29
I sped down the long driveway away from Lorenzo’s house, the place he expected me to treat as my home. The home he had made with my mother.
The sound of him fucking her, that opportunistic little bitch,was still echoed inside my head. Bile rose in my throat. I’d worked it out last night. I’d been disgusted then, but actually hearing them at it was so much worse. It made it real. He was over my mother. He had claimed to be so in love with her, yet barely eight months after she was murdered he had moved on. Probably sooner, I had no idea how long this had been going on for, but the fact that they were sharing a bed was sign enough that it had probably been going on for some time.
Mallory Fields. The girl with the deadly reputation. How much of that was really true? Had she just been sleeping her way to the top? I’d quickly be putting a stop to that.
My plan—once I avenged my mom—was to take over The Brotherhood. Lorenzo knew this and had said that when he was ready to step down I would have his support, but not necessarily his vote. Family ties would only get me so far. And his vote was the only one that really mattered.
This was a completely new direction for my life, but one that I now desperately wanted. I didn’t want to be a tailor anymore, didn’t want Italy, and a simple life. It had never really felt like it was right for me, and seeing the power that my stepdad held, the respect, the opportunities, how could I not want to take his place?
In my short time here, I hadn’t really looked at Mallory as competition. I had heard that she was good, great even. I’d not seen it. Sure, I’d seen her beat down some kid, but that proved nothing. He was just some pathetic gangster wannabe, that had been child’s play. I could have taken him out years before my uncle had started training me. Allegedly being able to outkill Mallory meant a lot, but after what I now knew, I wasn’t so sure. How much of her reputation had been bought with bedroom favours? There was no denying that girl had an amazing body, if I was in her shoes, I’d probably use it to my advantage and fuck the boss to get what I wanted too.
But what did she want?
Power?
If she did, that would mean that she was an obstacle. I thought Grey would be the only one. I was naturally skilled, I never failed, so knocking Grey down would be easy. The only hand that he held was that he already had Lorenzo’s trust, and that was what I needed to gain to come out on top.
Mallory had his cock though, and no matter how much he might protest, men always think with their cocks, at least just a little bit.
I drove aimlessly for an hour, still unsure where I felt most comfortable in this city. I had an apartment above the shop that I’d bought a few weeks ago. It was a small space where I had been staying since arriving here. Lorenzo wanted me in the house though, and Lorenzo would always get his own way. I would be keeping the apartment though, secretly, of course. Giving the illusion that I was bending to him. If I couldn’t make my stepfather see sense when it came to Mallory, I’d need a place to escape. No way was I going to listen to them fuck again if I could help it.
Eventually I pulled up in the carpark beside a café on the other side of the lake from Lorenzo’s house. Belle’s. It looked nice enough, and I was starving, having skipped breakfast after the sounds coming from upstairs had shat all over my appetite.
The sun was warm in the late morning, so I decided to sit outside, selecting a table at the edge of the seated area that looked out onto the lake. Hopefully no one would bother me here.
A short woman wearing a green apron came out as I was scanning the menu.
“What can I get for you love?” she asked in a cheerful voice. Her name tag read Gina, and I was sure that Gina must be a psychopath. Who the hell was that happy to be at work in the morning?
“Black coffee, and a sausage and bacon baguette,” I replied and stared at the lake. I didn’t want to make small talk with this woman, or anyone else for that matter. She didn’t seem phased by my rudeness though, she just scribbled down my order and bustled away inside.
Once my food and drink came to my table the seating area surrounding me began to fill. I huffed and took my plate and cup inside, hoping to find that it was quieter inside. I was wrong. There wasn’t a single empty table.
“Everything alright love?” the waitress asked.
I shoved my plate and cup onto the counter in front of her. “Can I get these to go?”
“Sure thing.” She smiled brightly. “Not a big fan of crowds?”
“No, or small talk.” I gave her a pointed look, but she just laughed in response and handed me my breakfast before pouring my coffee into a takeaway cup.
“Hope your morning gets better,” she called after me.
