Chapter 1

I rubbed my hands over my throbbing temple. I had been staring at numbers for more than two hours and I was honestly about to blow a fucking blood vessel if I stayed in this room any longer. The techno beat of the music outside of the door raised and lowered depending on the song, and it made me wish I was out there even more. I had work to handle, however, so until it was done, I was stuck inside of my father’s office. Stefano Vaccaro owned a number of businesses including a night club here in Napoli known for two things. Sex and drugs. Often times, the guests came for both.

I could use a half-hour with one of the squillos that flocked to this place. Prostitution wasn’t frowned upon in these parts like it was in other corners of the world, and the whores kept on the premises had one job and that was see to the needs of the family, no matter how depraved they might be. I knew most by name because they were kept alive as long as they did what was asked of them. As soon as one betrayed the family as my father often put it, they would be sold off and trafficked out of the country.

Going back to the migraine I was nursing, I tried to close my eyes, hoping it would alleviate any of the pounding in my skull. That was for naught, so I returned my attention to the bank accounts dancing in my line of vision. Leonardo Di Salva was the one responsible for making sure our laundered funds ended up in those banks in other parts of the world. My father trusted the man, but I did not. Mistakes had been made lately, and although they were so miniscule that even Stefan hadn’t gotten wind of them, I couldn’t allow them to continue. It was the reason I was now going through every last digit myself and paying for that initiative tenfold.

“Maybe I just need a distraction,” I said aloud.

A half-hour with one of those call girls was what I needed. I tended to want to fuck other women that could do something for me, but having lost my virginity almost two decades ago to a long time squillo, I still didn’t mind letting one suck me off when the mood struck.

A hard cock was a normal state for me, and deciding that maybe stuffing one of their mouths with mine would drown out the noise in my head, I picked up my phone. I only needed to send a few words in a text message. I stood up after hitting send and undid the button to my jeans. I lowered my zipper and had pulled my dick out just as a knock sounded at the door. I knew who it was, and she came quickly.

“Entrare!”

As expected, Ruth entered on command and locked the door behind her. I didn’t mind public spectacles, even harboring a bit of an exhibitionist side to me, but since I wasn’t out on the main floor but rather in my father’s office, I opted for privacy. As she moved closer, I hit the save button on my laptop, then moved the screen out of her line of sight. She stopped in front of me, and no words needed to be exchanged as I pushed down on the top of her head. She dropped to her knees, and seconds later, her small hands and hot mouth were working in perfect tandem.

I stood there with my legs somewhat spread, and I dropped my head back when her teeth grazed a sensitive spot. She was so damn efficient, her ministrations aimed at my pleasure alone. She didn’t even give a single indication of any discomfort at being on her knees on the concrete floor, and I wouldn’t have given a fuck if she had, anyway. I weaved my hands through her long hair and tangled my fingers up in it, allowing me to immobilize her, and once I did, I began to thrust into her mouth.

“Cazzo!” This had been a good idea at the moment because the rush of blood from my skull to my cock had all of the earlier thoughts fading away. Ruth had quite a mouth on her, and it was one that I had made use of often over the last several years.

She’d come to Italy from Brooklyn a half decade ago, and it’d probably been that long since I’d been to New York City myself. Back when I was twenty, a woman had been killed and it nearly destroyed my entire family. What my father hadn’t realized when he’d gutted the girl was that she was the daughter of someone so powerful and influential back home in Napoli that her murder had done more harm than good. My own family was also as strong, but ours wasn’t on the right side of the law as hers had been.

New rules were enacted practically overnight, even though I had retrieved the corpse and made sure to make it look like some random homicide on the New York City streets. It hadn’t mattered to Giorgio Rossi. He’d intended to make any, and everyone, pay for the loss of his only daughter. The mayor was on a warpath and a decade later, not much had changed. If he had his way though, women like Ruth and what she did, would also become illegal, threatening something I never took lightly.

Sex. I lived and breathed for the rush of the thrill and the orgasm that often accompanied it. I’d fucked more women than I could count, and outside of my desire for power, it was a badge of honor. These prostitutes weren’t harming anyone but themselves. They were offered protection by the family as long as they did what was asked of them, and I’d be damned if I let some grief stricken mayor take this away from me. And it wasn’t that I was law abiding, because once this squillo brought me to an orgasm, I intended to get back to the numbers and if they didn’t match up down to the last euro cent coin, Leonardo would become fish food in the Gulf of Naples.

