Taking The Mantle

Chapter 31

It's going to take a day or two to get everything set up with the Sinaloa's. Between arranging the meeting, preparing the men, and getting approval from the other Don's, I won't be able to do shit for at least a few days.

So I decided, fuck it. I don't visit Italia nearly as often as I should. And there's no way in hell I'm missing out on a yacht day.

"Elle," Luca groans, chasing her around the deck, "come here, Isabelle."

"No!" she exclaims as she ducks behind a crate of wine. She has a child sized life jacket strapped on tightly and giggles as her father chases her.

"You need to put on sunblock," he insists, "come here."

She giggles and sprints off, forcing Luca to follow her at a jog. I laugh and look out at the water. Victoria and Rosa are treading water beside the boat. They're talking about who knows what but both women wear a smile.

"Zio Gio!" Elle shrieks, climbing onto my lap, "make Daddy stop!"

Luca towers above me and blocks out the sun. His brows are furrowed and he has a bottle of sunscreen in his hand. He takes a step closer and Elle shrieks again, burying her face in my shoulder.

"You gotta put on sunblock," I tell her, "you'll get a sunburn if you don't."

"Daddy doesn't wear sunscreen," she argues, "Mommy either."

"There's different rules for grownups," Luca says, folding his arms over his chest.

"You need to listen to your parents," I scold.

Elle pulls back to glare at me, "you're supposed to be on my side! You're my Zio!"

Her brows are furrowed and her hands fly around as she talks. I bite my lip, hard, in attempt to fight back my laughter. I lock eyes with Luca over his daughter's head. He wears an amused grin, fist drawn over his mouth to hold in his own laughter.

"Cattivo zio!" Elle exclaims. 
(Bad uncle!)

I can't hold it in anymore and start laughing. Elle's eyes widen and she leans back. Luca joins in on my laughter which just makes Elle frown.

"Mi dispiace," I chuckle, "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"I'm telling Mommy on you!" she exclaims before hopping off my lap. She runs down the deck, as much as she can run in a life jacket, towards Alice.

Luca takes deep breaths as his laughter dies down, "she's a fucking handful."

"You know it's your fault, right?" I chuckle.

"Yeah, I know," he sits on the cushioned bench beside me, "I really shouldn't spoil her as much as I do."

I shrug, "she still hasn't put sunscreen on."

"Cazzo," he mutters before looking over.

Elle is leaning over the railing of the boat yelling at Victoria. She's too far away for me to make out what's being said but the look on her face makes me laugh anyway. Luca sighs heavily as he stands before walking away.

"Gio!" Rosa calls out.

I turn around and lean over the edge, "what's up?"

"Come here!" she exclaims, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.

I smile at her before peeling off my shirt. I toss it on the ground and jog over to the ladder. I quickly descent the rungs until I'm on the lowest deck. I kick off my sandals and take a deep breath before jumping into the water.

I come to the surface smiling, running a hand through my hair. I swim over to Rosa and Victoria who tread only a few feet away from the boat. The water is too deep for the two of them to stand but I plant my feet on the seashell filled sand.