Page 16 of The Mafia's Property

“Are you telling me you aren’t having the same issues?” Dante said.

Rico shouted something intelligible at the screen.

“Not really,” I replied as my mind went to the man I had to coerce into giving me information about the capo trying to build an empire amongst Saccone’s ashes. Dante had called me to interrogate him and all that he gave me had little to do with our side of the business, mainly the casino.

“Good. So that means you two can take over the casino while I go to Italy.”

“Excuse me, what?” I almost choked on my drink. Even Rico jolted himself out of the game and stares at Dante. “You want us to do what now?”

“It’s not that difficult. It’s just like running the clubs, only this time you have to manage two instead of a dozen.”

“Two giant businesses!” Rico exclaimed, the game forgotten. He didn’t even put it on pause.

“They run themselves, really. Saccone’s casino will be managed by my COO. Ours is easy to run. Few overheads, competent staff, it shouldn’t be hard.”

“Competent staff plus who knows what moles from Saccone. Have you asked Gio?” I said.

“That’s why you guys would be good at this and not Gio. He can’t tell the difference between a mole and rat, as much as I love him.”

“And you think we’ll be able to run a billion-dollar business?” Rico said.

“There’s two of you. One can manage the hotel and the casino. One the restaurants and the other the stores. It’s shouldn’t be that hard.”

I leaned back onto the couch. Dante wasn’t telling us everything. He always clarified that everyone knew their place in the empire. Dante at the top running the Casino, Gio second in command running the investment fund, and then, below that, Rico and I running the clubs. And doing, let’s face it, the grunt work. I’ve never complained about the arrangement, everything is made easier when everyone knows their place and what they need to do. Even when he took breaks, which was rare, usually he had one of his lieutenants run his side of the operation. Until one of those lieutenants turned out to be working for his nemesis and kidnapped his then girlfriend, now wife. Well, they weren’t exactly dating when it happened, but anyone with eyes could see how head over heels in love with her he was.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I’m—”

“Going to Italy,” Rico cut in, “Poor excuse. There’s something you aren’t telling us and we can smell it off of you.”

Dante closed his eyes and throws his head back. When he faced us again, he was red with embarrassment, but giddy at the same time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy and shy all at once. My big brother has always been tough and manly. This blushing Dante was an alien creature. I glance at Rico, who looked just as puzzled as I am. “I lied when I said Corina was on a girls’ trip. Corina and I will be going on a trip soon. Honeymoon, if we were to be honest.”

It’s tough to forget that Dante and Corina were newlyweds with all that has been going on. Their wedding was a few months ago and during that time and since, Dante had been busy with the consolidation, as he liked to call it. And with what not only he, but Corina had gone through, they deserved some time alone together.

“You know,” I said, “You could’ve just said so from the start.”

“We know how hard the past months have been on you and Corina,” Rico added. Not only had the two been involved in an assassination attempt, but Saccone kidnapped Corina soon after. The whole affair brought down his empire funny enough.

Dante’s shoulders relaxed. “So you’ll run things while I’m gone?”

“For how long?”

“A month.”

We could take care of business in a month. What’s the worst that could happen? Dante was worried about rats and moles, but I am a decent rodent catcher. There’s no way I would let one run around under my nose. A month is nothing.

Freya

THIS WAS DANGEROUS. If he caught me in his room, I am dead. Get in. Get out. That’s the plan. When Nico dismissed me, my first reaction was to go to my bedroom and get a shower. To remove his disgusting cum, I told myself. But when I turned the spigot on and stood under the hot rivulets, it was Nico’s face that appeared in my mind and the dark desire in his eyes when he stood over me. How tight the cords in his neck were, and the guttural groan he let out as he splattered cum all over my body.

Without thinking or even noticing it, my hands wondered to my breast, and I squeezed a nipple as I recalled his harsh commands. I hated being told what to do, but with Nico; I was eager to do whatever he said. He could have commanded me to remove my clothes in front of his friends and I would have done it. And before I knew it, my fingers were stroking my clit in quick motions, searching for that peak I reached earlier. Nico’s face flashed in my mind as I came, and at that final moment, Rico’s snarky one flashed as well.

I hate that guy, and yet I couldn’t get him out of my mind. Nico wasn’t that much better, but at least he was a little nice. Not a lot, but a little. Was that too much to ask? I thought as I put on a fresh pair of clothes. A short flared pink pleated skirt and a tight white tank top. I heard my phone ring just as I finished putting on clothes. I grabbed it and almost dropped it when I saw the caller id. Why was he calling? He knew how risky that was. I cut the call and sent him a text:

Don’t call! Ever!

He responded by sending me a link to an app and instructions to install it. It’s a special encrypted messaging app that deletes messages as soon as they’re read.

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