Damon
As soon as my car is put into park outside my office building, Alessandro is already out the door and reaching in to grab Arella.
She squeals at the sight of her brother and makes grabby hands at him. I guess I'm the equivalent of chopped liver now that he's around. Still, I can't help but smile at the sight of my two youngest children together.
Once Arella is safely in his arms, he lifts her up so their faces are level with each other. He rubs his nose against hers, then walks into the office building like he owns the damn place.
Not once does he look back to see if I'm following.
As I follow the two of them, Andrea tears into the parking lot, nearly hitting me on the way in. I jump back with a curse and shoot my favorite finger in his direction. Why must my son drive like he has no sense?
"Sorry about that, Papa!" He shouts through the open window once he's parked.
Rolling up the window, he shuts off the engine and exits the car. I roll my eyes at him and jog to catch up with Arella and Alessandro. They're both standing in the open foyer area, waiting on the elevator to take them to the top floor.
He holds her in one arm while signing to her with his free hand. He's telling her about the building and how we own all of it. If Arella understands, she doesn't show it. She just continues to look around in awe.
"It's unfair that he's the favorite brother." Andrea grumbles at my side.
"Get over it." Is my short reply.
"You're just salty because you're not her favorite anymore either."
Not wanting to reply because I know he's right, I step into the elevator with my children when it arrives. Alessandro shows the baby which button to press and I type in the code that will allow us to go to the upper-level offices.
My daughter watches me over her brothers shoulder. She lays her head down on his shoulder and gives me a cheeky smirk. Great, now I know how Freya feels.
"He was mine first, ya know?" I state playfully, raising my eyebrow at her.
She just giggles and lays her cheek on his. I can't even say that I'm surprised Dro is allowing this. He would do anything for his sister. To see him go from not allowing anybody to touch him, to letting a toddler lay her face against his is all I could ever ask for.
The elevator pings and we all step off. Andrea heads to his office and I walk to my own. The kids follow after me. Arella is staring up at everything with wide, blue eyes. She points to stuff and Alessandro signs to her what the item is.
Turning into my office, I try to look at it through new eyes to see what my baby is. Floor to ceiling windows showing the sprawling city life down below, white walls and marbled flooring, a modern fireplace on the left wall with several couches and chairs in front of it.
There's a large conference table to our left and some fake potted plants sprawled in certain corners. My favorite place? My desk right in front of the windows.
I would have pictures of my family hung up, but I have some not so pleasant people in my office at times. They would use anything against me, so I keep my family photos in the penthouse and away from work.
"You're going to be bored to death here, son. Did you bring anything to keep you occupied?"
In response, he holds up Arella to me as if she's one of his iPads. I have to bite my lip to stifle my laughter. Shaking my head fondly, I move to my desk and sit down.
"I have a couple of meetings later. Can you stay in Andrea's office during? The last thing I need is them seeing Arella." I question.
While I do run some legit businesses, my main job will always be the mafia. I'm the boss, the don. This office isn't just for meetings about my legit businesses. It's also where important negotiations with unsavory characters take place.
Neutral ground where we can discuss without fear of a bullet ending up in the back of our heads.
Alessandro nods in answer to my question and sits down on one of the sofas, handing Arella his phone when she starts to get antsy. Ignoring the phone, she turns around on his lap so her head rests against his chest.
Her tiny hand reaches up and taps him on the cheek. Once she's sure she's got his attention, she signs milk to him.
"Mama isn't here." He signs rapidly.
That wasn't the right thing to say. The tiny tot flops herself down and makes a high pitched whining noise. Instead of helping, I sit back to see what he'll do. I'm not sure that Alessandro can handle Arella when she's crying like that.
Tapping his foot on the floor in his usual pattern of threes, he stands and approaches my desk, looking around for the diaper bag I carried in.
"I'll get it for you, son. Go ahead and sit down." I decide to put him out of his misery.
The relief that shows on his face is almost comical. Reaching down, I grab the bottle out of the side of the bag and hand it off to him. I watch from the side as he adjusts Arella so she's laying in the crook of his arm, then offers her the bottle.
Now that I know those two are okay, I head back to my desk to try and get some work done. The weight of the world feels like it's on my shoulders. My workload is always too heavy.
Between the legit business, the illegal, and worrying about the shipment that went missing, I hardly have enough time for my family nowadays.
I missed so much of my boys growing up because I was always having to deal with work. That's the last thing I want for Arella. I want to watch her grow up and flourish. She deserves a present father.
