23. Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Three
Justin
I refilled the tortilla chips and topped off the salsa because Nico must have been starved. Several times I’d wished the clear liquid we pretended was vodka was actually the real thing. Every time I asked Nico a question, he asked something about us. It was becoming a little tedious.
“So, uh, how did Mr. DeLuca die?” I asked as I dipped a chip in the chunky salsa.
Nico downed his fifth shot. “He got popped a month after Ramon. It was a fucking shit show for a while, let me tell you. Everybody was lookin’ at Mr. DeLuca for Ramon’s death, but Uncle Marco said no way would Don DeLuca take out Ramon.
Myself, I kinda think Uncle Marco had a hand in it—not the trigger man, mind you, but he had something to do with it.
I think he knew Ramon was in line to be underboss and he didn’t want that to happen so he ordered a hit on the downlow.
He’s now the one who runs everything on The Hill. ”
I was relieved that the fucker was getting sloshed on tequila to the point he wouldn’t be able to get an erection. We’d have no problems with him thinking anything sexual was going to happen among us—not that I ever thought my guy would let it happen.
“You hear anyone toss out possible suspects for who did the shooting?” I refilled his glass and then mine and Clay’s.
Nico laughed. “What, I want my tongue cut out like Sonny Russo?”
That was a shock. I remembered Sonny Russo had been a member of Ramon’s crew. What did he do that someone cut out his tongue?
“No, I’d assume that wouldn’t be pleasant. So, what else can you tell me about your family? I mean, not to make you say anything you don’t want to say, but your family is shrouded in mystery. Your parents didn’t marry. Was that an issue for you?”
God, I felt like I was asking shit that was none of my business. Actually, it wasn’t, but how could I give Ramon any redemption if I didn’t dig into their family?
Nico blew out a heavy breath. “How would you have felt if your parents hadn’t married?”
I could top that. “My parents died two months apart when I was twenty. It feels fucking awful.”
Nico sighed. “I’m sorry. I mean, my mom’s still alive. I wish my father had married her, but so do all of my half-siblings whose moms Ramon didn’t marry either. Can I use your bathroom?”
Clay led him down the hall to the bathroom before returning to me. “Okay, we gotta dig deeper, darlin’. If we’re gonna find out anything, you’ll need to ask direct questions about the Ramon’s murder and I guess DeLuca’s.”
I shivered at the uncomfortable feeling of what we were doing. It had to be done, but I didn’t have to like it, did I?
“So, what do I have to do to get the two of you naked?” Nico strolled into the kitchen with a lascivious smirk, surprising us both because we hadn’t heard anything.
My pulse ticked up. “I, uh, thought y-you could g-give me some m-more inside information for my book.”
Clay grabbed my hand and pulled me into his chest, wrapping me in his arms to calm me.
“He’s writing a book. If you don’t wanna talk about your family, maybe you can put him on the track of somebody else who will talk to us.
But then you don’t get any of this.” Clay kissed me passionately, and I nearly forgot where I was and what we were doing.
Nico growled. “Uncle Marco won’t like it, but fine. Ask your questions. I don’t wanna be quoted in this book, you know. It could be dangerous for me and my family.”
I exhaled. “We don’t want anything to happen to you, your sisters, or the rest of your family. Your father said there were eight kids who could call him Dad.”
Nico’s face froze. “My dad said?” He was shocked by my statement, and I hated that I’d misspoken and now had to come up with an explanation for it.
“Uh, your dad did an interview with a, uh, with someone who was questioning him for a, uh—.”
Clay chuckled. “It was a police interview when he was arrested once. I had a friend hack into the FBI database and download a copy. She found it for Teddy’s research.”
I exhaled a fearful breath as I took Clay’s hand and squeezed it. He was a fucking lifesaver.
Nico laughed. “It ain’t bad to have friends in high places, I guess. So, what else did dear old dad say in that interview? It’s no fucking wonder they killed him if he was talking to the Feds.”
I stepped forward. “Who killed him? I mean, it’s been a long time, Nico. Nobody can be charged on hearsay evidence, and my book is merely a work of speculation.”
Nico turned to Clay—Danny. “So, Danny, what’s your stake in this?”
“I’m his partner, and I want him to write his book. He needs to get it out of his head so we can plan our life. Give him what he wants, and you can watch me blow him.”
