by Bethany-Kris
“My feelings on Nunz and his constant efforts to annoy me in some way are publicly known. The man is a snake.” Antony sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “No, that’s too nice a word. He’s a worm always trying to wiggle his way into things that are not his place or business. It’s nice to see he’s given at least one Don in this room the respect they are owed for their position at this table. You can bet your ass he’s never given any of it to me.”
“My family—”
“It has nothing to do with you or your family, which you’re well aware,” Antony interjected sharply. “It’s the fact he’s marrying off his daughter, even if it is to your son. The endgame remains the same. A daughter is being married from a Cosa Nostra family. The focus is on her family because of her standing. I can’t appear to support someone who blatantly disregards my rank when I stand right next to him.”
“Surely we could talk about this from a friendship standpoint and not a business one, Antony.”
Gio chanced a glance at his father. Antony sat ramrod straight with a tense jaw, but an indifferent stare.
“Sure we could, Max. But, in that case, maybe you should have extended me the courtesy of having the discussion in private before trying to corner me into it by asking in this forum. Now, we won’t chat about it at all. If you want to mix your blood and business with Nunz Abella, feel free. I, however, washed my hands of that mess long ago.”
Terrance laughed low. “If that’s how you think about a man who you consider isn’t responsible for the death of three of your men, I’d hate to hear how you really feel about me, Antony.”
Gio flinched, wishing he was anywhere but in the room.
Antony turned slowly to stare at the leader of the Chicago Outfit with a blank expression. “I feel quite simply nothing when it comes to you, Terrance. If you followed the rules of La Cosa Nostra like everyone else in this room, I promise the sentiment would not be the same.”
“How so?”
“You’d have been a dead man long ago. Consider your life my given respect and absolutely nothing more.”
This was going to be a long fucking day.
• • •
Gio tossed the remainder of his cigarette to the ground, whistling for Cain to finish up his business and get back to the Escalade. He didn’t dare leave the pup at his apartment alone for the day. Not unless he wanted to find something eaten when he got home.
Every hour or so, the Commission meeting broke for a short while. The breaks allowed Gio to slip outside and let Cain out of the vehicle to run around and do his thing. The cold January air bit at Gio’s exposed cheeks.
“Come on, Cain!” Gio shouted, watching as a stubbed tail disappeared around the back of Dante’s Mercedes.
“You’ve got a few more minutes before they’re going to start again.”
Franco sidled up to the Escalade, leaning against the vehicle with his shoulder resting to the paint. Gio refrained from telling Franco to get off his vehicle before he scratched it. Barely.
“Thanks,” Gio replied.
Suddenly, Gio had the urge to light another cigarette. Pulling out a Marlboro, he lit up and inhaled, allowing the smoke to take away some stress from the day.
“Isn’t this the same SUV you had last year?” Franco asked, looking over Gio’s Escalade.
“I just bought it last year,” Gio answered. “It might as well still be new.”
“Time for an upgrade, man.”
Gio rolled his eyes, taking another drag from the cigarette. “I don’t collect cars like my father. I don’t need a fleet of vehicles. One is enough.”
“Sure, but something new is always nice to look at, too.”
“Not for me.”
“Living small,” Franco said, repeating his earlier sentiment from the meeting.
Gio cut a glance at Franco from the side, annoyed. Most of their past conversations were usually full of scorn. He didn’t understand why Franco wanted small talk. Gio’s cold shoulder should have been a huge clue he wasn’t up for the effort needed to put forth to have a polite conversation with the man.
“What do you want, Franco?” Gio asked, figuring he should get right to the point.
Franco shrugged, tossing his hands into his slack pockets. “Trying to make nice, Gio.”
“Why?”
“Dante’s still single, huh?”
What in the fuck did his brother’s relationship status have to do with their current conversation?
“So?” Gio asked.
