Page 14 of Shot For Mercy

“Do we need to cut up someone into little pieces, then bury them?” Giovanni asks.

“Can I use my golf club?” Lorenzo asks, and I just know I’m going to get a headache.

They continue to rapid-fire questions at me, and I dutifully ignore them all. If they want to know what’s going on, they’ll shut the fuck up. Or Alessandro will make them.

“Quiet,” Alessandro growls, and I grin.

He’s so predictable.

Alessandro needs to be in control at all times. It’s probably one of the many traits we share. The only difference is that while I’m calm and collected, level-headed even, he’s batshit crazy. He doesn’t know when to rein himself in and I have to keep reminding him. Maybe that’s why he craves control so much. He’s definitely out of it.

“Now,” Alessandro begins calmly, “what were you saying?”

I turn to face him. “I royally fucked up, Alex.”

“How?”

“I—” I shake my head. “I?—”

“Yes?” Lorenzo smirks, and I narrow my eyes at him.

“Cole came on to me,” I blurt out, and they collectively gasp. Everyone except for Alessandro.

“No.” Alessandro shakes his head. “You can’t.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” I snap. “I didn’t plan this.”

“Matty loves him,” Giovanni whispers, and I bristle.

“Don’t call him that,” I growl. “You know he hates it.”

“Do you hate it too now?” he asks with a smirk. “It’s Cole’s cute nickname for him.”

The truth is, I hate everything about this. About him. I wish he hadn’t moved in after prison. My life would be so much easier. “No,” is all I say.

“Emiliano,” Alessandro says gently, “he’s off limits.”

“He’s Matteo’s,” Tony says, raising his hands in defeat when I look at him.

“What?” Giovanni chuckles. “Don’t kill him—he’s not wrong.”

“You think I don’t know that? I feel like shit. Plus, I never looked at him this way until now,” I say, feeling the need to clarify. “And I’ve always been into women.Onlywomen. This is… fuck, this is confusing me.”

“We know.” Alessandro clasps his hands in front of him. “It’s not even about the age gap, though. Matteo will kill you.”

“Fuck!” I yell, rubbing a hand down my face. “I fucking know it. But I can’t keep him away—welivetogether. He came out of my son’s room fucking naked the other morning.”

“Naked?” Alessandro asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, they’refuckingfucking,” Lorenzo says with a laugh, and if looks could kill, he’d be six feet under. Probably cut into tiny little pieces from my knife. “Shit—my bad.”

“Tell me,” Giovanni asks with a smirk, “how did that make you feel?”

“I wanted to kill my own son,” I growl.

“Oh, he has it bad, ladies.” Lorenzo grins.

“I’m not a lady,” Alessandro grumbles. “What are you going to do?”

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