6. Celso
CHAPTER SIX
Celso
I kick my feet up, resting them on the coffee table. My father usually complains at my brothers when they do this, but he always pretends he doesn’t notice when I do it.
The twins are playing cards to pass the time on a lazy afternoon while we wait for dinner to be ready.
My father made a new rule after everyone started getting married and disappearing from his life - he decided that every second Wednesday we had to be at his place for dinner. All of us. No spouses, only his kids. If you ask me it’s a slap in the face to tell your partner they can’t come to a family dinner. I would never do that to Neve .
My brothers are assholes for leaving their wives home alone.
Masaccio tilts his chin towards me, gesturing at the newspaper lying on the coffee table.
“No sign of the finance yet.” He says.
My father, sitting next to me on the sofa reading a different newspaper, grunts in response.
Masaccio is like a hound with the scent of blood. He stands up and walks over to us, sitting down opposite my father.
“Dad, I have concerns about this guy’s disappearance. Concerns that will affect the whole family.”
“What are you talking about?” My father says in a huff, dropping his own newspaper in a scrunch on his lap so that he can glare at Masaccio.
Tuomo is riveted by the conversation. Rufino and Dalila are in the kitchen getting drinks.
Masaccio lowers his voice emphasizing the seriousness of this conversation.
“Dad, if Celso did something to this guy it will cause a massive backfire for our family. His actions are reckless and selfish and?—”
The look in my father’s eyes is terrifying. Glaring straight at Masaccio he snarls, “If you utter one more word of this I swear you will be the one bearing the consequences - from me. Never speak ill of your own brother like that. We are family. Cosa Nostra. Don’t forget where you come from, Masaccio. We don’t throw each other under the fucking bus.”
I smirk and it seems to edge Masaccio towards losing control.
His fists clench in anger.
“Dad, Celso did something to this guy?—”
My father stands up and grabs Masaccio around the collar of his shirt. Mas is bigger than him. In a fight my father wouldn’t stand a chance. But this is a different power.
“Leave your brother alone.” He growls darkly, so close to Masaccio that Mas is leaning his head back to get away.
My father releases my brother and sits down again.
Mas is fuming, but he pulls himself together and dusts his hands over his shirt and sits down again .
His mouth is so tight the muscles along his jaw and flexed and rigid.
He won’t look at me.
He won’t look at my father.
I can’t hide the grin on my face. His discomfort is pleasing to me. I lean forward to pick up the newspaper from the table, but my chest tightens when I see my sister’s face - Dalila is standing in the door way, her head tilted to the side and her mouth hanging open. She’s frozen in horror and staring straight at me. I would have preferred for her not to overhear that conversation.
“Celso?” She asks, timidly. “Did you - did you do something to Damion?”
“Who?” I ask, playing it down.
“Neve’s fiancé. Damion.” She says more boldly, walking towards me, fierce confrontation on her eyes. She stands in front of the sofa and glares at me.
“Leave your brother alone. All of you.” My father says. He waves his hand in the air to dismiss the tense atmosphere .
The chef comes through to announce that dinner is ready.
“Oh great. I’m starving.” I smile, standing up.
Mas and Dalila stare at each other in disbelief - but they know better than to push their luck once my father has spoken.
Dinner might’ve been awkward if I’d paid any attention to their constant glares. Their eyes bearing into me like accusations. But I didn’t.
My father always has my back, even when he’s angry with me I never feel it, I just sense mild disappointment and we move on.
We sit eating quietly, the sound of forks and knives tinkering against plates is the only thing I hear. Red is playing on his phone which is usually frowned at during dinner, but I think my father has given up dealing with everyone today.
Mas, Dalila and I are locking in this weird silent thing.
Tuomo is ignoring the entire shit show.
I stab my fork into a piece of pink steak and shove it into my mouth .
Masaccio being angry at me is unjustified. He doesn’t know the whole story. Neve should never have gotten engaged to that guy in the first place. She is mine . She has belonged to me for a while now and I made that very clear to her.
Her father wouldn’t even be where he is today if it wasn’t for my family.
Dinner drags on in boring silence until the housekeeper clears dishes and I stand up, ready to leave.
“Thanks for dinner, dad. I’m going to head out now.”
“Alright Kiddo. I’ll walk you out.” He says, standing up and following me out of the dining room. He slips his arm around my shoulders and whispers to me, leaning close. “Keep your head down, kiddo.”
“I will, dad, don’t worry.” I smile and give him a one-armed hug. “I’ll see you soon.”
