Quirino growls, then I watch as he finally gives in. His entire demeanor changes, his body slumps and he sinks back down into the velvet chair across from me. The driver shifts in his seat, but if he thinks he’s going to get out of this, he won’t.
“Mauro was sick. I knew he was sick and so did he,” Quirino says sticking his thumb out a shoving it toward the driver. “Cancer. He was dying and his kid was supposed to take control of the famiglia. Kid was going to marry Luciana Rossi, a deal brokered between both he and Antonio.”
“Antonio is dead and so is Mauro Junior,” I point out.
Quirino grunts. “I was supposed to run things. I’ve been running things, secretly for years. He was pissed that I fucked Milia. He was even more angry that my baby grew inside of her, so he took that anger out on her. Killed her, killed the baby.
“But he needed me to keep the famiglia running. I was too fucking deep to be offed. It was my idea to put everything in Nicola’s name. It was my idea to use her to close deals, to forge alliances, and it was my idea to use her to get information from you,” he explains before his lips turn up into a slow grin.
Evil.
That is the only word that I can use to describe the look in his eyes. Pure fucking evil. Where Mauro was a mean bastard, this man manipulated and calculated against Nicola, against everyone, and for no other reason but for financial gain, even if it was to aid the growth of the famiglia, it wasn’t fucking right.
“You?” Nicola whispers.
“You didn’t think that your father was seriously that smart, did you?”
She starts to take a step back, but I don’t let her. She needs to be strong, to show him nothing. Lifting my arm, I slide it along her lower back, wrapping my fingers around her hip and holding her still.
“Nicola, what do you want me to do with him?” I ask.
“You can’t kill me, only I know where the money goes from her account,” he smirks.
Shaking my head, I squeeze her hip. “You do realize what my job was when I worked beneath Gavino, don’t you?” I ask.
“Don’t you still work under him?” he asks, arching a brow.
I’m surprised the driver has been quiet, I ignore the insult and turn my attention toward him. “You have something you want to give me?” I ask.
He clears his throat, standing to his feet, and I watch. Thankfully, both Costa and Ermanno still have their guns drawn and are ready to kill, and kill they will. This office will be painted with blood, yet again.
“Sure, Mauro was the face and the name of the famiglia. Quirino was the man who did most of the work behind the scenes. But, what nobody tells you is how they’ve been making bad deals all over the city. They’ve been loaning money they don’t have and hoping that the interest they get from shaking down businesses will tie them over.
“Every fucking month they’ve been struggling. That’s why they want those businesses that Costa’s wife’s father is supposed to approve to go through. They need the income, they don’t want it, they fucking need it.”
“So what you’re saying is they’re robbing Peter to pay Paul?” I ask.
The driver jerks his chin. “Except it’s not just Peter, that BDSM club, those dues, they skim more than they need to every month to try and make the ends meet. Those big officials, those big cats, they can’t say shit because who will they go to? Mauro and Quirino knew it, which is why they did it. But those fuckers are pissed and they will get their revenge and when they do, it will be against the famiglia, because Quirino and Mauro are both dead.”
“Fucking with some of the richest, kinkiest men in the world isn’t really the smartest thing, Q. What were you thinking?” Nicola asks, surprising me.
Quirino smirks up at her. “I was thinking, my name isn’t on shit and a little girl name Nicola Ricci has been taking all of their money. They’ve seen her in and out of that club for well over a year, they know she has ties to it and she has access to it. That’s what I was thinking.”
“Why me?” she asks, her voice losing some of its strength.
Quirino shrugs a shoulder, looking completely unaffected. He doesn’t give a shit about her, it was fake, all of it was a fucking act of manipulation and I bought into it as much as Nicola did.
Fuck.
NICOLA
I should have guessed, but I would have never. Q isn’t anything that I thought he was. I should have known that no man would want to offer to help me in any way without wanting something in return. Since it wasn’t sex he wanted from me, I should have known that it was something else.
It wasn’t because he felt bad for me, wasn’t because he loved my mother. It was solely so that he could make me look like the one stealing from some of the most prominent men in the world.
Well. Fuck. Him.
Turning toward Benicio, I reach toward his shoulder holster, I can see the butt of his gun tucked against his ribs. He doesn’t realize what I’m doing, or maybe he’s letting me and doesn’t care. Either way, I’m done.
Taking the gun out of his holster, I point it toward Q as I cock it. I hear the driver, Costa and Ermanno suck in a breath at my bold move. Benicio doesn’t though. Instead, he slowly stands, keeping his hand wrapped around my hip.
“You know how to shoot that?” he asks, keeping his voice low.
He shifts so that I feel his chest against my back and his lips are next to the shell of my ear. I try to hold back the goosebumps from his closeness, but it doesn’t work. He chuckles, which doesn’t help as his breath whooshes against my ear.
“No,” I breathe.
He hums and fits his hips against my ass. I bite the inside of my cheek at the feel of his hard length against the crack of my ass. He lifts his hands and slowly slides his fingers down my arms. He fits his hands around mine. His finger even fits against the trigger above mine.
“Hold it still,” he murmurs. “But don’t tense up, keep your body relaxed, calm.”
