24. Von
S ultry music surrounded us as we entered the massive main performance room. The stage was shaped like a giant S to give as many people as possible the best view. Off to the sides were groups of couches with small pedestals for the dancer to perform on. I counted four poles on the stage and was curious if they actually had four girls up there at once.
A woman with long honey-brown hair, wearing a red bodysuit with gold beaded tassels, which gave the illusion of a skirt, approached us. Everything about this woman was dripping with sex appeal, but there was something I didn’t like about the way she narrowed her gaze when she spotted me. I had to play it cool. If I reacted the way I wanted to, it would fuck with my other plans.
“Good evening, and welcome to Speziata,” she said as she slowly let her gaze wander over each of the guys. “I’m Ruby, and I’ll be taking care of any needs you might have while enjoying your evening with us.” Ruby fluttered her lashes at the twins, and I rolled my eyes, seeing the way my brothers drooled.
“Ruby, would you show us where we’ll be relaxing for the evening?” Apollo requested.
Instantly, Ruby was in Apollo’s personal space, grabbed his arm, and clutched it to her well-endowed chest. “Is that all you want me to show you, handsome?”
A possessive rage had me seeing red with the way Ruby was rubbing her body on what was mine. I started to take a step forward, but an arm coiled around my waist and jerked me back until I was pressed to Bear’s chest. He lowered his head and nuzzled behind my ear before nipping the tip of it as he pulled back. In his own way, Bear was telling me to chill the fuck out and not to make a scene.
Wait, why was I acting like this? What did I care if Apollo flirted with another woman? Okay, let’s say I did care, why would I care? My gaze landed on the mark I could see thanks to his see-through black lace button-down. Then it clicked, I wasn’t a jealous woman, but damn I was possessive as fuck.
Apollo looked down his nose at the woman as he answered, his tone cool and disinterested. “Yes, that will be all I need from you.”
Ruby seemed a little surprised at the reaction and stuck her lower lip out in a pout. “There’s no need to be so prickly, handsome. If I’m not your type, tell me what you like, and I’ll find you the perfect girl or boy, either way we don’t judge.”
Apollo let his hand glide down her bare arm until he reached her wrist, then roughly squeezed the joint until Ruby pulled away. “You want to know what my type is? I’ll warn you, it’s rare. I’ve only found one woman in the world who lived up to my expectations. She’s as regal as a queen, fierce as a lion, and has undeniable sex appeal even if she doesn’t realize it. My type doesn’t need a man to protect her because she’s deadly enough on her own. Some might say she’s a little feral, thrives off chaos, and tends to slightly overdo it when someone pisses her off. Speaking of pissing her off, you’re lucky she’s on her best behavior tonight. If it had been any other night, you would be broken and bleeding on the floor.”
Ruby’s eyes went wide with fear as she slowly turned to look at me. I gave her the sweetest smile I could and added a little finger wave for fun. The woman took an involuntary step back and clutched her hands to her chest. It was clear Ruby understood she’d fucked up and I was a threat she needed to keep an eye on.
“Make sure everyone knows the only two who are fair game tonight are my brothers,” I warned. “I’m here to have a good time, not to cause trouble, but there’s only so much a girl can handle before she snaps.”
“Understood, I’ll make sure there’s no trouble,” Ruby assured me as all traces of the flirtatious woman vanished. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your seats.”
The VIP area was at one end of the S, which was partitioned off with velvet ropes and a bouncer. There were couches placed around the half circle of the stage. This would provide for the most comfortable viewing since a pole was set on this end of the stage. More couches and armchairs were placed in groupings for those who didn’t want to sit so close to the entertainment. What I was most excited about was the private bar only to be used by the VIPs.
“Would you like me to get you a drink?” Erik asked with a raised brow. “You seem to be staring at the bar the way your brothers looked at Ruby.”
I wrinkled my nose at the comparison. “Ew, don’t ever say something like that again, but I would kill for an old fashioned.”
Erik caught my chin in his grasp and tilted my head so it was easier for him to kiss me. This was no quick peck on the lips, Erik was proving a point, and I was more than happy to let him. “Little siren, no one in this place could hold my attention the way you do, so you have nothing to fear when it comes to me. Although, I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing you claim me as yours.”