He waits on the top step until I reach my car. Mas and Dalila are busy saying goodbye to him while I’m tossing my jacket onto the back seat before I climb in .
“Celso.” Mas calls my name as I’m about to duck into the car.
“What?” I snap. I’m over his pestering.
“Hold up a second.” He says, Dalila following him as my father waves one last time, steps back into the house and closes the front door on us.
Mas walks straight towards me, grabs the front of my shirt and slams my back against the car.
“Where the fuck is he?” he snarls into my face.
I glance towards the front door.
“Don’t look for daddy - fight your own fucking battles.” Mas growls at me.
Anger shoots through me like an arrow. My heart beating loud in my ears, blood pumping through my head and making the veins on my temple throb.
“Get the fuck off me.” I shove him backwards, and when he comes running back towards me I swing, and my fist connects with his jaw.
“You want to fight me?” He shouts, wrapping his hand around my throat and slamming his fist into my left cheek .
I kick him hard and he loses his footing and falls onto his knees. Throwing myself at him we both end up tumbling onto the ground with dirt kicking up around us as we roll and fight.
“Stop.” Dalila shouts in a panic.
I ignore her as I carry on trying to hit my brother.
I’m tired of him thinking he’s better than me. He’s not.
We wrestle until Rufino and Tuomo pull us apart. Rufino shoves me into my car and tells me to get the fuck out of here before he gets involved in the fight too. He glares at me, the thick scar across his face is a reminder of what he’s capable of.
Rufino is a brute of a man and not someone you want to mess with. By sheer size alone I have respect for him - never mind being aware of the reason they call him the Red Dragon. He’s not someone you want to be on the wrong side of.
He slams my door shut and I start the engine, not bothering to glance towards Masaccio who is still going on about how I’ve done something and everyone else is ignoring it.
“He’s guilty. It’s fucking obvious.” He shouts .
I rev the engine to drown him out, and wheel spin, kicking gravel up from behind my car as I pull out into the road and away from those idiots.
I’m too tense to go home so I go to the only place where I will find some peace.
Neve’s apartment building.
It’s late and she’ll be home. I want to see her for a bit, watch her, reassure myself that our time is coming - sooner than she thinks.
The media has been savage with covering her story. They’ve accused her of cheating and driving him away. They’ve accused him of cheating and running away with the new love of his life. They’ve made up a whirlwind of stories to keep readers entertained.
Of course, some of those stories involve Damion being murdered and them looking for a body. It’s all speculation at this point. No one knows anything for sure and without evidence it will stay that way.
I park in my usual spot, away from the entrance of her apartment building because the security cameras are pretty tight around the building .
Opening the glove compartment I pull out my binoculars and turn my attention onto her windows.
Neve always has her curtains open into her living room area. I can see the entire space and the kitchen, which is open plan, connected to the living room. She doesn’t seem to have any concept of privacy.
Neve walks into the kitchen, she’s talking to someone. Her face scrunched, her little nose wrinkled up as she discusses something distasteful. I move the binoculars, searching for the other person and my chest tightens horribly when I see a man follow her into the kitchen. Who the fuck is this?
“What the fuck does she think she’s doing?” I snarl loudly.
Focusing on the guy my heart clenches. He looks like Damion. For a second I think it might even be him, but obviously that’s impossible.
Logic overrides the panic bolting through my body.
“It’s his brother .” I sigh in agitation. “What - does he think he can slide in now, take what belongs to me? Make a move on my girl?”
Dropping the binoculars I take a deep breath. I have to calm down. Neve knows better. She wouldn’t be interested in the brother, anyway. She was hardly interested in Damion and I’ve freed her from that commitment - she won’t be stupid enough to get locked into another one at this point.
And that asshole does not understand who he’s messing with if he thinks he has a free shot at Neve now.
Coming to watch her was supposed to calm me down, but it’s made me feel worse.
It would be best to go home and get some sleep, but I can’t bring myself to drive away and leave - knowing there is a man in Neve’s apartment with her.
So, I live to the fact that I have to stay until he leaves. For my peace of mind.
I keep watching them. They have a drink and talk - nothing appears to be going on between them. Finally, a hair before midnight, he hugs her tightly, holding her for longer than I am happy with, he leaves.
I stay longer, watching Neve clear away the glasses and wipe the kitchen counter.
I watch until that asshole’s car pulls away from the building and he is one hundred percent gone. I stay another thirty minutes to make sure it’s not some trick, and he will not come right back.
I won’t allow another person to come between us.
It’s my chance now.
I’ve worked hard to make this possible.
Nothing and no one is going to stop me.