This time, she noticeably stiffens in my arms. “No, I didn’t,” she says, hastily. I frown, sensing some falsehood, before she grasps my hand, pulling it up to her chest.
As my young wife drifts off to sleep, I reflect on my obsession with her and then the darker parts of my day. Maksim’s men revealed a couple of surprises today. The Irish in Boston have indeed taken the rat’s son into their ranks, and the rat himself might be within our reach. My father will be pleased to hear it, and I look forward to the day I can avenge my poor old godfather at last. But what will my wife think of that?
32
Carlo
“How serious is Arturo Morelli's illness?" I ask the men assembled in my office the following night.
No one knows for certain, but we know Nico is taking over the role of Capo in his territory from his father, more and more. Just as I am for mine.
"Alright, are the rumors true about the split between the Cold Moon Disciples and the Bratva?"
“Sì,the MCs are looking to buy their drugs elsewhere," Luca answers. "More money for us and less for the Bratva."
"You can't trust bikers," Faro warns.
"Agreed, but a casual chat can't hurt. Luca, your love of your motorcycle will come in handy, I think." My brother nods, and I turn to Ettore, our most talented tech guy. "Do you think you can hack into-"
"Can we watch the fight?" Renato interrupts.
The room falls silent, and the boy quickly lowers his eyes when I coldly drawl, "Be my guest."
In truth though, I'm only mildly annoyed. I may have sat through meetings five times as long when I was his age, but that's because Father was drilling duty into me by the time I could walk. Renato will learn patience… eventually.
I direct Ettore to log us into the Darknet footage of the latest illegal cage fight. The large screen hanging on the wall comes to life, and the focus shifts there. "I've heard Dante has been in Italy a good dealrecently," Luca comments as we watch the younger Morelli brother earn his streetfighter nickname of the Beast.
"I've heard the same." Not that it's my worry. Nico can deal with his brother. I've got two of my own to keep tabs on.
"I've got a little more info on Ronan Donnelly." Russo looks around before continuing. "Or should we not discuss that here?"
"My office is soundproofed," I answer before reconsidering. "But… Perhaps we'll address that later."
"Holy shit, did you see that?" Renato gasps as Morelli delivers his final savage blow on the screen.
"He just broke his opponent's spine," Faro responds in a bored tone.
Renato's eyes boggle. “Carlo, once you're Don, if you'd consider holding fights like that here, I'd like to-"
"No. We train to fight our enemies, not so we can destroy pussies looking to prove something while other pussies sit around cheering." Luca exchanges a look with Renato, and I suspect he agrees with the kid's idea. I glance at Faro who shakes his head, siding with me. "When you fight a man for real, it's an advantage if he doesn't know what you're capable of."
Renato nods, but I'm not sure if he understands.
While the carnage on screen is being cleared up, my office door opens unexpectedly, and Francesca walks in. Jumping to my feet, I note her heavy eyelids and the lovely little nothing she's wearing. My cock twitches.Fuck.
"I had a bad dream, and you weren't…" Her mouth snaps shut, and her eyes widen when she sees all the men in my office.
"Get the fuck out," I bark.
Startled, Francesca starts to back away.
"Not you,mia moglie,"I clarify, dragging her against me.
"You heard him – out!" Luca shouts at the others, ushering them along while Renato winks at her, the little fucker.
Her pulse is racing once the penthouse is quiet again. "I'm sorry-"
I stop her words with a kiss. "Never apologize for coming to find me. Do you want me to hold you while we talk about your dream?"
