Page 13

I stepped into another skyscraper, riding the elevator all the way up until I got to Vitale Constructions. To think, Benito ran a legitimate business. I had no idea the job he was going to have me do, but I also wasn't worried. Everything in life came at a price, and if I had to do something illegal, it wouldn't be the first time and it definitely wasn’t going to be the last. Apparently being a criminal ran in my blood.

A redhead with bright colored lips smiled at me the moment I walked into the office. People moved around in business attire. They all looked normal.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked.

I grinned back and sauntered over to her desk. Benito hadn't told me shit except to show up. I felt out of place, but this whole ordeal was out of my comfort zone. From my mom sending me away, to me coming face-to-face with my so-called brothers, and then meeting the man who was responsible for my existence.

"Yes, actually, I'm here to see Benito Vitale."

Her smile dimmed just slightly and I knew when a rejection was coming my way before it even slipped past her painted lips. I tilted my head just slightly and made my voice softer.

"I love your Chanel sweater, it's from his 2003 fall collection, right?"

Her eyes widened and the smile was plastered back on her face. It was more genuine than when I'd first walked in.

She touched her sweater as if to remind herself of how soft it was. The only reason I knew about it was because it was the one thing my mother never parted with. Even when we didn't have anything to eat, she'd held onto one of the few things my father had given to her. She said it was special. I thought it was her way of holding onto memories that were better off burned to ashes.

"Yes, it's one of my favorites. They won't be bringing this color back for another five years. They had a variation a few months back, but there's nothing like the original line. You know?"

I nodded. "Yes, it compliments your eyes very well." Flirting came so easily to me, being the guy they wanted me to be. All you had to do was watch people, understand what they craved. If only it worked on Quincy. I had no clue why it didn’t, and honestly, I was starting to find it interesting. I had to go out of my way to find what made that batshit insane man tick.

Everyone needed attention, but me saying she had a beautiful smile or nice hair wasn't going to be enough. It was the subtle way she continued to check her sleeves, making sure there wasn't a single mark on her sweater or the fact she had a coffee with a lid that was on the furthest part of her desk instead of close by. All simple indications that let me know how important the piece of fabric was to her.

I kept up, leaning closer to her, and drawing out little tidbits of information from her. It was almost second nature.

"Hey, Tiffany, we need you in conference room three," someone shouted.

She turned, a sigh leaving her as she pushed back from her desk. "Shit."

"Work never ends."

She rolled her eyes. "You have no idea." Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she met my gaze again. "But I normally get off at five."

I pushed my hands into my jeans, my fingertips brushing against one of the joints Quincy gave me this morning before I left. His face came to mind; the crazy bright ass pink hair, sharp cheekbones, and dimples supermodels would kill for.

"Tiffany."

"Coming." She smiled at me and hurriedly jotted down her number. "Here, call me. Maybe we can have a few drinks."

Yeah, not happening . I took it, making sure our fingers brushed against each other. "Oh, I needed to go see Benito."

She stopped, looked behind her and then back at me. "He's not in there right now, but he should be back soon. He took his husband out for lunch."

"I can wait for him in there."

She looked ready to turn me down again, and I turned on the charm even more. “Or I can just wait nearby. If you don’t mind.”

"You can wait outside his office. I'll make sure to let him know you're here."

"Thank you, beautiful."

She blushed and quickly headed off. She glanced over her shoulder a few times, and I made sure to wink her way before she disappeared down the hall. With her gone, everyone paid me little to no attention. As long as I moved with confidence, no one was going to give me a double take. I leaned over the desk, pushed a button that said office, and hoped it unlocked Benito’s. Sure enough, no one noticed me as I slipped inside.

It was almost too easy.

I moved slowly, checking out every corner of my oldest brother's office. He had a few pictures sitting on his desk. One of them was him and Harlow all dressed up. Even I had to admit Harlow was pretty, crazy as shit and rude, but it took nothing away from his beauty. A pang of something struck me in the stomach. I would think it was jealousy, but I knew that couldn’t be it. Another photo showed the two of them and a baby dressed in a fluffy white dress. There was one recently of him and my brothers all at the beach. Twins. I recalled Giancarlo and Gianpaolo, and finally, Enzo. My brief encounter with them left me with more questions than answers. I’d done some research, looking them all up in my spare time. But I hadn’t spoken to them more than a little. If they didn't want anything to do with me, I wasn't about to beg to be in their lives. I put the photos back down exactly how they had been before.

I went through his books on the shelves and even the paperwork that sat on his desk. It all looked like he was a legitimate business owner and not the head of the Italian mafia. But it was always the people who looked squeaky clean on the outside that had the most to hide. The office was like a puzzle my mind couldn't wait to crack. The itch to find all the valuables in the room burned under the surface of my flesh. It was unbearable, and the longer I ignored it, the harder it was to contain.

