24. Tito
24
TITO
M ore than a week after our encounter with the Russians, I am healing and we are holding our ground. The situation with the Feds and their money laundering charges is at a stalemate. Dad's lawyers are doing what they can, but Aaron seems to think it's looking more and more questionable. Someone is fucking with the system, planting more evidence, gathering more dirt, and I know it's someone inside my own fucking organization.
The car bumps along the road, headed to Dad's house. Aria and I were enjoying dinner when I got the call. Not to be rushed, I told him I'd come when dinner was over, but it means she's along for the ride with me this time. Either I scared her enough to be obedient with that stunt last week or she's coming around on her own. She's been nothing but quiet and submissive to me since, except for in the bed. She still fights me like a little vixen in a trap, but it's all put on. She knows I love that shit.
"What does he want, though?" she asks, and her large eyes peer up at me through her thick lashes. A meeting with my father isn't an intimidating thing, normally, but Aria seems to be frightened. She knows nothing of the struggle I'm having to hold my father's faith and keep my brother under control, but she isn't meant to carry that, anyway.
"I'm not sure tonight." I pat her hand which is wrapped around my arm and try to calm her. I'm finding myself so drawn to this woman even in her difficult moments. Partnership has taken on an entirely new perspective for me. I'm hesitant to call it love because it makes me seem weak, but maybe love is what I need to be strong, to be the man I'm supposed to be. That idea rolls around inside my brain for a moment until she speaks again.
"Is he angry with you?" Her grip tightens, and she lays her head on my shoulder. I look up at the rearview mirror where Tony's eyes catch mine. He knows the struggle, how Carlos is trying to defame me on my father’s deathbed so the inheritance will be his. I don't even know how he came up with the idea. Carlos is an idiot. He'd never do this on his own, though he's capable of some very dark things if pushed that direction.
"He's not angry, Aria. He wants the best for his family, like any father does. That's all." I pat her hand again and kiss the top of her head.
The car pulls up outside and I say, "Stay here," but she whimpers.
"Please, let me come in. Don't make me wait in the car like a punished child." She clings to me as I open the door, and I sigh. She has me wrapped around her pinky. I'd probably do anything she asked so long as it was good for my business.
"Alright, but you have to wait in the living room. I don't think Dad will appreciate a woman during a meeting like this." Sliding out of the car, I take her hand and pull her along with me.
The dark dress she wears dangles around her shapely legs, hugging her hips. I can’t wait to get her home and remove it from her body, but first to deal with the wrath of my father. I lead her up to the front door and into the living room. I already hear the harsh rasp of his voice as he complains about something Carlos has done.
I cup Aria's cheek, drawing a kiss from her lips as moral support. "Stay here, mia cara . I'll be back."
She nods at me as I walk away and watches me as I vanish into my father's study. He lies prone on the couch, covered in a blanket so thick it hides his scrawny body, wasting away from barely eating.
"Get in here," he grumbles, and I shut the door behind me.
Carlos stands in the corner with a glass of whiskey in hand. Beads of sweat cling to his forehead, but his dark smirk chases me, haunting me as I perch on the edge of the coffee table next to my dying father. Dad sucks in a few heavy breaths and closes his eyes, opening them slowly.
"What is it, Papa?" I ask, resting a hand on his hand.
"Tito," he scratches out, barely making a tone. It's mostly breath. "Carlos has shared some awful things. You've been fighting the Russians, and they're moving in?" I hear the disappointment in his voice. I hoped to have kept this from him, to ease his transition into the next life without so much anxiety over this one.
"I've got it, Papa. It's under control. Our enemies have struck us. I'm only pushing back." What I'm doing is the right move. It will only turn in our favor, and soon. With the Peraltas fighting alongside us, soon, Uhkov will see how formidable we are and how he won’t ever be able to overpower us. My plan will work. I'll just have to be patient when it comes to owning the Peralta family. If it even comes to that anymore. Hector is eating out of my hand as it is. Without an heir, they will all fall in line soon.
"It's a disgrace, Tito. Years—" He rasps, then begins to cough. The coughing continues for several minutes. Blood and sputum soak his handkerchief, and I glare at Carlos when Father's eyes are shut. My brother is evil and sadistic. Who would put an elderly man on his deathbed in such a state of emotional chaos?
"Papa, I'm in complete control. We did not strike our enemies. They saw that we were forming such a strong alliance with the Peraltas and moved in to wreak havoc. They want to weaken us while we are not yet fully aligned." I put his glass of water in his hand, and he sips from it.
