“I was trying to…to make…Juan trust me.” Anthony could barely get the words out, and his hands went from his thighs to his sides as he tried to put pressure in different places. “That’s all.”

“That brings me back to another point. Like your father giving you the idea to hit Hector, Juan wasn’t smart enough to pull off that perfect abduction. The FBI even told me how you covered your escape. It was all textbook FBI training that made it work so well. That wasn’t gaining trust, you petty little fucker, that was aiding and abetting.” She turned and looked at Lou and Dino. “Clear the desk.”

The others held Matty down when they spread Anthony on the surface and tied his hands and feet to the bottom of the desk. Lou made quick work of his clothes with his knife, and Anthony had tears running off his cheeks when Lou was done. This did not at all resemble the guy who’d come to her house and tried to shake her down so long ago.

“Cain, please. If you think I’m this Anthony, that means you’re going to be killing an FBI agent.”

“You’ll be my first.” She laughed and tapped her chin. “That’s not exactly true, is it? Your old boss had to be buried without his brains, and that was all me.” She smiled when his eyes widened. “Confession really is good for the soul. Yes, Barney tried to kill me, and he paid. Cehan tried to kill me by slamming my head repeatedly into every surface he came across, and he’s in Angola. From what I hear, he’s become the favorite of the inmates even though he’s in protective custody.”

“You fooled them all, but you didn’t fool me,” Anthony yelled, tears and snot still running down his face.

“I didn’t fool you because you’re worse than I ever thought to be. You attacked people who’d done nothing to you. Emma and Hector weren’t your enemies—they’d done nothing to you. That’s the secret to survival, asshole. You mess only with those who mess with you.”

“What did you do to Juan?” He started straining against the ropes, and Matty had to be held down.

“You’re about to find out.” She accepted a bottle from Lou and went through the ritual of dousing Anthony like she had Juan. “You’re going to burn for touching something that didn’t belong to you. No one touches Emma without her permission, and she didn’t give it. What you did almost cost us our baby.”

“You aren’t going to get away with this. Shelby and Joe will figure it out.”

She slid the match against the side of the box and watched the flame for a moment before throwing it on his genitals. The smell was almost instant as Anthony began screaming.