Five minutes passed. When my brother didn't walk through the door, I gave into the urge. I found a spare set of cufflinks that had to cost more than my entire wardrobe. They clinked together in my pocket as I continued to take little things. But nothing was stopping the itch. My fourth time passing his bookshelf, I stopped and looked closer. Everything was too perfect. There wasn't a single book out of place. Sure, most people didn't use their bookshelves in their offices, but I found it hard to believe not a single book looked to have been moved in a while. I pulled on a few of them as if expecting to find a hidden dungeon behind the shelf to appear out of nowhere. When nothing happened, I was starting to think I lost my touch.

Until the last book didn't budge when I pulled it. A fat ass grin overtook my face as I tugged on the next five books with none of them moving. I felt along the last book and found a small latch.

Fuck yeah.

I hesitated for two seconds before I opened it. A safe out of my wet fucking dreams sat there, begging me to crack it open. I liked easy marks. Stealing was more of an art that I fell into out of necessity. But there were times where it was what gave me life and breathed freedom into me. The code could be anything, and I didn't know Benito well enough to begin to guess what the numbers could be. I doubted he was a simple man who'd make his code one, two, three, four. As great as that would be, he wasn’t that insane.

A soft creak reached my ears, and I cursed under my breath. I hid the safe once more and took a seat in front of Benito's desk. At the last second, I propped my feet up and locked my fingers together.

The door opened and multiple voices filled the space. It wasn't just Benito.

"Who the fuck has the balls to break into your office?" someone growled.

I tilted my head back until I caught sight of all four of my brothers. Shit. Their gazes were locked on me, filling the space with unbearable awkwardness.

"You called me here and you weren't around," I said.

“So you made yourself at home in my office?" Benito asked. He headed toward his desk, giving it a cursory glance, but I was a professional. He wouldn't know what was gone until he went looking for it. And in my experience, that wasn't for a long while.

I shrugged. "Security is lax here."

Giancarlo, in a tiger print shirt, sauntered over with a smile. "No one’s dumb enough to come in here."

I grinned back at him. "Or it was so easy you didn't notice them come in and out."

His smile vanished in a flash and he loomed over me. I was used to guys flaunting their height over mine. I stopped flinching a long time ago. It gave them some kind of power to see me cower, and I sure as shit wasn't about to give that to one of my brothers.

"Gin, stop trying to intimidate our little brother,” Benito said.

"So, he really is the old man’s?" Gin asked.

The other twin, Paolo, plopped down in the seat next to me and offered his hand. He seemed more calm and levelheaded than Gin. I took the offer and gave him a firm shake before looking back at Benito.

"Man, can’t believe we didn’t know there was another one of us all this time,” Paolo mused.

I shrugged. "I didn’t know I had brothers at all." Now having them felt weird; especially being in a room with all of them. Enzo was over at the bookshelf. He was staring a bit too hard for my liking. I knew I put everything how I'd found it, but I was human and mistakes could happen.

"Don't worry about Enzo, he will come around. We all have our hang-ups. You understand, right?" Paolo asked.

Not really. I hadn't had anyone in my life except my mother and the fuzzy memories of my father. Going from a family of two to whatever the fuck this was? It was life altering.

"We just accepting any strays now?" Gin asked. If it wasn’t for the smile on his face and the lighthearted way he was speaking, I would have thought he was serious.

"He's not a stray, he's family, and unless he proves himself to be an enemy he will be treated as such." Benito cleared some of the papers to the side and rested his tattooed fingers on his desk. "There was a DNA test just in case. He is ninety-nine percent our brother."

"That's not how DNA tests work. He is ninety-nine point nine percent Cesare's biological son," Enzo said matter-of-factly.

I didn't give a fuck about that. What I was confused about was the damn DNA test. When in the hell had it happened?

"You tested my DNA? How did you get a sample?"

"Don't worry about it," Benito said.

"We snuck in and took some of your ballsack hair," Gin blurted out.

Paolo snorted a laugh and turned away as I sat up straighter. There was no way in hell that happened. "Quincy would have woken up."

Gin laughed. "You sent him with Harlow's friend?"

"You three were occupied," Benito said.

"You sleep in the same bed?" Paolo asked.

I relaxed in my chair. I had no idea why his question made my stomach knot. "There is only one bed."

"What kind of romance novel shit is happening over there?" Gin laughed. "Hey, I heard he's got a big dick."

"Where the fuck did you hear that?" Benito asked. He waved his hand. "Wait, I don't want to know."

I did.

Enzo sighed. "The workers at Silver Dreams. He's loved there," Enzo said.