That one thought is what helps me dive into the workload I have today. If I'm quick and efficient, I can have more time at home tonight.
***
I'm on my last meeting of the day when a terrified screech from my daughter echos throughout the whole floor. Looking down at the only other man in the room, I see a smirk on his face.
The slimy bastard has been encroaching on my territory, his men trying to sell drugs on my streets. And I have an inkling that it was him that stole my shipment.
That's exactly why we're here today. I'm trying to negotiate instead of opting straight towards bloodshed. Some people just can't be negotiated with, though.
The smirk he gives me added with the screech from Arella sends ice through my veins. Before I even think twice, I grab my gun from its holster on my hip and aim it at the man's head.
Fear flashes briefly in his eyes. He quickly covers it up and with as much confidence as a person who's looking down the barrel of a gun can have, he says, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Patience has never been my strong suit and this man has completely diminished what little I had left. My baby girl and two sons are in that room. My first instinct is to blow a bullet through this man's skill and run towards my family.
The only reason I don't is because guns are loud. I pull this trigger and who knows what the fuck will happen in the next room.
"You have two seconds to open that fat gob of yours before I put a clip between your eyes." I say through gritted teeth, my finger already moving towards the trigger.
"Relax, relax. I mean you and your family no harm. I just needed some insurance for this conversation. You see, you own some prime territory. Can you imagine the money that could be made through a partnership?
"You allow me onto your territory to continue selling drugs and I'll allow you access to my ports. It's a win win for both parties."
If I could take my eyes off this man, I would roll my eyes. Does he seriously think threatening my family is going to coerce me into agreeing to his asinine plan?
Although I've been wanting access to his ports for a while now, there's no way I would allow him to spread his laced drugs throughout my communities. Too many have already died from his fucked up drugs.
"No dice. Whoever you have in that room, tell them to back down."
All Egor does is lean back in his chair and throw his ankle over his knee. Steepling his hands, he sighs like I'm the annoyance.
"That's a beautiful little girl you have. Even with that deformity she has. I have a nephew about her age. We could join the family's through them. In about fifteen years, they could be wed."
Is he seriously suggesting an arraigned marriage between two toddlers? He has got to be fucking kidding me. Not only that, but he brought up Arella's amputation.
Without thinking, I pull the trigger several times. His large body falls heavily against the back of the chair, tipping it over. Blood splatters and the stench of death quickly follows.
Not taking a second glance at the corpse staining my marble floor, I jump over his body and rush towards Andrea's office.
My ears are ringing as I take in the scene in front of me. Andrea and Alessandro are standing against the far wall, pointing their guns at two men who also have their weapons drawn.
Arella is sitting in the corner, rocking back and forth with her tiny hands covering her eyes.
Without even thinking, I lift my gun and put two bullets in the back of their skulls. The bodies fall to the floor with loud thuds. My poor daughter screams again at the sound of gunshots.
I'm grateful she's covering her eyes. I need to get her out of her before she sees any of this.
"Call the cleanup crew and get security up here! I want to know how these bastards got up on this floor." I tell the boys as I holster my gun and rush towards my baby.
Those men sure as hell didn't come up with Egor. Which means somebody either let them up without my permission, or they snuck up here somehow.
"Papa's here. I got you." I whispers as I lift her shaking body into my arms, making sure to keep her eyes covered.
She stuffs her head into my neck as I race out of the room. Her tiny hands are gripping the back of my shirt while her leg wraps around my stomach.
"I'm headed home. Alessandro? Do you want to come with or will you head home with Andrea?"
When he looks at me I'm stunned by the venom in his eyes. He looks towards the bodies on the floor and points, letting me know he wants to stay behind and figure out how they got in.
I shoot him a nod and turn back to Arella.
"We're going home to Mama now. It's okay. No more loud noises." I vow, heading into my office to grab her bag and my keys.
Egor's limp body lies still on the floor, his eyes wide open even in death. Stepping over his body once again, I exit my office and gather some guards to walk me down to my car.
Who knows if Egor has any other people lurking in the shadows? My guards surround my back as I put her into her car seat.
Stroking her cheek with my thumb, I promise her that she'll be safe while I drive her home.
I'm pissed. Beyond pissed. I'm enraged. It's not enough that Egor is dead. No, I'm going to tear down his business and take over his land.
Those ports I wanted for shipments? They're mine now. No negotiation needed.
Men can't negotiate when they're dead.