The Tyrant (Banker #3)(53)

Micah stood off to the side with his wrists bound behind his back. Like a corpse, he was already dead in the eyes, knowing exactly what would happen to him once he was suspended from that rope. He would try not to yell out in pain, but when that knife was deep in his stomach, he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge. Like all men before him, he would break. And he would die a horrible death.

I walked up to him with my blade held at my side. “Last words?”

He stared at me with the same look of indifference, like I wasn’t worth his time. “Mercy.”

“You know I have to do this, Micah.”

“But you know where the artery is.” He referred to the large one right down his center, the big one that could kill him if it were severed in half. It would only take a few seconds.

“Did you show Stefan Russo mercy?” There was no way to know if his answer was truthful or not, but after being tortured by Damien, I suspected mercy had never been granted. Even after I gave them a truth, Damien still beat me into the ground.

“Damien was the one in charge of that.”

That gave me my answer. “So, no.” I turned to my men. “Get him up in the noose.”

“Let’s work out a deal,” Micah said. “I’m sure there’s something—”

“You tortured and killed my woman’s father. Asshole, there’s nothing you can say to stop this from happening. Shut up and have some dignity.”

My men put the rope around his neck then tightened it. Then they pulled on the level and raised him from the ground, slowly choking him as the rope constricted against his throat.

I gripped the blade in my hand and stared at my enemy, who was a foot higher than me so his stomach was eye level. “I won’t pretend I’m not going to enjoy this.”





18





Siena





I couldn’t sleep, not until Cato was home. He’d been taken from me once before, and until he walked through that door with those amazing blue eyes, I wouldn’t be able to relax. I had the baby monitor on my nightstand and the phone on my chest so I could be attentive to both.

The phone rang.

I answered it right away. “Cato?”

“It’s me, baby.”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m in the same condition as when I left.”

I closed my eyes as the relief swept over me. “When will you be home?”

“About ten minutes. Bates is with me.”

“So…is it over?” I didn’t ask for the details because Cato said I wouldn’t want to know. Maybe he was right. I’d seen enough violence in the last year, and I couldn’t handle any more.

“It’s over.”

“He’s dead.”

“Yes. My men are taking over his facility as we speak.”

I didn’t care about that. I just wanted to know that no one was going to hurt us anymore.

“Bates is going to stay with us tonight, but he’ll move out in the afternoon.”

“He can stay as long as he wants. We’ve got plenty of room.”

“No, he’s not welcome with us. He does a lot of kinky shit you don’t know about. Trust me, you don’t want that depravity in your house.”

“Fair enough.”

“I’ll see you soon. Love you.” He said those words to me almost on a daily basis now, and it seemed like he always meant it. It rolled off the tongue so well, like he’d been saying it since the day we met.

“Love you too.”

“I’m going to make love to you when I get home.” He said the words without shame, not caring if his brother heard every word.

I was so hard up, I didn’t care about the breach of privacy. “You better.”





When Cato came home, he was in a different outfit. He wore jeans and a t-shirt, and the suit he left in was nowhere in sight. He walked into the bedroom a different man than when he left. He was relaxed, relieved, and happy. The corner of his mouth rose in a smile as he looked at me, like he’d been waiting for this moment for a long time.

His shirt came off over his head, and his jeans were next. He stripped down until he was nothing but skin, a hard cock between his legs. He moved into me and slowly pulled his t-shirt over my head, his face close to mine without kissing me. My panties were his next target. He dropped to his knees in front of me and slowly peeled them away while he kissed my inner thighs.

I closed my eyes and dug my fingers into his hair.

He moved his mouth farther up until he kissed my nub, his lips sucking my clit into his mouth. He kissed me with the same passion he would give my mouth, his eyes closed and his hands shaking.

I didn’t care that he’d just killed someone. That was the furthest thing from my mind.

He rose to his feet and kissed me on the mouth. “Am I wearing a condom tonight?”

My eyes flashed open. “Why would you wear a condom?”

“You aren’t on birth control.” His hand slid into my hair, and he breathed close to my mouth. “Unless that means you want to start on baby number two.”

I hadn’t given it any thought since he’d walked out the door. All I’d cared about was him coming back. “I don’t know if that’s what I want…but there’s no way you’re wearing anything.” I wanted Cato inside me, skin to skin, and I wanted his come inside me for the rest of the night. If that meant we would have another baby, so be it.