“Seems this year, Antony’s patience is running thinner than usual. How much longer before he gets tired of the same old, same old and steps down? Lucian’s standing might be a little shakier to the Commission now that he’s shacked up with an outsider. Dante’s shunning the idea of marriage at every turn. You’re having too much fun playing in your stomping grounds.”
Okay, now Gio was really getting annoyed at Franco’s run around. Not to mention, there was a whole lot of information Franco just shoveled out that he had no business talking about, anyway.
“Somehow, I get the feeling you just managed to insult every man in my family in less than five seconds. I’d suggest you shut the fuck up while you’re ahead.”
Franco grinned. “We are ahead, aren’t we?”
“Pardon?”
“The Sorrentos, we’re ahead. It might not seem like it, but we are in a way. I’d hate to think a power shift might be in the making, but it’s hard not to feel it in the air. After all, the dominating family doesn’t have to be New York based.”
Gio scowled. “Go to hell, Franco. You’re reaching too high.”
“Am I? Do you think nobody noticed how Lucian missed his first Commission meeting in years only shortly after his wedding? Or, how about the fact Antony didn’t even bother to broach the topic of beginning to choose a future successor for the Marcellos? Then, there’s you.”
“What about me, Franco?”
“Shit. Can’t help but notice how agitated you get with barely any prodding at all. I bet you still enjoy a good party just like you always did. Is a rehab in your future, Gio?”
Gio’s jaw ticked. He was over whatever Franco was trying to pull on him. His nerves were taut enough without that idiot plucking on them.
Whistling sharply, Gio called Cain to the Escalade one more time. The dog came and Gio opened the back passenger side door. Cain jumped in and Gio rolled the window halfway down before shutting the door. Despite it being cold outside, Gio left the Escalade running so Cain wouldn’t freeze. If anyone was able to steal his vehicle with Cain inside, the lucky fuckers could take it.
“Thanks for the chat, Franco, but we’re done here. I don’t have time for your nonsense.”
Franco pushed off the back of the vehicle, stepping closer to Gio until both men stood a foot apart. The proximity bothered Gio, but he didn’t show it. Franco cocked his brow challengingly.
Gio knew better than to poke the bear. It was exactly what the idiot wanted, and Gio refused to give it to him. Beyond that, Antony would not be pleased if Gio landed himself in shit after their conversation the week before.
“When the shift in power does start to happen—and it will—it must kill you to know it’ll be me making the major calls at these meetings and not one of your useless brothers. After all, we’ve never been friends like our fathers are, and I wasn’t raised to play nice like you were.”
Gio stood stock still, unruffled. “Clearly, you don’t know me at all. You don’t frighten me, Franco. And if you insult one of my brothers again, I’ll gladly make sure the last thing you ever taste is the metal of my gun when I shove it down your fucking throat.”
Franco stepped forward to crowd Gio further, but he didn’t get the chance to take it beyond that. Cain was at the opened window in a heartbeat. Teeth bared, spittle flew, and the growling barks were loud enough to warn any living being within the direct vicinity of Gio to back the fuck off. Cain turned into a black beast ready to kill in a blink. The dog’s mu
zzle snapped open and shut only inches from Franco’s head, his saucer sized paws clawing at the hole as if he were going to propel himself forward out of the vehicle.
“Merda!” Franco wasted no time taking a few quick steps backward. “Fucking mutt.”
Gio reached over to pet Cain, quieting the dog’s noise. Cain didn’t move his sights off Franco. It was amusing to see a bit of shock and fear in the asshole’s eyes.
“What I said still stands, Gio,” Franco muttered. “Your family is slipping.”
“It might stand if you knew what you were talking about. Marcellos don’t play nice, Franco,” Gio said with a smirk. “We’re far too filthy for that.”
Once Franco was out of sight, Cain calmed completely.
“There’s my good boy,” Gio praised his pup, scratching under the animal’s neck. Cain panted, his stubby tail wiggling as fast as it could go. “I’d almost let you use my shoes for chew toys just for that little show.”
