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Pouting my bottom lip out, I turn to the men behind me. “I think the fun’s ended, guys.” For a moment I wish it was my men behind me, that I was able to share a kill with them like this, but it’s also been fun sharing it with my brother and his friends. A bonding experience for sure. I’ve never had to hide who I am with him, and yet, he accepts me for who I am. I’ve lacked the experiences of feeling like I’ve had a blood family, but now the years of being alone don’t seem as painful.
Chapter 13
Raven
My back itches like it’s missing the weight of so many tattoos to commemorate the lives I’ve taken. “Fuck, your sister is so fucking hot,” Matteo moans, grabbing his crotch to adjust his cock. I don’t pay much attention to him though, my thoughts firmly on my missing ravens. When will Ravenmaster catch up on his artwork?
I reach for my phone, but suddenly realize I don’t have it. What did I do with the stupid thing? The memory of placing it on my father’s desk hits me, and I let out a groan while tilting my head back. “What has you so down, gorgeous?” Matteo questions, looping his arm through mine.
“I forgot my fucking phone at the demon’s hell pit,” I grumble.
He jerks away, almost tripping into the wall when Enzo shoves into him. “Don’t flirt with my sorella. Just because killing makes you hard, doesn’t mean you have to imprint on her,“ Enzo hisses out, putting himself between his friend and me. “We’ll get it back for you. Might have to wait until tomorrow though.”
“That’s fine. I’d only be tempted to make bad decisions anyway. Please tell me you don’t live here,” I say in way of changing the subject.
“Oh, god no! I’d never want to get laid if I had it shoved in my face twenty-four seven. This is only one of the businesses we run. I have a full staff keeping an eye on everything. We mostly only come here when we have to use the basement.” He holds up a hand to ward off Matteo again, who rolls his eyes and stomps off in front of us.
“Don’t let him fool you, we hang out here for the views sometimes, but it isn’t all the time like you’re thinking,” Luca cuts in.
“Fair enough. So now that I’ve purged some of my demons for the day, we need to talk about the asshole locking up my men. Where are they? I might be angry with them, but I’m also protective over what’s mine. I’m the only one who gets to punish them. I don’t like the idea of someone else doing it,” I grumble, not wanting to think about them right now when I finally feel so relaxed.
“You spent quite a few hours having your fun, and in that time, they found their way out of the warehouse where we had them stashed. It’s in Jersey, so they’d have some difficulty getting here unless Vander called in some favors, but I’d assume he thinks he’s in the shit and might be blackballed,” Enzo announces, sliding his hands in his front pockets.
“Why would he be?” We walk out of the club, passing more patrons than we did the last time, which makes sense since evening is well on its way.
Enzo lets out a laugh as Matteo holds the door open for us. “He admitted to dating you. It wasn’t a surprise our padre flipped out on Vander. He’s a man who likes to be in control of everything, and if it wasn’t his idea, he doesn’t like it. I’m sure if Vander goes to him with his tail tucked between his legs, he’ll tell Vander he’s decided to let him date you.”
“Excuse me,” I sputter as we reach his car.
“Meet us at the restaurant,” he tells Luca, who’s getting into the SUV we parked next to. Turning his attention back to me, we climb into the small sports car and he backs up as soon as my door is shut. “I don’t have to know much about you to know what you’re thinking. And my best advice is to simply let it go. You’ll get what you want in the end, but you won’t be able to change his mind. The mafia is archaic on women’s rights. They think you should be in the kitchen with a rounded belly so huge you can’t see your toes, not realizing that isn’t the life everyone wants. Change is slow, so save yourself the hassle, and let me deal with it.”
He gets more heated as he speaks, clearly not agreeing with how things are run when suddenly his eyes go wide and he stares at me. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to bring it up. Fuck. Sorry!” His gaze goes back to the road in time to slam on the brakes and avoid rear-ending the person in front of us.
“Didn’t mean to say what? I totally agree. Who wants to be surrounded by fermented sperm for eighteen years? Fucking ew!” I sputter aghast.
A relieved expression washes over him, but it doesn’t stop him from stammering in embarrassment. “I only meant because you can’t have any. I didn’t want to come off as insensitive.”
“Oh, that…” I trail off, not expecting him to bring it up, but now I realize I should have known. “Honestly, it never bothered me. I’ve always known I wasn’t like everyone else, and having kids never interested me. It’s hard enough to be around idiots, I couldn’t imagine spending time with a child.” A shudder runs through me with the thought. “Plus, it’s been nice to never worry about an accident happening.”
“True. So very true.” He drums his fingers against the steering wheel. “I know you just got here and this is kinda awkward to randomly bring up, but there isn’t any other way to pose it. Padre has expectations of you joining the famiglia, and after hearing about how much you enjoy killing, he figured you could be the designated hit woman.”
I let out a low growl. “I’m not his attack dog that he can command.”
“You’ve made that clear, but he has archaic beliefs, remember? This is a huge deal for him, and if you agree, it would help me out. Do it as a favor for your favorite brother?” He gives me a cheesy smile.
“My favorite brother? Do I have any others you haven’t told me about?” I tease.
Enzo barks out a laugh. “Nah, I’m the only one. Unless you want to count Luca and Matteo. They’re practically my brothers.”
“Hmm… seems like you win by default. Fine. I’ll do it for you. But only because you asked so nicely.” I stare at my fingernails, pretending I’m not bothered by being used, but deep down I am. I thought I would finally live my life the way I wanted, and now it’s all going to shit.
“I promise I’ll figure a way to convince him to let you do things on your own terms, and eventually, I’ll be in charge and can pick a new hit man. Or woman.” He flashes me another smile, this one reassuring. I’m not sure I can trust that he really is in my corner. I’d like to think he is, but I can’t help but feel used.
We stop in front of a building and with one glance at the sign above the entrance, I know it’s an Italian restaurant. Why I’d expect anything else is beyond me, but if I’m honest, pasta sounds really good right about now. I did use a lot of energy beating the shit out of my latest victim.
“We can talk about this more tomorrow. He already has a job he needs you to do,” he adds after a moment of silence.
The moment I step out of the car a man in a suit emerges from the doorway to intercept Enzo and grab his keys. Right behind us Luca and Matteo pull up, and again there’s another man in the mafia uniform grabbing the keys to park the cars.
