Chapter Fifteen

Amon

"I told you the bitch would fail," Nadine ranted. "You should've let me kill her and send her head to them."

"Shut up," I screamed, and Nadine's mouth snapped closed. She knew when she'd pushed me too far and, right now, she'd exceeded my limit for her insolence. "Let me think." Fuck, one minute, she wanted to keep Larissa as a pet, and the next, to viciously murder her.

Dammit, Larissa shouldn't have failed! I'd trained her too damned long for her not to be successful. All my well-laid plans were crumbling around my feet.

I leaned heavily on my cane and made my way to the window, looking out at the trees. The estate I rented was much better than living at the crumbling castle. I'd hated the barren, desolate landscape.

We had enough money to live somewhere better, but I didn't want to get too comfortable. Living at the castle reminded me of all we'd lost because of the Morellis. Their fucking father died before I could get my revenge, but I wouldn't fail with his sons. I would fucking destroy them, but slowly and painfully.

One way or the other, I would get back everything we lost. Besides, the mercenaries I'd hired were quickly draining our savings. If we didn't end this soon, I wouldn't be able to pay them. They were mean and fucking ugly. Pissing them off would not bode well for any of us. I needed the extra protection in case something went wrong, and apparently, it had.

I glanced over my shoulder. "Larissa had her knife with her. I'm sure she killed herself. I trained her too well. She would've been terrified of what the brothers would do to her."

"If she didn't fuck that up as well. You saw what happened until they destroyed the camera. The oldest brother threatened us. There was no way she was able to kill herself."

My sister didn't know when to quit. "I have someone watching their estate. We'll know more when he reports back to us. Until then, I will presume she's dead, and they are at least suffering because of it."

I sat down in one of the chairs, releasing a sigh. My leg was bothering me more and more lately.

Maybe I should've walked away a long time ago.

It would've been nice living here. The home was a two-story, but the main bedroom, and one guestroom, were downstairs. The staff we'd brought with us stayed on the second floor. Our funds were beginning to run low. Something needed to change soon. I needed the Morellis money. It was too late to turn back.

I had planned to kill two of the brothers, and then the last one would have signed over a large amount of his fortune so that we would go away. Of course, I would've killed him, too. It was a simple plan, and one I knew would work. When your life was on the line, you would do anything.

With Larissa dead, they would only suffer grief for a short time—like before. Or not at all since she tried to kill them. I frowned. That wouldn't work for me.

I ran a weary hand across my forehead. As much as I hated it, I would have to turn to my sister's plan and hire an assassin if I didn't come up with something else soon. I should've thought everything through better. But, dammit, hiring an assassin wasn't what I wanted to do. It was too quick, too easy. I wanted them to suffer as I had.

Bernard came to the doorway and stopped. I looked up. I'd sent him to watch the house rather than Arnie. Arnie had a way of scaring the hell out of people. I wanted Bernard to get information for me. The women seemed to like him. I suspected even Nadine found it difficult to resist his good looks.

He only had one small problem. He liked to abuse women, and if you didn't pull him back, he would probably kill them. He had a sadistic streak inside him that I admired. He'd been useful when I trained Larissa.

I sat a little straighter, knowing he'd learned something, or he wouldn't be here. "What did you find out?"

"I followed one of the maids. She stopped at a coffee shop. I went inside and struck up a conversation with her. I asked her if she was free tonight, and she said probably not."

"Just get to the point." I ground my teeth together.

He shifted from one foot to the other. "She said they had a guest staying on the estate, and she was creating more work for everyone. She thought something was wrong with her because the doctor came to see her, and his nurse stayed the night. When I tried to get her to elaborate, she suddenly looked scared and clammed up."

I gripped the arms of the chair until my knuckles turned white. Dammit, I still didn't know anything concrete. "Keep watching the house. Now, go away."

"I didn't think she would kill herself," Nadine snapped.

I struggled to my feet, leaning heavily on my cane.

"Where are you going?"

"To my room. I need to think. It's apparent you're not going to let me do that here."

She downed her head. "I'm sorry, brother."

"It's too late to be sorry. I'll come up with a new plan. An even better one. I will not fail to avenge our father."

By the time I got to my room, the ache in my leg was almost too much to bear. I went straight to the bathroom and grabbed my bottle of pain medicine. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely get the lid off. I quickly swallowed two. I'd started increasing the dosage a few weeks ago, but nothing completely stopped the pain.

I was so fucking tired of all of this. Maybe I should do as Nadine suggested and hire the assassin. But they wouldn't suffer if I did. Not like I'd suffered. I stared at my reflection, reaching up to smooth my fingertips down the side of my face. The scars I carried hadn't reached my face, but my hair had thinned, and I had fine lines around my lips and eyes. I'd lost more weight, too.

I still wore my robe. Without thinking about it, I untied it and slipped it off my shoulders, letting it puddle around my feet. I slowly raised my gaze, staring at my reflection. A shudder swept over me. The burns from the explosion wrapped around my torso and partially around one arm. I dropped my pajama bottoms. I was no longer a man—just a blob of rotting flesh.

The doctors and Nadine said it was a miracle I'd survived. The piece of metal alone should've severed my leg, but it hadn't. They weren't able to remove it all without causing more damage. It had twisted my leg at an awkward angle and left me a cripple for life.

Tears pooled in my eyes. There had been a time when women would flock to me. I was handsome, and I'd been rich. It was a great combination. I'd fucked a different woman every night. I loved looking at their smooth skin, smelling their heady fragrance…beating them. Most of all, I loved watching the terror enter their eyes.

My thoughts immediately went to Larissa. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. I wanted to kill Nadine when she'd left scars on her back from a whipping. Even I didn't want to mark that lovely skin.

That's why I kept her naked most of the time. I loved looking at her, which only frustrated me even more. Brandt Morelli had castrated me when my father's warehouse blew up. Now, I was nothing. For that alone, I would kill his sons.

I swiped at the tears running down my face. Sometimes, I would have Larissa lie naked in bed next to me. In the beginning, I could see her revulsion, but after I broke her to my will, she would do anything for me. But even that only made me more frustrated.

Nadine wanted one of the men to rape her, but I never allowed it. She was not to be touched. If I couldn't have her. No man would. Now, Larissa was nothing to me, unless she followed through and was able to kill them.

I suddenly smiled. There was some satisfaction in knowing Larissa lived. She wasn't the same woman I'd first kidnapped. She wasn't their sweet little angel. No, she would be trying to kill them every chance she got. In a sense, I had already won.

Bernard had said a doctor came in to see their new guest. My eyes narrowed. He'd probably removed the implants in her ears. It wouldn't have been difficult. A shame they couldn't watch her being tortured anymore.

There were other ways they would suffer. She would still try to kill them the first chance she got. She would try to please me. I smiled. Yes, I would let her live for a while before I had her killed.