There is no way Carlos isn't behind this somehow. And now at the very end, too. How can he be this heartless to his own father? I've seen the evil of which he's capable, but I never imagined he'd use it against our father. And only because he wants my power. Will I have to take him out too? Is he the one putting the Russians up to this, or is my mind hazed over with the threat of intimidation too?
"Your brother is concerned, Tito, and so am I. We've had years of peace with Uhkov and his family. This is unheard of. You must stop this warring. Things are so volatile right now. You can't risk it." Dad sips the water again and hands the glass back to me. He's so weak, the water in the glass sloshes as his hand shakes.
"I'm taking care of it. Okay?" I have a mind to slash Carlos's throat, but unlike him, I remain loyal to my family even when they are disloyal to me. If I find he's doing something to hurt my family, however, God help him.
"I believe you," Dad rasps and then sighs. Another few coughs puff out of his chest, but these ones are weak. I notice there is no ashtray, no pack of cigarettes or a pipe. Not even a cigar lying around. He's not even strong enough to feed his addiction, which is probably killing him. The withdrawal is horrible. I don't know how he can stand it.
"Fix it now, Tito. Before it's too late." Dad's stern warning comes just as his eyes flutter shut. He's tired, and I'm furious. I need to leave before I hurt my brother and start something I can't undo.
Without saying a word to my brother, I slip out of the room. Aria is here, at the door listening, and the instant the door is shut with Carlos and my father inside, she throws her arms around me. I am taken by surprise at the show of affection and pull away from her.
"Shh," she whispers, taking my hand. Her furtive glances and the way she pulls me toward the door intrigue me, so I follow without protest.
Safely inside the car and headed toward my home, she turns to me. "I can help you." Those full red lips speak words a man like me never hears. My wife helping me with what? My issue with my brother? Does she know something I don't? Is that why Carlos was speaking to her privately so many times?
"With what?" I ask, feigning ignorance. I don’t know how much she heard, and I'm not giving anything away.
"I heard that, Tito. Don't play dumb." Aria's expression darkens. "It seems to me your brother is trying to instigate trouble. He's telling your father things that make you look bad. Maybe he's hoping your father gives him the reins, not you."
Her accusation against Carlos is spot on, and now I’m really curious. "And exactly how can you help me with this?" I angle my shoulders to face her as the car rumbles onto the highway, and she lays out her plan for me as our fingers lace together.
"Petrovich Uhkov… I call him Peter. We went to high school together. We were close. He was my first—" Aria cuts herself off as her cheeks flush, and she looks down at our fingers locked together. "We have to stop the war, Tito. My father is weak." She looks into my eyes. "They took my brother from him. They’ve threatened my sister, and she's away now, where it's safe." This is news to me, but Aria doesn’t explain. She continues, "Peter can help. If you let me, I will do what needs done. You just can't ask me what I’m doing, and you have to trust that it's the only way."
I think for a moment as I notice the serious look in her eye, and for the first time, I wonder how dangerous my own wife is. I see a fire there I've not seen since the day we met. She'd have gutted me if she could have. Now I wonder about whom she is thinking, about whose throat she's dreaming of slitting while they sleep.
"And Carlos? You know he's involved?"
Aria nods but doesn't explain, and I wonder how she will take care of this.
"You won't harm him?" My question makes her bristle.
"I will only do what is necessary to save your life, your reputation, your family, and your father the shame of having a traitorous son. Now, no more questions. Do you want me to do what I need to do?" Aria's hand pulls away from mine and she reaches for her hair, collecting it and drawing it over her right shoulder.
The less I know about it the better, and I do trust that she has my back for a very strange reason. I'm not looking at her as a weak and powerless woman anymore. When she gave Carlos that business advice, I knew how smart she was. When she stood up to me, I knew how strong she was. And now, I know how deadly she is, and if it means saving everything, I can turn a blind eye.
"Most men who make a deal with the devil have to share fluids… Spit on their hand, mingle some blood…." My dick is already throbbing as I suck in the breath for the next sentence, but she beats me to it.
"Then get your dick out and let me suck you off… My spit and yours…" Her eyes haze with lust as she slides to the floor, and my fly is open before her mouth descends.
The way her lips wrap around my cock is glorious, sucking and sliding up and down my shaft. This isn't forced. It's not coercion. Aria and I have something no one will ever take from us now, and I’m beginning to see how wrong I was about this entire family. I don't have to take them by force. They're willingly giving themselves to me because they see my leadership and know it's good.
I wiggle the silk of her dress up over her hips and bare her ass, shoving my hand into her panties to finger her backside as she continues to suck. Yes, I think this partnership will work out just fine. Better than I hoped. And fuck, is she good at sucking me.