Page 14 of Nico (Belles & Mobsters 2)

The last time, about ten years ago, we all got completely drunk, it ended up being a night of discovery and not all of it good. Ten years ago, we all got shitfaced on cheap liquor in Moscow. It was the night we all revealed too much of the past and scars we wanted to forget, wished for a life we would never have, and formed a pact to fight together. Always! No matter what, we had each other’s back.

Alexei Nikolaev was part of the pact that we formed that night. He was the reason we all went to Moscow. He might not be here, but he could always call us, and we’d have his back. In our world, it was priceless to have men that would watch your back. And friends! These men, I considered friends.

I downed the drink in one swift gulp and immediately poured myself another one.

Bianca Carter!Her name became a constant whisper in my head over the last two weeks. I couldn’t wait to have her in my bed. To ruin her.

Bianca Carter came back onto my radar over two years ago, and I have been patiently weaving the web around her, without her even knowing it. The first time I saw her was in my club, a lifetime ago. When my sister was still alive. Bianca couldn’t have been but eighteen or nineteen at that time. I was a better man back then.

Then, life threw her my way again when Nicoletta was murdered. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the pictures of the woman that would be my ticket to revenge against Benito King.

The attraction was still there, just as it was the first time I saw her. The intense pull I felt towards her was unlike anything before. The question was what to do with it. I wanted her in my bed. I knew she felt that attraction that brimmed between us for that short moment in the restaurant. When I touched her back, it was like fire seared through my skin and straight to my cock. And I only touched her back for Christ’s sake.

“I thought someone said your wife was a meek pianist?” Luca’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. Luciano strode back to his chair, a wide grin on his face. “And here she is threatening to kill us all.”

“Fuck off,” he spat back to him. I shook my head at the poor schmuck. There was no way I’d ever let that happen to me. Yes, I desired a certain woman with dark hair and dark brown eyes, but I would never fall under her spell. No woman ever kept my interest long. Yes, she fascinated me, but that would lose its shine just as fast as any other. It was always the same.

“She hasn’t forgiven you?” Cassio asked the unnecessary question.

“No.” Luciano sounded frustrated. Not that I could blame his wife. I didn’t think any of us in this room, including Luciano himself, could blame her. You just didn’t play Russian Roulette with women. But Luciano didn’t need to hear that; he already knew it.

“Are you sure you want to sleep in the same room?” Alessio questioned. “She might kill you in your sleep. She hates your guts.”

Luciano glared at him with fury. “Fuck you, asshole.”

Alessio chuckled like the bastard he was. “I’m good. Although, you might want to keep your woman under you all night. From the sounds we’ve just heard, she seems to be receptive to you in that arena.”

“I might shoot you one of these days,” Luciano growled at him, but there was a grin on his face and a gleam in his eyes. It would seem Alessio just gave him an idea.

“Don’t pay attention to Alessio,” I chimed in, feeling sorry for the poor bastard. “He’s just jealous because he can’t get his dick into the woman he wants.”

Alessio promptly flipped me the bird. We all knew the story. He touched a young thing that was forbidden and now he craved more. But the woman was out saving the world while men like us fucked it up.

“I swear, watching you guys makes me grateful not to deal with women on a longer than one night basis,” Luca retorted dryly.

“Your time is coming, brother.” Cassio smirked at his younger sibling. “And I look forward to seeing you squirm.”

This time Luca flipped the bird at his older brother. “Hold your breath, brother. See how well it works out.”

Cassio flipped him two birds, and I had to chuckle. We were considered among the most ruthless, most feared mobsters on the East Coast and here we acted like teenagers, flipping each other middle fingers.

“Okay, back to the business at hand,” Luciano announced. “Do we have any update on fucking Alphonso and what he is doing?”

I grabbed my glass and took another drink. “I have a little bit more detail on the Romano connection to the Kings.”

And the King's connection to Bianca Carter. But the latter piece I’d keep to myself. For now!

“We are all ears,” Luciano said with a grim determination on his face. He hated their guts, not that I could blame him. Both of us had lost a sister to Benito King. Luciano’s sister might have not died directly by Benito’s hand like mine, but he had indirect involvement. I had to take a measured breath and force the tension out of my body. It wouldn’t do me any good to snap now, I was close to extracting my own revenge on Benito King.

“Now take this with a grain of salt since there is no hard evidence,” I started. “The Romano family is old, they go back at least two centuries here in the States. So does the King family.” Cassio nodded. We all knew that the King family ran the criminal underworld in Europe, and when they migrated here, they continued the same path, establishing their territory. “The story was there was some bad blood between your ancestors back in Europe. The Romano family were wealthy and amongst nobility. A Romano daughter fell for one of the Kings while both families still lived in Europe. Once the Romano head found out, they hunted the man down and hung him. They considered them a lower class. Shortly after, the Kings migrated to the States and established themselves. Revolutions swept through Europe and the Romano family lost pretty much everything. When they migrated, unfortunately for them, they landed in the King’s territory. Anyhow, the agreement was made between the head of the King family and Romano family. Each generation would provide one woman, a belle, to the King family. As compensation for the man the Romano family killed.”

“What the fuck-” Cassio grumbled at me, annoyance in his voice. “Are you fucking shitting us? Because I am not in the mood for stupid stories.”

“No, I am quite serious. I’m still digging, but it turns out the King family saw an opportunity. They expanded that agreement to some other families too. Some are one-time deals, others longer term deals. The problem is finding evidence to support this.”

Finding out about this Belles and Mobsters arrangement was a surprise. It almost seemed fictitious. My first trace was to check on the history of Romano women. And sure enough, there was one in each generation that either married a mobster or became a mistress to one.

“So where did you hear this?” Luciano questioned. I couldn't blame them for being suspicious, the story was incredible. If they only knew what I learned about Bianca Carter, they’d believe it even less. But I wasn’t prepared to reveal that. First, I would use her in my revenge, then protect her. Even though I was offering that protection for selfish reasons.

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