Crucified (3 page)

“You promised you wouldn’t!”
Michael snapped.

“You promised not to touch Matteo,
so stop talking and get to work.”

Michael glared at me for a moment,
then spun around and went to the back of the van to get the girls.

Matteo walked up to me. “Thank
you.”

“This is only the tip of the
iceberg, Matteo,” I said. “Wait until you see what other punishments I have in
store for him. He will pay for what he did to you; that’s a promise.”

He nodded at me, the frown lines on
his forehead smoothing out. I could see my words meant something to him; I just
hoped they meant enough to keep my brother alive.

Matteo went to the rear of the van.
I followed with the boy, watching as my nephew climbed inside. My brother’s
eyes flicked to me. I ran a finger across Thierry’s throat, making the boy
whimper.

“Christo!” Michael snapped. “Stop
scaring him.”

Amused at his annoyance, I smiled.
“I will, once you stop wasting my time.”

Michael yelled at Matteo to grab
the dead man’s arms.

An evil smirk crossed Matteo’s
face. He climbed out of the van and sat down on its edge. “You do it.”

“I can’t,” Michael said, “I’m
holding his legs.”

“You’re a priest, conjure up a
miracle.”

“I can’t make miracles happen!”

Matteo shrugged. “Not my problem.”

Michael turned to me. “Make him
help me.”

“Matteo, help him.”

Sighing, Matteo climbed back into
the van. He took a hold of the dead bodyguard’s arms, helping my brother get
him out, then he let go as he pushed out of the van, making Michael drop the
man.

“Matteo!” Michael yelled. “Pick him
up.”

Smirking, Matteo rubbed his
shoulder. “I think I pulled a muscle. Looks like you have to carry him by
yourself.”

“He’s too heavy.”

Matteo walked up to me. “How about
I take care of Thierry? Maybe you can help your evil twin while I give pretty
boy a helping hand.” He licked his palm. “All ready now.”

“No!” Michael yelled.

I whispered into the boy’s ear.
“Come under Matteo’s hand and I will never take a knife to your throat.” I
thrust him into Matteo’s arms. “Don’t hurt him; just do what my brother would.”

“No!” Michael said, looking
distressed. “He’s not allowed to fuck him.”

“I never thought of that, but now
you’ve enlightened us,” I grinned, “maybe Matteo can show Thierry the second
coming.”

Michael stormed up to Matteo.

I pushed in front of him. “If you touch
Matteo again, I will hold you down while he kicks the shit out of you.”

“I still won’t allow him to fuck
Thierry,” he said, his expression now vicious.

“He won’t; he’s not that way
inclined. He likes to be fucked, just not by you.”

“I still don’t want him touching
Thierry.”

“Again, I didn’t want you to rape
Matteo, but you still did him anyway.”

Thierry whimpered behind me. I
glanced over my shoulder, finding Matteo fondling Thierry’s cock, which my
nephew had obviously pulled out. Disgusted, I returned my attention to my
furious brother.

“Let him go!” Michael yelled, going
for Matteo again.

I shoved him back. “Calm down! He’s
just doing it to upset you.”

“Well, he’s doing a damn good job
of it.”

“Then don’t react. Help me with the
crucifixion, then you can have your boy back.”

Michael’s eyes flashed, but instead
of challenging me again, he turned and grabbed the dead soldier’s arms. I took
a hold of the man’s legs, knowing this was going to be bad for my body, the
strain too much, but I also knew that my nephew needed his revenge.

Thierry gasped; no doubt Matteo’s handling
affecting him. Michael looked up, his eyes again flashing murder, but instead
of shouting at Matteo, who was now kissing Thierry’s neck, he lifted the
soldier and started walking with me to the crosses. By the time we got there, I
wanted to throw up. We dumped the soldier at the foot of the cross, then headed
back for the three sisters. Michael grabbed some rope and one of the dead girls,
swinging her over his shoulder as though she weighed nothing. He was in much
better physical condition than I was, but then again, he didn’t have fucking
cancer.

I sat down on the van’s edge for a
moment’s rest, before grabbing the next sister. I carried her up the hill,
willing myself not to stop—or to collapse, because she was damn heavy. I dumped
her on the ground, watching as Michael pulled the first girl up onto the cross
by ropes, securing her to it. He then did the same for her sister, not asking
me for help, although he kept glancing at me, probably guessing I felt like
collapsing. But I held strong, because if I showed him any weakness he would be
jumping Matteo in a second.

Once he was done, we went back for
the surviving girl, who was gagged and crying. Michael stopped in front of
Matteo and Thierry, but instead of showing anger, his eyes lit up with lust,
because Matteo had the boy jerking him off as well as returning the favor.
Matteo froze when he saw my brother staring at him, our nephew having just realized
he’d made a mistake, the show he was putting on doing the opposite of angering Michael
now.

Matteo smacked Thierry’s hand away
and let go of the boy, quickly doing his pants up, the irritation on his face
clear.

I walked up to the boy and took a
hold of him. “Take over for me, Matteo,” I said.

He shook his head.

“My brother won’t touch you, I
promise.”

He went back for Thierry, holding
his arms out. “I’ll stay with Thierry.”

“No, Matteo, you made a mistake;
you thought Thierry jerking you off would anger my brother, but it did the
opposite. So, go help him carry the last girl.”

“I won’t get Thierry to touch me
again.”

“It’s too late; you lit a fire, now
I have to extinguish it.” I moved my hand to Thierry’s throat, wiping the lust
from my brother’s face. “Hurry up, dear brother,” I said, “or I’ll send your angel
to Heaven.”

