Heartless Mercy (The Sinful Alliance #1)

The Devil Wears Lace by Steven Rodriguez

From the slight twitch of Dario’s jaw, I can tell he’s already planned a thousand ways to kill Frank. While Catalina is always ready for war and Dario is just as ruthless, Isabella and I take more calculating measures and have learned to be a calming presence for our partners. As we make our way to the Sex, Chains, and Whips room, I look toward Isabella. I lift my mask and lock eyes with Isabella. I nod, and she mimics my movement, indicating she knows what I’m thinking. Isabella and I might not be in a relationship yet, but growing up together has brought us closer. And while her brother, Alessio, is my best friend, I have always held a special place in my heart for her.

“ Cuore mio, please promise me you’ll stay level-headed and not go in guns blazing. You don’t know what you’ll see when we enter. Assess the situation first, and then we can take care of him,” I plead with him while giving him my famous puppy dog eyes that I know he can’t resist. He takes off his mask and raises his eyebrows with a stern look on his face. Oh shit, it looks like my trick didn’t work. He’s pissed.

“I might be new, but I know how to take care of business, Niccolo,” he growls, his jaw ticking from the rage boiling inside. I tilt my head to the side and raise my brow, letting him know he better back the fuck up and try again when he speaks to me.

“Sorry, amorcito. I’m just pissed this is happening. We have already given him multiple warnings. I don’t give a fuck if he’s the governor; he’s dying tonight.” Dario grabs my hand and I squeeze it two times, reminding him he’s okay and to stay calm. He takes a deep breath and glances at me, nodding that he’s ready to take action no matter the cost.

“What the fuck, Dad? You just killed this innocent man. What the fuck were you thinking?” a man says as he pushes Frank to the ground, throwing a punch. He looks so sexy with his chestnut brown, clean-cut hair, and buttery, ivory skin. He’s about my height at 5’11 and looks good enough to eat in that black and white fitted suit with his red, LED Purge Mask lit and thrown askew on the floor. So this is the infamous Sonny Evans. I have yet to meet him, but I’ve heard about his stellar career as a district attorney for El Paso County. He takes no prisoners, and his killer instinct would do him good if he ever wanted to come to the dark side.

Just as Sonny is about to punch Frank again, Dario grabs his arm to stop him. “We got him, Sonny. Go join Willow,” Dario spits out.

I look at the bed and notice a tall, curvy woman attending to a male charmer. She’s wearing killer heels and a black and white floor-length gown with a slit stopping mid-thigh. Her luscious, black hair and purple streak framing her face cascades down onto her shoulders. The light blue, LED mask that rests above her head resembles Sonny’s, and it hits me—they are matching. Well, isn’t that cute? It speaks to their closeness. I bet they’re closer than they portray.

Moving closer, I join her and Sonny as she tries to console her friend. Sonny blinks his eyes in shock at Dario knowing their names, and I smile. Who wouldn’t know these two beautiful, sweet creatures? Dario goes on to lie and say that we were given information when they entered, and while that’s not technically a lie, that’s not where we learned about their existence. While they’re about six to seven years younger than Catalina, Dario, Isabella, and I, we know their fathers. Going into business with Frank and John, we needed to know everything about them and who to use as leverage should the time come, but it looks like we won’t have to use any leverage against Frank, since it looks like Sonny hates him just as much as we do. Alejandro, Catalina, and Isabella tend to the charmer and remove his body from the room, taking him to our resident club doctor.

I wouldn’t blame him, especially since the next words out of Frank’s mouth hit the head on the final nail of his coffin after Dario asks Frank to get dressed, addressing Willow as Sonny’s girlfriend.

“His girlfriend? I wish she were, but my son is a fa—” Well, that’s one way to get a punch from Dario. And if I were next to him, a punch wouldn’t have been enough. I would have grabbed his flimsy dick and chop that shit off, so he should consider himself lucky. I’m not one to get overly violent. You won’t see me lose my temper often, but you can ask anyone; when I do show my violent nature, it is brutal and graphic. No one can stop me once that beast is unleashed. I’ve only brought out that side when it really calls for it, and now that I have Dario, he’s the only one who can bring me back. Well, the only one so far.

“My boy won’t let that happen. He’s too much of a pussy to let anything happen to me,” Frank mocks. Oh, this motherfucker is getting on my fucking nerves. I look to my right and signal for Alejandro to get our SUVs ready. We are fucking leaving this place as soon as possible; we need to end this asshole.

“Oh, you have no idea what I’m capable of, Dad. You wait and see, asshole,” Sonny says with a sinister smirk. Okay, so maybe there is another side to this man, and fuck, does it turn me on. I look at Dario and notice that his breathing has picked up as he looks at Sonny. Well, it looks like we feel the same way. Alejandro enters, catching my eye, and nods that everything is ready to go.

“Dario, let’s go. Alejandro, grab this limp dick motherfucker and put him in Dario and I’s SUV,” I command. Dario walks up to Sonny and asks if he can speak to him. I look towards Willow and notice that she’s taken with Isabella, smiling and turning her head shyly. Shaking my head, I find Catalina and join her at the door as Isabella moves closer to Willow.

“Well, looks like your girl is fond of Willow,” I tease, hitting her shoulder playfully.