I didn’t respond. I just walked out of the door and away from the café. I strolled around the side of the lake, and soon found a quiet patch of grass with an empty bench. I doubted I’d see anyone else here, surrounded by trees, hidden, so I sat down on the bench. The view was stunning. Tranquil. Something that I desperately needed in my life. I felt a calmness wash over me as I sat and enjoyed my breakfast by the lake. Maybe one good thing had come out of this morning, I had found my perfect escape.
Once I finished eating, I stayed by the lake and gathered my thoughts. Re-focusing on my goals. I could be angry with Lorenzo for moving on and still earn my place. I’d begin by helping him. My fresh eyes could no doubt see many things that his couldn’t.
I made my way back to my car and headed home, hoping that the puttana had finally left, and I’d be able to speak to Lorenzo alone.
I pulled up to the huge house, leaving my car parked haphazardly in a shaded spot. Mallory hadn’t driven here last night, so I had no idea if she was still lurking or not. I pushed through the front door and nodded in greeting as my stepdad’s, no, my head of household staff crossed the foyer, clearly busy with whatever tasks Lorenzo needed him to complete. I’d have to try to get used to that, I’d never had staff before. Back in Italy we lived a simple life, so I could look after myself no trouble, but I now had people who were here to do those things. It felt strange.
“Enzo,” I called out and paced the foyer a few times.
“You know I hate you calling me that,” he snarled as he emerged from his office, dressed in a perfectly fitted royal blue suit that complimented his tanned olive skin.
“Yeah, but I like it.” I smirked at him. “She gone?” I asked and gestured up the stairs.
“Yes, she had to get to the office.”
So she had a day job. I didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me before that she might do something else during her free time, and I was suddenly strangely curious about it.
“What does she do?” I didn’t mean to let the question slip out, but it had, and I couldn’t take it back.
Lorenzo raised a brow at me. “She’s an accountant, very useful woman to have around.”
I hadn’t expected that at all. She was smart enough to sleep her way to the top, but I didn’t realise she was legitimately smart too. It didn’t make me like her any more or any less, so I logged it as simply another thing that I knew about her, and pushed past it.
I hummed thoughtfully. “I think we need to talk.” I nodded towards his office, and he pursed his lips.
“About?” He didn’t budge.
“Business.” I squeezed past him where he was standing in the doorway, and sat in a seat facing his desk. He reluctantly followed, sat on the opposite side, and typed something on the computer in front of him. He turned his attention to me and rested his elbows on the desk, steepling his fingers under his chin and holding my gaze. I may be new to all of this, but I’m not stupid. I knew what that gesture meant.
“I’m worried about you, boss,” I began, ensuring to use ‘boss’ rather than anything more familiar. “I think you’re being manipulated, and I’d hate to see something bad happen because of it.”
He stiffened in his chair, spine straightening as his eyes burned into me, but he stayed silent.
“Mallory might be a nice girl, but sleeping her way to the top is something that people won’t take kindly to.” I forced a look of concern to twist my face. It hurt a little, but I needed to learn to fake these emotions. “I understand that you’re a little bit hypnotised by her pussy, so you probably can’t see what she’s doing, but I can.”
He sat back and pressed his forefinger and thumb to the bridge of his nose.
“You’re fucking joking aren’t you, Don?” he hissed.
I slowly shook my head. “She’s bad news, boss.”
All of the ass licking and fake concern was not my thing at all. I didn’t care about her, I was starting to care less about him, but I’d have to do it for now, I supposed.
“I will tell you this one time, Adonis, and if you dare to bring it up again you will be leaving this room in a body bag,” he snarled, “Mal—and you will start calling her Mal, or Mallory—is not sleeping her way to the top. I don’t fuck desperate whores. That girl has earned her place in The Brotherhood and in my bed. If she dared to try to manipulate me, she would not be breathing. It’s insulting that you think that I wouldn’t be able to see something like that if it was going on. Now get the fuck out of my office and go do something productive.”
He stared at me for another second. It was an intimidating look, but his scare tactics didn’t work on me, not after growing up with the man who trained Lorenzo in the first fucking place. Instead of fear, all I felt was anger. I guessed I’d have to get Mallory out of my way the hard way then. By knocking her down until she was nothing.
Still, despite the urge to lash out, I rose to my feet and left the office to make my way upstairs and unpack properly. Tonight would mark the beginning of my rise, and Mallory would find out what it was really like to play with me.