Page 10 of Shot For Mercy

“Oh?” I laugh. “And how do I look at you?”

“Like you want to eat me,” he replies, looking smug as fuck. “I see it plain as day.”

“You’re wrong.” He can’t be right. “This conversation is over.”

“As it should be,” he snaps. “Matty is up.”

Matty.

He’s called him that since they were little kids, and Matteo will kill anyone else who uses the stupid nickname. It would be cute if it didn’t show how close they really are. I have to figure out how to keep my eyes off him. I can’t afford to have my son see how I look at the love of his life. The way I’veneverlooked at him before.

I take three long steps back, giving each other some much needed space. Just as I do it, Matteo knocks on the door. He comes in when we’re silently staring at each other and looks between us, frowning at whatever it is he sees.

“What’s going on, Dad?” Matteo asks me, his voice low and growly, as if he’s ready to defend Cole. It irritates the fuck out of me.

“You and Cole stole my whiskey.” I sigh. It’s the first thing that came to my mind; the only thing that I know could be a good reason to be pissed off. “It was my favorite.”

“I’ll buy you a new one,” Cole says, a smirk on his face. I look over at Matteo and he’s smiling at his best friend like a lovesick fool. I suddenly feel sick to my stomach. “Right, Matty?”

Matteo rolls his eyes. “Again with the fucking nickname.” He huffs. “When will you fucking stop?”

“Never,” Cole replies immediately. “You’re stuck with it.”

“Alright, boys.” I sigh, interrupting them. Cole tenses at my words, and I frown. What the fuck did I say now? “I’m gonna make breakfast. Eggs and pancakes okay?”

“Perfect,” Matteo says.

I look at Cole expectantly, and he nods as well. Matteo exits the room ahead of us, and I turn back toward Cole. I don’t know why I do it—except I know he’s got something he needs to get off his chest.

“I’m not a fucking boy,” he growls, stepping up to me and getting in my face. “I’m a fucking man now. Want me to show you?”

I run a hand down my face, because what the hell does he even mean by that? I don’t exactly want to know. I don’t even want to think about it. “No need.” I nod. “I got you, Cole.”

“No, you don’t,” he replies with conviction. “You ain’t got shit.”

I roll my eyes and turn around, leaving him behind. He’s being a pain in my ass, and I’ll go right back to ignoring him if that’s what it takes for him to chill out. Except this is Cole, and he doesn’t enjoy being ignored. He loves to be the center of attention at all times. He wants me focused on him and him alone. Well, guess what? It’s not going to happen.

Leaving his room, I make my way back to the kitchen where Matteo is sitting at the island, just for the bedroom door to slam shut. The walls rattle from the force of it, and I sigh.

“What the fuck crawled up his ass?” I ask Matteo, and he smirks. It reminds me of what Cole said to me.No, he fucked me. “You know what, never mind.”

Matteo laughs, and I tense.

But I just turn to the stove and begin to cook, busying myself before I have a goddamn aneurysm. Because fuck Cole.

And fuck this shit.

The Pink Pony Club looks different from the last time I saw it. It looks upscale now, with a bigger dance floor and an upstairs VIP area. The bouncers are everywhere, and the bar is packed with bartenders. You can just tell they have a good business. There are probably hundreds of people crammed in here, grinding to the beat of some new hip-hop song I don’t recognize.

This is one of Emiliano’s many legitimate businesses. He also has a brothel, a restaurant, and his most lucrative yet—a real estate company. His brothers help at that company, Colombo Real Estate, while also getting their hands dirty with drugs and weapons, among other things. I will say that before I went to prison he was trusting me and Matteo with more jobs, and I know Matteo took over while I was gone. But I’m ready to get back into it. I’m ready to get my hands dirty once more. Maybe it’s in my blood—or maybe it’s how he raised me. The expectations he set for me. I knew from the moment he took me in and made me family that I’d be a Made Man.

I’m upstairs with Matteo in the VIP area, sitting side by side on one of the couches. He’s talking my ear off about God knows what, but I can’t seem to pay attention. Instead, my mind is on Emiliano and yesterday morning. The way he slammed me against the wall and choked me—I loved it. I can’t believe his cock was hard for me. He can say whatever he wants, but his body can’t lie to me. He wants me too. His jealousy when I said Matteo fucked me proved that. I just need to find a way to make him give in to me. It’s going to be difficult since I know he knows about Matteo’s feelings for me.

If I’m being honest, I know it’s probably the worst betrayal if I pursue Matteo’s dad after everything we’ve done together. I just can’t bring myself to ignore my feelings for Emiliano, though. It’s going to make me the worst friend, and I honestly wouldn’t blame Matteo if he tried to kill us both. I have faith he will come around eventually though. He’ll be heartbroken, but eventually, he’ll move on. He has to.

My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and I take it out to look at the new text message. It’s from Emiliano.

Emiliano

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