Niccolo's POV
She used my own words against me. What a clever little vixen. I sat on the edge of the kitchen island, Luciano checking to make sure my wounds are healing properly.
"Can you move your fingers?" He asks, eyeing the bandages and black cast around my hand and wrist. It's painful, but I manage to semi wiggle my fingers. "That's a good sign." He writes something down on the clipboard in his hand and sets it down on the counter.
"Am I free to go doc?" I joke.
He glares at me. "Yes." He steps back and I hop off the counter. Thanking him, I turn to leave, but stop in my tracks when he speaks again. "Oh and Nic, you might want to lay off the strenuous activities for awhile."
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"
He clears his throat. "Not only did we hear you two the night before, but people talk. I'm surprised you two aren't all over the internet after..." He blushes before continuing. "Your little performance."
"We did have quite the show, didn't we?" I reply with a smirk, before heading down to the game room.
Cesare is of course playing pool with Aloi. If he isn't drinking or fooling around with some girl, he's in the game room with Aloi.
I glance over at the dark blue urn collecting dust on the shelf, a picture of Dante smiling beside it. Dante's here only in spirit now.
"So your fucking Autumn, huh?" Cesare says, the sentence more of a statement than a question.
I tear my gaze from the urn to look at my little brother. He props his hands on his pool stick, resting his head on his hands.
"Does that piss you off?" I ask with a scheming, hopeful smile.
He shakes his head, watching Aloi pocket the solid orange ball, and the solid blue ball. "Stop instigating Nic. I'm not upset, nor will I ever be."
He positions the pool stick, aiming the white ball at the striped yellow ball. He uses all his force to hit the white ball into the yellow one, the yellow ball rolling into center pocket.
He straightens back up to look at me. "I'd rather be her friend, so I can be there to console her when your toxic ass upsets her again.
The grin on my face fades into a frown. "Excuse me?" I had no idea what he was talking about. It seems like everyone's attacking me today. And for the first time, I've done nothing wrong.
He clarifies. "She's not as tough as she makes herself out to be, Nic." His tone is firm, angry. "You've made her life a living hell since she started working for us."
"Has she not done the same to me?"
He rolls his eyes, slamming the pool stick onto the table. "Now is not the time to play victim." His hard voice softens. "She's catching feelings man."
I didn't believe him. She hates me and I hate her. There hasn't been any type of intimacy between us. Fucking is not intimacy. We are simply taking our hatred and anger out on one another with sex.
"Your lying," I seethe.
"God, you two are literally the same." He releases a frustrated groan, combing a hand through his hair. "You two are in such denial, especially you. You just can't see it cause your face is always buried in her pussy."
I point angrily at him, stepping forward. "Watch your mouth," I snarl.
He bursts into laughter. "When you finally realize all this tension is just an excuse not to admit you want more than just angry sex from each other, let me know when the wedding is."
****
The man wails out in pain as I slam my fist into his ribcage a second time. This time I heard it crack under the weight of the impact. I smile, loving the pained sounds coming from my victim.
I've been using him as my personal punching bag since my brothers shoved him into the trunk of Marcellius' limo that day. He's become a great way for me to reduce some of this rage always surging through me.
My mother tried getting me into therapy, but after I beat the shit out of him, he was the one that needed therapy. He said some shit I didn't like, so I taught him a lesson. I haven't been back to therapy since.
I think back to what Cesare said earlier, while I land blow after blow onto my victim's torso. He hangs by his wrist, swaying back and forth almost a foot in the air.
I don't do feelings. Feelings are what got me hooked on coke. Feelings are what instilled this endless rage inside me. Feelings are the reason I won't allow another into my stone cold heart.
Marcellius' voice fills my ears, pulling me from my thoughts. "I knew I'd find you down here."
"What do you want? Don't have you have a wife and baby to be taking care of?"
"They're both resting at the moment. And you're going to want to hear this."
I stop what I'm doing to grab my tee shirt and wipe the beads of sweat on my face and chest. "What is it?"
"Sin was just spotted outside of Autumn's apartment. Apparently, he's been watching her for awhile."
"What?" I bark, clenching my uninjured hand into a fist, my knuckles turning white. Flexing my jaw, I sling the towel over my shoulder.
"Luciano thinks he's been using Jess as a distraction to go after what he really wants."
Autumn.
****
That four-eyed landlord of hers let me keep the key, so I could get in and out of her apartment whenever I wanted. But that was only after I threatened to break every one of his fingers, and make him eat it.
I didn't see Sin or his van when I arrived at Autumn's apartment building. It took me all of three minutes to make my way towards her apartment and slip inside.
She wasn't home. I sighed with relief. I know how Sin thinks, and runs his Mafia. He'd pass her around to his men like a flask containing alcohol.
Just the thought makes me want to bash his skull in.
I waited and waited and waited for her to return, but nothing. I checked the time on my wrist watch. It's almost midnight. Her shift should have ended two hours ago.
Damn it!
Where is that women?