Page 3 of Family Secrets

Chapter Two

Gino stepped out of his family’s private jet, donning his sunglasses as the sun of an early New York day nearly blinded him. Reaching down, he checked the buttons on his tailored suit before descending the stairs onto the tarmac.

“Welcome home, Mr. Vitale.” His driver greeted, opening the back door of his limo and stepping to the side.

“Morning, Niko. Anything I need to know about while I was gone?”

Niko worked for the family since before Gino was born, he’d taught Gino how to drive, and turned a blind eye when he took one of his father’s cars out for a joy ride.

“Mario and Sully had another meeting,” Niko whispered, jerking his head toward the back of the limo. “They asked me to drop Mario off at the main airport before picking you up.”

Gino leaned in, slipping five one hundred-dollar bills into Niko's hand. “Do we know where he went?”

“No, sir. Mario jumped out of the car before I could get it in park.”

“I’ll double the tip if you find out where he went.”

“Shouldn’t be difficult.”

Gino slid his tall frame into the back of the limo, the mind-numbing music his brother, Sully, insisted upon listening to rattling the windows.

“Motherfucker, how many times do I have to tell you not to listen to this shit in my car?” Gino slammed his hand on the power button of the stereo, bringing back the glorious silence he preferred over the cats in heat bullshit his brother called music.

“Here I got up early to welcome you home and this is the thanks I get. What’s wrong Gino, couldn’t score any Italian pussy while you were away?” Sully shot back with a curt smile, his focus remaining on the screen of his cellphone.

Gino leaned his head back against the seat, a headache lingering from the day before pounding at his temples, his brother’s juvenile antics annoyed him more than anything. Sully would be green with envy if he knew just how deep in pussy Gino was two nights ago, the reason for both his exhaustion and headache.

Sully could sense something was up when Gino failed to respond to his jabbing. Pocketing his phone, he decided to take a different approach. “How is your mother?”

Sully and Gino were half-brothers who shared the same father, a man who possessed two loves in his life, money and women. With a vested interest in both, he produced four children with three different women, one of them being his wife and Gino’s mother.

“She’s excellent, sends her love.”

“Really?” Sully questioned his voice colored with excitement.

Gino opened his left eye, turning his head slightly in Sully’s direction. “Fuck no, man. My ma hates you and that leech you call a sister.”

Sully sank back into the leather seat. He never understood why he felt the need to have Gino’s mother’s approval. Maybe it had something to do with how bad his own mother fixated on her, trying everything in her power to be exactly like the Sicilian beauty everyone adored.

“Speaking of Antonia,” Sully started in an attempt to redirect the conversation. “You know her birthday party is tonight.”

“The fight is tonight.” Where their father loved money, Gino loved a good boxing match, willing to skip just about anything to catch one. He had his eye on a middleweight boxer, a kid from upstate New York who was currently undefeated. Gino witnessed him fight a few months back and was impressed with his skill. He wanted to talk with him, feel him out for a possible partnership and see how far he could take this guy.

“You can at least stop by and say hello,” Sully challenged, knowing it was wasted breath. If one thing was true about his brother when he had his mind made up, he didn’t change it, no matter who he offended.

“Who’s invited?”

“The usual.”

“Which means Felicia.” Gino grimaced as the dreadful name rolled off his lips.

“Why are you so against Felicia? It would make Dad happy to see the two of you together.”

Where Sully spent every waking moment trying to please their father and gain his favor, Gino could give a shit less about the lying bastard. Which was, in part, the reason he didn’t like Felicia, the niece of an associate and Family leader, Emilio Vittorio.

“I’d rather suck my own dick than have her anywhere near me.” Gino made it loud and clear how much he loathed Felicia Vittorio; despite his father’s insistence he take the necessary steps to make her a part of his life. Her parents went to great lengths, spending thousands upon thousands of dollars, to make her appealing in his eyes. The trouble with Felicia wasn’t the way she looked—she was fucking gorgeous, but she possessed the personality of a brick wall, something Gino had neither the time nor the patience for. With his connections and role in the Family, if he wanted to fuck a gorgeous woman there were plenty available to him, negating the only thing Gino would ever need Felicia for.

“You could do a lot worse.” Sully surmised, glancing out the side window at his approaching destination.

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