He is? I had so many questions, mainly for Quincy.

Gin plopped his ass down on the corner of Benito's desk and faced me. Our oldest brother's brows dipped and he glared at Gin as if he wanted to murder him.

"So does he?" Gin asked.

I stared. "Why does it matter?"

His smirk was annoying, and if I thought I could take him, I'd punch him.

"Wouldn't do that," Paolo warned. He looked too relaxed. "We won't break it up for the first five minutes but that means you have to make sure not to die in that time as well."

"What?"

"You looked like you wanted to punch Gin. I'm telling you, it's a bad idea. He has the most punchable face out of all of us, but it doesn't mean he's easy."

"Except for in the bedroom. I'm a willing participant." Gin placed his hands a pretty good distance apart. "Plus my man has something to work with, you know."

"Giancarlo, I swear, I will shove you into a hole and leave you there if you keep this up," Benito threatened.

Paolo laughed and even Enzo snorted. I couldn't contain my own laughter. It almost felt like I was a part of something. After all these years. My stomach twisted more. The good feelings mixed with something else, something overwhelming, but I stayed where I was. I wouldn’t show them any weakness.

Or how scared I was that there was even a possibility that I might be able to get close to someone.

"What? These are good questions! Plus, I know you were thinking if Harlow and him fucked in the past then that means his dick is bigger?—"

I hopped out of the chair along with Paolo and moved back as Benito swung on Gin. They went down trading blow for blow.

"My bet’s on Benito," Enzo said.

Paolo sighed. "Fuck, he's my twin. I can't not have his back. Fine, I got Gin."

Both of them looked at me, and I stared in horror at the two grown men fighting in the middle of a corporate office. Their punches sounded heavy as they slammed into each other.

"Hurry up," Paolo said.

"What am I betting on?"

"Which one will win or get the most hits in," Enzo said.

"Shit, I don't know." I knew little to nothing about either one of them.

Both of them stared at me expectantly. I glanced over at the two fighting. Benito wasn't letting up on Gin, but Gin was laughing and throwing the punches right back.

"Gin, I guess," I said. He was taller and bigger than Benito.

As if to prove me wrong, Benito punched Gin in the face and had him in a headlock in the next second.

"Pay up," Enzo said.

"I don't have any money on me," I admitted. I didn't even know money was involved.

"He takes books or cat treats as payment," Paolo suggested. He plopped down as if everything was back in order.

Benito and Gin parted, and to my surprise, acted as if they hadn't just tried to kill each other. They clapped each other on the back. Benito’s hair was disheveled, while Gin’s bottom lip was split and sported blood. Is this really normal for them?

"How much do I owe you?" I asked Enzo.

He shrugged. "You will have to figure it out."

What the hell did that mean? I was more confused being around these men than I'd ever been in my life. He went back over to the bookshelf and seemed to practically melt into it.

"So, back to my important question," Gin said as he took the seat I'd been in prior to the fight.

"Gin, drop it." Benito cleared his throat as he pushed his hair back.

There was a knock at the door before Tony walked in. He nodded my way as he stopped by Benito's desk. He whispered something to him that I couldn't hear even if I tried. Gin kept tapping me, and I knew all he wanted to ask was how big Quincy's cock was. I couldn't explain why I was annoyed by the question. Normally, I wouldn't give a shit, but right now, I didn't feel like it. What bothered me more was how Gin came about the information in the first place.

"I have to go handle this," Benito said through tight lips.

All of a sudden, the lightness that had occupied the room was gone and left behind nothing but tension. Each of my brothers changed subtly as they waited on Benito to clarify. He looked at me, and I couldn't help but feel as if I was the issue.

"I can step out." I wasn't a part of their world, but knowing that fact didn't keep the ache or the desire of wanting to belong from radiating in the middle of my chest.

"No, it's fine. You're family," Benito said. He blew out a breath. "The docks were hit twice this week, not by the cops, but by another family. The issue is we can't figure out who it is."

"Shit," Gin said. "They haven't started reselling?"

Benito shook his head. "There hasn't been a peep." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "If that was all it would be a simple fix but a few of our guys are taking a cut of the profits."

"Have they forgotten our policy?" Paolo asked.

It was Enzo that truly sent fear trickling down my spine.

"Send them my way. I'll make examples out of a few."

"That was the plan, but in recent news, we have a bigger issue. Not to mention we can't afford to lose too many of our men. Some of the family from Italy have been spotted around the city. They're lying low, but I wouldn't put it past them to have something up their sleeves."

"Doesn’t all of the family work under you?" I asked.

"To be so innocent." Gin smiled at me and I flipped him off. He laughed, and for some reason, I felt like we got a little closer. It might be this newfound hope of fitting in with my brothers that wouldn't leave me making me see things that probably weren't there.

