CHAPTER 13

Still panting after the hot, breathtaking kiss, Brian and Luca flanked Grant and, smirking, touched his skin with the blades, the contact with the cold metal making him flinch violently. However, again, no sound left the chained man's mouth, and not because he didn't want to; his brain simply refused to cooperate, registering the sensations, but not transmitting any reaction.

Almost at the same time, Brian and Luca made the first cuts on Grant's arms. The blades barely touched the skin, just enough to draw blood. Those cuts were followed by numerous others, about a minute apart. They were executed with a precision that made them resemble the incisions made by surgeons during a procedure.

Except for a burning sensation immediately after the skin was scratched, Grant felt no pain; on the contrary, after a while, a sensation of euphoria flooded him, filling every cell of his brain. The sensation was stronger than anything the man experienced during the crazy college parties, when he occasionally did drugs.

After a while, Brian and Luca exchanged a look, nodded, went back to the table and cleaned the blood off the blades with some soft cloths, chose other weapons, and came back. They are fucking cyborgs, Grant thought, watching the two men's perfectly synchronized moves as he wondered what they had in store for him this time.

The two changed positions; Luca got in front of the chained man, and Brian went partially behind him. All the hopes the prisoner had that the two would only play with him were shattered when the tip of Luca's blade pierced the soft flesh on his belly, going in about an inch. At the same time, Brian's knife, dagger, or whatever it was pierced the space between the captive's ribs.

The sharp pain that followed finally made Grant react, and he released a long, frustrated, angry, terrified scream. The two men smirked with satisfaction, as if the sound coming from their captive was a confirmation that they did a good job. Both of them continued to make punctured cuts into Grant's flesh, some of them superficial, others going deeper.

They are going to make me bleed to death, the prisoner said to himself, and started to shiver, terrified at the thought. At some point, each new cut the two made went deeper than the previous, but they were careful not to touch a vital organ. So much for the quick death, the fuckers lied to me, Grant thought through the haze of pain.

The physical pain produced by the punctured cuts was replaced with an overwhelming anger directed at Bailey. Had it not been for the pathetic creature, I would have been a rich man now, without a care in the world. I chickened out the last time. I should have finished him off, the man thought, anger bubbling and rising inside him.

Grant didn't like to be helpless, to be the victim, and let the two men torturing him know by starting to scream again and throwing insults at them. I didn't express my pain because I didn't want them to think I'm a weakling, but they took me for a fool, the man lied to himself. It's time to show them what I'm really made of, he said to himself.

The yells got louder, the insults lowlier and dirtier, fueled by the anger which exploded, consuming Grant. Luca and Brian stopped, looked at each other, smiled, shrugged, and went back to the table, where they cleaned the blades, just like they did the first time. Both of them plopped into the plastic chair, gesturing to Tanner, who went to the prisoner and freed his ankles from the cuffs.

Finally, Grant jubilated, the morons realized who's the boss here; they are going to free me, and probably also apologize, but of course I won't forgive them, or forget what they did to me. However, his joy was short-lived, because Tanner went back to the door and became one with the wall, looking straight ahead.

Luca and Brian stood and faced each other, eyes locked. After staying like that for a long moment, they started to kiss passionately, hands caressing each other's face, running through their partner's hair, sliding down one another's sweaty sides and backs. Their tongues danced together, tasting and exploring, the two men getting high off the other's essence.

Grant stared at the two in disbelief, then tried to move, foolishly hoping he'd have enough force to yank the chains and make the cuffs give up, like he'd seen in the movies so many times, but his perfectly stretched body didn't cooperate. Sick fucks, he mentally cursed the two men, taunting me like that is your petty revenge for being ordered by your superiors to free me.

But never mind, my time will come sooner than you think, and you'll be writhing at my feet, begging for mercy. Brian Cavallieri and Luca Rinaldi, you said? Well, I'll remember your bloody names, and I'll make you pay with everything you hold dearest and nearest, no matter how long it would take or how much money I'll have to spend in the process.

Luca and Brian disentangled from the embrace and, after looking in each other's eyes for a few good seconds, went to where the chained man was, cutting around his ankles with surgical precision. Grant's eyes went wide in shock when he realized his fate was really sealed. The fuckers will leave me here, to bleed to death, the thought reverberated through his head.

The man let out long, blood-curdling screams, cursing his executioners, threatening them, demanding to be freed and have his wounds treated. The two shrugged and headed to the table, but suddenly they stopped and started to whisper among themselves. Brian nodded in approval, and Luca turned around and advanced to the prisoner.

Something on the man's face, in his stone-cold eyes and unreadable expression, made Grant stop; there was doom in those stormy-grey eyes, and the man knew his sentence was just changed from a relatively quick death into a slow, agonizing one. The realization made him shiver like a leaf in the wind.