“Yeah, well, I can say the same for your boy and you, for that matter.” She smiles. I put my hands up in defeat and chuckle. It’s so fun messing with my little devil . She gives as much as she takes. I know we were interrupted earlier when we were about to take our relationship further as a quad, but I hope we can pick this up after we deal with Frank. I’ve been waiting to connect more with Catalina. Even though we’ve been friends since we were younger, I feel we didn’t get as much of a chance to connect one-on-one. Isabella or Dario were always there, and since we live states away from each other, it kind of made it hard to connect emotionally. Just like she and Dario have a bond, Isabella and I do, as well.

Isabella saved my life when we were younger and I will always be grateful to her. When we were ten-years-old, we were with our fathers’ and were caught in an ambush. Bullets hit us left and right, and when we were thrown from the SUV, she looked for me. She grabbed my hand and yelled for me to move, but when I saw someone shoot at us, I stopped. Just as the bullet was going to hit me, she dove in front of me and it hit her in the stomach. I cried and prayed for her to still be alive. So when she came out barely making it, I vowed from that day forward that I’d always look after her. Which is why when she asked if she could have a job after she graduated college with a degree in business from Louisiana State University, I immediately got her to run our casino. The Amethyst Royal is known as one of the most visited casinos, so funneling the alliance’s money has been a breeze with the amount of money people have spent.

“Niccolo, what’s going through your head, pretty boy?” Catalina smirks. I knock out of my daze and turn as she steps closer. She doesn’t back down as her beautiful, hazel eyes bore into mine.

“You want to know what’s going on in my head, little devil? You on your knees, begging for my cock,” I taunt. She lifts her eyebrow in question and I nod. Now it’s her turn to surprise me, as her hand reaches up so fast I almost don’t catch it.

“Now that’s not nice, little devil. You gotta move quicker than that.”

“Niccolo, you better watch it. I won’t back down from you. If you want a submissive, Isabella’s your girl, but with me…Oh, pretty boy, you’ll be the one begging on your knees for me to fuck you with my huge strap-on.” Catalina chuckles. I swallow and she laughs harder. Holy fuck, she’s right; I would do that. I look around the room and notice that everyone is still engrossed in their conversation, but before my dick grows even harder from Catalina’s words, we better get out of here.

“Alright, let’s go. The girls can ride together while we guys, unfortunately, ride with Frank. Unless that’s something you don’t want to do, Sonny,” I cough out. Catalina smiles at me changing the subject, but I ignore her and focus on Sonny’s answer.

“I actually would much rather ride with the girls. I don’t think I can be in the same car as my father right now. I’ll end up killing him before we get to Dario’s house,” Sonny spits. Wow, okay, the little killer here really is pissed. Not that I was questioning it, but to go as far as killing your own family is next level.

I nod and say, “Whatever you feel comfortable with, love. Oh, don’t forget to put your masks back in place, everyone.”

Jesus, what the fuck? Why would I call him love? I shake my head and move first, adjusting my mask back into place and exiting the Sex, Chains, and Whips room. Dario jogs up next to me and grabs my hand. I ignore his presence; I already know what he wants to say. He knows that calling Sonny an affectionate nickname isn’t something I do to just anybody. Dario squeezes my hand two times and I relax my shoulders, turning to face him.

“I don’t know, okay? It just came out. Seeing you with him opened up an idea that needs to stay hidden,” I state.

“I know, amorcito . I know that you wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t feel some sort of pull towards him, but who says we can’t explore that with him? Maybe even with Willow?” Dario questions.

“Are you out of your mind? I mean, I know you are , because we are barely taking a step forward with Isabella and Catalina, and you want to add two more to our relationship? That’s a lot of fucking bodies, cuore mio ,” I utter.

“I know, baby, but if anybody can make it work, it would be us. We don’t have to think about it now, but we can always leave it as an option. Let’s speak to the girls about it when we finish taking care of Frank,” he announces. I nod and Alejandro opens the back door to the SUV. Dario slides in first, leaving me behind Frank.

It’s a twenty-minute drive from Purple Haze to Dario’s ranch. Our masks are left discarded in the back of the SUV as we stop at the secure gates of Dario’s ranch, surrounded by his guards. I see the old-battered, familiar sign at the entrance of his gate that reads El Camino Ramos, Est. 1960. His ranch has been passed down for generations, but over the past five years, Dario’s dad handed it over to Dario as he was in the process of handing over the reins, so Dario could fix it up to his liking. Dario wasted no time updating the security around the perimeter of the ranch, installing a lockdown protocol where every entrance and window is closed by reinforced steel, and designing the interior as a state-of-the-art smart home, all with the help of Maeve and October, of course. I love my man, but he wouldn’t know where to start with making it secure without the guidance of those two.

Alejandro proceeds past the gates and continues our tread down the one-mile drive to Dario’s house. Lights shine behind us as we approach the driveway, and when Alejandro comes to a stop, I open the door to hear an SUV coming in hot. At this point, I know not to be worried and know it’s Catalina. Leave it to her to always drive like a fucking maniac.

“Grab Frank and take him to the bunker. Y déjalo intacto !” Dario yells, instructing Alejandro and the other guards that surround the house. Dario and I wait for Sonny and the girls to get off as the guards get Frank situated.

“Are you ready to do this?” I ask Dario.

“I told Sonny back at the club that I’d give him the chance if he wanted to. Let’s see if he still wants to go through with it.” Dario shrugs as I raise my eyebrow in question.

Wow, I didn’t think Dario would hand over that power. He’s such a control freak, so his giving Sonny that choice says a lot. Maybe a world where we all fit together is possible.