Page 95 of Ruining Vanessa

“And that’s a good thing, Giulio,” I say. I can’t help but feel a little impatient with him. “The city would be fucked if something happened to you. It’s already screwy enough and on the verge of war as it is, and that’s with you having a strong presence. You gotta remember you aren’t just Giulio anymore. You’re the boss.” I sigh. “But I’m sure you’ve heard this lecture from Damien before and tuned it out then too.”

“You’re acting like I don’t know this shit.” Giulio looks at me, although I keep my eyes on the road. “Damien got my old man killed, sure. But you think I wasn’t planning for all this?”

“I think you weren’t planning for all of this and having a kid,” I say quietly.

“Well, that just means I gotta step up my game. To make sure my kid’s got a nice, cushy inheritance when I do finally kick it.” Giulio grins widely. “Y’know, if we’re going to Benton anyway, want to stop by the new club? Well, it’s not open yet, but we’ve got the lease and I’ve hired a manager. I’ll probably transfer a few girls from Bare Essence and Ntimacy over once the reno is complete. The manager says we can have it up and running in two months.”

“Nah,” I say. “We have other plans.” And Damien would kill me if he knew I was not only taking Giulio to Benton City by myself, but also letting Giulio wander around while we were there. It’s not like he’s completely unrecognizable, and he has plenty of enemies in Benton—even more than he does in New Bristol, and that’s saying something.

“You never answered me,” Giulio says abruptly, making me blink at him.

“What?”

“You ready to be a dad?” he repeats. “The whole, the kid can have three dads thing. Don’t think I didn’t notice you changed the subject.”

“Me? I’m pretty sure you changed the subject,” I retort, but he’s not wrong. The memories it evokes makes it hard for me to really think about. I didn’t exactly have the best father figure to look up to, but then, neither had Giulio. “Damien knows what a good dad’s like, doesn't he?”

Giulio snorts. “Nope. He didn’t have a dad. Or, he did, then he didn’t? Ended up with him, three siblings, and a mom all on their own. But I guess that’s a better dad than my old man ever was.”

“This kid is fucked,” I lament, only half-joking. “Maybe Vanessa will have enough maternal instincts to make up for the rest of us train wrecks.”

“Yeah.” Giulio laughs to himself for a few seconds. “You wanna know something funny? The first time Damien and I met Vanessa wasn’t for my old man’s wedding.”

“Yeah?” I ask, curious. I’d thought they’d only met because of the sister. “When did you meet her?”

“There was some fucking party in Benton, like a year ago. It was summer; all the chicks were in bikinis, Bellini really wanted to introduce me to his older daughter… Fucking Clarissa was there too. Anyway, I noticed Damien chatting with Vanessa. It was the first time in ever that I’d seen him like that. Y’know how Damien gets, all weirdly obsessive and intense about shit? But he’s not usually like that about chicks. So I decided to play wingman.” Giulio mimes pushing something in front of him. “Tossed them both into the pool, fully dressed. Damien did not waste an opportunity to paw all over her, man. Fucking shame Damien didn’t follow through though. We could have been having fun with her a year ago!”

I shake my head. “Bet she wasn’t enjoying being pawed all over. Poor thing didn’t understand how good it could feel to be touched by a real man.” I scowl at the thought of Brad, but I’m mostly settled because I know where I’m headed, and what I’m headed to do. I’m giving Giulio a real gift.

“I think I did end up getting laid at that party. Can’t remember who I fucked, though. A guy? Because my old man was there, and y’know how I love tempting fate.” Giulio starts tapping the dashboard again. “Vanessa’s old man ended up selling his oldest daughter to my old man, and her mom was a drunk, stone-cold bitch. So I guess none of us have good role models. And I don’t believe in therapy for myself, so I’m not gonna let my kid have some shrink tell them they could totally escape this cycle of abuse and violence.” Giulio burst out laughing. “That sounds good, right? Like I’ve read all the literature. You’d almost think I was a normal person.”

“You?” I snort. “Normal? Not even close, Jules. So how do you feel about the dad thing? Is it still just Damien’s dream, or are you starting to get into it too?”

I secretly hope he is as well, because it’s been tugging at my heartstrings—something I didn’t even know I had anymore. I’m terrified but also excited to be a part of a brand-new life, even if all I can offer is, well… a cycle of abuse and violence.

“I feel—” and Giulio’s voice is harsh before he stops and corrects his tone into something uncharacteristically bland. “I like the idea. Kid better not want to raise dogs or cats though. I’m a reptiles-only kind of household. Well, and amphibians. Nothing wrong with a toad or a frog.”

“And what if Vanessa wanted a dog or a cat?” I needle him, just to see what he’ll say.

“Yeah, I’m sure Vanessa wants to give us more leverage over her. Please don’t hurt the cat! she’ll cry when I’m in a really fucking bad mood.” He makes a noncommittal sound. “Not that I’d hurt an animal. Where’s the fun if they can’t beg and scream?”

“How noble of you,” I say with a snort.

“Yeah. Noble.” Giulio pulls out his phone then and starts scrolling through it. “She’ll probably figure out I don’t hurt animals, so who knows. Maybe she will beg for a cat. Then we can care for a little fuzzball and a tiny, screaming baby.” He taps a little more aggressively on his phone. “Why is there no fucking reception out here? I just wanted to check the reptile cams.”

“Poor you, not being able to stalk your little monsters,” I mock him. “You’ll live.”

Thankfully the conversation after that is slow and mostly inconsequential, with Giulio blathering about some stupid things he read online. It does make the three-hour drive to Benton go by faster.

Once we’re in the city, Giulio perks up a little. “Where are we? This isn’t anywhere near Bellini’s residence. And it’s not where Corvi lives either, although if you brought me here for a surprise assassination attempt on him, I’d be delighted but would have to decline, because even if we survived, Damien would kill us.”

I smirk. “Nah, something far lower stake, but just as much fun. I promise you’ll enjoy it. You want a sneak peek?” Of course he does. I don’t wait for an answer before fishing Vanessa’s phone out of the console. I’d put the phone back into airplane mode, but the message chain with Brad is up and open for Giulio to look at.

He only scrolls up a few messages before his eyebrows go up. “Jesus, that’s not even a good picture. Come on, man, if you’re gonna send a dick pic, make it more flattering. Although if that’s what he’s got, no wonder he wasn’t able to satisfy Vanessa.”

“Right? He’s not packing much.” I shrug. “I thought I might get you an early congratulations present.” I’m not sure how he’s feeling, though, and I’m honestly wondering if I should’ve brought Damien along instead. I know he wants to rip Brad in two for hurting Vanessa.

As Giulio keeps scrolling, his expression morphs into a scowl. “That’s not fucking subtle, Brad. And what the fuck, ‘you’ll never find anyone if you’re always such a prude’? Who the fuck does this guy think he is?”

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