Page 24 of The Mafia's Captive

“I’m not fucking her. But he thought I was, and that’s why he targeted her.”

“Whatever the reason, one thing’s right,” Nico says, “We’ve lost a supplier. If Saccone starts a war, we’re fucked.”

“Yeah. My ammo is running low,” Gio adds, “And from what I gather, Saccone is stocking up. He deliberately poisoned the well.”

“You should have killed that snitching slut when you had the opportunity,” Nico says. “She’s more of a headache than she’s worth.”

“I can’t do that,” I say, trying to sound as nonchalant as I can. Ever since Rio, the thought of seeing her dead brings a foul taste to my mouth. “She’s an ace. You never play your ace until you absolutely have to.”

“Whatever you say,” Nico relents and sits back to drink his cognac. Rico stares at me as if he can see more about what I’m saying. I ignore him.

Nico takes another swig of his drink. “I hear she’s a sweet piece of ass. Is that true?”

“She’s not without her merits,” Nico says, taking out his phone and showing it to Rico. I had forgotten that I sent him some pictures of her when I discovered the relationship between her and Saccone.

“Damn,” Nico says. Rico removes himself from his corner to go look and he whistles. Nico looks up at me and says, “You’re definitely fucking her. I’ll be all over that if I were you.”

“Not all of us lose our minds when we see a woman.”

“Where is she?” Rico asks. “Are you hiding her?”

What is it with these people? The moment they see a woman, their brains turn into mush. “Don’t we have serious things to discuss?”

“Is there anything left?” Gio says, “I was sure this meeting is over.”

“Don’t tell me you of all people want to see her too.” Even though Gio is younger than I, he usually acts more mature. And he, of all people, should understand why sleeping with her would be bad, but no, he’s just as eager to see her as our younger twin brothers.

“Are you sure they're related?” Rico says, his eyes still glued to the picture on the phone. I wanted to yell at him and stop gawking.

“Yes. We even did a test to confirm it, but definitive results aren’t out yet.”

“Nico is right,” Rico says. “I think you’re lying to us. She is totally your type.”

“I didn’t know I had one.”

“Sure you do. Petite. Blonde. Not too skinny. Bonus points if she’s curvy. Corina ticks all boxes.”

“Whatever. She’s more trouble than she’s worth.”

“Has she been giving you hell, brother?” Nico says, “I can take her off your hands?”

“I think we should get back to—” A soft knock on the door interrupts me. It must be Rob. I don’t mind the intrusion now that the meeting is about to wind down. “Enter.”

The door opens slightly. A head pops in. It’s Corina. She looks like a lost child. Her enormous eyes widen as her gaze darts around the room and stops when it meets my own, no doubt furious one. She balks. “Oh. Sorry,” she says, already drawing the door to a close.

I can already feel from the tension in the room that this little peek of her has already peaked my brothers’ interest in her and it won’t go away. “What do you want?” I drawl.

“Oh. I’m looking for Colin. I wanted to, um, never mind.”

She’s about to close the door again when Nico smiles at her and says, “Stay.”

Her gaze darts to me again, uncertain. I nod. She gets in and shyly closes the door behind her. She’s wearing white shorts and a tank top. Her demeanor is that of a naïve church girl. Far from the fireball she usually is. All eyes are glued to her.

“Hi,” Nico says, walking over to her with an extended hand, “I’m Niccolò, but my friends call me Nico.” She looks uncertain as she takes his hand. I almost want to roll my eyes. How does she pull off all these personalities? At one time she’s combative and sarcastic, another a seducer, but now, she is a fragile doll.

“Corina.”

“I know.”

---