I wish I could tell him that she is his real mother, that she loves him more than anything. But that would just confuse his little mind.
Like any rambunctious toddler, Luca is getting increasingly restless, so I send him over tomamanMargot, who's waiting outside. He jumps out of my arms, running to her. She nods to me that I can take my time, so I return my attention to Allegra.
It's weird how time passes. We're getting closer and closer to the five-year mark, and my little tigress is still sleeping.
I take her hand in mine, bringing it to my lips.
"Little tigress," I start, the sight of her so helpless, so vulnerable, never failing to get to me, "I don't know if you can hear me. Or if you heard anything I said over the last few years. But I'm closer than ever to fulfilling my promise to you. And when I'm done, the Agosti crime family will cease to exist." I swallow hard, a lump forming in my throat.
"When you wake up, I promise I'll leave everything behind. Just… come back to me. I can wait forever for you, but the sooner you recover, the better," I attempt a lighthearted joke.
Bending over, I press my lips against hers in a brief kiss.
"I love you," I whisper against her cheek before standing up to leave.
"Papa, can I go tomamanMargot's house? She has cookies!" Luca tackles me when I exit the room. I swoop him up in my arms, and I turn an eyebrow atmaman.
"Oh, come on, Enzo. One cookie can't hurt. I'll bring him over tomorrow,d'accord?"
"Fine, you can go tomaman’splace." I relent, knowing I have some outstanding business to take care of.
After I drop them atmaman’s,I go to Rocco's club for a meeting.
The room is dark and full of cigarette smoke. On one couch, Rocco is deep in conversation with Matthew Gallagher. Pants around their ankles, they are definitely mixing business with pleasure. Two girls are on their knees in front of them, sucking them off, their fake moans echoing in the room.
In the other corner, Martin Ashby is pumping in and out of Chiara, all the while barking commands on the phone. I immediately avert my gaze. While I don't care who Chiara fucks, she's still Allegra's identical twin, and I don't want to have the image ofmy wifebeing taken from behind byanyother man.
Chiara and Martin's affair started soon after we invited him to join our business venture, and it's been going strong ever since. It might even border on monogamy, which is a first for Chiara.
I move to the other corner of the room, where Quinn is sitting by himself, watching the others with hooded eyes.
"Not joining?" I sit next to him, taking the bottle of whiskey from the table and pouring myself a glass. Lighting a cigar, I take a big swig, hoping dulled senses will help my eyes cope with the scene before me.
"No," he downs his own glass, placing it on the table and shoving his hand toward me. "Married," he says, his Irish accent even thicker from the alcohol.
"Doesn't stop us," I shrug, nursing my drink and putting on my best charm.
"Then why don'tyoujoin?" he raises an eyebrow at me, motioning toward the stripper dancing on the pole, whose attention is currently on me.
"I'm not into…exhibitionism," I answer. It's technically true, since I'd never allow another person to see my little tigress. She's for my eyes only.
He grunts, turning his attention to the bottle of whiskey.
"Weren't we supposed to talk about the next stage?" I ask, rather put off by the orgy in front of me. I'm sure they could have foundanyother time to fuck. Maybe I'm a little impatient, but my plan is too close to being finalized.
We'd already set up two fighting arenas in Midtown, and both Rocco and Martin are still oblivious to the trap they're diving headfirst into. Soon they'll both end up broke and dead—the order debatable.
"My daughter and her husband are coming tomorrow." Martin is the first to speak, switching positions so that Chiara's now blowing him. "We need to get them on board with this. Theodore's influence will help make sure the arenas have enough spectators but no police," he says, his voice fluctuating with Chiara's careful ministrations. I almost roll my eyes at this.
The only relief is that Chiara recently dyed her hair, so it's not exactly like Allegra's.
"Piece of cake," my father says, pulling his dick out of the hooker's mouth and turning her around so he can have her ass. It's all a little offensive, really. I try not to show how disgusted I am, especially when he spits in his hand and palms his cock, shoving it into the hooker's ass with no preparation or protection. The girl releases a pained whimper she pretends is one of pleasure, but she makes no protest when Rocco starts fucking her ass raw.
I don't even want to know what types of diseases they both have, since clearly my father isn't a big fan of condoms. At least Matthew wraps it up before fucking his hooker.
"Did you really call me here to watch you fuck?" I ask eventually, annoyed that they're wasting my time and that we're not making any progress.
"We can fuck and talk," my father winks, and everyone starts laughing.
