Page 76 of Little Deer
“My turn,” Urso laughs, moving toward me, arms outstretched, a wicked grin on his face. Massimo simply glares at him and smacks his hands away before pulling me into his side. Urso shrugs and moves away, but not before he sends me a teasing wink.
He’s a shit disturber like Massimo and Alessio I think.
I look up at Massimo and mutter, “Nothing like making a statement.”
“I want it well known,cerbiatta,” he replies, eyes intense on mine. “There will be no doubt. Ever.” His arms are around my waist, his fingers splayed along my hip. I’m surprised by how much I like it.
I turn my head when I hear Soren let out a screech, and I tense when I see Alonzo take the baby from Rori, settling him gently in the crook of his arm. Soren stares up at him, and I’m pretty sure he’s being held by a giant. Well, he kind of is. Still, my anxiety heightens, but I force myself to stay still.
We’re safe here. No one will drop or hurt him.
“Gia tells us that you’ve been figuring some things out,” Papa announces, taking in the wall.
“We’re trying,” Sienna answers, smiling. “Honestly, there is so much here, it’s hard to make all the connections.” She leans in to Alessio, resting her head on his shoulder.
As they talk amongst themselves, I find myself tuning in to Massimo. He smells so good, and he’s so warm. I want to burrow into him and just breathe him in. Before I can tell myself it’s a terrible idea, I cautiously, unsure of what he’ll think, move my arm around to wrap around his waist, settling into him more comfortably.
He looks down at me, a pleased look in his eyes, and the little submissive whore inside me preens. I blush and lower my gaze. Damn it, I need to get a grip. The man is going to think I have no control.
Though, around him, I don’t think I have much.
I try to focus back on the conversation, but Massimo keeps shifting, his fingers keep rubbing and moving over the thin material of my clothes, distracting me. Damn him. I look up at him beneath my lashes, and I see the slight tilt of his lips. That knowing smirk. Bastard. He’s doing it on purpose.
So why can’t I push him away?
Determined to pay attention, I force myself to zone back in on the conversation, but then notice that Soren isn’t with Alonzo anymore; he’s now taken up residence in Alessio’s arms. Alessio makes faces at him, but Soren just watches him like he’s not sure what the hell he’s doing. Sienna grins in amusement.
Okay, he’s fine. I need to focus.
I look back to where Amara is talking to the others, her hands gesturing to the papers. “This entire thing is a big dick measuring contest if you think about it,” she states exasperatedly.
Wait. What?
“All of them are trying to outdo the other, and they want the territories to be under one person, not four families. It also would mean that they would control all of this secret network. And Nico’s twat of an uncle clearly wants to be the one to do that if you ask me.”
“Twat?” Pietro asks carefully, and I can tell he’s trying not to laugh, though no one else succeeds. Most of the others snicker, including Massimo, his body shaking slightly with it.
“Oh, right, he is Nico’s uncle, I probably should be a bit more respectful. Ummm, how about Mr. Twat? I mean, it was that or I call him Mr. Prick, but this seems more insulting.”
The snickers turn to outright laughs, and Pietro’s lips pull up into a grin. “Twat it is then,” he agrees. “I’m sure Nico will be understanding.”
“I call him a cocksucker, so call him whatever you want.” Nico gives a careless shrug.
“Good, okay, so Twat wants to take over the entire city. He set up all these routes, made them work when Nico’s mother died, and he had Leonardo, Giovanni, and Seamus all dick drunk and money blinded to make it happen. The Russians, by your accounts, have their own system and aren’t part of this, so he can’t just go after them. So he waits, bides his time, and makes plans. He has to be patient for it to work, though, right? Move too fast, and everything will crash down around him. Namely, he can’t risk Nico’s father finding out and coming down hard on him and the others in retaliation. He also can’t risk Nico’s mother dying at his hands because she’s actually the brainsbehind it all. The money person, the one to charm the men into doing what he wants.”
“So where does the contract for Gia to marry Dante come in?” Sofia asks curiously. Nico lets out a low sound of displeasure and Sofia rolls her eyes at him. “You’re married to her now, you overgrown caveman, so it doesn’t matter, does it?”
I’m pretty sure my eyes are as wide as saucers. Did she really just speak that way to Nico? Her boss? And a Don? Then again, she’s surrounded by her family, so she probably feels safer doing it here than anywhere else. Still, I don’t know that I have those kinds of balls.
Nico glares at her but doesn’t argue. He just holds Gia even closer.
“He probably figured out that he wouldn’t be able to just take over,” Sienna interjects, breaking some of the tension. “And everything in the mafia is about alliances and power, right? He had a son, and when Gia was born, and not knowing about me or Lucy, he saw an opportunity to bind Leonardo to him. Keep tabs on him and also make sure that Leonardo can never double cross him and kick him out. Not easily, anyway. So they make a contract, and it gets him one step closer to his plan.”
Amara nods her head emphatically. “Yes! Yes, exactly. In the meantime, they expand, they build, and maybe they plan on getting Seamus out of the way, but Nico’s mother falls for him. It’s clear from her letters that she loved him in her way. They had an affair for years. Leonardo was a way to pass the time, and a bit of excitement. It was also a way for her to keep Leonardo from getting wise to any plans that she and Esposito were cooking up. Same with sleeping with Giovanni. I mean, a leopard can’t change his spots, so I imagine he was always cunning and trying to figure out ways to come out on top, even then.”
“Their father pitted them against each other, even though everyone knew Leonardo would succeed him,” Nico explains.“It was his way of manipulating Giovanni into doing what he wanted. Always dangling that carrot to him. Maybe he would be the one chosen if he was better, smarter, and showed more promise.”
“So they built and refined their hidden empire for decades. Then Nico finds out about it, kills his mother, and that’s a big fucking problem. All the documents, the plans, everything is hidden in this house. No one knows where it is, they can’t get it. So they have to act fast, and they have to start moving things around. Nico shuts down what he finds, but because they had just enough time, they managed to rework so they didn’t lose everything. Esposito would hate that, and so would the others. Didn’t you say that things escalated around that time?”
