The One Weakness (manXman)

16. Hello

Here's another chapter for you guys. And yes I'm still in the middle of exams (cries) so yeah, delayed and all that.

Anyways enjoy.

Leo sat tensed with a blank face as he watched Derek closely. Derek sat almost just as still as he tried to get his brain back from the vacation it had gone on.

“You’re a mafia boss?” Derek asked even though he had heard it loud and clear the first time.

“Yes, among the mafia I’m known as the Don though.” A light flickered on in Derek’s mind.

“Your men almost cut off my finger!” Derek waved the hand with the thin white scar on the pinkie in front of Leo. Leo grabbed the hand and placed a soft kiss on the scar. Derek probably should’ve been scared, repulsed, or something. But the truth was that mouth still looked delectable and his heart still fluttered around in his chest preaching love, peace, and harmony. This is so screwed up. Warm tingles spread from where Leo’s lips had touched.

“I’m sorry,” the words sounded foreign in Leo’s mouth as if he was pronouncing something he had never tried before, “I saw my soldato had dragged someone into the interrogation room. I rarely do any of the dirty work anymore, so it was pure coincidence that I saw you on my way to get some papers. You looked radiant.”

“I was still affected by drugs and I was scared shitless, how the hell can you say I looked radiant?” Derek asked in a dry disbelieving tone. Leo smirked hesitantly. “You just did.”

Derek frowned and thought for a moment. Trying to piece all this new information together with what he already knew.

“But Chris told me Vincent was the one he answered to. How come your men were the ones who dragged me off asking where the money Chris owned was?” This wasn’t making any sense.

Leo’s face returned to its natural state. “For a while now someone has been trying to take over my turf and overthrow me. Basically someone wants to create a void in the balance of power and then fill it. Their first move was to start selling drugs in my territory. A huge insult that I couldn’t let slide. If you can’t even protect your own territory you’re nothing. So we were hunting all the dealers. To avoid bringing too much attention to the fact that someone wasn’t respecting my claim on Pareo, we used that little white lie,” Leo explained.

“The new Don,” Derek said, not a question. Leo’s eyes flashed. “Where have you heard about that?”

Derek glanced down at his hands, then the floor, then the wall.

“...”

“Derek, where have you heard about that?” Leo said, all steel and authority in his voice.

“I may or may not have done some investigation,” Derek muttered, while having a staring contest with the golden wooden floor. Was it oak? Or perhaps birch? Could be ask. Derek glanced up at Leo through his eyelashes and met Leo’s blazing gaze.

“Is that how you got that wound?” the question was asked with a calm voice devoid of emotion. It made Derek shudder. “You got shot, too!” Derek said, defensively.