“Oh, was I supposed to keep that a surprise?” I quipped.
“No, but it’s always nice to hear it,” Erik murmured and kissed me once more before heading to the bar.
Lazzaro stepped up next to me and offered up an unlit joint. “Want a hit? It’s laced just how you like it.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now,” I snapped. “We aren’t here to party and have a good time, Laz. There is an unknown number of people who have snuck into our ranks. The one purpose they have is to find the right moment to fucking kill you and Matty.”
“So… no on the joint?” Lazzaro questioned.
I snatched the joint out of his fingers and passed it to Bear. “Hold on to this for me, I don’t want anyone else getting their hands on it.”
Bear took the rolled paper and slipped it into a pocket on the leather vest he was wearing. “ Does he have any more drugs we should take off him? ”
“Good call,” I mumbled, then placed a hand on my hip and gave my brother the look. “Anything else you’ve got hidden on you, and yes, I consider Matty to be included in my question.”
Lazzaro scowled. “Look, if you want this night to seem like just another night out and no drugs of any kind are involved, everyone will notice.”
Rubbing my temples, I tried to calm myself enough so I wouldn’t strangle my brothers. “Jesus fucking Christ, Laz, do you realize what you’re saying? Hell, if I wanted to kill you all I’d have to do is provide some tainted blow for you to snort off some stripper, and no one would be the wiser.”
My brother jerked back as if I’d slapped him in the face. “Do you think we’d be stupid enough to get our supply from just anyone? We have connections with people we trust and do business with.”
“I don’t think you're stupid, Laz, I think you’re too trusting. Being an underboss has its power, but it’s not enough to protect you if the person trying to take you out found the right weakness. God, what has Dad been teaching you two all these years?” I demanded.
“Hey, everything okay?” Erik asked, returning with my drink.
Without answering, I grabbed the drink, tossed the garnish, and gulped the whole thing down.
“I’m gonna take that as a no,” Erik ventured as he took the glass. “Another?”
“Fuck yes, make this one a double,” I said not taking my attention off my brother. “Tell me, Laz, what do you think is going to happen tonight?”
Lazzaro ran a hand through his hair and dropped his gaze. “How could I know the answer when you won’t tell us anything?”
“Take a guess,” I urged.
Twisting to look over his shoulder, Lazzaro waved for Matteo to join us. Matteo was none too thrilled since Ruby was sitting on his lap, feeding him olives from a martini glass. I watched as Matteo whispered something to Ruby who blanched at whatever he said before getting off his lap. He stroked a finger along her jaw and winked, which seemed to settle her a bit.
Had I terrified her enough to cause such a reaction? Why couldn’t I shake this feeling there was something off about her?
“What’s up?” Matteo asked once he reached us.
“I’m not sure. I asked Laz what he thought was going to happen tonight, and then he called you over,” I explained. “Do you want to take a crack at answering?”
“So she didn’t take the joint,” Matteo questioned, and Lazzaro shook his head which had Matteo letting out a heavy sigh. “Dad doesn’t want you to be the one who takes down the rats in our ranks. Since we’re the underbosses, it’s our responsibility to deal with the mess we made.”
If my jaw could have hit the floor, I’m sure it would have. “The fuck?”
Matteo rubbed the back of his neck, a tell showing how uncomfortable he was. “What do you want us to do? We’re stuck between Dad being the Boss, and you, well, being you. No matter what choice we make, one of you is going to be pissed at us.”
“So you decided to follow Dad’s orders,” I concluded.
Lazzaro shrugged. “We have to live with the man and uphold the oath we swore in blood.”
“Unbelievable,” I gritted out between clenched teeth. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what you tell Dad when this is all over, but we’re doing things my way. So get on board or I’ll make sure you two stay out of my way.”
The twins looked at each other for a moment, then back to me with a resigned expression, they’d follow my lead.
“All right, now we’re on the same page, let’s bring the new blood in,” I instructed, seeing they were now letting the public in. “Oh, and for tonight, neither of you are doing any drugs. Blame it on having to watch over me if you want, I don’t care. I need to know you’ve got my back and neither of you can do that high out of your mind.”