I wasn’t so sure I was down for that, but Clay was smart to give Nico a goal to work toward. I trusted my guy completely.
Nico watched Clay turn to me and smile. Fuck it. “Yeah, whatever he says.”
“Oh, dude, he’s your Daddy. That’s so fucking hot.” Nico sounded as though he’d just uncovered a gold mine, and who was I to dissuade him?
I glanced at Clay. “Well, he found us out. So, uh, what do you want to do, Daddy?”
He laughed. “Keep talking.” Clay turned to Nico and smirked.
Clay took a seat at the island and poured the two of us more fake vodka while I poured Nico another tequila. Clay pulled me between his knees and wrapped his arms around me while kissing my neck.
Feeling his silky tongue against my burning flesh was a beautiful distraction. If I could get the dickhead in front of me to spill his guts and get out of the house, I’d drop my pants and let Clay fuck me right there with butter as lube. Sadly, we were there for another reason.
“Why was Sonny Russo’s tongue cut out?” I asked.
Nico downed his next shot and smirked. “Fucker got mouthy with a cop according to Tino Gallo. Sonny was my father’s second, and when Sonny got picked up for some bullshit charge regarding pressuring a new restaurant to buy only from the family’s wholesaler, Sonny tried to send them to look into Batty Benny Anselmo’s crew but fucked it up.
Uncle Marco didn’t take it lightly. Batty Benny was nuts, but he was a good earner for Uncle Marco. ”
“Okay, so Uncle Marco had Tino cut out Sonny’s tongue?” I asked.
I pulled my shirt from my chinos and grabbed Clay’s hand to cup my crotch in hopes of fueling Nico’s fire and maybe loosening his lips.
Nico shot back another tequila. “The way I heard it, Tino cut out Sonny’s tongue to keep him from telling that Tino killed my dad.
Shot him in the head as went outside the social club to have a smoke.
Sonny had been there with my dad to see my mother who worked at DeLuca’s restaurant while she was going to beauty school.
Some folks say it was Sonny who killed Ramon because he was in love with Mom too, but Sonny swore that wasn’t true. Said he saw Tino kill Ramon.”
Clay didn’t stroke me through my pants so we could both pay attention to what Nico was saying. It wasn’t ideal, but if it kept Nico talking... I decided to boost the tension, so I lifted Clay’s hand, guiding it down my pants where Nico could see it.
The kiss to my neck warmed me down to my toes, but I had to pay attention. “So, your mother, did she know Sonny was maybe in love with her, too?”
Nico shrugged. “If she did, she never mentioned it. I think, as Mom told the story to her cousin, Tino was after my dad’s spot as capo under DeLuca, so did he kill Ramon or did Sonny?
They both had good reasons to pop the old man, but so did a bunch of other people.
My dad was an asshole. Can I see his dick, Danny? ”
Clay put his hand over my erection and kissed my neck again. “Don’t tell us what you think, Nico. Tell us what you know or who would know how Ramon died.”
By then, Nico was completely toasted and close to passing out, so I moved Clay’s hand from my pants and stepped away from him. “Nico, you want a berry shot? They’re amazing.”
I reached into the cabinet over the counter and pulled out a bottle of a berry-flavored sleep aid I’d picked up at the store, pouring a dose into a glass before I added a shot of tequila.
Nico swayed on the bar chair, so we were on our last lap around the information track.
I put the shot in front of him before unzipping my pants to show Nico my black briefs and the head of my hard cock sticking out of the waistband asking one more question before he passed out.
“So, how’d that go over with Johnny DeLuca. Was he good with that?”
Nico shrugged. “Johnny was pissed about Ramon. He was a made guy, and nobody had talked to Johnny about taking him out, or so Uncle Marco told my mother. I mean, I was just a kid when shit happened. Show me how you jack him off and I’ll get you an appointment with my mom for a haircut at her salon, Beauty Bar.
It’s over at Wilson and Marconi. You can ask her all the shit you want because she loves talking about it with her best friend, Mary Jane.
MJ was married to Tino for a while, but they got divorced when she caught him cheating with a younger woman. ”
It was a relief to hear that we had a loose idea of who killed Ramon, but the details were still sketchy. To repay Nico for his drunken admissions, I pulled down my briefs and exposed my half-hard dick.
Clay quickly covered me with his hand and whispered, “What the fuck are you doing?”
