Nico’s smile softens. “You’re the Don, remember? Your relationships are important to the Famiglia, so we’re all curious. Besides, it’s obvious you’re into Olivia, even though the pair of you have a complicated past.”
“You have no clue how complicated.”
“You’re right, I don’t, and every time I ask you why you seem to hate her so much, you refuse to say. You do know that’s annoying, right? Here I am, the only person in the whole world that might understand what you’re going through, and you refuse to tell me a thing.”
“I’m aware,” I say and sit back, ready for this conversation to be done. He’s right, his situation with my sister was very similar to my own, but different in key ways. At least Nico laughs and lets it drop as we wait.
I keep thinking about Olivia though, and even though I try not to let my mind wander to her lips, her legs, her moans, I can’t help myself. She’s in my brain, locked deep in the core of me, and every time I think I’ve purged her from my system, I find her there again. It’s that kiss, that laugh, the noise she makes as she comes. It’s all too much, and when I find myself fantasizing about fucking her in the shower, or pinning her to the bed and having my way with her, I have to remember what she did to me all those years ago. I have to remember the price I paid to taste her skin and how it changed my entire life irrevocably afterwards. How I’m still in the fallout.
A black truck pulls into the parking lot and interrupts my daydreaming. It parks twenty feet away, more than a little conspicuous, but it doesn’t matter. These guys chose the place, which makes me think they’ve got muscle set up nearby, but Nico’s men did a sweep of the area and it’s clear, and I checked that awful van, also clear.
“You ready?” Nico asks, glancing over with a frown as he checks his gun to make sure it’s loaded.
“Ready, but I doubt we’ll need that.” I push open my door. “These guys aren’t that stupid.”
I hope so, anyway. Crossing the Bruno Famiglia and assassinating their new Don might throw the organization into chaos briefly, but I have brothers and loyal soldiers that would happily hunt these two pricks down and flay them alive.
We walk across the lot and stop as the brothers get out of their truck. Joey’s face is a mess of bruises, his nose pulped, purple-black rings around each eye, and he glares at me, that massive bastard. He’s even bigger than Nico, and Nico’s huge. I’m no small guy myself, easily over six feet and packing mostly muscle, but Joey’s like a bear and I’m more like a tiger. He’s big and burly. Too bad he’s the one walking with the limp and sporting an extremely ugly and colorful face.
But his brother’s different. Mickey’s older, with more gray hair, and thinner. He looks like he’s been running his whole life, nearly the total opposite of Joey. He’s lean and taut, with corded muscles in his arms like he’s used to working with his body all day. They’re dressed simply in jeans and button-downs and there aren’t any obvious weapons on them, which isn’t the same as being unarmed. The pair of them come forward, Joey hanging back a bit, probably remembering the feeling of my fist crunching into his nose.
“Afternoon, gentlemen,” I say once we’re all standing in a loose arrangement. “I appreciate you both taking the time to come meet me.”
Joey glares like he wants another shot but Mickey’s got a curious tilt of his head. His eyes are sharp and dark brown and he looks like he’s assessing the situation. Clearly, that one’s the brains.
“My brother here says you came and visited our club. He says you offered to buy the property, and by the look of his face, it seems you were very persuasive.”
I smile and spread my hands. “Did he mention he tried to kill me?”
“Joey’s a bit impulsive. Isn’t that right, Joey? He makes some very questionable decisions from time to time without meaning it.”
“Yeah, real impulsive.” Joey spits on the ground.
“He wanted to apologize. Right, Joey?”
“Sorry.” He spits again. I don’t think he’s very sincere but I nod to Mickey anyway and decide not to push the issue.
“I appreciate the gesture. Now, I saw the little operation you’re running out of there, and I guess you can imagine how I feel about it. The Bruno Famiglia runs guns in this region and we don’t like competition.”
“I know how you treat your competitors, Don Bruno,” Mickey says, sounding respectful, which is an understatement: the last gang that tested the Bruno monopoly on guns ended up dead in the street, their leader last, his balls cut off and shoved down this throat. A nice little message to the city: don’t fucking bother. Nico shifts at my side, watching Joey with a glower. “I won’t stand here and lie to your face and say we didn’t mean it and won’t do it again. Those are our guns and we’ve been selling them in small quantities here and there to make some money on the side. Nothing that you’d notice, but it seems we got unlucky. We meant no harm, but there it is, out in the open.”