirk on his lips told me he recognised what he saw on my face. I was in the mood for retribution. A good number of my men had sustained injuries during the attack and two had lost their lives in the process.
I had to avenge them, it went without saying. Blood for blood, a life for a life. It was an unwritten rule that had governed my world for centuries.
"Where are they?" I asked, unable to hide my twisted excitement from my voice.
Dominic began to roll up his sleeves, "in the basement. Stone has already prepped them up for you."
'The basement' was just an euphemism for our torture room. A place holding records of hundreds and hundreds of agonized screams and anguish. Of the enemies, of the debtors, of anyone that was unfortunate enough to get on our bad side in general.
I gave a nod of approval and rose from behind the wide desk of my office. The only thought on my mind as I strode down the dark hallway for the basement was how much I was going to enjoy the next few hours.
A life for a life but in this case, eight lives for two.
****
"I will speak, I will speak. Please just spare me." The soldier cried in pain with a heavy russian accent as blood dripped down from his now deformed finger.
I set the bloodied plier to the rusted metal table by my side, watching him in sick triumph. It had taken seven deaths, several hours and the ripping of his toes and left index finger cuticles for him to finally speak. The other seven had stayed loyal through the torture and even to their last breath. And although I felt respect towards them for it, it was all part of my scheme.
I patted the last standing soldier on his bloodied and swollen cheek. It was not a coincidence that he'd been chosen as the last. Before I took over, I had let Stone, my main captain, handle them for a bit and I had watched them in silence, observing, studying for the tell signs of fear, of cowardice and our guy had passed the observation, emerging as the pussiest among the flock. I deliberately dealt with the others before him to drive him nuts. To break him with the impending dread that was his turn because one thing about torturing lesser men was that they broke easily and the quicker, the better.
He sobbed, his tears falling to his grotesque toes and I admitted he held off much longer than I expected.
At the snapping sound of my fingers, his gaze met mine. "You said you'll talk. So talk."
The iciness in my command had him spluttering a few nonsense before he gathered his f u c k i n g balls and spoke, "we had been planning the attack for weeks. We were ordered to burn your biggest drug warehouse then raid your main casino to chase off your customers."
A cold smile spread across my face, "you were trying to mess up my business." I deadpanned.
A gulp bobbled down his throat.
Leaning on the rusted table, I said, "well too bad I already figured all that out. You aren't telling me what I don't already know."
His eyeballs threatened to burst through his sockets when he saw me reach for a knife.
"Wait, wait, wait." He stuttered in alarm, his hanging body jerking against the restraints that bound his wrists.
I regarded him with bored patience.
"There's more," his breaths were hoarse, his chest rose and fell at a quickened pace. "I once overheard my underboss giving my direct captain an order from the don himself. "A daughter for a daughter" he had said."
I frowned at the new information. Information that did not in any way help me understand why the Russians went about doing what they were doing.
Raising one eyebrow, I stared at the soldier in silence, my expression telling him I wanted more details.
He shook his head slowly as if sad he couldn't give anything else but I knew it was because he suddenly realized he was no longer of use to me. He had resigned to his fate too quickly.
He gave a wistful smile, his eyes harboring gloom and resignation. "That is all I know."
I nodded in understanding. I didn't expect an ordinary soldier to hold more sensitive information. It wasn't how things worked in any denomination.
"I will make it quick." I promised him. I didn't have to but I was feeling more merciful than usual.
His head bobbled in gratitude, relief spreading across his face.
I reached for my holster and pulled out my gun and the next second later, the light left his eyes, a bullet hole lodged cleanly between them.
Dominic was waiting for me outside when I was done with washing off the blood. He had to leave for our main casino in the middle of the torture session to clean up the mess the almost attack caused.
His face was grim and there were splatters of dried blood on his jaw and neck. Blood I knew didn't belong to him. He grunted at me in greeting and I knew it took a lot more for him to calm our stuck up customers.
I didn't ask for the details until we got to the sound proof space of my office. It wasn't that I didn't trust my men, there were just matters only a selected few of them were allowed to hear.
"We managed to set everything back to order. But I would be lying if I said it wasn't a close call. The bastards would have really gotten us this time."
I fixed myself and him a drink, pouring what was left of the decanter into two whiskey glasses. He was right about us being lucky. We wouldn't have come out of this unscathed if not for Valentina's warning. The attack on us today wasn't enough to take us down but it would have done noticeable damage.