I glanced over my shoulder and smirked at the beautiful man behind me. “Jack me, please.”
“Seriously?” Clay chuckled.
“He deserves something, right?”
My beautiful Clay chuckled before he began stroking me. He spat into his hand and worked the saliva over the tip, making my eyes roll back in my head.
“Oh, fuck.” Nico slurred a bit.
My eyes snapped open to see Nico fading fast. I didn’t want him to get hurt if he fell on the floor. It was definitely time for the inquisition to end.
I stilled Clay’s hand. “He’s about to pass out. Let’s lower him to the floor. It seems the sleep aid is kicking in.”
Clay pulled up my briefs and chinos before helping me carry Nico to the rug in Betsy’s dining room, and then we moved back into the kitchen.
“Okay, now what?” Clay asked.
I inhaled and released a worried breath. “Can you call Steve and tell him we didn’t need to stay here? We can leave Nico here, and either call the cops and report him as a burglar, or we could just let him pass out and wake up alone. He can leave the house without any fanfare at all.”
Clay grinned. “I’ll let him know. For the record, you don’t need to go around showing your dick to anyone, darlin’. That’s only for me.” His protest at me exposing myself was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard. He kissed me again before we cleaned up the mess.
We left Nico asleep on the dining room rug, and we called 9-1-1 to report that we saw someone messing with the lock on Betsy Korr’s back door, saying Clay was a concerned neighbor.
Clay returned the key to the back patio and sent Steve a text that he’d been able to get a new battery for his truck, so he was going to go ahead and drive to Arkansas with the hay he was hauling instead of staying in St. Louis.
We drove down the street and parked until the police arrived to be sure Betsy’s house wasn’t damaged. “Okay, there’s a Marriott near the beauty salon. I figure if we stay close by, I can walk in at the salon and get Mary Jane to trim my hair first thing. I’ll get us a room,” I suggested.
“Mary Jane and not Marcy?” Clay started the truck as we continued to observe the police with flashlights as they searched Betsy’s yard.
“If Mary Jane was married to Tino Gallo, I’m going to guess she’d know for sure if he killed Ramon and Mr. DeLuca. Besides, I have a feeling Marcy will be late for work after she goes to bail out Nico.” We both laughed as we drove to the Marriott.
We stopped at the same store we’d visited earlier in the day and picked up a six-pack of beer before we went to the hotel.
Once we were in the room, Clay turned on the news.
“I wanna see if Nico became a story for breaking into a dead woman’s house.
” He put four of the beers into the small fridge before opening the other two and handing one to me.
“Cheers. I think you have an answer for Ramon regarding who killed him, but I’m not sure anything we found out makes him redeemable in any sense of the word.” Clay touched the neck of his bottle to mine before taking a drink.
“I agree. Let’s write down what we know so we’re ready for tomorrow morning.” I reached for the pad and pen on the table by the phone.
I wrote down everything I remembered—Sonny’s tongue being cut out to keep him from saying that Tino killed Ramon, Johnny DeLuca being mad at Tino because of it, and Sonny being in love with Marcella.
I handed the pad to Clay. “Did I remember everything?”
After a sip of his beer, Clay put the bottle on the nightstand and took mine from me.
He sat next to me on the side of the bed and glanced at the list. “Looks like you hit the highlights. Let’s forget this shit for the night, okay?
I’ve got other things I wanna do. I left you hanging earlier because there was no way I was gonna let Nico see the look on your face when you come. That’s also only for me.”
I laughed. “You’re a little possessive, aren’t you, Daddy?” I joked.
“I’ll be your Daddy for tonight if you want.” Clay kissed my neck as he tossed the pad and pen onto the table before pushing me back onto the bed.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I gave him my sexiest grin. “I want you to make love to me. I wanna yell your name when I come, not Daddy.”
“That’s what I wanna hear. You wanna shower?” Clay waggled his eyebrows at me.
I chuckled. “Yeah, but don’t get any funny ideas about fucking in the shower. It’s hazardous, I’d imagine.”
“Hey, you don’t need to worry about that.
No way do I want either of us getting injured.
Come on.” Clay took my hand and we stood, undressing before heading into the bathroom.
He grabbed the lube out of his garment bag on the way through.
I was looking forward to what was to come—the two of us at the same time, I hoped.