“You can’t be fucking serious,” Quirino snaps. “You need me to save your asses. If you kill me, then everyone will think it’s you, plus you’ll never get the hidden money.”
Benicio laughs. “Oh, you really don’t know what I did for Gavino before I came here. I was his head of security. I’m a fucking computer hacker, you goddamn idiot. I do all forms of intelligence and don’t worry, you aren’t that fucking smart. I already had all of that money transferred over to me about a week ago.”
I turn my head slightly, to look back at him in surprise. “Don’t drop your weapon, Nicci and don’t lose sight of your target.”
Biting the corner of my lip, I let him guide my arms and when I’m in a position that he’s placed me in. Without another thought, without another word, or even encouragement from him. I focus on Quirino.
He loved my mother so much that he used me. He manipulated me into thinking that he gave a shit about me, but just like my father, he didn’t care. He probably used my mother too, I doubt that he ever loved her. He only gives a fuck about himself.
He used me just as much as my father did, but in a different way and he pretended to help me.
He makes me feel dirtier than any of the men who touched me.
He abused me in his own way and it makes me feel so fucking sick.
I watch as he opens his mouth in surprise. The first natural, real, sincere reaction to cross his face in the years that I’ve known him. He closes his mouth, then opens it again before his knees crumple and he falls face down on the brand new carpeting.
Costa shoves the gun against the driver’s temple and pulls the trigger as well. I watch as the man slumps in the chair and only then do I turn around and calmly place the gun that I just used to kill a man on Benicio’s desktop.
Benicio cups my cheeks and without a single word I feel his lips touch mine. He tastes like weed and him. He’s perfect. Opening my mouth, I accept his tongue inside of me. He grunts, his fingers digging into my flesh before he breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine.
&nbs
p; “You’re mine, aren’t you?” he asks.
“I’ve been yours for two years.”
“I forgive you, Nicola.”
His words do something to me. They fill me wholly. A part of me was missing, and he’s just filled that up to the brim. Tears fill my eyes, but I don’t let them fall, instead I tilt my head back and I look up into his gorgeous dark blue gaze.
“You will always be at my side, Nicola. If I could give you an official title I would, but know that you are as much a part of this famiglia as I am, as my men are. I know it isn’t done, but you’ve proven yourself to me, and I can’t do this without you.”
Licking my lips, I try to keep the smile off of my lips. “I’ll meet you in bed, Benny.”
Taking a step back, he releases me from his hold. Lifting my chin, I notice that both Costa and Ermanno are wearing matching smiles as they watch me. I leave the men to their work and I head to the bedroom.
I’m done fighting all of this.
He’s claimed me as his own and if that means that I will one day be his mistress, then that’s what I will be, but at least I know that I will have his ear, his heart and be at his side.
It’s more than even a wife could ever expect. It’s more than I ever thought possible. I am going to hold on to what he’s offering, and him, with both hands.
Chapter Nineteen
BENICIO
My phone rings just as I’m getting ready to open my mouth and give my men directions. Ermanno lifts his chin and I watch as he brings his phone to his ear. Thankful that my Underboss has the wherewithal to handle shit, I focus on Gavino Santoro’s phone call.
“Boss,” I greet.
Costa’s brows rise at my words. I’m sure he doesn’t fully realize what the chain of command is here, and to be honest, it doesn’t much matter. All that he needs to know is that I’m in charge, it doesn’t matter who I answer to, we all answer to someone.
“I just watched Wynter McClain Zanetti die in front of me, in my own warehouse. I need to know what the fuck is going on,” he demands. “She’s involved with Columbians, and Kade, with selling gold.”
“I got you, Boss. Give me a little time. I have a mess here I’m cleaning up. Seems that Ricci had been sick for a lot longer than he let on. His Underboss was handling business and not doing a very good job at it.”
“Can you handle it, do you need help?” he asks.
I should tell him that help would be fucking wonderful, but I don’t want him to think that I can’t do this, that I can’t run my own famiglia. I can. I can do this on my own and I will, with my queen at my side.
“I got this, my guys got this. When do you need the intel?” I ask.
“Yesterday,” he grunts.
Shaking my head, I let out a sigh. “I’ll be headed your way in a few hours.”
This is the last thing that I need to do right about now. It doesn’t matter what is on my agenda though. Gavino and his orders, his demands, they come first. Costa and Ermanno watch me, waiting for their own orders.
“I have some shit that I need to handle. You guys got this cleanup?” I ask.
They both nod slowly, then Ermanno clears his throat. “What about all that shit that Quirino told you? What about Nicola, is she safe?”
I want to tell him that Nicola is not his concern, but as Underboss her safety is just that. Nicola is an extension of me and therefore, he needs to make sure that she is safe at all times.
“She is for now. I have some of that shit already in the works. Q thought that he was smarter than everyone else, which made him cocky and really fucking stupid. I’ve been working through files and the money transfers slowly but surely. Everything leaves a trail and I’ve been getting it all straightened out since I walked into this place,” I offer. “For now, just stay around here, make sure that everything is cleaned up, and the bodies are taken care of until I return.”
“Yes, Boss,” they say in unison.
