21. Von
D inner was an awkward affair since Father wanted to press me more about my plans, but Katarina was present so he couldn’t. When it came to the criminal family matters, Mother and Katarina were always kept in the dark. This way, if either of them were arrested or kidnapped they wouldn’t have any knowledge to spill. It was for the best since I didn’t plan on telling any of my family members what ideas I had brewing.
After I’d stuffed my face with pot roast and all the delicious sides that went with it, I led my guys up to my room. I didn’t bother to give them a tour or care about the fact they’d see my childhood bedroom just as I’d left it when I was still a teen. The god-awful floral wallpaper still covered the one wall my king-size bed was on, and the rest of the walls were painted a soft blush pink. All the furniture was white with accents of gold because my mother told me the furniture would age well with me.
The only thing that matched the person I was today happened to be the bedding. A dark purple comforter with black sheets underneath and throw pillows in shades of navy, eggplant, and a red so deep it was almost black. Father refused to let me change anything else unless I promised I’d be around a lot more often to use it. Well, two can play that game, so I suffered my nights in this flouncy room and came over less often.
“Are we in the right room?” Erik asked, peering at the vanity covered with girly accessories.
I dropped onto the white overstuffed couch in my reading nook. “Yuuup.”
“Damn, I just never pictured you as the type to go all Pretty Pretty Princess,” Erik remarked as he came to join me. “So, do we get to know what the plan is?”
“When I know what the plan is, sure,” I said, pulling my phone out. “Why don’t you guys check out the rooms on either side of mine and pick whichever one you want to use or use them both. It’s not like I’m expecting anyone to sleep in my bed, but you seem to end up there one way or another.”
“It’s because you’re just so cuddly,” Erik whispered, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “We’ll go check out the options since it feels like you're kicking us out of the room to make a call.”
I rolled my eyes and waved them off. “Have fun.”
Since I was now connected to a secure Internet source, I logged into my cloud service and downloaded all the important phone numbers I might need. There weren’t many numbers I felt the need to keep on my phone, so it didn’t take long. Knowing Queenie wouldn’t answer an unknown number, I texted her the code word so she knew I was the one calling.
The room felt too quiet, yet I knew someone was still in the room with me. I looked up from my phone and found Apollo smirking at me from my bedroom door. “Apollo, you can stay, but I’m about to call one of my besties, so you better keep your damn mouth shut.”
“Is that so?” Apollo purred. “Lucky for you, I can think of a few things that are far more fun to do with my mouth while you’re busy.”
The hungry look in Apollo’s gaze told me I’d unknowingly laid down a challenge, and Apollo was more than happy to test the limits.
As Apollo slowly advanced toward me, my phone rang with Astin’s name appearing on the screen. Looks like I took too long to call after the heads-up. I swiped the screen to answer, just as Apollo dropped to his knees and crawled forward until he was pushing my legs open wide enough for him to fit between them.
“Von?” Astin called, her voice sounding a million miles away.
“Yeah, I’m here,” I answered as I brought the phone closer to my ear.
There was an awkward pause as I watched Apollo reach for the button of my jeans and pop it open.
“Von, you know I love you, but it’s six in the morning, and I haven’t had my coffee yet,” Astin grumbled.
“Right, sorry, Queenie,” I said just as Apollo curled his fingers around the waistband of my pants and yanked them down. “I need your clever, devious brain to help me figure out the best way to torture someone you need answers from.”
With my lower half now bare of clothing, Apollo slid his hands under my thighs and dragged me forward. Would this bastard really go all the way?
“I’m gonna need a little more to go on,” Astin requested. “Are you asking me because you want them to still be alive at the end of the questioning?”
“Kind of. As I’ve been digging up more about Serena, I discovered information which leads me to believe there might be a mole or assassin who’s snuck in with the Zuccaro new bloods,” I explained, shivering as Apollo started to slowly kiss up my leg.
“Ah, so you don’t want to kill them all since most of them were truly there to join the family,” Astin concluded. “This is going to be easy for you, especially because you’re not squeamish. To start off with, you need to bring out the full-on crazy-ass Von. The faster they consider you a real threat, the easier it will be to get the information you want. Don’t let on you’re looking for a mole, this is a simple test to see how well they would do if caught by a rival.”
“Okay, well that seems easy enough,” I said, reaching a hand over my head to grip the back of the couch as Apollo’s tongue glossed over my pussy.
Astin snorted at my response. “Von, that was only part of the process. You need to find out as much as you can about all of them so when you question the new blood you know if they’re lying or not. This isn’t going to be a situation where you can come in guns blazing and take everyone out in one fell swoop. I know it sounds redundant, but you have to have just as much dirt on them as they do on you.”
“Uuhg,” I moaned, then snapped my mouth shut as Apollo’s tongue played with my clit piercing.
“Wow, I didn’t think research would turn you on so much,” Astin teased. “Tell me, is your new friend Erik a good boy who wants to serve his mistress, like my hubby Braxton?”
My eyes rolled back in my head as Apollo slid two fingers deep inside me. “Not Erik,” I managed to get out.
“My my, well I suppose I’m not surprised. If Bear was going to get on his knees for anyone, it would be you,” Astin commented with a hint of laughter in her voice.
“While Bear would be more than happy to eat me as a snack any time, anywhere, it’s not him either,” I admitted.
A sharp intake of breath from Astin had me rolling my hips to force Apollo’s fingers deeper. Could it be we both have men who decided now was the best time to torment us?
“Von, are you officially joining the polyamorous life?” Astin inquired, her voice slightly more breathy. “Tell me how many have you added since we last talked?”
