Chapter Six
Leonardo
“All I am saying is we can't go charging into Florida like a bunch of bullies. We gotta be strategic.”
“Bullshit. Who's scared of anyone? We got gangs and even some authorities on our side,” Marco counters.
I groan as Marco and Alessandro get into a full-blown argument. Glancing at Giovanni, who's lounging on the sofa, puffing away on his cigarette with a bored expression, I catch his eye. He smirks and blows a cloud of smoke my way, prompting an irritated glare from me, which only makes him chuckle.
“Won’t you stop them?” an irritated voice asks. The question is from Francesca, the only woman amongst my group of friends.
“Nope. I’m getting valid points from both sides,” I reply, earning a scoff from her. “Well, valid-ish.”
“No. None of these points are valid,” Francesca fires back.
I smile, but I don’t say anything.
We are currently gathered on the back terrace of my house, the afternoon sun casting a warm golden glow over the luxurious estate. The terrace offers a view of the meticulously manicured garden behind the house. Lush greenery envelops the space, with vibrant flowers in full bloom, their delicate fragrance mingling with the gentle breeze that swept through the area. Towering palm trees swayed gracefully, their slender branches reaching towards the clear blue sky.
“When did we switch from discussing Marco's wandering libido to Leo’s plans to conquer Florida?” Francesca interjects, cutting through the tension. Her question manages to snap Marco and Alessandro out of their argument.
“Why?” Interested in my escapades?” Marco retorts with a smirk.
“I’ll rather eat sand for the rest of my life.”
Marco raises his eyebrow at Francesca. “Sure, love. Keep lying to yourself. For someone who claims to be so irritated by me, you sure seem very interested in talking about my dick…”
Alessandro snorts loudly, while Giovanni bursts into fits of laughter. I release a chuckle, and Francesca’s scowl deepens.
“No. I’m just tired of hearing all your harebrained schemes to infiltrate Florida,” she gestures with her fingers. “It’s giving me a headache. So maybe you should talk about the only thing you’re good at—fucking everything in a skirt—since you’re clearly not very smart when it comes to mafia affairs.”
“Ouch, Francesca, hitting below the belt,” Giovanni chimes in, earning him a scowl, which makes him laugh even harder.
“It's called being direct,” Marco huffs, clearly offended by her jab.
“Or reckless,” Francesca adds with a smirk. “Yeah. Let’s just take our army and barge into Florida. That’s such a brilliant idea, Marco.”
“You both should just fuck already,” Giovanni drawls, mischief gleaming in his eyes. “It’s obvious you both want each other.”
“I'd sooner jump off a cliff,” Francesca physically shudders at the idea.
Marco rolls his eyes and replies. “Oh yeah? And I would rather slam a door against my precious penis than even think of fucking Francesca,” Marco huffs.
She folds her hands, a smirk playing on her lips. “You should actually do that. I’m sure you’ll be saving a bunch of women from the STDs you carry around. Do us all a big favor.”
The room erupts into another howl of laughter, and I can’t help but join in. “Hey, stop laughing. You're worse than I am,” Marco accuses me.
I roll my eyes at his dramatics. “Says the guy who owns a sex club.”
“And who is my most frequent customer? Let me answer that. You are.”
“Wait, are you serious?” Alessandro asks with a chuckle.
“He’s clearly lying,” I say, but of course, my friends don’t buy it.
“ Sinz Swing would go out of business if not for Leo,” Giovanni adds with a grin. More laughter.
“Thanks for having my back, man,” I say sarcastically, shooting him a mock glare.
The idiot grins. “Anytime, buddy.”
“Since when did we start shaming guys for getting some action?” Alessandro interjects.
“For once, I agree with Alessandro,” I say, which earns me a scowl from him.
“Hey,” Marco says, raising his hand in surrender. “Ask Francesca. She’s the one who brought back this conversation because she’s clearly obsessed with my dick,” he finishes with his signature smirk.
She releases a deep sigh, her frustration evident. “I mean, if clinging to that belief helps you sleep at night…” she trails off with a shrug.
“Yeah, you both should definitely fuck,” Giovanni chimes in again, his laughter echoing through the room.
I chuckle in agreement, observing the lively banter.
