Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
DARIO
“Is Pablo coming to dinner?” I ask, pulling out containers of food for us all.
Verona casually stands outside of the kitchen, pretending not to be paying attention to me, but she flinches at my stepbrother’s name. Yeah, Princess, you keep telling yourself you’re not at all affected by him.
I’m sure that’s going swimmingly for you.
His scent is prevalent in the house, and it makes me want to find him. I want to explore more of what we started.
“He said he’d prefer to eat in the bedroom,” Nico murmurs, grabbing a plate to prepare Pablo’s food.
“Well, he should prepare for his bed to be more crowded than normal,” I decide, surprising my brother.
“I’ll let him know,” he chuckles. “Rosa will be joining us soon in the kitchen. She’s taking forever in the bathroom.”
Verona quietly disappears in that direction, and I decide at least she’s good for something.
I’m aware Rosalia needs some stability after today’s events and the conversation my brother undoubtedly had with her, but the woman appears entirely too frail to be the same omega I’ve heard my brother talk about.
Settling around the table once everyone who should be here is present and Nico’s taken Pablo his plate, I dig into my food. My mind is full as I go over all the shit we’ll need to do tomorrow, ticking off items once I’m sure I haven’t missed anything.
“Dario, I can practically hear you from here,” Nico grumbles, taking a bite of his chicken picatta. “Will it help to talk it out?”
Ugh. I’m sure the constipated look on my face as I obsess isn’t exactly helping either.
“I found a house and the property company said we can move in tomorrow,” I drawl, rolling my eyes as I eat. “There’s a large pack bedroom, four other bedrooms, two of which I suppose can be used as nests,” I explain.
“I just need a large closet,” Rosalia shrugs. “I’ve never really understood the concept of a nest.”
“You may as you withdraw from whatever your father was dosing you with,” Verona says, shrugging. “The option is a considerate one.”
“I suppose,” she allows. “Please continue.”
I swallow back the acerbic words on my tongue, because that’s not my style. I don’t start fights, I break them up.
“The house is behind a gate, will not be in any of our names, and is in Ardsley Park. While we won’t be hidden completely due to being so close to the downtown area, hopefully that’ll help conceal us,” I state.
“I think it might be smart to rub elbows with some of the crime families with influence outside of the Accetta’s in case we need anything while we’re here.
At the very least, it may calm any waves our presence may bring. ”
“Provide me with a list, and I’ll make some calls tomorrow,” Nico says. “Tonight will be spent pulling in some of our own muscle from Michigan.”
“They won’t be in our home, will they?” Rosa asks, returning her fork to her plate ever so slowly. She’s gone pale, though I’m not sure why. However, there’s fear coming through her scent, and it makes my nose itch.
“No,” I reply. “Let me know how many people will be temporarily relocating, and I’ll rent out more property, Nico.”
“Tell her why you’re relocating them at all,” Verona suggests, speaking to me as if I’m a toddler.
“We need the support if we’re going to be wiping an entire mafia family’s existence,” I say, shrugging. “Neither of you will see much of them unless we’re in need of the guards.”
Slowly, I think about the huge security presence Don Accetta keeps in his home and frown. I’ve only heard pieces of what’s happened to Rosa, but am aware they’re responsible for the bruises I can see on her skin now that she’s no longer wearing makeup.
“Nico would only bring in our most trusted people,” I explain.
“We are currently clearing our ranks of anyone who was complicit in our father’s sex trade business, or thinks the way he did.
While it’s true that we’ve held ourselves away from the things that happen in the privacy of people’s homes, that can no longer be tolerated. ”
“I just removed the Falconi children from their home because I found out they were being physically abused,” Nico grunts.
“Pablo found a hospital report for broken bones and then backtracked to find a disturbing amount of evidence. Thankfully, not everyone has a private doctor on hand to hide their misdeeds. They’re currently living with an aunt who was horrified when presented with the conditions her nieces and nephews were suffering. ”
“And the parents?” Rosalia asks hoarsely. I’m noticing her voice sounds like someone who’s sick, and I decide to have Dr. Walsh check her vocal cords for damage.
“Dead,” I say. “There was an unfortunate house fire a few days after the children were removed. It happened at night, and the parents couldn’t be saved.”
“Sounds like it couldn’t have happened to nicer people,” Rosalia quips, taking a sip of water before returning to her food.
As long as she’s eating, I don’t care how long it takes for her to consume her food.
My lips twitch as I acknowledge her words, and I incline my head in response.