I had to pull the phone away and slam it to the couch as I came. Apollo ignored my attempts to pull away from him, still sensitive from Bear’s claiming earlier. However, dearest Polly didn’t give a shit and clamped his arms tighter around my thighs as his tongue tossed me into another orgasm.
“Oh fuck yeees,” I cried out as my back bowed and my mouth went dry.
The look in his eyes told me he wasn’t done with me yet, but he paused long enough to snatch my phone. “Hello, Astin Carioni-Raffa, name’s Apollo, I hear you’ve been looking for me and my brother.”
“Who the fuck did you say you were?” Astin demanded through the phone.
It would appear Apollo was thoughtful enough to put the call on speaker so we could both hear. Furious, I locked my legs around him and dove forward elbow first in hopes I could knock him out. Reacting faster than I expected, Apollo fell back, using my momentum to somersault us both onto the floor. Apollo was on top, but he’d dropped the phone to protect my head as we tumbled.
“What the hell is going on? Von, are you all right?” I heard Astin shouting from the phone. “Hound, I need you to hack into the Zuccaro Estate’s surveillance system. Jace, text Bear and let him know Von needs his help now.”
“Your bestie is ruining our fun,” Apollo grumbled as he picked up the phone. “Calm yourself, mafia queen, Von is in zero danger from me. In fact, I’ve pledged undying loyalty to my treasure, and I bear her mark in return.”
“Right, like I’d take the word of an Accardi,” Astin spat. “Von, are you good?”
I shoved Apollo off and reclaimed my phone. “Yeah, I’m perfectly fine, but someone else won’t be as soon as we hang up.”
Apollo batted his lashes in an effort to look coy.
“Then I suggest you start explaining or I’m on the next flight out, and I’ll get the answers from Bear,” Astin threatened.
Growling in frustration, I got to my feet, walked into my closet, slammed the door shut, and flipped the switch that turned it into a secure room. While I was in there, no one could eavesdrop, trace my location, or try to hack into the system since everything in this space was on an isolated network.
“This is gonna be a long story,” I said with a sigh as I pulled on a clean pair of leggings. “Let me get it all out before you start grilling me with questions.”
“Talk fast,” Astin ordered.
I knew she wasn’t trying to be a bitch and was actually really worried about me. So I started the story from the first time Coronis contacted us at the restaurant. I even went so far as to tell her about him being a one-night stand from years ago, and she silently listened until I was finished.
“I’m not even sure what to do with all that information,” Astin said after a moment of silence. “He gave you a gold-plated machine gun?”
Laughter I couldn’t hold back burst out of me. “Out of everything I said, that’s what you want to talk about first?”
“You have to admit it’s far from normal, then again, neither are you,” Astin reasoned. “So, what’s your plan going forward? Do you really think the twins would give up their claim and sign it over to me?”
“Right now, my plan is to protect my family, then get Polly to tell me where the fuck his brother has been hiding,” I answered. “As for the matter of them giving up their inheritance, I’m not sure what to believe. Polly is a con artist and knows how to manipulate people, yet nothing he’s told me has been a lie. Hell, the man even acted as a human shield on more than one occasion. Queenie, if he’s playing the long game with me, he’s really fucking good because I can’t seem to spot the lie.”
“I trust you to make the right call, Von,” Astin assured me. “As a child who was hidden away and kept a secret, I believe it’s possible to build up enough hatred toward their father to turn on him. All I wanted was to live my life, do what I wanted, and not be forced to lie about every part of my life. Be safe, Von, and call me if you need help with anything.”
We said our goodbyes, but I didn’t leave my closet right away, wanting some uninterrupted time to think. I’d been surprised how well Astin took the news about Apollo, assuming she’d want to gut him for carrying the same blood as the man who killed her father. Then again, I, too, knew what it felt like to have true hatred for someone, and it was nearly impossible for such strong feelings to grow when you’d never laid eyes on the person.
Could Apollo be genuine? Did I want him to be telling the truth?
I shook my head and waved a hand above my head as if I could literally chase my train of thought away. Right now, I had to deal with the threat against my family. There would be plenty of time once this matter was settled to figure things out with Apollo.
“First things first, what club would be the best playground for tonight's entertainment?” I pondered aloud as I paced the length of my closet.
The damn thing could have been another room especially since I didn’t keep much there. Most things were left over from when I was fourteen, and I was an extremely different person. It was even more obvious to me as I stood in this time capsule of my past innocence, plotting how best to torture a group of fifteen men.
Tapping my chin, I sorted through the various games I enjoyed playing with my victims. Musical chairs might be an option, but I doubted the building would survive when the pressure trigger bomb under one of the chairs went off. I narrowed my options one by one until I settled on two options. I could get away with playing in a building and a smaller space. Part of me was bummed we couldn’t play Taser tag, but it worked better when you had a forest to chase them through.
Having settled on part of my plan, I knew where to take the party and how to dress. I decided to take a page out of Poison’s playbook and use the weapon God gave me being a woman with assets. Bear was going to be a bit of a problem, but as long as no one felt the need to approach me, we might get through the night with only a few bodies left in his wake.
I looked through the dresses I’d been forced to buy for rare appearances at parties my parents threw. It helped to have people see me as the dutiful daughter of Armond Zuccaro, which would keep them from ever picturing me as the notorious arms dealer The Wolf. I came across a garment bag and couldn’t for the life of me remember what was inside. Unzipping the bag, I pulled out the dress, turned to the full-length mirror, and held it up in front of me with a wolfish grin.