ANTONIO
Well, shit. Having sex with Stella was not what I planned tonight, and it did nothing but make me want her more. Fuck. I want her more. Want to fuck her in all different ways in all different places, hear her soft voice moan my name repeatedly.
Then that kiss… damnit. Stella kissing me tonight was also not what I expected. I didn’t share what I did about my mom to make her want me that way. I’m still not even sure why she did it in the first place. We said the sex was meaningless, but it doesn’t fucking feel that way, and I’m freaking out.
All I know is we both pulled away at the same time, so that must mean we still want the same thing. To have our independence, take our family business in our own way, and not settle down until we’re good and ready.
But if that’s still the case, then why the fuck does my chest feel so tight, and my head hurt? This is too much to think about, and I have to be up tomorrow because instead of schoolwork, I’m headed to my internship. Vince said we have a meeting tomorrow, so I should probably wear my black suit. I fall asleep rather quickly, considering the mental state I’m in after tonight with Stella.
I think I need to put some space between us. Boost public appearances but not be around her so much here at home. It’s better this way, I tell myself as I drift into a deeper sleep. Better for both of us.
When the morning comes around, I wake up to a bright sunny morning before my alarm and jump in the shower to rinse off quickly. As the water runs over my body, I accidentally picture Stella's hands in place of it and deeply regret my life decisions. I slap my face with both palms and get my head back into today's events as I step out of the shower, change into an olive Saint Laurent button-up, black Prada suit, and Louboutin leather loafers.
After sliding my phone into my pocket and shaking my waves out with gel so they spread nicely on top of my head. I’m out the door without breakfast— Barker trailing on my heels— knowing I’m running later than Vince would approve of. We speed through the suburbs, get past the city traffic as fast as Barker can maneuver, and he drops me off at the front of Neptune with five minutes to spare. It's still not early enough for Vince’s taste, but I guess he’ll have to suck it up.
“You’re late.” Vince is typing away on his laptop when I bust into his office, winded and failing to conceal it.
“Vincenzo.” Jess admonishes at the desk across from him. He looks up in response, gives her a knowing nod, and she stands.
“Good to see you.” She whispers, squeezing my arm as she exits the office, closing the door behind her.
“What’s up?” I say with a shaky breath.
“Sit.” He lifts his chin to the seat in front of his desk. I follow his instruction as my breathing steadies to normalcy. There’s a knock on the door just as I do.
“Come in,” Vince calls, and the door swings open. In comes some guy who looks like he just stepped out of a swimsuit catalog. Like he was kissed by the sun— skin warm and tan, hair mostly bright blonde, dark roots, thick dark brows, eyelashes that rival a woman’s, and teeth so white I’m almost positive he bleaches them.
“Hey.” He sits down next to me after shaking Vince’s hand. He smells like cedarwood andCrème brûlée. Who the fuck is this?
“This is my little brother, Antonio.” Vince ushers a hand in my direction, and the Cali surfer boy takes the hand he was just running through his beauty locks to shake mine. I clear my throat, try not to hate him for no reason, and shake it.
“I’m Agent Jack Beys. FBI.” He proudly smiles, and I purse my lips.
“Cool.” I sniff, and turn back to Vince, who has a smug look on his face that makes me want to slap him.
“Look. I’m just gonna get right to it. We’re running into some complications with the Russians.” He begins, looking at Jack and pausing. Jack sits there, staring back at him for a second, before Vince’s face falls, and he sighs.
“Oh!” Jack sit’s up, turning to me. “Yes. The Russians aren’t happy about your possible union with the Lombardi’s. We think they may be reaching out to the Luciano clan, who isn’t too worried about this as far as we know because they’re aware of both you and….” Don’t tell me this guy doesn’t know her name.
“Stella.” I help him out, slightly more aggressive than I intended it to come out.
“Right. Stella… Well, they aren’t very concerned yet. But that doesn’t mean the Russians won’t try anything and everything to get other gangs on their side. Vince’s call for a new era isn’t sitting well with everyone, and we’re worried this could disturb the new stint of peace we’ve had since he came into power.”
He takes a breath to continue, but I cut him off.
“So, why am I here?” Vince gives me a look I ignore as I focus on Jack, who clicks his tongue and turns his head to Vince.
“Well,” Vince begins. “Jack needs my help to pinpoint the main source of the issue.”
“Which is?” I raise my palms, shaking my head between them.
Jack jumps back in. “Which is, the FBI’s head of Mafia case investigations and mediations… is now working with the Russians. He burned all his files and remains untraceable.”
“So, how can I help with this issue?” I look back to Vince.
“Well, Jack here is a good friend of our family. He cares about us. About what we do. I want you to help him find the rat, gather leads, scout some places out.” Vince nods to Jack, who continues.
“We just need to bring him back to base, have him questioned and locked away, so he can’t hurt anyone else. His allegiance means that the Russians, more than likely, know FBI secrets too. We think they might attempt to use this against us; we just aren’t sure how. But we want to get to him before that ever happens.” I’m nodding along, freaking out internally at another fucking responsibility. This is Vince’s territory. Not mine. The fact that he trusts me with this much because I have a fucking “girlfriend” the family approves of, is bullshit.