Page 31

M y shoes squeak on the laminate floor of the hospital. My skin itches being here, but it’s not anywhere near close to the way my blood boils under the surface. How dare someone touch what’s mine?

Following the nurse’s directions—and at least the hospital still knows not to fuck with the Martellis—I make it to the waiting room. Slumped in the corner is my other lover, Nario. His shirt is still spattered with blood, and rage rushes through me. At least the fucking cops gave me a different shirt. Nario has had to sit in this fucking waiting room with the blood of his twin splashed on him. They. Will. Pay.

Stepping toward him, I take a seat and lean against him. It doesn’t take more than a beat before I have an arm full of a distraught lover, brother, man. “What the fuck were they thinking?”

“I’m not sure, but they won’t get away with it. They’re already running scared because they know they fucked up. But don’t worry, we’ll get our pound of flesh—and more,” I whisper into his hair.

They may look identical, but there is so much more to them than their appearance. I’ve trained them to take over my position as Ghost when needed, as my scarring is too obvious at times. They both excel at it, but where Nario is naturally quiet, Nicolo isn’t. Nicolo is often the one who speaks for both of them, except for when it comes to me. I’ve never made the mistake of overlooking them, and not only because Il Padrone asked me to keep an eye on them.

No, there’s a magnetic pull to them. Their ability to be bloodthirsty, both in and out of the bedroom, makes them the perfect match for me.

Nario pulls back, studying me. “They didn’t hold you. We knew they couldn’t, but it’s fucking weird they’re even targeting us. The governor isn’t going to be happy about this shit.”

“No, he isn’t. Did you want to call him?” I laugh lightly, knowing the governor, who ran on a very conservative platform, would not be happy to have his extracurricular activities be made public. And Nario made sure to take plenty of pictures.

Getting comfortable against me again, Nario shakes his head. “Nah. When Nicolo is back on his feet, I’ll happily leave it to him. He should get the first chance at revenge.”

I pull at my lover’s hair, forcing him to stare up at me. “That’s not how we work. We all get revenge. But if you want him to have this one, I’ll let you. Any idea how long the surgery will take?”

“They never say, but the last time a nurse came by, she said it shouldn’t be too long before the doctor comes out. I got Dr. Ranlen’s text that things are actually much better than they originally thought.” He lets out a pent-up breath, and I rub his shoulders.

Sitting in silence, I watch the clock turn, the simple tick-tock pissing me off as it goes too slow. I need fucking answers. My phone dings and I growl as I pull away from Nario to answer it. After I'm finished, I give Nario a brief summary.

“Well, it appears the Boss is finding his stride,” I muse. “I can stay to check on Nicolo, but then I need to go. It’s time to finish this shit. Will you be alright alone? I can have one of the girls come.”

Before he can say anything, a doctor strides in, his frown setting me on edge. Glancing up from his tablet, he asks, “Nicolo Martelli’s family?”

We nod, standing up to follow him. I reach out for Nario and squeeze his hand before we disappear into the private room that the doctor leads us to. Sitting down across from him, I roll my shoulders, trying to reduce the tension I’m carrying. “Is he alright?”

“Nicolo came out of the surgery fine. He’s got a long road to recovery, as a gunshot is never easy. I’ll recommend a physical therapist, but he got lucky. It was a through and through, and didn’t hit anything vital. Still, he’ll need rest, and to slowly resume activities when he's ready. He’ll be weak on that left side, but that’s for a physical therapist to work on with him. I don’t see any reason why he won’t fully recover.”

Sighing, I slump against Nario. “That’s great news. Can we see him?”

The doctor hesitates, before taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, I’m not going to get into your situation. The Martellis have been wonderful supporters of this hospital, and Dr. Ranlen speaks highly of you. However, I must insist that you follow visiting hours. Yes, you can see him briefly when he’s situated, but he needs rest. That’s the best thing for him. And while you could go over my head, I would greatly appreciate it if you listened to my advice.”

Humming, I cock my head at him. It takes a certain bravery to speak against us, even if it’s couched in compliments. “I know some people stay overnight with their loved ones. Is there any reason Nario can’t stay with his brother?”

Eyeing me sideways, the doctor clears his throat. “To be blunt? Yes. I don’t need any cops coming and interrupting Nicolo’s sleep—or anyone else’s.”

I haven’t had a reason to smile, but damn if he doesn’t cause me to grin. “Doctor, I like you. You’re honest, and say what you mean. However, don’t take this the wrong way, but if Nario wants to stay, he’ll stay. Don’t worry about the cops, they won’t be coming here. They’ve already apologized for the inconvenience they caused us.”

The doctor—and I wish now I had listened more closely to his name—nods sharply. “Very well. Just be respectful to the others on the floor, and again, Nicolo needs rest. I’ll have the nurses let you know when you can see him.”

With that sharp rebuke, he’s off again and we’re left waiting. It’s another half an hour before a nurse comes to take us back.

Stepping into his room, my heart sinks. Nicolo is still asleep, like the nurse warned. I know the doctor is right, that he needs to rest, but I wish he was awake. I want to tell him thank you for stepping in front of me. I want to promise him that there will be blood spilled in retaliation. But I don’t need to say a word when Nario steps up to me and slips his arms around my waist.

“He’ll understand, and if he had to make the decision again, he would do the same thing. I know I would have as well. But you need to go now. You’ve got a list of things to do. I’ll be here watching over him. Nobody will get past me, not even an overprotective doctor.”

I duck my head and kiss Nario on the lips, before brushing a kiss onto Nicolo’s forehead. It kills me to walk away, but Nario is right. And so is Lio. Things can’t keep going on like this. We can’t remain on the defensive.