I held out one of the drinks to Dominic and he nodded his thanks as he took it. I took a sharp sip of mine, as thoughts swiped through my head. I needed to know the root before I can make my move. It was clear the Russians were serious about war and I was done with ignoring them.
I needed to find out the why before I can plan the how. It's only been a few years since my reign of don and I cannot for the life of me remember committing any wrong against them. Intentionally or not.
"Contact Grigori and tell him I want everything on the bratva from now dating to the time my father was don. Not a single detail or information should be omitted."
"Yes boss," Dominic nodded grimly.
I dismissed him with a wave of my hand and he turned on his heel, already on the order as his hand reached into his pocket for his phone.
Lowering my frame into one of the thick leather chairs in the centre of the office, I began my favourite thing to do besides torturing enemies and fucking; strategizing. Formulating plans and schemes.
I thought of a thousand ways to destroy the bratva, the ideas flowing easily to my brain. I could easily win over their allies and I could easily plant disunity within them. It was how I handled things, I wasn't the type to charge head on like some brute medieval warrior. No, there are a lot better ways to go to war.
I was a powerful man, powerful enough to go head to head with the bratva but with great power comes great responsibility. Hundreds of soldiers along with their families were under my wing. I could not allow reckless pride to influence my decisions.
My thoughts drifted back to what the soldier had said.
A daughter for a daughter.
I didn't have an understanding of the story behind that but I understood to a degree. My sister or stepsister were the target.
Gina was under a strict security protocol and I have decided to marry her off to one of our most trusted and lethal underbosses that will protect her with his life.
It was Cara that gave me a migraine. She was too stubborn to easily agree to an arranged marriage. Too reckless to let the bodyguards I assigned to her do their jobs efficiently.
And I was too possessive of her to ensure that she did in fact get married to a made man.
I drew a long breath. I had long accepted the fact that I was obsessed with my stepsister. I had quit denying that what I felt for her wasn't desire. She was a constant thought in my brain, cemented and hardened in place. I wanted to know where she is, who she's with at every point of the day. I told myself that the men I entrusted her safety to where only did it for her protection but it was a lie. I made them report every minor detail no matter how random to me. They were my eyes and ears.
It was funny, really. I had only known the girl for a handful of weeks and she was successfully lodged beneath my skin in a way no man or woman have ever done. She was sunk deep in my mind, thoughts and memories of her were a constant strain in my pants. I wasn't even safe from her at night.
Like I have been doing for days now, I went back to that day in my father's study. Reliving her soft moans, the feel of her equally soft skin. Of her pert ass pressed into my c0ck, of my fingers sunk deep in her moist folds and I pulled out my c0ck and stroked myself to the memory. My skin heating up, hot and humid with lust.
I stroked myself, imagining it was her hands on me, her sexy mouth around me. Moaning into me as she drew out my desire.
I grunted harshly, stroking myself harder and faster as I got nearer to my release. A release I knew would make no difference. Would do nothing to sate this tightness I felt, the fire it seemed like only she could quench.
My eyes clamped shut as I envisioned her, naked and flirtatious as she performed a sultry dance before me. My sexy little hellcat.
Mine mine mine.
A deep growl racked through my bones as I came hard, torrents of pleasures flooding through the length of me. I panted slowly as I came down from the high of my release and when I was finally back to normal I let out a humorless laugh unable to stop myself.
I was currently in the middle of a war but here I was pining after my stepsister. It was really laughable. I needed to do something about this pathetic feeling. Needed to rid every trace of her from my system and there was only one way; fucking her senseless.
But I would not do that. It was against the vow I made to myself and my ethics as don. The minx was still family at the end of the day. I decided to fix the problem another way.
I rang one of the men to send a stripper to the office. The only solution to a woman problem is another woman. I will take out my sexual frustration on the stripper whoever she is and get started with finding Cara a husband.
She'll be off limits and no longer a problem if she was owned by someone. The thought alone made blood pound in my head but I ignored it. I was Luca f u c k i n g Salvatore, I could get any woman without having to lift a finger. There was no reason for me to lusting after my stepsister of all people like some sex-starved teenager.
She'll be out of my system after I've fucked it out and given her to be taken away by another man.
Out of sight, out of mind.