Corrupted (Sparrow and the Mafia Kings Book 3), page 1
CORRUPTED
SPARROW AND THE MAFIA KINGS
BOOK 3
MAGGIE ALABASTER
CONTENTS
Trigger Warnings
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Maggie Alabaster
TRIGGER WARNINGS
Blood play
Torture
Mentions of rape
Mentions of child death
CHAPTER 1
MINA
The door that led down to the basement of the house in Dusk Bay swung open.
I snapped my attention from the view and looked over the back of the couch.
Typically, Gianni's expression was jovial, while Damon's was guarded. The two of them were like night and day. An open book and a closed one.
I adored them both.
"Did you learn anything?" Reuben asked before I could. He was seated at the head of the large dining table, laptop in front of him. He looked every part the successful businessman he was. As well as being a successful mob boss.
"You could say that." Damon leaned against the door frame, crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He looked weary. We all were. The hunt for Kurt Lasalle was taking a toll on all of us.
"Bitch ass prick sung like a bird," Gianni said. He flopped down beside me and put an arm around me. With only a moment of hesitation, he leaned over and kissed my mouth.
I was getting better at not flinching when anyone went to touch me. I'd even let Damon fuck me while the other two watched.
I was still getting my head around that. It was wonderful, special. Especially given I wasn't sure I'd ever be comfortably intimate with anyone. It was gratifying to know I wasn't as broken as I'd thought I was. Healing.
"What did he say?" I leaned against Gianni, inhaling his warm scent, drawing comfort from his closeness.
"He said that Kurt prick-of-the-year Lasalle is right here in Dusk Bay. Apparently," he drawled the word, "he's been here all along." Gianni gestured behind him, roughly in the direction of the city.
My heart skipped several beats. "He's right here?"
What the absolute, ever loving fuck?
"According to Leon Graves, he left Sydney after we found you in the cage and came here." Damon's tone was dark, laced with both thought and irritation. "He's been laying low ever since. He was waiting for his people to grab Mina and take her to him."
He opened his eyes and settled his gaze on me. Even for someone as guarded as he was, rage burned just below the surface. Fury at the idea of Kurt, or anyone else, touching me.
"Of course he is," I said absently, the possibilities tumbling around in my brain.
"No," Reuben said as though reading my mind. "There's no way in the world we would have let him take you, even if it meant leading us to him." He turned to Damon. "Did he say exactly where Kurt is?"
It was Gianni who answered.
"He passed out right before he got to that. Something about a knife in his calf being painful or something." He grinned and shrugged.
"He says he doesn't know," Damon supplied. "He was 'following orders'. Going where he was told to be."
Gianni made a sound of disbelief. "That's what they all say. I'll give him a few minutes, then try again. Otherwise we'll be searching for a needle in a haystack."
"It's a much smaller haystack than the one we had," Reuben observed. His gaze slid to me. "I don't suppose he ever said anything about having a house here?"
"He wasn't particularly forthcoming about his life," I said dryly. He was too busy taunting me, torturing me and forcing himself on me. Conversation wasn't part of the equation most of the time. Not unless he was telling me lies, like my siblings were all dead.
"I know we don't want to consider the possibility…" Damon said slowly.
"We have to," Reuben said. "If there's any chance Daisy Lasalle knew her brother was here in Dusk Bay, we have no choice but to find out."
I shook my head. "If she knew he was here, she would have dealt with him, or at least told us."
I trusted her almost as much as I trusted anyone not already in this room. She was as angry about what her brother did to me as my men were.
Unless she was an incredible actor.
"While it's even a possibility, we need to consider it," Reuben said. "Gianni, persist with Graves. Damon, tell the twins to go and collect Daze. Have them bring her here for a talk. Mina, you will not go off by yourself again. What we do, we do together."
His expression was firm. Set in granite. He'd take no arguments from any of us, not even from me.
"I was trying to protect you." I raised my chin, just as stony, even though I had no intention of going off alone. Not right now anyway.
"I was hoping it was Kurt who was going to turn up at Clarissa's. If it was him and only him, we'd be having a very different conversation." And Kurt would be dead.
"It wasn't." Reuben's expression was unchanged. "It was an ambush, designed to trap you. If it wasn't for Gianni following you, and Damon working out where you both went, we would be having a very different conversation. The three of us would be trying to figure out how to get you back."
"Which we totally would," Gianni said.
"Only if she was still alive." Reuben's expression softened. "I can't tie you down or lock you up, but I can insist you don't risk yourself like that again."
The love in his tone was obvious, even if he didn't say the words. He didn't need to. We both knew the way we felt about each other.
"You're right," I said reluctantly. "I'm so used to being alone. Before that, I was doing things by myself and for myself. For a long time, I was the only one I could rely on. The only one that was keeping me sane." Or close to it.