From the dynamic going on, anyone can tell that Giovanni is the funny one in the group. Even though he has five years on all of us. He is loud, charismatic, and always up for a joke, which is why he is the most underestimated when it comes to mafia dealings. Underneath the humor lies a shrewd businessman adept at navigating the underworld, despite the perception of him being just the funny guy. His humor and charisma disappear when the situation requires him to be serious.
Marco, on the other hand, well, he's got a one-track mind: sex. I mean, the man owns a freaking sex club, which is a good business to use as a front for mafia matters, unlike Gio, who owns a cafe. He is bold and faces situations head-on without any hesitation, which is a good quality for any mafia man. However, Francesca would argue otherwise.
Speaking of Francesca, she's the brains of our outfit—sharp, astute, and fiercely independent, which is what makes her so valuable to the mafia. Her intellect is a powerful asset, enabling her to make calculated decisions based on facts that others might ignore or misapply.
Then there's Alessandro, quiet and reserved, except when Giovanni's antics light up the room. Alessandro is one of the most lethal members of our crew. As far as I know, he doesn't do drugs. He doesn’t smoke or drink, which keeps him level-headed at all times. A level-headed killer is a lethal weapon.
Gio, Marco, Francesca, Alessandro, and I, we all grew up together right here in Sicily. I was a bit of a latecomer to the crew, joining in our teens, just as we were all starting to dip our toes into the murky waters of mafia dealings. I had no idea what went on in the life of my dad before his death. Sure, I knew he was a ruthless guy who made a shit ton of money, but I never really grasped the extent of it all. Then, when I started spending summers here, the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. I should have known it takes more than just business meetings and building companies for one to amount to such wealth.
The “terrible five,” as Gio dubbed us, came through big time when I first moved back. It took Gio, who’s now surprisingly my closest pal, some time to warm up to me, but without these guys, I don't think I would've held onto even a shred of sanity after all the crap I went through with my old man.
They showed me that our way of life isn't just darkness and despair. Sure, you can't ignore the shadows entirely, but letting them consume you turns you into nothing more than a ghost of yourself, like my father.
I swore I'd never become like him. It's easier said than done, of course, when you're navigating the treacherous waters of a dangerous empire. But slowly, I was learning to balance the two sides of myself in two very different worlds.
“Is that all you're going to contribute to this conversation?” Francesca nudges Giovanni, breaking the silence.
A new voice interrupts, belonging to my sister, Aurora. “How the heck is this even a normal conversation amongst friends?” she muses, appearing in the doorway with her twin, Fabio.
We all turn towards the adjoining door leading to the living room.
“Do I even want to know what you guys were talking about?” the second twin asks.
“Trust me, Fabio, you're better off not knowing,” Francesca snorts.
The twins step onto the terrace to join us.Aurora approaches me with a warm smile. Among my stepsiblings, she's the most welcoming. She was the first to accept me when I joined the family, unlike Fabio, who took longer to warm up. Carmela, well, she's still navigating her teenage angst. I don’t think she likes anyone.
“Did you miss me?” Aurora leans in, planting a kiss on my forehead.
They've just landed in Sicily, and I'd sent a chauffeur to pick them up from our private hangar.
“Honestly, didn't even notice you were gone,” I jest, earning a playful scowl from her.
Chuckling at her mock offense, I ask, “So, how was the trip?”
“Amazing,” Aurora gushes, before diving into a long and detailed description of their vacation to Santorini—the beaches, the restaurants they visited, the whole nine yards.
“It wasn’t that spectacular,” Fabio interjects, rolling his eyes. “There are beaches everywhere here in Sicily, and our food's just as good.”
Aurora scoffs, shooting back. “Of course, you have to ruin everything with your gloomy I’m-not-impressed-by-anything mood.”
Fabio seems offended. “I’m not gloomy. I just have high taste, and you are tasteless. Easily impressed by anything. That’s why your dating life sucks…”
“Whoa,” Giovanni interjects, a grin spreading across his face as Aurora's jaw drops. “Did he really just go there?”
“You did not just say that…” Aurora spits.
“That's not cool, Fabio. Aurora. When dating men, you should set the bar very high, unless they’ll try to use you,” Francesca advises, genuine concern in her tone.
“Don't tell me you're giving love advice now,” Marco interjects.