Michael rushed towards the last girl
and slung her over his shoulder. He grabbed some more rope, then lumbered up
the hill, not asking for Matteo’s help.

Matteo watched as my brother pulled
the last girl onto the middle cross. “Why did you leave Irene alive?”

“So she can tell her father what
happened.”

“But, that will endanger our family.
The Landi will slaughter them.”

“The Rossos have gotten them to
safety.”

“But, what about the Rossos? Irene
will implicate them too.”

I smiled. “I know.”

Matteo stared at me in shock.
“You’re double-crossing them?”

“
S
ì
.”

“You
can’t do that, they’re helping us.”

“It’s
a necessity. I need the Landi to attack them, so the Santini will come to their
aid.”

“That
will start a war.”

“I
know. And even better, it will land the D’Angelos right in the middle of it,
since both the Santini and the Landi are their allies.” My focus shifted to my
brother as he continued securing the girl to the middle cross. I
turned
back to Matteo, indicating for him to come closer. “I want you to seduce Thierry,”
I whispered into his ear. “That will be torture for my brother.”

Matteo smiled. “Okay.”

I moved my lips to Thierry’s ear. “Do
you find Matteo attractive?”

Thierry’s eyes shifted to Matteo,
but he remained silent.

I smacked the back of his head,
making him yelp. “Answer me.”

He whimpered. “
Oui
.
Il est extrêmement beau
.”

“
Thierry
just told me you’re very handsome
,” I said to
Matteo, making my egotistical nephew smile.

“You speak French?”
Thierry said, his cheeks now burning red.

“I speak several
languages. So … you will have no trouble if Matteo kisses you and touches you
whenever he wants?”

“No.”

“What about if my
brother kisses and touches you?”

“I don’t wish him
to; he hurt my brother.”

“I understand.
But, do you find my brother attractive?”

“I’m scared of
him.”

“But, you still
turn to him for protection.”

“He said he won’t
hurt me.”

“And you trust
him?”

“I don’t trust
anyone but my family.”

“But, you said he
won’t hurt you.”

“As long as I do
as I’m told, and I will—I always do as I’m told.”

“What about when
he tries to fuck you? Will you fight back then?”

“There’s no point
in fighting; I will always lose.”

“It’s the
principal.”

“I will still
lose, and if I don’t fight I will be hurt less.”

“But, you find my
brother repulsive.”

“I didn’t say
that. He is still physically attractive. I will focus on that and blank out
everything else. I’ve done worse.”

“Ha!” I said,
finding the boy of more interest now. Maybe he wasn’t as weak as I thought,
just someone who knew how to survive. “Many people wouldn’t respect that, but I
do. By the way, zip yourself up, I don’t want to see your small cock, and a
word of advice: fall for my brother, not Matteo, no matter how hard Matteo
tests you.”

Thierry’s eyes moved
to Matteo as my nephew sat down on the edge of the van. “That will be hard,” he
said, still watching him.

“Why’s that?”

“I like Matteo a
lot.”

“Even after he
hurt your
famiglia
?”

Thierry frowned. “He
didn’t hurt them.”

“He shot your
uncle, Frano’s father.”

“He’s not Frano’s real
father, and that monster deserved to die after he murdered my cousin’s parents.”

“What do you mean
he’s not Frano’s real father?” I said, not sure whether I’d heard right.

“The old don
killed Frano’s real
papa
after he found out my cousin wasn’t his son.”

“So, Frano’s not
even a D’Angelo?”

“Alberto and Frano
have the same mother—that’s all. It’s why he’s called Frano.”

“How do you mean?”

“Like his name, his
biological father is Croatian.”

I smiled. “Really?
You’re a wonderful source of useful information.”

Thierry stiffened
in my arms. “How is that useful?”

“Nothing for you
to worry about, boy,” I said, knowing the older, more prejudiced dons wouldn’t
like being led by a half-cast, especially a Slav.

Movement caught my
attention. I looked up at the hill as Michael headed back down it, the sight
behind him breathtaking. “You have done a magnificent job,” I yelled out to
him.

He turned around
to look at the three crosses on the hill, the Landi sisters depicting a female
version of the crucifixion scene, the twilight surrounding them adding to the surreal
effect. I pulled out my phone and took a picture, planning to send it to their
father once we were settled into our next safe-house.

Michael turned
around and rushed over to Thierry, tearing the boy from my grasp. He pushed
Thierry towards the van, snapping that he wasn’t to touch Matteo again. He
manhandled Thierry into the backseat, the boy no doubt going to be punished. I
shook my head and went for the front passenger seat, while Matteo got behind
the wheel.

Matteo started up
the engine. “Are you going to send that picture to the Landi?”

“
S
ì
. I will also send a warning to the Rossos as well.”

Matteo frowned as
he pulled out onto the road. “You don’t make sense. You ask for their help,
they give it to you, then you double-cross them, and right after that you warn
them? You sound like you have a split personality.”

“No, it’s just all
one giant mindfuck, of which I will come out looking like a hero to the Rossos.
I will tell them that one of my spies informed me about the planned attack, so they
will think I’m watching their backs. And secondly, they will bring in help so
the fight will be much more interesting.”

Matteo smiled,
cottoning onto what I was saying. “Like you said earlier: they will call the
Santini. And once the Santini get involved, Frano will be up shit creek without
a paddle.”

“Because the
Santini are related to him and he has a house full of Landi soldiers.”

Matteo grinned.
“Exactly.”

“Which means that
Frano will soon be facing his worst nightmare.”

“And Alessandro
Santini too. He’s also in the house.”