Luca came closer and closer until only a few inches separated him and Grant. With curious eyes, like he was seeing him for the first time, the man examined the prisoner, then took his shrunken cock in his hand and pulled on it, raising the hand holding the blade. When the sharp weapon came down, Grant's world was reduced to a single word: pain.

************

"Stephanie and Bailey, you know we are related, but you must also know who I am." Brian inhaled sharply, looking between the two siblings. "If you walk away after this, I understand. It will hurt, yes, but I get it. I am in the Italian mafia." Another short pause followed, then the librarian continued in a thick voice. "I'm the Wisdom Keeper, and I swear I've only used my position of power to help others. There are dangers in my life, but I'm extremely protective and will do anything to help you."

A heavy, tense silence followed their fragmented speech. "Lennox asked me to marry him, and I said yes." Bailey broke it, their eyes shining with happiness. "I'm going to find Grant and hand him the divorce papers."

Oh, fuck, and we have that piece of shit! What now? Brian said to himself, exchanging a look with Luca, who was caught unprepared by Bailey's words. "Oh, that's great news." He finally managed to articulate, hugging his sibling. "Congrats, I'm very, very happy for you both."

"We have to talk," Stephanie mouthed, discreetly gesturing to the librarian and Luca to follow her into the back of the library. "Kill him and make it look like an accident. But before that, show him Bailey and Lennox making love." She took the phone out from the pocket of her pants and played a short clip.

"That's…beautiful." Brian's eyes were shining with joy and affection as he watched the images on the phone's screen. "They complete each other so well and deserve all the happiness in the world." The librarian turned to the other man. "I wish we could use our knives," he said in Sicilian.

"We will," Luca replied, a tinge of stubbornness in his voice. "Let's have him sign the divorce papers first, then we can play." A seductive smile accompanied his words.

"Accident, remember?" Brian shook his head, smiling, amused. "How will our knives look like an accident?"

"I don't have any idea what your friend here just said, but it sounded…evil." Stephanie grinned. "In a very, very good way," she continued.

"Robbery gone wrong?" Luca suggested with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "There are also other options we could look into." He shrugged.

"Robbery gone wrong… that could work," Brian answered, after thinking intensely for a moment. "If we talk about those knives anymore, we will end up in the arts and crafts supplies room." His voice was heavy with desire. "It's a yes, if you are still wondering, but I'd like to watch."

"I was hoping you would like to join me," Luca purred seductively."After all, these are your knives, too."

Brian gave the other man a look filled with wild fire and gratitude. "Assisting you will be a great honor, thank you for thinking of me." Then he turned to Stephanie. "What Luca said sounded evil indeed, but not for us."

Stephanie nodded and showed all her teeth in a wide grin. "I have to learn this language. It sounds so…sexy."

Brian confirmed with a nod. "Sexy and dangerous, like us and the other men here at The Base who speak it." He shook his head, smiling mysteriously. "Trust me, you don't want to know what we said."

"I thought best friends don't have secrets." Stephanie pouted. "Or aren't you my best friend anymore?" she joked.

"Of course I am, I always will," Brian replied in a warm, affectionate voice, then chuckled. "Knives," he whispered, first in Sicilian, then in English.

Stephanie shook her head and huffed a laugh. "Oh, my, you are planning how to kill Grant, aren't you?" She covered her mouth with one hand but didn't look shocked at all.

"Um…yes, we are." Brian gave the young woman a worried look. "Sorry, we got carried away, and…Luca and I shouldn't have discussed this in your presence."

A long moment of silence followed the man's words, then Stephanie spoke in a lighthearted voice. "You know what, I think I'm starting to like this Mafia thing." She winked and offered the two a charming smile.

A few weeks passed from the scene in the back of the library, and a lot of things changed. Stephanie didn't lie when she told Brian about starting to enjoy being part of the Mafia. There were a lot of things, especially the cultural ones, and their unique moral code they called the Laws, that she found fascinating.

Stephanie was surprised, shocked even, to find out about the roots of Old-World Mafia, which was created from the necessity to fight against injustice, no matter that it was represented by the papacy or one of the powerful kings or emperors who wanted to extend their domination over the small Italian duchies, principalities, and independent republics.

Stephanie was amazed to discover all these things from the long, pleasant, instructive conversations she had with Baldassare Van Necker, or Guerra, like those in his entourage was calling him. The young man, who used a cane to support himself when walking, was a living encyclopedia on all Mafia things. However, he didn't force the information down the young woman's throat, only answered her questions.

They gave her space, and that was what Stephanie appreciated about Brian and all the others. They were always there when she and Bailey needed something or someone, but gave her complete freedom, never twisting her arm into doing something she didn't believe in or didn't want to do. If that was a strategy, it paid off: Stephanie felt she belonged to the Old-World Mafia.