“There have been times that we’ve been ignorant of the abuse happening around us,” Ciro admits, sighing.
“Some of it was happening right under our fucking noses, and we had no idea. Now, when we see any issue, we handle it as soon as possible. I didn’t see ourselves having to police our family and those we employ, but it’s a necessary evil. ”
“Blood and fire can cleanse almost anything. Savannah is going to learn quickly how the Dominos handle their problems,” I add.
“You’re cowboys, in a sense,” Rosalia smirks, swallowing back a snort. I can tell inappropriate humor has been triggered inside of her, as it’s only one step away from hysteria.
Pressing her fist against her lips, she pulls her shit together before acting as if it never happened. I think I may have been too quick to judge her.
There’s trauma written on her skin with invisible ink, and only those truly paying attention can read between the lines.
“Cowboys probably have better intentions than we do. Our situation involves cleaning and sanitation,” Nico says. “Our methods aren’t exactly moral, but it gets shit done. Rosa, are you on birth control?”
My hand is hitting my brother in the back of the head before I even register that I moved.
“Our filters appear to be broken,” I apologize.
Rosalia replies at the same time I do, saying, “Why does a virgin need birth control?”
I’m not sure who I pissed off in another life, but I apologize for whatever it is I did. I’m not sure how I ended up with two virgin women we’re supposed to be courting. Honestly, as a beta, do I even need to be fucking with either one of them?
No, I don’t think I do. Pablo’s more than enough for me. Otherwise, I think I’m going to start wearing a cock cage and hand our male omega the key. It certainly wouldn’t be the kinkiest thing my brothers have done, and it’ll remind me that women are too much trouble.
I’ll leave Nico to handle their trauma while I help scourge the earth of the reason for it.
“I’m going to go see how Pablo is doing,” I say, excusing me from the table. “I want to be out of here by nine in the morning at the latest. I’ll make breakfast. Some of us can’t afford to skip meals.”
Rosalia’s fingers tighten on her fork, and I notice the way she stops eating. I’m going to pretend she’s full, because I won’t stop pushing her to admit she needs help.
It doesn’t escape my notice how tightly she’s wound or that now she’s shutting down her emotions. Sometimes, hoping someone bounces back means they don’t process shit because of that expectation to be strong.
I’m being an asshole, and I can feel the hard glances my brothers give me as I rise from the table. I fucking fix things in this family, and I currently feel really helpless. There’s nothing to kill, no one to save, we simply have to sit with the aftermath and all of that is pretty heavy shit.
Walking around from the kitchen, I knock on the bedroom Pablo is in and let myself in. He’s currently picking at his food as well, showing none of us have much appetite.
“I’m hiding,” I grumble, surprising him as I kick off my shoes and strip down to my boxers before climbing into bed with him.
“Ah, okay? Hello to you too,” he mumbles, putting his food to the side as he gazes at me with wide eyes. “Was dinner that bad?”
“There’s nothing I can fix, and everything I hear keeps annoying me.”
“Hmm.”
“Nico is a bad fucking influence.”
Pablo chuckles as he gets comfortable, shrugging a shoulder. There’s a lot of skin on display, and I force myself to stay where I am.
“I’m processing. I didn’t expect you to be in my bed after I swallowed a load of your cum.”
“I figured Ciro and I made it pretty obvious we were interested. We’re moving to a fully furnished rental tomorrow with a big pack bedroom. I turned in the paperwork with Georgia and Michigan stating that Rosalia and you are our omegas. I don’t want any issues down the road.”
“Me?” Pablo asks, slowly remembering he’s an omega.
“That’s really fucking trippy. It’s going to take awhile for me to get used to this.
I’ve taken an inordinate amount of showers because I can’t stop slicking.
Everything fucking makes me aroused. I feel like a prepubescent kid who just figured out his cock gets hard. ”
“Those were weird days when we were all going through it at the same time,” I chuckle. “Anytime you need a hole filled, I’m willing to help.”
“This is still so odd,” Pablo groans. “You’ve all ignored me—”
“Watching you get fucked by Nico is not ignoring you. When you break apart, cry out for him, and come hands free on every surface possible isn’t either.”
Pablo flops onto his back, the back of his hand covering his face to hide it.
“I may have a humiliation and voyeur kink,” I confess. “Watching you feel embarrassed is hot.”
“There’s something seriously wrong with the Domino men.” It’s grumbled half heartedly, and I get up to straddle Pablo’s chest before pushing his arms over his head.