“You handled him well. I’m going to attribute that to you being sober and able to think your actions through before you gave a reaction.” Antony stepped out from a shadowed enclave, clipping off the end of his snuffed cigar before he dropped it into his suit pocket. “Thank you for not making a mess.”
Gio wasn’t the least bit surprised when his father made his presence known. Instead of agreeing with Antony’s assessment, Gio continued to pet Cain through the window. “How long were you hiding behind there?”
“Long enough,” Antony replied vaguely. “I needed a cigar after managing not to kill someone in there earlier. Franco had a point; my patience is thin this year.”
“They were pushing you,” Gio said. “Even Dante jumped in a couple times to divert the bullshit and he never does that.”
“True.” Antony sighed, canting his head in the direction Franco had gone. “I see Franco’s still spoiled and entitled, even as a grown man.”
“How good of friends are you and Max?”
“We have a long history, so I’d say we’re pretty good friends, Gio. Even if he does occasionally push my buttons, I trust him.”
“Even after Franco’s little spiel?”
“Franco is not his father. Just like when one of you three boys speak, you’re not talking for me.”
Gio nodded. “True enough.”
“Max has no intention of stepping down from the head of his family soon. I can guarantee you that. Franco talks as if next year, he will be the one sitting in his father’s chair. I would hate to be the man who wakes up one morning to find out his son has been planning something on him.”
“Yeah, but that’s for Max to concern himself with, not us.”
“Not necessarily,” Antony said under his breath. “I’m very uneasy with Franco focused in on us, like there was more he wasn’t saying.”
“He only did that to piss me off. He pulls that shit every year.”
“You could be right, Gio, but I don’t want to risk that you’re not.”
Gio didn’t like where this was going at all. “What are you going to do about it, then?”
“Me? Very little. I have too much going on here to keep track of.” Antony shrugged, smiling. “You, on the other hand …”
“Come on, Dad,” Gio said in a groan. “I told you inside—”
“Sorry, Gio. Things are off here. Add in the fact Franco is suddenly getting married to Nunz’s kid, whoever in the fuck she is, and can’t even be bothered to react to the news of his own wedding, it’s all wrong. Just because he’s growing up and settling down doesn’t automatically warrant him his father’s position. Franco knows that. Something doesn’t feel right to me. I’ve never ignored my instincts before and for good reason.”
Gio wanted him to ignore them right now if listening to them meant what he thought it did.
“Leave it alone. It’s none of our business, Dad.”
Antony tossed him a look, shutting Gio up. “It could be, son. Don’t look at only the Sorrento side of this. There’s a reason he focused on us. If Franco has the nerve to make a move on his own father, what’s stopping him from trying something on the Marcellos?”
“Nothing,” Gio said quietly.
“Exactly. Go to Vegas, Gio. Max already thinks I’m going to be sending you out there to survey that exporting venture for the luxury cars, anyway. If Franco is the one handling that nonsense, you’ll be right in the thick of some of his guys. Idiots talk. They can’t help it. Should something be going down, or in the process of beginning, you’ll hear whispers. I want to know what’s happening in Vegas.”
“You do realize you’re putting me back with the guy I just threatened to kill, right?”
Antony chuckled. “I trust that you’ll stay out of trouble.”
Gio sure as fuck didn’t.
Chapter Five
Kim let the driver side door to the new Mercedes slam harder than necessary. The car had been a gift of sorts from Franco, only she didn’t consider it a gift at all. Presents were usually wanted or needed.
Kim neither wanted nor needed, a new car.
Franco thought her previous Mazda wasn’t nearly nice enough to be driven by his future wife. Kim thought the new car was too goddamn pretentious, given she hadn’t been one to flash what bit of wealth she did come from, and she didn’t like flashy people to begin with.
Well, her fiancé didn’t care a bit.
After yet another argument about her lack of class and behavior he felt suitable, her Mazda disappeared from her dorm room parking lot one morning. The new Mercedes rested in its place.
