“Don’t shower until I’m home,” I murmur against Roxanne’s lips after reluctantly pulling back. “Your candy mouth fills my lungs with air, but the greedy sucks of your cunt make breathing an unnecessary requirement.”
It dawns on me little ears are listening when Matteo giggles about me saying the word ‘cunt.’ He has no clue what it means. He merely knows it’s a word he isn’t allowed to say until he’s much,mucholder.
After a final bite of Roxanne’s kiss swollen lips, I stand to my feet with her in my arms. I place her onto Matteo’s bed, then swing my eyes to my son standing in the doorway of his bathroom with his eyes still clamped. “You’re the man of the house now, Matteo. Make sure you take good care of Mama and Sissy until I get back.” I do three big strides to the door before stopping and arching back. “And if Uncle Rocco gets into too much mischief, take care of him as well.”
Matteo’s grin reveals he looks forward to riling Rocco as much as Rocco enjoys riling me. “I will, Dada.”
As he bounds across the room to update his mother on all the things he plans to do today, I exit his room. My shoulders grow heavier with every step I take. Confrontations don’t faze me, but keeping my family hidden is a challenge I’m slowly growing weary of. I renege on my decision almost every month. The only reason I’ve stuck to my guns so far is recalling the boot-size bruise on Roxanne’s hip four years ago. I failed her back then. She was hurt on my watch, so you can put money on it that I’ll do everything in my power to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
4
Dimitri
With the hour early, I make it to the Walsh residence before Nikolai. The two-story home is one of the best in the street, but it’s nothing close to the sprawling mansion I collected Justine from for our first date. Either the Walsh children are scroogie with their money, or their parents refuse to accept donations from their offspring. Whatever it is, they’re living well below their means.
I’d dig a little deeper into their financials if I weren’t aware somebody else already has. The ownership in Nikolai’s eyes when he rocked up unannounced last year revealed he’d go to the end of the earth for Justine, so buying her family estate for double the asking price seemed like the next logical step.
I invested well when I bought stakes in the Walsh entity, and no, I’m not solely referring to their beachside mansion either. Landon was still sour about his first tussle with a Mafia Prince when I rocked up at his place of employment a month after Nikolai left town for the second time. He didn’t make it out of that exchange the same man.
“Has Nikolai arrived yet?” I ask Smith while skimming past the hedges lining one side of the Walsh’s rented home.
I doubt the family dog will bark. Smith sent a crew here early this morning in preparation for my arrival. I still get my hands dirty when it comes toallaspects of my businesses—excluding whores. Not only am I disinterested in them, Roxanne would gut them where they stood if they stupidly thought they had the chance to come between us—but I now leave the fiddly shit to my men. The more duties I pass on, the more time I have with my family. Considering I lost almost two years with Fien, you can be assured I’ve become a master of delegation the past four years.
“Not yet. Didn’t you hear? His flight isn’t scheduled to land until lunch.”
I work my jaw side to side. “If you believe that—”
“I need to find myself a new fucking job,” Smith interrupts, laughing. “Nikolai doesn’t travel during the day because the devil has never seen a sunrise, meaning—”
“He’ll arrive at dawn. Like he always does.”
My punishment for Roxanne’s rile four years ago lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. We were set to break our record for the longest fuck session when Nikolai stole the thunder. He slit the throat of the man I had on the door, made a second one piss his pants, then walked through my family home like he owned the place.
Our tussle that night wasn’t close to pretty.
I don’t see this morning’s ending any better.
The thirst for a bloodbath dries my mouth when I round the corner of Justine’s family’s home. I asked Rocco to place my best men on this. He did—ifyou exclude Collin’s inclusion.
Roxanne was right three nights ago. I took Collin with me to ‘collect’ my win in the hope Nikolai would finish what I couldn’t. Collin is from my father’s debunked crew, and although I am now the leader of that chapter, I can’t order his demise. Collin has Petretti blood pulsating through his veins. The lineage is as weak as the ties Megan now has with my family, but enough for me to pass on his killing to a man deserving to claim his life.
Regretfully, Nikolai’s focus didn’t shift from Justine long enough to realize who her collector was when she was auctioned. He’s still a fucking hothead, but just like his little brother, his woman has weakened him. I won’t know whether that’s a good thing or not until he arrives here this morning.
“Were you given much trouble?”
Clover stops barking orders to crank his neck my way. “Do I ever face trouble?” His Arabian accent is still thick even with him living state side for the past six years. “We have half a dozen men in the basement.” The way his lips quirk reveals they’re not in the basement via their own choice. “We’re watching another six surrounding the perimeter. We could move for them now, but Smith said to hold.”
Understanding Smith’s objective, I lift my chin. If Nikolai arrives without any men flanking the premise, he’ll storm inside instead of arriving onto a battlefield unprepared. The latter is more favorable if I want him to come out of our meeting without a bullet wound.
“Justine’s parents?”
Clover’s smirk would have you convinced he isn’t a hired hitman. “Seemed to appreciate the hamper of goodies you had delivered earlier tonight. All residents are accounted forandsleeping.”
His reply shouldn’t thicken my cock, but it does. The hamper filled to the brim with cheeses, delicatessen meats, and enough alcohol to knock a sailor onto his ass wasn’t my idea. That was all compliments of Roxanne. She knows how heavy men sleep when they’re bellies are full of alcohol since it was the only time she got a couple of hours of peace when she was a child.
“Send three men in with me. Make sure one of them is Collin.” –What? I can’t help but hate the prick— “The remainder can either keep watch out here or head back to the compound. The choice is theirs.”
My jaw tightens when Clover’s hand shoots out to stop my entrance into the Walsh residence. “You don’t think they should wait it out to see how Nikolai responds?”