“Shut up, fuck boy,” Francesca snaps back.
“Fran, please stop giving my sister relationship advice,” I say gruffly. The idea of Aurora dating makes my skin crawl. To me, she’s still the little kid my father introduced me to when I first saw them.
“Well, someone's gotta do it,” Francesca replies with a chuckle. “And clearly, you're not volunteering.”
“How about nobody does it?” I say before looking at the twins. “You both just got back. You should get some rest.”
As if on cue, Fabio yawns, admitting, “Yeah, I could use some shuteye. I'm beat.”
“All you did was sleep during the vacation, and then on the flight back. How can you be tired?” Aurora shoots back, making everyone in the room laugh.
“A man needs his beauty sleep,” Fabio defends himself.
Aurora grins mischievously. “And how do you plan on being a full-fledged mafioso if you're too busy catching beauty sleep? Maybe you plan to bore your rivals to death.”
Everyone in the room bursts out in laughter as Aurora walks out with a red-faced Fabio.
“Good. The kids are gone,” Marco says before clearing his throat. I chuckle because Aurora and Fabio are far from being kids. “I've got something new in mind for my club's nighttime lineup,” Marco reveals.
Giovanni rolls his eyes. “Here we go again.”
Marco, the ever-innovative club owner, is always adding new ideas and segments to his club. The most recent one was the auctioning of girls to VIP members. He never fails to keep things interesting.
Exclusive to the VIP members, willing and eager girls are lined up on a stage, and bids are placed on them. The man with the highest bid takes the girl to one of the exclusive rooms, and they have the night of their lives.
That has been my favorite addition to the club so far.
“Well, it’s like the previous update I made,” Marco says, shooting me a knowing look. “But with a twist.”
I already like where this is going. It seems I’m not the only one who likes it too, because everyone, including Francesca, pays attention to what Marco is about to say.
“What I have in mind is this,” he demonstrates animatedly, “Instead of the girls on stage, they'll be hidden inside colored boxes. Guests bid on a box without knowing who's inside…”
“Okay, you lost me right there,” I say with a frown. “Why would I want to bid on a fucking box when I don't know what's in it?”
“There'll be a woman inside, obviously,” Giovanni butts in.
“I get that, but I have preferences. Contrary to what you guys believe, I won’t just have sex with any type of woman,” I huff.
“I personally think it’s a good idea,” Alessandro says, but before he can continue, his phone interrupts him. Glancing at his phone screen, he stands up. “I have to take this.”
“I’m with Alessandro,” Giovanni says as Alessandro walks out.
“Why?” I ask exasperatedly.
“I don’t know, I just think it’s fun. It adds a layer of mystery to it,” Gio says, and Marco smirks at me.
“Fuck mystery. If I’m going to have sex with a woman all night, I have to like what she looks like,” I say.
“You need to be a little more open-minded, Leo. I’m just trying to heighten the fun, that’s all. And I didn’t think you would be against this,” Marco adds.
I huff. “If I’m paying, it just makes sense that I know exactly what she looks like. I’m starting to agree with Francesca that you might not be very smart.”
Marco completely ignores my statement, turning to face Gio. “I’m glad you see my vision here. I want to provide my guests with an out-of-the-world experience that they never expected,” he says.
I roll my eyes before turning to look at Francesca, who hasn’t said anything the entire time. “Come on, Francesca, back me up here.”
She sighs reluctantly. “As much as it kills me to admit this, Marco's idea is intriguing…”
“See! Francesca hates me, but she agrees,” Marco begins to say, but one glare from Francesca shuts him up.
Turning back to me, Francesca explains, “Like Gio said, I think it makes the experience more exciting. It adds an element of surprise to the act of sex. Not everything has to be conventional.”
“Still not buying it,” I say, stubbornly continuing our debate until I notice Alessandro's absence. I wonder why he isn’t back yet.
Excusing myself, I step into the living room, puzzled. I don’t see any signs of Alessandro. My eyebrows furrow in confusion. I start searching, only to hear his voice coming from the kitchen.
Approaching stealthily, I catch him deep in conversation with Lorena. He says something that makes her laugh, her amusement filling the room—a sound I've never heard from her before.
An unfamiliar rage burns within me, and before I can stop myself, I'm striding toward them, fists clenched in anger.