“Cazzo,” I cursed again as I loosened the grip I had on Ruth’s head, and allowed her to work my cock further.

My head still hung back, but I was losing my ability to focus on how good her tight mouth felt as she sucked me deep in her throat. When she’d swallow, I would let out a low growl, but even that didn’t seem to help. I was too fucking wired right now to even bust a damn nut. Finally, I stepped back and became regretful for the loss of warmth she provided.

“You can leave,” I instructed, and while she was confused, she didn’t allow it to affect her. Wisely choosing not to question me, or worse, she rose to her feet and scurried out the door once she unlocked it.

I could see the bottom of her ass from underneath her short skirt. Even the sight of it did nothing for me other than make my head hurt worse. I needed to finish what I was doing and get out of this godforsaken place and maybe then, I’d feel better. If not, I’d nurse my headache with a bottle of whiskey.

I returned to the desk after tucking my still hard cock back into my pants. I picked back up where I had left off, and spent the next hour working between my handheld calculator and the one on the computer. Technology was great, but like executions, sometimes the classics worked better. I kept crunching numbers and coming back to a specific account. It was a Swiss bank account and there was a slight discrepancy that gave me cause for concern.

It wasn’t enough that my father would have one of his most trusted men made an example of, but the same couldn’t be said about me because my loyalty didn’t lie with him. In fact, it didn’t lie with my father either. The patriarch of the Vaccaro family, Stefano, ruled everyone with an iron fist. I had been used to his vitriol and the way he made everyone, including his own family, come to heel. I’d been on the receiving end of his venom more than once and one of these days, the son would take out the one obstacle standing between him and global power.

For now, my focus was on the weasel Stefano trusted so much. I used my phone to take a screenshot of the numbers that were there compared to the ones that should’ve been there, and rose from my desk. I hadn’t zipped or buttoned back up my pants earlier, so I made sure to do that now, then I left my father’s office and went into the club in search of him. My head was still throbbing incessantly, and I knew aspirin would also be in order.

I eventually made my way into the crowded club and I stopped to look around. Catching sight of Alberto, I motioned for him to come to me. When he did, I cut right to the chase. “Where’s my father?”

I needed to tell him that his most trusted loyal servant was slowly and methodically milking one of his foreign bank accounts dry. The sooner I got that over and done with, the sooner I could alleviate this pounding in my skull so I could pick back up where I left off earlier and get that orgasm that evaded me.

“He’s at the bar with his mistress. He’s—”

“His what?” I asked, wondering when my father had gotten himself a girlfriend.

“His mistress. She’s very beautiful.”

I had no doubt that Stefano would land himself a woman of impeccable beauty, and likely even one with the proper training. After all, a lot was expected of a mistress in the mafia, and our family was no different. It was another reason why I purposely chose not to appease my father and get one of my own. I didn’t give a fuck about an heir, and had often told him as much.

“Grazie,” I responded, then pushed past the man.

I strode purposely to the bar, and I did see my father with a woman. She was facing the bartender so obviously had her back turned to me. My eyes narrowed. Even though I could see nothing more than the color and length of her hair, something seemed familiar about her posture.

“Father,” I spoke as I approached him. He turned, and the shit-eating grin on his face still irked me to this day. Being one of the most ruthless leaders of the city’s most infamous crime family, he had a hell of a lot of reason to be cocky. His smirk just infuriated me, though. And, I think he knew it as well.

“Figlio,” he told me as he stepped closer and clapped his hand against my shoulder blade. “You haven’t met my Bellissima yet.”

“I haven’t,” I said, stating the obvious. Stefano leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She slowly turned and when she did, the color had to have drained from my face. It was obvious to me as to why she appeared so familiar to me. I had often observed her from behind in school. I almost called out her name, but thought better of it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Her eyes registered something momentarily before her fa?ade was wiped clean and her piercing dark eyes returned to their normal shade. I hadn’t seen Viviana Spataro since that night in a New York City alley. Remembering it, my own eyes narrowed further, although I tried to not give any indication to my father as to who she was, or what she could be with him for.

She smiled, and extended her hand which I did the noble thing and picked up with one of mine. I brought my lips to the top of her soft, delicate skin. “My name’s Viviana.”

I almost told her that I knew exactly who she was, but since she wanted to play coy, I kept up my act as well. “As I said before, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” she replied, a bit more breathless than she likely intended to.

I released her hand from mine and turned to my father. “Have you two been together long?”

“It’s been about—”

My father had just been about to speak when he was interrupted by his mistress. “We’ve been together for nine months now.”