"The simple answer is no, the complicated one is yes," Benito said.

I nodded, not really understanding. I should probably ask Quincy about it when I get back home. I wonder if he ate and took his meds?

"Pops might know," Paolo said. He sat up straighter. "He had me pull a few strings while I was still under. He didn't inform me who was coming, but when I checked, it was low end guys."

"I don't know what he's up to." Benito sighed.

The eerie silence slithered over my shoulder blades, making them tight. I rolled them to ease some of the unwanted tension. I wasn't even involved and I felt like my life was on the line.

"Watch your backs out there," Benito warned.

Was he talking to me too? As if he could read my mind, our gazes met.

"I have to go to deal with this, but Blake is working with us now."

"Really? You getting into the family business?" Gin teased.

I shrugged. "Guess so."

"Any areas of expertise?" Benito asked.

They all looked at me expectantly. "I'm good at getting into places or stealing." And setting fires. I'm great at that . I kept the last bit to myself. I doubted any of them would want to know that.

Benito nodded. "All right, I'll have something for you."

"I thought you already had something."

He nodded. "I did, but putting you there would seem like a waste. I'm going to put some of my trust into you."

The way he said it made it seem like a big deal. I held my head up a little higher. For some reason, I didn't want to let Benito down. I nodded in understanding. Without anyone saying anything, we headed for the door. The moment we entered the main office, all heads turned our way. It was a bizarre feeling to be stared at in fear and awe as I walked with my brothers. I tried to ease to the back but Paolo stopped me. He pushed me forward so that I walked next to Enzo. He was still the most quiet out of them, but at least he wasn’t actively avoiding me.

The elevator ride was mostly done in silence, every single one of them on their phones. I tried not to shift around.

"Gin, I want that proposal done this week. I want both deals, the one with the Joy foundation and the one with the city."

"Yeah, yeah, it's practically in the bag already," Gin said.

"So you guys actually do real work?”

They looked at me, and it was Enzo who shook his head. "We aren't just thugs."

"What do you do?"

"I stick to the IT department and help run our computer systems. Paolo just started working and he's now head of marketing."

"I hate it," Paolo said.

"What is he going to be stuck with?" Gin asked.

"Me? I don't need?—"

"Security, since he took it upon himself to slip into my office." Benito stared at me. "You take anything?"

I shrugged and reached into my pockets. I passed over the cufflinks, fountain pen, and a few other knickknacks.

"Damn, I didn't even notice," Gin said. He sounded proud.

"I thought there was something wrong with the bookshelf," Enzo said.

I nodded. "I got close but I couldn't think of a code. One, two, three, four seemed too simple."

"And idiotic," Enzo added.

"There is nothing wrong with simple," Benito grumbled as the elevator hit the ground floor.

I stared at him in shock as he got off the elevator and Tony followed. He stopped short and looked over his shoulder at me, fixing me with a glare. "Never do it again. You don't ever steal from your family. You'll learn the rules we all abide by."

Nodding felt like the only correct reply.

We headed out, and Gin was all smiles. "Hey, you can come to my son's name day."

"Name day?" I asked.

"Yeah, Gin stole a baby so instead of a baby shower he's doing a name day," Enzo informed me.

"I didn't steal him. I got him at a fair price."

Paolo nodded as if the words coming out of his brother's mouth weren't complete insanity.

"Sure, I'll be there. Hopefully the cops won't come," I joked.

"They wouldn't try anything. The last thing they want is to leave the city undefended," Gin said with the biggest grin. As if he wasn't threatening the very lives of every officer in the city.

"Gin, fuck off already," Benito grumbled.

I looked around and Enzo was already gone.

"Don't feel any type of way about him. He prefers to be at home with Tex," Paolo said. He grabbed Gin and headed toward a classic black 1978 Monte Carlo without a dent or scratch in sight. "See ya."

I watched them for a bit before I headed out the parking garage and onto the streets of New York. They were terrible people, but I wasn't all that great myself. Being with my brothers gave me the sense of family I hadn't had growing up, one that an only child like me could have only wished for.

The phone Quincy gave me vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, feeling the familiar guilt that plagued me every time I looked at it. I still hadn't called my mom. I was worried, but at the same time, I knew it would be a terrible move.

Benito: I want whatever information you can get on these two men. Let me know what you find.

He’d included two names and some short data on them. Information gathering wasn't easy but I was guessing he wanted info that anyone with a computer couldn't tell him. Another text came through, contact information for Chelsea Bennet and a note to call her for details on where to go.

I sent back an okay. I had no clue what I was going to do, but I had a feeling Benito Vitale wasn't a man used to being disappointed.