Page 9 of Wicked Villain

Chapter

Three

Lev

Aleksandr and Roman usher Gabrielle D’Auria toward the door. She walks on long, trembling legs but keeps those sultry green eyes fixed on me. There’s so much in that stare. Fear—the delicious blend I crave—hatred, and my personal favorite, curiosity.

Against her deep, black hair, a dash of pink brightens those pale cheeks. The shock of color highlights the beauty I’ve heard so much about.

The real-life version of her doesn’t come close to the rumors.

Now, that’s temptation.

A woman with beauty and every man’s wet dream with those pillowy lips, but her fire is what I like most.

Dressed in crimson, she looks like she’s marked for death. A pretty little doll, poised on the edge of her father’s demise.

I’m not here for temptation tonight. She’s merely leverage. Security, to ensure her father knows I’m serious as fuck. Though, I’m sure he already got that message.

Corrado’s princess watches me until she’s forced to gaze ahead.

Interesting. I never expected such bravado. Most people aren’t bold enough to look at me at all, much less look me in the eye.

Corrado trained her well—never show fear.

Or maybe she taught herself that. I’ve never believed for one second that Corrado is the doting father he makes the world believe. Even with the loss of one of his daughters. The dead twin.

As Gabrielle disappears through the door, her mother collapses in a fit of tears and the almost-fiancé—Danillo Bellandi—stands, hands covered in blood from holding his wound. He’s lucky he still has his head. And his life.

Idiot.

He clearly doesn’t know who the fuck he’s dealing with. If I didn’t have bigger plans in mind, I would have killed his ass before he could take his next breath, and I would have been within my right. After all, the motherfucker pointed his gun at me first. I just happened to be a faster shot than him.

An older woman rushes to Mirella’s side, comforting her. I pay them no more attention. I have no time for tears.

“This way,” the fucker, Corrado, says, motioning toward the arched doors ahead.

I fix my gaze on him, wanting nothing more than to string him up in front of his family and friends and flay the skin from his body. All in good time. All in good time.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do to your enemies when you have them where you want them is make them wait. Let them wait and wonder about their fate.

I march forward, my heavy boots echoing against the marble floor. Cassian, my younger brother, and Konstantin, my head of security, follow behind.

I cast Cassian a glance, and he nods toward me. So far, everything is going as planned. But let’s see if we get what we came here for.

Corrado leads us down the hallway. Automatic lights snap on one by one the deeper we get. Finally, we reach his office.

He opens the door and leads us in. This whole time, he’s kept his composure with his chin lifted, back straight, and even breaths, but I know he must be shitting himself.

I doubt he would have ever thought that the likes of us would ever find out his biggest secret.

I’m sure he wants to know how. But if I were him, I’d be more worried about what we intend to do with him.

He’ll know that I know he had a big motherfucking hand in my mother and sister’s deaths.

I walk into the scent of leather and old books. It’s too much of a reminder of the library at the old house. I shove the memory away before I lose control. Again.

It’s been a few days since I learned Corrado was mixed up in the shit from the past. Only God knows how I managed to not kill him. It will take a miracle to stop me from ending his miserable life in the next five minutes.