Page 8 of Cassio (Belles & Mobsters 3)

“I know you’re good,” Luca scoffed at him. “But expansion in a week? You’re not that good.”

Nico cocked his eyebrow, a smug look in his face. “Challenge accepted,” he deadpanned. “What are we betting?”

“Aren’t you fucking rich enough?” Luca spat back at him.

“I’m not talking about money,” he drawled.

“Then what do you want?” Luca questioned him. He better watch out or he’d end up owing his life to Nico. Nobody matched Nico’s IQ.

“A favor,” Nico responded. “Any favor, at any point of my life that I want it.”

“Don’t do it,” Luciano warned Luca, sharing an amusing glance with me. He knew as well as I did if you told Luca not to do something, my reckless little brother would do it. “You’re gonna lose.”

“He lost already,” Alexei chimed in, his tone untelling whether he was amused or not.

“Deal,” Luca announced. Sucker!

Nico grinned like a shark. The two shook hands and Luca was forever indebted to Nico. A cell phone beeped and all of us glanced at our phones. It was Nico’s; he got a reply.

“Okay, Gia will take them,” Nico announced. “I’ll have my construction team work on building expansion, but until then, Gia said she can accommodate them.”

“Excellent,” Luca said. “Now, let’s go and celebrate. Shall we hit your club in the city, Cassio?”

I shook my head at my little brother who wasn’t so little anymore. He was always up for a celebration, though there was very little to celebrate lately.

“Temptation?” Nico questioned. “Isn’t there a Halloween party or something?”

“In fucking August?” Luciano grumbled.

I shrugged my shoulders. “The event manager is doing some shit cramming all the year’s events into this month. Next week it’s a Christmas party.”

Luciano and Nico promptly called the event manager a moron, rolling their eyes. It didn’t matter whether they liked it or not; the parties attracted everyone to my clubs so the event manager was doing something right.

“No Temptation for me,” Alexei’s cold tone interrupted Luciano’s creative names for my event manager who didn’t even know he was on the mobster’s name calling roster.

“Yeah, Temptation is too soft for me too,” Luca replied. “But when Cassio refuses to open something more risqué, you just have to settle for temptation.”

Alexei calmly flipped him off and we all chuckled.

“Go open your own hard core sex club,” I told Luca. “You kinky bastard.”

Luca grinned like a fool. “I might. And call it Cassio.”

“And I just might beat your ass,” I warned him amusingly.

Three hours later, Luciano, Nico, and I strode through the VIP entrance. Luca was already inside, probably hooking up with some random chick.

“I’m too old for techno,” Nico muttered begrudgingly.

“You and I both,” Luciano muttered. “I guess Cassio wants to get his dick wet.”

“And you don’t?” I challenged my best friend. Except for a small obstacle. Luciano couldn’t stand to look at another woman. His wife was his vice, though I wasn’t certain whether it was in a good way or bad way. She had disappeared and he’d been hunting for her ever since.

We barely made it inside the club when a small body slammed right into the back of me.

“Oh, shit,” a soft voice murmured. “I’m so sorry.” A light nudge, a push forward as if she wanted me to hurry up, and I grunted my displeasure. I didn’t budge because I didn’t come into my own club to be shoved around by a woman. “You think you can speed it up, buddy?”

Nico choked a laugh then covered it with a fake ass cough.

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