"You can rely on us, sweetheart," Gianni said softly. "We can be clowns sometimes, but we love you. We'd do anything to protect and help you. That's what relationships are for. We take care of each other."
"What Gianni said," Damon grunted. "Except the part about being clowns. He can keep that description to himself."
Gianni flashed him a grin. "You know it fits. We just express it differently."
Reuben smirked. "Speak for yourself."
I flinched slightly at the sound of the door that led to the garage opening. It was all the way down the back of the house, but it got me every time. Someday, I'd grow used to it.
I hoped.
My shoulders relaxed when the twins stepped through the door. Both looked exhausted, but cheerful. Nothing seemed to hold either of them down for long. I envied them that.
"Cleanup is done," Hunter reported.
"Speaking of clowns," Damon said under his breath.
"We didn't see any of those," Parker said. "Thank fuck, because I hate clowns." He gave a full body shudder.
Damon snorted. "You're just in time, Reuben has a job for you."
They both groaned when he told them what it was.
"I was hoping for a nap," Hunter said. He exhaled, loud and dramatic. "Just for Mina, we'll do this one thing first. But we expect overtime for it." He clapped his twin on the shoulder and they turned to head back to the garage.
"They usually complain more," Reuben said. He arched an eyebrow at me. "This was exactly what I was saying. We look after each other. Including those two."
I raised my hands in surrender. "I promise I won't go off by myself again, unless I have to."
He arched the other brow.
"I can't promise more than that," I said. "I don't know what might happen in the future. I might have to work alone to save your ass. Or Gianni's, or Damon's. Or even the twins’. But I'll only do it if it's absolutely necessary."
Honestly, part of me was tired of working alone. Not in my job as an assassin, but when it came to the hunt for Kurt. This whole situation was easier, more tolerable, with them to support me.
"We'll make sure any circumstances that would force you to work alone, don't happen." Reuben was nothing if not stubborn. He very much liked things done his way. Or else.
"Yes, we will," Gianni agreed. "We're a team and you know what they say about teams."
"You're not going to say 'teamwork makes the dream work,' are you?" Damon groaned.
Gianni chuckled. "I wasn't going to, but it's not wrong." He snuggled in closer to me.
Silence fell for a few moments, broken by Damon's frustrated sigh. "Fine, what were you going to say?"
"I don't know," Gianni admitted. "I was going to say something off-the-cuff. Like, teams get shit done."
"I should have known better than to ask," Damon said. He scrubbed his face.
"You really should," Gianni agreed. "I think we've left our guest alone for long enough already. I should go and check on him, see if he's enjoying my music."
"I'll come with you," I said. "I want to see what this
I didn't need Reuben's permission, but I glanced over at him anyway.
"Keep me informed," was all he said.
He stayed out of the torturing of people as much as he could. Especially, from what I could gather, if Gianni had his music playing down in the basement.
Reuben was a badass in his own right, but he didn't deal well with loud noises like music and screaming. He was a complicated man, but I loved that about him.
"Will do, boss," Gianni said.
"Gianni can keep you informed too," Reuben said before I stood. "You don't have to face Graves if you don't want to."
"I want to," I insisted. "Ever since I heard him speak, bits and pieces of the past keep coming back to me. He mentioned Jase and Hammer. I can almost picture their faces. If Leon Graves knows where they are, I want him to tell me." I wanted to find Kurt more than I wanted to find them, but they were still a priority. Which reminded me.
"Do either of you know someone named Prior?"
"It rings a bell." Gianni cocked his head at me. "Why's that, sweetheart?"
"Leon mentioned someone by that name," I said, playing the scene back in my head. "Apparently he tried to stop Kurt from caging and hurting me. He said… Prior told Kurt he was fucked up. Kurt shot Prior for it. It was one of the reasons Leon did nothing to stop Kurt from doing what he did. He figured Kurt would shoot him too."
Which was no excuse, but he was paying for that decision now.
All three men frowned in thought.
"I'll look him up," Damon said. "If he's someone who used to work for us, there should be a record. We tend to keep those for a long time. Bear in mind though, we may never be able to find him to give him a decent burial."
Trust him to understand why I wanted to know what happened to the one person who stuck their neck out for me. He deserved better than a shallow grave, or to have been tossed in the harbour for the sharks to eat. Or incinerated, which was more likely.
I nodded. "I appreciate that." We could at least try.
"If we can't find him, we can do a nice memorial in the garden," Gianni said.
"I'll go and see to it, and a few other things," Damon said. He pushed himself off the door frame and disappeared in the direction of the stairs that led to the upper level.
"I don't know about you, but I'm ready to have some more fun with our friend." Gianni offered me his hand.
I took it and rose. "He's no friend of mine." Gianni's hand was warm in mine, large and reassuring. He got off on the fact I was an assassin and enjoyed killing, but he could be surprisingly gentle when he wanted to.
"To be completely fair, people like him rarely have friends," Gianni said. "So, he's not mine either. That's what makes it funny. It's ironic."
