Page 283 of Alessio

“Pink, let him in.”

Alessio had all he could do not to laugh. He grinned instead, staring up at the bigger man with all the cockiness he could muster as he said, “Pink, huh, that’s cute.”

“I will fucking kill you.”

“Yeah, you could certainly try.”

“Well, as amusing as this is,” Andino muttered inside the office, “let him in, Pink. Stay nearby, of course.”

“If you’re sure, boss …”

“I am sure.”

Pink stepped aside, and Alessio winked at the man which only made his brow furrow, before he took a second look at him. Like he wasn’t quite sure what to make of Alessio, and it put him on edge.

Good.

It should.

“Don’t stand out there and continue to taunt him,” Andino said, sounding entirely bored behind his desk, “because then I won’t be responsible for what he does once you’re out of my sight. Like Snaps here,” he added, gesturing down at the mean looking dog next to him, “Pink only minds when he is in my view. I’m sure you understand.”

Noted.

Alessio gave the enforcer a look from the side before he entered the office and closed the door behind him at Andino’s gesture to do so. The man didn’t offer him a chair to sit in, however, but that was fine with him. He would much rather stand for this.

Eyeing the dog next to the desk who looked like he was considering whether or not he wanted to find out what Alessio and his leather jacket might taste like, he asked Andino, “What is your business with Corrado Guzzi?”

“What is your business with him?”

Ah.

That question.

Well, that was not simple.

Part of Alessio and Corrado’s thing of not being public with their relationship dealt with the fact one of them hadn’t truly dealt with his bisexuality. Not that Alessio was naming names, but it wasn’t him. The other part of it came down to this—when they were open and people knew, it gave others the power to hurt Corrado and Alessio by using one against the other.

It was one of the only reasons, next to the fact as long as he had Corrado, then he was happy, that he kept this fucking game up between them for all these years. No one would ever have the control to separate or hurt them. If that happened, it was because they chose to do it, not because someone with a touch too much power decided to put their hands in the pot, too, so to speak.

Alessio took his gaze off the dog and leveled it on the man behind the desk instead. “The League—business, that’s all.”

Andino sucked air through his teeth and rested back in the chair. “What, did The League send out one of their dogs to check up on another one of their dogs, or …?”

“Step very carefully from here on out with your words,” Alessio warned the man, “because I take insults as a challenge, Marcello, and you don’t want to know how I answer those.”

“He owed us a favor.”

“Us as in—”

“My family—the Marcellos. What else do you need to take back so they’ll let me cash that in, and fuck off while I do it, huh?”

Right to the point.

Alessio would have appreciated that on another day, or about any other topic except his lover. When it came to Corrado, he couldn’t appreciate anything that might put him in danger that would take him from Alessio.

Not that Andino knew that.

“Details,” Alessio said, “that’s what we want, just to make sure it’s not something that will overlap with the rest of our business. I’m sure you understand that could be dangerous for him, and for the rest of us at The League.”