Page 54 of Inevitable

“That’s ridiculous. Why would one of our own turn on us? We pay our men well and are fairer than most,” Mario scoffs, crossing his arms.

“I don’t know, maybe there is no Mole but either way I want this looked into quickly and quietly. I am tired of being on the defensive, just waiting to see what they pull next. There are already questionable whispers about whether the Mariano’s are as powerful as they once were. I will be damned if the family’s reputation goes to shit because a bunch of cockroaches are cowards. We need a plan. Have we gotten any closer to finding where the scum is hiding out?”

Mario shakes his head. “No, we have searched everywhere and staked out where we picked up the first guy. Nothing. Some of the guys asked around about the man that tried to take your woman as well. He followed them into the store and when they went into the restaurant. I guess he bet on the fact that she would use the restroom. We watched on tape as he sat in the stall for a good 20 minutes before the girls went inside. Couldn’t track him down more than a few minutes from when he showed up at the shop.”

I slam my fist onto the desk. “That isn’t good enough! Let’s get word on the street that we are ready for a face-to-face fight, settle this once and for all.” I stand up and begin to head for the door.

“You can’t be serious?” Gio asks. “We will lose a lot of good men doing that.”

I stop in place, my hand clenched around the handle and my shoulders tense at his abrasive tone.

“We will lose more if we continue to sit around. How many more times will they come seemingly out of nowhere, how many lives will be lost then?” I growl. Gio shakes his head but doesn’t speak. “And Gio, you are like my brother. But if you challenge a decision of mine again, I will kill you myself.”

With that I storm out of the office and head to bed. As I crawl in next to an already sleeping Ashlynn I pray tomorrow comes with better news, I know how dangerous of a game this is and the longer we play the more will die.

-

The next evening, I am in the kitchen when I hear the door ring and Ashlynn race down the stairs to meet our guests. I think she is just excited to meet the little man that made me a God Father. I hear some murmured greetings and make my way into the foyer where I hear an ear-piercing shriek.

“Uncy Luc, Uncy Luc!”

Alessandro comes tearing up to me and throws himself into my arms. I lift him up and twirl him around as he giggles with delight. I give him a big kiss on the cheek before setting him down. I look up to see Ashlynn giving me a curious look with a smile on her face. I give her a wink and go to greet Gio.

“Glad you could make it brother.”

“Thanks for the invite man. Alessandro has been excited to come over.”

“Well of course he has been. I am the best uncle there is.”

Ashlynn elbows me and I look over at her and wink. “Oh, and Ashlynn is pretty wonderful too,” I add on.

I squat down to see a wide-eyed Alessandro, staring at Ashlynn. “She is pretty beautiful, huh Ales?” I ask him.

His smile widens and he nods vigorously, feeling no shame that he was ogling my woman. I swear this kid is gonna be a heartbreaker one day.

“I think you are pretty handsome yourself,” Ashlynn says as she crouches down next to me.

“Thank you, Ashlynn” he says with a cheeky grin.

“He is so polite,” Ashlynn comments as she looks up at Gio.

“His Nonna is really big into reading and manners.”

“Does he spend much time with her?” Ashlynn asks.

“Yeah, she lives with us and watches him while I work.”

“That is wonderful. I am sure having a female role model in his life is really important.”

“Yeah…” Gio trails off with a pained look on his face.

It never gets easier for Gio to think about Isabelle. It has been almost 2 years since he called me when he came home to find his wife murdered. That night will haunt me for the rest of my life. I couldn’t believe sweet Isabelle was gone. An innocent life stolen away because of the family.

They were childhood friends, kind of like Ashlynn and I. Gio didn’t pull his head out of his ass and see what a hell of a woman was sitting right in front of him though for years. When he finally did, he fell hard and treated that woman like damn queen. I am not sure if he will ever be ready to move on. I hope he does one day though because if he can have half of what I have with Ashlynn with someone else, then I want that for him.

Ashlynn starts running around the house with Alessandro, laughing and smiling. I walk over to my bar and pour us a couple of drinks. Gio takes his and lifts it up before taking a sip as we watch Ashlynn and Alessandro play for a little while.

“You should see yourself right now. You practically have heart eyes when you look at her,” Gio smirks over his glass.

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