When I step out into the cool night air, I take a deep breath before sliding into the limo that’s waiting. I give directions based on the information I had our men pull up. Stripping in the back, I quickly pull on the nondescript clothing I keep stashed in here. When it’s time to be a Ghost, I know exactly what I need to do. People think wearing black will help them to blend, especially at night. I’ve never heard of anything so dumb. If I’m going to be around other people, the last thing I want is to stand out by wearing something that may as well say, “Here’s your friendly neighborhood thief”.

When the limo pulls over, I exit and quietly slip into my own car. One of the girls left it for me, and I smile as I get situated behind the wheel, before patting it.

Il Padrone used to hate it being in his garage, even if he understood the necessity of having a plain, nothing special car. Now that I’m in charge of the whorehouse, I think he’s relieved to have it away from his precious collectibles. Give me a choice between Keegan’s muscle car, Il Padrone’s one-of-a-kind vehicles, and the numerous limos and SUVs…I’ll take my baby any day of the week.

Whistling softly, I head toward the first of my jobs tonight. It’s not a long drive, and I make sure to park in a shady spot where the lights are already off. Putting my headphones on, so I can pretend I’m taking an evening stroll at this late hour, I head toward my target.

It’s a bland house; beige and one story. It’s probably considered ranch-style, with some vaulted ceilings, but it’s showing its age. It has to be in the late 70s, maybe early 80s. I’d expect an alphabet boy to be doing at least a little better than this. Then again, I have a feeling this isn’t his permanent abode.

Checking all of the security points, I’m surprised to find an easy in. Who the fuck leaves a window slightly ajar? Does he think, just because he’s a fed, and it’s a safe area, that nobody would dare to break in? Fucking idiot of the year here.

There’s no movement anywhere in the house, and thanks to the fucking garage, I can’t tell with one glance if he’s here or not. Shrugging, I walk around the house unhurriedly. Nothing to see here, folks. I’m not even doing anything stealthy. People easily look away when you act like you should be there.

I carefully open the window fully and slide inside, listening for any movement or sound. There's nothing. I’m in some type of office, but it’s almost completely blank. Taking out a pen light, I start to quietly go through the desk drawers, while keeping an eye on the door. Too bad people don’t keep a file saying “Evil Plans Here!”. I wish I could grab his laptop, but I’m trying to hide that I've been here.

I take some quick pictures of what I find in the drawers, so I can analyze it later, but it’s almost like this is a dummy office. As if someone threw things into a house to make it appear like it’s a normal situation, which has me even more curious.

Walking through the rest of the house, I note there’s not one single picture of anyone on the walls. No friends, no family. Hell, there's not even a fucking figurine or any other type of knick-knack anywhere.

Once I get to the kitchen, I search quickly, but don’t expect to find anything. It seems I was fucking wrong. Maybe the alphabet boy was a little bit smarter than he looked. Hiding it in the kitchen rather than the office would have been a good move, if I wasn’t so thorough or if he hadn’t gone for the fucking cookie jar. He should be ashamed of being that stereotypical.

Pulling out the thick folder, I flip the front cover open. There are so many pages. I’m not even a quarter of the way through when I hear the motherfucking garage door start to open. I take a split second to determine whether it’s worth him finding out someone was in the house by taking it, or to come back later.

Mouthing a curse word, I decide he may as well find out that someone invaded his precious sanctuary, not that I believe for a second that it’s anything more than a fucking stage while he’s in town. I quietly escape out of the house, leaving the window partially ajar, just like I found it. I wait until a light is turned on at the opposite side of the house, before rolling the papers up and sliding them into my cargos.

With my headphones in place again, I walk to my car, wishing I could stop and look through what I found. Instead, I don’t waste a moment before pulling out onto the street and passing the house. I’ll just have shut my avid curiosity down until I’ve finished the next job.

That one is at least a bit easier. In fact, it’s a little too easy. It’s probably because Chaos is having fun that the man is up and pacing. I notice there are two shadows and I shrug, because the trunk easily fits two.

Moving my car to the front of the house for easy access, I walk right in, and I’m greeted by Sargeant Mac cursing me out—and what do you know, the man who shot Nicolo is right there too.

“Having a little party? Talking about how to cover your asses?” I smile as I pull out my gun, contemplating just putting a bullet in one of them. It’d make me feel better. Still, the Boss gave me orders, and this is serendipity. Two birds, one stone.

“You shouldn’t fucking be here. You’re just going to make it worse on yourself,” the sergeant snarls, but I notice Officer Dipshit has gone pale. Good. At least he knows how fucked he is.

“We can do it the easy way or the hard way. Please, do it the hard way.” I smirk as the sergeant reaches for his phone. The officer simply holds up his hands, his shoulders drooping in understanding. “Stop him if you don’t want things to get worse.”

The officer takes the phone away, even as the sergeant struggles. “There’s no choice here. We’re dead, and we both know it.”

I chuckle darkly. I realize Officer Dipshit is hoping that by facing his death, I’ll go easy on him, but he fucked up by shooting my lover. Gesturing with my gun, I tell them to get moving. It makes kidnapping so much easier when there's a nice large parcel of land with no neighbors.

I duct tape their hands and feet before roughly shoving them into the trunk. I’m almost disappointed they didn’t put up a fight, but I know Lio can make it up to me. He is, after all, well versed in torture. I simply collect what we need—information or men.

I turn on some music while I drive toward the Amato mansion. I’m not sure why we’re all gathered there, but I don’t really give a fuck. I’m too excited about the bloodshed that's to come. I hope Lio lets me partake in this one…