"Honestly, I have no fucking clue. I broke off all contact with him after he fucked around on me. But not long after, he went missing. I think once Ricci realized that taking Phillip from me didn't affect me, he got rid of him." Othello looked at Des, who hadn't eaten a bite.
"When you say get rid of, you don't mean murder, right?"
"No other way to say it." Othello shrugged.
"I feel like I should be worried about how casually we're talking about someone killing another person. I don't want to be the kind of person who doesn't care about human life."
"This is why I don't discuss my family business with you, Des. I don't want to taint your view of the world or me. In my world, it's kill or be killed."
"I know," Des whispered.
"Stay away from him, Tesoro. I might not have cared that he stole Phillip, but with you, I will burn his world down if he touches one hair on your head in lust or anger."
Des remained silent, staring at him for a few long minutes before he spoke.
"Are you changing your mind about us?" Othello asked. He didn't want to admit how unsteady his heart was beating in his chest, waiting for Des to answer. If Des wanted to walk away from him, he would let him, but Othello knew it would break him.
Des shook his head. "No," he said. "I want to be with you, no matter what. You warned me you're not a good man. I know you hide that part of yourself from me, and I might not be ready to hear about your day, but I want to be your comfort, just as much as you bring me comfort."
Othello smiled. "You are. More than you know."
"You love me, don't you?" Des uttered softly, looking down at the table.
Othello stood and approached Des, reaching for his hand. He pulled him from his seat, circling his arms around his waist, and held him flush against his body. "If burning worlds down wasn't an indication, then let me be clear. I love you, Desmond Ellington."
Des's eyes glistened, becoming wet. "I might not have your powerful influence, but I feel the same way, Othello Romano-Moor. I love you too."
"I hope you don't regret saying that." Othello pressed his forehead to his.
"I won't." Des smiled, leaning up to kiss him.
They held each other for a few minutes, then sat down to eat. Just as they were finishing up, a knock came at the door. Des went to answer it while Othello cleared away the dishes. He returned a few seconds later, with Luca Rossetti followingbehind him. Othello knew why he was here. He was being summoned to appear before the commission.
And so it began. "When?" he asked Luca before he could take another step further and Des could say anything.
"You have one week," Luca responded as his eyes trailed to Des.
"How gracious of him to give me so much time," Othello said sarcastically.
He knew what that meant: the commission was planning on killing him, but they were giving him time to get his shit in order as they would say, an eye for an eye, only on their timeline. Yet, they would realize it was a mistake to take so long to kill him, and he wasn't going down so easily or without a fight.
"Where?"
"The Black Anchor."Just hearing the name of the place, they are certainly planning on killing me.Everyone knew that the warehouse was where the commission did most of their killings.
"I take it you were the one to suggest that place?"
"Yeah. Look, Othello, if..."
"Don't get involved, Luca," Othello said, cutting him off. "Tell your masters I will be there."
Luca didn't have a comeback, knowing that his family could not oppose the Ricci and Greco families. They willingly adhered to the commission rules that kept their families in line, like giving half their profits to the two prominent families. Meanwhile, the Romano family went against them, wanting to change the system.
“If you become the head of the commission, Don Rossetti is willing to give you one-third of his property,” Luca said.
“Why?” Othello asked.
“For protection. He wants to go legit.”