"It certainly is that," Reuben said. "I don't think anyone will miss him when you're finished with him." He rubbed a hand over his eyes and turned his attention back to his laptop screen.
"I will," Gianni said. "He's been a ton of fun already." He smiled happily and we walked to the door that led down to the basement.
CHAPTER 2
MINA
The volume of the music made me wince the moment I stepped through the door at the bottom of the stairs. The room below was soundproofed, so until now, I hadn't heard a hint of the pounding drums or ear-splitting vocals.
Gianni grooved to the sound for a few moments before pulling out his phone and tapping the screen. The music stopped immediately.
The ringing in my ears would last longer.
Leon Graves was chained to the ceiling, his arms above his head. He lolled to one side, the chain holding up all of his weight.
"Thank fuck," he groaned. He raised his face to look up at us. His eyes were bloodshot, the exhaustion obvious. Apart from the knife sticking out of his calf, he seemed physically unhurt.
I wrinkled my nose at the smell. He knelt in what looked like a combination of piss and vomit, mixed in with a bit of blood. Not enough blood, if you asked me.
"People often say that when they see me," Gianni remarked. "It must be my charm."
Leon snorted. Apparently some of his sense of humour was still intact.
"I think he misses your music," I said. "Don't worry, Leon, he'll turn it back on when we leave."
He looked at me like he was considering begging me to kill him so he didn't have to listen to it anymore. Noise that loud would grate on anyone's nerves after a while.
Which, of course, was the point. This wasn't a pleasure dungeon. Well, not for him.
Pleasure came in a variety forms, including seeing someone who had a hand in your personal hell chained to the ceiling.
Leon managed a venomous look before dropping his head back to the side. "I told you everything I know. Kurt is somewhere here in Dusk Bay. If I had more to give you, I would. Anything to get out of here."
I stepped closer to him. "You know you're not getting out of here alive, right?"
"Don't care," he groaned. "Get it over with." He raised his face until his stubbled throat was exposed, begging to be sliced open.
"Tempting," I admitted. "But too easy. Do you think Kurt would have killed me if I begged him to?" I had, but never when he was around. I'd managed to cling on to that much dignity.
"Kurt is an asshole," Leon said. "You can be better than him."
Gianni crouched beside him, gripped the hilt of the knife and twisted it until Leon screamed.
"We are better than him, dickhead," Gianni snarled. "We don't plan to keep you down here for five years. Not that you'd last." He twisted the knife again. "You'll die of cowardice long before that."
Tears poured down Leon's cheeks. "I will, but you could make it quicker. Please, for fuck's sake."
Gianni pulled the blade from Leon's leg and stood. "You haven't even been here for five hours yet and you're already begging to die. That must be a record. Most people last at least…" He held out his other hand, palm up. "Six or seven hours. The best last two or three days."
"He's far from the best," I said. "But maybe we can make this easier on him."
Leon looked up, suddenly hopeful. "Please…"
"You mentioned Jase and Hammer," I said slowly. "Where are they?"
His hope faded. "I don't know. I haven't seen Jase since that night. He might be dead. Hammer, I don't even know his real name. He could be anywhere. He might be dead too."
"You know where to find them," I said. "You have contacts. Tell us who we can ask."
"You're so hot when you're assertive like that," Gianni told me.
I glanced over at him and smiled before returning my attention back to Leon. "It's that simple."
"There's a woman named Martina," Leon confessed. "She deals in information like that. I can give you her number. You have my phone, it's in there." He nodded, then winced as though his head hurt. It probably did. Gianni's music would have given him a killer headache.
"We'll track her down," Gianni said. "With any luck, she'll tell us where they are. Hopefully they're still alive so we can kill them."
"If anyone will know, it's her," Leon agreed. He looked from me to Gianni and back again.
"When we have them, we'll deal with you," I said.
"But… But," he stammered, "I told you what you wanted to know."
"You gave us something for a start," I agreed. "But that's all it is, a start. For all we know, you might be lying through your teeth."
He wasn't. He was desperate enough to say anything, to get us to kill him or let him go. I suspected he was still clinging to some shred of hope we'd remove him from the chain and kick him out the door. Or better yet, help him disappear before Kurt caught up with him. I had to give him some credit for clinging to hope while there wasn't much of it to cling to. The moment he helped Kurt chain me up, he signed his own death warrant.
"I swear," he groaned, "if I knew anything else, I'd tell you." He swallowed hard. "Martina might be able to tell you where Kurt is. Or Clarissa. She works with him too, you know."
"Nice attempt to throw her under the bus," Gianni said. "You know she drugged you, right? She's the reason you're here."
His eyes flashed with anger, although he must have known what she'd done. One minute he was having a conversation with me, the next he was tumbling to the floor. Any bruises on the back of his head were from her dragging him down a set of stairs.