Turning to my computer, I focus on the task at hand. Hacking surveillance systems, figuring out who has been visiting Kade that shouldn’t be.
This motherfucker needs to be dealt with and I hope that Gavino finishes the job. It’s getting really fucking old already, having to deal with him and his shit.
I focus on my computer, on the work in front of me and everything else around me disappears. I find what I’m looking for fairly quickly.
In less than two hours I have snippets of surveillance saved, then run them through facial recognition software.
Something touches my shoulder and I jump, turning around to see Nicola standing next to me. She’s still dressed in the same clothes that she was wearing when she stood next to me and killed Quirino.
“Are you coming to bed?” she asks.
Turning my head, I tip it back to look up into her eyes. Fuck, she’s horny. Her first kill and she’s got that adrenaline running through her body that craves release and there’s only one way to satisfy that.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the time right now.
“I have to go see Gavino. Some shit went down with him, he needs me. I’m heading out right now,” I admit.
I watch as disappointment mars her features. Turning in my chair, I spread my thighs apart and dip my chin in a silent invitation.
She takes me up on it and closes the distance between us, sinking down and placing her ass on my thigh as she wraps her arms around my neck.
“I won’t be gone too long. Just need to deal with some things. Ermanno and Costa will be here. Lock yourself in the bedroom and I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can,” I offer.
I watch as she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip and nods. “Okay,” she breathes.
“Maybe by the time all of this is done, we can have some permanence?” I ask.
“Permanence?”
My lips turn up into a grin. “Yeah, passerotta. Did you think I was fucking around when I said that I wanted to make you mine—my wife?”
Her lips fall open and make the sweetest O shape. I can’t help but grin at the sight of her surprise. “Benny,” she breathes.
Shaking my head, I wrap my hands around her waist and squeeze. “Meant it, Nicci. I forgive you. I’ve wasted enough fucking time being pissed off at you, at the world. I’m the boss here now and I want a woman at my side. I want that woman to be you. I know your heart, I know that we’re meant to be together. I want that sooner rather than later.”
“How do you really know that you want me though? For life? What if you don’t like me much once you really get to know me?” I ask.
I chuckle, unable to hold back my laughter. “Sweet. Fuckin’ shit, passerotta. You’re sweet, Nicola. Trust me, I know enough. Now, go to bed and try to get some rest. I’ll be home soon.”
“Home,” she exhales.
My lips twitch into a wide smile. “Yeah, home. Our home.”
I pat her thigh with a silent signal for her to stand, and like the good girl that she is, she does.
She doesn’t walk away from me immediately though. Instead, my own breath hitches as she reaches out and cups my cheek.
Lifting my eyes to meet hers, I watch her for a moment. Her thumb traces my bottom lip, much like I usually do to her.
I watch as her pouty lips turn up into a small smile and she leans down. Her lips touch mine in a brush of a kiss before she speaks.
“I’ll wait for you, Benny. Always.”
She straightens and without another word, her hand falls from mine as she turns around. I watch her tight ass walk away from me in her too high heels.
I clear my throat as I adjust my cock, wondering why in the fuck I have to deal with Gavino and his shit tonight when I have Nicola’s warm, wet, waiting body in my bed.
Standing, I give my guys their orders again, and I head out of the house, toward Gavino and his shit so that I can come home and bury myself inside of my woman.
NICOLA
I try to stay awake. I try so fucking hard, but my eyelids eventually win and they slo
wly close.
I feel like I’m being swept away in the sweetest sleep, lulled into a sense of calming peace that takes over my entire body, including my ever so busy and stressed out mind
Something soft brushes my shoulder, then I feel something wet touch me there.
My eyes open and I’m surprised to see that the sun is spilling into the room. Slowly, I roll onto my back and blink at the sight in front of me.
It’s Benicio, but he’s still fully dressed in the suit that he wore last night. Frowning, I sit up and open my mouth to ask him what’s wrong, but he doesn’t allow me to speak. Instead, he shakes his head once.
“Someone would like to talk to you,” he informs me. “You don’t have time to put all your masks and armor on. But, you do have time for a bra.” He grins, dipping his chin to look at my breasts.
“Who’s here?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.
He grins, shaking his head once. “Someone. Now, hurry, passerotta.”
Benicio stands and I watch him walk out of the room. I stay in bed for another couple of seconds before I quickly toss the sheets from my body and run around the room trying to find something to throw on and wear for this mystery person.
Pulling on a bra, I tug on a pair of slim cut sweatpants and a tank top, then I rush and slip my arms inside of my satin robe. Throwing my hair up, I tie it in a knot at the top of my head and make my way out into the living area of the house.
The man’s back is to me, but I don’t even have to ask him to turn around to know who it is. I may not have seen him in years, but I know who he is, immediately.
He turns around slowly, his green eyes finding mine immediately. His lips turn up into a grin and he shakes his head once.
“It’s been far too long, little Nicola,” he murmurs.
Pressing my lips together, I try to hide my smile, but it’s impossible. “Gavino,” I whisper. “Congratulations on your wedding, I wish I would have been able to have seen it.”
Becoming his Possession: A Zanetti Famiglia Novel Page 15