But Too Well

LXI : Control

Hey everyone. Hope you're all doing well. <3

Thoughts, comments, concerns so far? I love to hear from you guys! Let me know if you're reading and enjoying this, blah blah blah...

Also, how do you guys think Ros should tell her parents about this... mess she's in?

XOXO Ami

BTW, Ros is feeling a little sassy today.

***

HIS NAME IS Alex and he looks like he's been punched in the face one too many times.

My thigh brushes Nero's as we sit across from Alex in Nero's living room. I study Alex's crooked nose, the scar above his eyebrow, the crease in his upper lip.

Nero didn't want me to be here at first, but he relented eventually. (I slid my way down the contours of his lean body when we woke up this morning, and made him curse my name while I touched every inch of his hardness with my mouth. Spoiler: I swallowed.)

"Santino," Alex begins, addressing Nero but eyeing me from the corner of his eye, "I don't trust her." There's a gap between his top front teeth that's visible when he talks.

Nero rolls his eyes. Something about the way he's sitting, the tone of his voice, is different. He's on official business today, I guess. His presence reminds me vaguely of those early days, when he'd press me menacingly against the wall, nasty threats leaving those perfect lips. For some stupid and unknown reason, the whole idea of it turns me on.

"Doesn't matter," Nero responds brusquely. "You know what I need from you, Alex. Are we going to have any problems?" The rough, commanding tenor of each word makes my skin warmer somehow.

Alex narrows his eyes, thinks about it for a long moment. "When Marco tracks me down, what reason do I give him? He's gonna know that you're behind this, amico."

I guess Alex isn't a complete moron.

Nero doesn't look fazed. "Tell him the Santirellis paid you off."

I think Alex's face pales. "If any of your guys hear me say that, Nero, they'll cut off my balls and deliver them to you on a silver platter."

That very unpleasant image burns itself into my imagination.

I hear a small, sardonic chuckle leave Nero's mouth. "I'll tell them to look the other way."

In my head, I find this intriguing. Nero is asking Alex for a favor, but it feels like it's the other way around. It makes me wonder what the hell Nero has on this guy.

Alex curses under his breath in Italian. "When do you want me to do it?"

Nero arches one of those perfect dark brows. "As soon as you leave here, you're going to pay a visit to Niccolo Santirelli."

Alex chokes. "What?"

"You don't think Marco is watching me? He sees you visit me and then you turn him in. What does that tell him?"

I can see the panic filling Alex's face. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

"What the fuck am I gonna say to fucking Niccolo Santirelli?"

A shrug. "Offer to turn Marco and Franco in for a price. He'll laugh in your face. But you'll cover your tracks."

It's an elegant plan, I realize. I pray to whoever's listening that it works.

Nero and Alex squabble over a few more details. When Alex eventually leaves, a sliver of hope bubbles up beneath my skin.

"Dolcezza," he mumbles, running a finger down my cheek. "There's one more thing I haven't told you."