There was something to be said for a pissed off woman. Any man with a lick of self-preservation would feel it coming for a mile and run as fast as he could to get away from that oncoming mess. Not Franco.
It didn’t make a difference how logical Kim’s explanation was, or how politely she explained it to him, Franco was as stupid as a block of wood. What he wanted was what he wanted, and what he deemed appropriate was exactly what Kim would be whether she liked it or not.
The car was one of the many things Franco took issue with. Soon, Kim’s clothing came under his scrutiny. Instead of skinny jeans and T-shirts for days spent at college, suddenly dresses were permanent fixtures in her wardrobe. Then, he started muttering about her looks. The way she wore her hair down. Or the fact that red lipstick gave the impression she was too loose.
Whatever in the hell that meant.
Kim was so over it. The control was suffocating her. She was dying.
A loud voice in the back of Kim’s mind was quick to point out Franco’s actions and behaviors were typical abuse. Emotionally and mentally, he was breaking Kim down bit by tiny bit.
Kim’s small circle of friends from college had distanced themselves over the last three months, annoyed at her lack of physical and intellectual presence. They didn’t know who she was anymore, what with her changes in appearance, sudden shows of wealth, and the two bulldog men of Franco’s who rarely left her side.
She felt like nothing more than a fucking shell that only knew how to smile and nod at the correct times, but rarely ever talked or gave an opinion. The youthful, lively, easygoing twenty-one-year-old inside was desperately clinging to her college classes and dorm room because it was the last bit of freedom she had left.
Pretty soon, that would go, too.
Every part of Kim that made her who she was, Franco was taking away. Sure, Franco hadn’t laid a single finger on Kim in the physical sense, but he didn’t have to. The threat of what he could do rang loud and clear.
There was definitely a dangerous side to Franco that occasionally peeked out enough to scare the hell out of Kim. It was like a boil of steaming anger that simmered just below his surface, and when prodded in the right way, blew like a volcano. Kim had witnessed Franco’s rage on scarce instances when he didn’t realize she was there. Or maybe he did and didn’t care.
It could be the flash of a gun to someone’s face, Franco’s hand striking out to knock someone to the floor
, or violent words that sent shivers crawling down Kim’s spine.
Christ. He was killing her.
Kim sighed, shifting her messenger bag on her shoulder as she stood in the driveway of her father’s home. It wasn’t like she wanted to have another useless conversation with Nunz, but what choice did she have?
She needed some space from Franco, at the very least. Surely her father could give her that. Nunz owed her the illusion that he cared about her.
Inside the home, Kim found her father in his office upstairs. She waited while Nunz finished the conversation he was having on the phone. Leaning in the office doorway, she nodded to her older brother, but not much else.
The sibling relationship they once had wasn’t the same since her engagement to Franco. It wasn’t great before, but it was even worse now. Cody thought the marriage was an awesome thing for her and their family. Kim just didn’t.
“Classes today?” Cody asked.
Kim passed her brother a glance. “Three classes and study group.”
She didn’t bother to explain she was made to cut back her other two classes for her English minor, never mind Franco was demanding she give up college altogether. In his opinion, his wife didn’t need to concern herself with furthering her education when it wouldn’t be put to use. What he needed was for his wife to be at home, doing what she needed to do there.
Jesus.
The thought alone made Kim nauseous.
“You headed over to Franco’s later?” Cody asked.
Kim nodded. Of course she was going to Franco’s after she was done with her father. It was Friday, wasn’t it? That meant she had to know what Franco’s plans were for them over the weekend. Hopefully nothing. She couldn’t endure another round of hanging off his arm at some ridiculous event.
“Hey!”
Kim bit her inner cheek to keep from growling at her brother to leave her the hell alone. “What, Cody?”
“Talk to me. We never talk.”
“I wonder why,” Kim muttered.
Cody didn’t bite on the comment. “Mind if I catch a ride with you to Franco’s?”