“Got it,” Matteo grumbled. “I’ll go get them.”
Lazzaro slipped his hands into his pockets and refused to look at me. “Oh, are you going to pout for the rest of the night?” I accused.
“Vonnie, you know we love you, right?” Lazzaro asked, frowning. I nodded. “Unlike Dad, neither of us give a shit what happened in the past to make you who you are now. That’s not to say we don’t care what you went through, but we don’t need an explanation. It’s obvious whatever went down those years you were gone wasn’t good, but we were so happy to have you back and you clearly didn’t want to talk about it. I guess what I’m trying to say is we’re on your side, always. However, there may come a time when the needs of the family might outweigh the request of our little sister.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I questioned.
Lazzaro pulled me in for a hug. “Because I don’t ever want to risk losing you again. Those four years we didn’t hear anything from you nearly tore our family apart, and I won’t risk the chance of it happening again. So I’m warning you ahead of time in hopes you won’t cut us off.”
“Are you speaking for the Zuccaro Family as a whole?” I probed.
He chuckled and pulled me back so I could see his face. “Yes, I’m speaking for Dad as well. Give him even a minute of your time before you leave. I think knowing how close we are to losing Mom has caused him to reflect on some things.”
“I’ll think about it,” I answered as noncommittally as I could. “Did you know Dad put her in another clinical trial?”
The shocked look, which morphed into anger, told me all I needed to know. “No, he wouldn’t do that to her, he promised.”
A thought popped into my head. “Do you know if Mom put that wording into her DNR?”
“How would I know?” Lazzaro said exasperated. “If Dad truly went against her wishes and forced her into a trial, why hasn’t she said anything to Teo or myself?”
“She doesn’t know,” I explained, then held up a hand to stop his next question. “Not here, not now. I’ll tell you everything once we deal with this situation.”
The room erupted into cheers as the music changed into a song with enough bass I could feel it in my chest. Three stunning women stepped out onto the stage blowing kisses and offering coy smiles.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Speziata, where the spice will leave you panting for more,” an announcer said over the PA system. “Starting out the night, we have Bubbles, Mimi, and Star on the main stage. Feel free to request a private session with one of these ladies for after their performance.”
No one should ever shit on strippers or the skill it takes to do some of the things they make look so effortless. Plus, when you work in a high-class place like this, they only showed everything their mama gave them during private dances. I suppose they bared it all in the rooms you can rent, but then again, it depended on what role they played in the fun. Anyways, out on the main stage, it was just skill, tits, and ass making it rain.
“Evonnia,” Matteo called, leading a group of men into the VIP section.
Channeling my inner Ivy, I smiled demurely, at least I hope I was, and looked at the men through my lashes. “Yes, big brother?”
“These are the new bloods who are attempting to join the family,” Matteo shared, gesturing to the same ten men I saw outside.
I scrunched up my nose and tapped my chin. “Um, I know I’ve had a few drinks, but didn’t you say there were fifteen of them? What happened to the other five?”
Erik appeared as if right on cue, handing me some fru-fru girly drink in an elegant long-stem glass. I took it but returned my attention to the men since I was still waiting on my answer.
“Tony, care to answer?” Matteo asked, but his tone made it clear it wasn’t a request.
Tony was one of the men on the older side, but he didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by Matteo. “Two of them were pulled to assist with a job, and I don’t have a clue where the other three are, I’m not their babysitter.”
Wrong answer.
Matteo grabbed the man by his shirt and dragged him close enough that their noses almost touched. “You might not be their babysitter, but in the Zuccaro Family we look out for each other. Are you telling me if you make it through this and become part of the family you won’t look out for your brothers?”
“I would die for my brother, but I don’t consider any of these men to be a brother,” Tony clarified. “Those three aren’t worthy of being part of the great Zuccaro Family. They’re weak, far too trusting, and don’t understand the cutthroat world we’re all trying to be part of.”
All right, I might have been wrong about Tony. He understood the full scope of what it meant to be in the mafia. That being said, could it be that he's too familiar with it? When we crushed the Accardi and Leone families, we didn’t take out all their men, only those who held enough power to revive what we destroyed. Could it be Tony’s already gone through this process before?
It seemed I’d have to keep a closer eye on him.