Page 12 of Doc

Nico snorts but carries the serving dishes to the table before calling for his brothers.

The four of us sit around the table, and my grumbling stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten anything but half a sandwich at lunch all day.

“So, how was your day? You started your new job, didn’t you?” Vonny asks.

Mouth full of hot dumpling, I sign. “It was good. Unexpected, but good. I think I’m going to like it there.”

“Unexpected how?” Dima asks.

I shrug and take a drink of my beer before responding. “They’re nothing like the Bratva.”

Nico snorts. “I coulda told you that.”

Rolling my eyes, I take a minute to think about my answer. “No, I mean, they’re different in more ways than not being Russian. For one, they don’t care that I’m queer.”

“Be hypocritical if they did,” Dima replies.

“True, but… I may have lost my temper a little. And gone off on a rant at my new boss.”

“You, Soren Ilya Petrov Knightly, lost your temper? I don’t believe it,” Vonny teases.

“Look, Doc is… I don’t wanna say crazy, but he sure as shit ain’t normal. And so maybe I was a little more caustic than Ishould have been, but he seemed to like it, so whatever. As long as I still have a job, I’ll take it as a win. But… I don’t know, something about the Amatos is…different. It’s only been a day, but I can see myself carving a place there.” I hesitate for a long moment before continuing, “Maybe you three should think about it, too.”

Three pairs of dark gray eyes stare at me, and it’s like looking into the eye of a storm.

“What?” Dima laughs. “You want us to jump ship for the Italians?”

I shrug. “Why not? You can’t honestly tell me you expect to get anywhere in your careers where you are. You especially, Dmitri. I know you say Andrei is on your side, but surely you don’t believe they’d actually let you advance.”

Dima scowls and stabs a fork into one of the pelmeni like it offended him. The triplets go quiet as they absorb my words. Neither of us want to admit it, but we know it’s true. Dima has been training to be a bodyguard for three years now, and if he were anyone else—meaning straight—he would have already been on the job. But nobody in the Bratva wants a twink bodyguard, despite the fact he’s damn good at it.

Donovan and Dominic would have better chances as a doctor and physical therapist, but still. With Vonny being deaf, and Nico being…Nico,nobody in our world trusts them.

Whereas, the Amatos have proven they’re welcoming to people who don’t quite fit the status quo. We all hear the rumors. With Uncle Ivan being allied with the Amatos, we hear more than other Families would on some of what goes on with the Italians.

“Think about it,” I tell them, going back to my food. “You know you fuckers will miss me too much otherwise.”

Nico snorts. “In your dreams, Sory.”

“Please don’t dream about me,” Dima says. “Unless I’m naked, of course.”

“Gross,” Vonny mutters into his beer. “Why would he want to dream of you naked when he can dream of me?”

“Our cocks are identical, dipshit,” Dima shoots back, flinging a spoonful of sour cream at his brother.

“No food fights!” I exclaim. “Unless you wanna clean the entire kitchen all night.”

“Party pooper,” Vonny mutters as he wipes the sour cream from his face.

“Damn straight.”

Dima snorts. “Straight,” he says. “None of us can claim that.”

I roll my eyes, but can’t help the laugh that escapes. As ridiculous as the three of them are, there’s a reason I keep them around. Nobody can get me out of my head faster or as efficiently.

As we finish dinner, everything weird about my day with Doc leaves my head, and whatever confusing things I was feeling for the man get pushed to the back of my mind. Tomorrow is going to be interesting for sure, but I’m oddly looking forward to it.

“Ready to talk yet?”

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