She turned to my father and when he leaned in to kiss her, she eagerly pressed her lips to his. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but there was no way that the awkwardly shy girl I once knew had gone from that to this.

The “this” had one smoking hot body. Cazzo! Her hair was dark and pin straight, and those piercing eyes of hers were highlighted by the dark eyeliner she was wearing. Soft, long lashes fluttered slightly, and I continued my perusal until I had reached her lips. They were a lot fuller than they had once been, and I briefly wondered if she used fillers. It didn’t matter, however, because they’d look the same when wrapped around my cock.

Yes, I knew she was with my father, but there had to be an angle there. The rest of her package was as equally stunning as her face, and I might’ve even stared at her lush cleavage as her tight dress pressed her ample breasts together. I didn’t think I could get harder than I had been an hour or two ago, but I was now proven wrong.

“I need to take care of something, Nazario. Would you keep my Bellissima company until I come back?”

My father didn’t have to ask me twice. “Sure.”

For the first time, Viviana appeared nervous about that because she began to fidget. I watched her pick up the cocktail napkin and turn it over repeatedly until it began to slightly tear. Waiting until my father disappeared completely from view, I grabbed her hand to not only stop what she was doing, but to get her attention as well.

“Come with me,” I ground out through gritted teeth.

She looked up at me, but didn’t even attempt to move. Her defiance was as foolish as it was admirable, and I wanted to punish her the same way for both.

“It wasn’t a request, but a command, unless you want me to tell my father where our familiarity goes back to.”

That sparked something within her, and she quickly slid off the barstool. Long legs completed the package, and I had to admit to myself that she had grown into a ravishing beauty since the last time I had seen her back in that dark alley. She was in a tight mini-dress that only went mid-thigh, and the low cut in the front was highlighted even more by the jewels adorning her neckline from one side to the other.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her with me to a hallway right outside the main part of the club. This was my father’s establishment, but I knew it like the back of my hand. There was a secret entry-way down the hall and when we’d reached it, I pressed one of the bricks and as soon as the piece of the wall started to turn. I pushed her through the opening. We were now encased in darkness and feeling around, I finally located the touch switch and the small place illuminated with the dim lighting.

“What the hell happened to you,” I asked her matter-of-factly.

“I don’t have any idea what you mean,” she told me, the earlier defiance turning into the same type of arrogance my father was known to display, however it didn’t bother me as much with her. Where I wanted to knock Stefano down a few pegs, it only made me want to bend her over and fuck the over-confidence right out of her.

“I’m not one to play games, Viviana.” And, that was well known to most, but obviously not all since she had wanted to toy with me.

She shrugged as if that warning didn’t matter to her. “Call it my glow up.”

I let out a growl. “I wasn’t talking about your looks, although they have certainly improved since school.”

She smiled again, this time all of her amusement on full display. I wanted to push her to her knees; and unlike earlier with Ruth, I knew I would come down her throat while making her swallow every fucking drop. Viviana knew exactly what I was referencing, and I knew even with her silence that she was here with my father because of her friend.

“You’re going to leave my father tonight, and you’re never going to look back.”

Her small hands went to her slender hips and she pursed those full lips of hers together. They were painted the same candy apple red shade as her skirt, and I inwardly groaned. My father could never satisfy her the way I could. I...

“I’ll do no such thing,” she retorted, interrupting my thoughts.

I stepped closer, causing her to take another step back. The space was already limited so after a few steps back, she was now pressed between me and the hard stone behind her. “It wasn’t a suggestion, but a direct order.”

She reached out to touch me, not that it was hard seeing as I was close enough to feel the rapid beating of her heart through our clothing. Her hand moved up my chest and I didn’t miss the way she nicked my nipple with one of her manicured nails. “I don’t take orders from anyone, least of all – you.”

She practically spat out the last word and I leaned in close to press my forehead to hers. “You’re going to do what I tell you to do, or else—”

“Or else you’ll kill me like your father did my best friend.” She had thrown it out there and everything I had suspected was now confirmed. There was venom laced within the smoky sensuousness of her voice, especially when she mentioned him.

“You need to let that go,” I warned, more for her protection than anything else. She couldn’t go around throwing things like that out there or else someone would connect the pieces, and she would experience a death far worse than Donnatella had.

“I’ll never let that go,” she told me while pushing forcefully at my chest.

“You must,” I repeated.

“Fuck you,” she said, her voice now completely filled with pain that the man who’d sired me had caused her. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. You just make sure that you keep your big mouth—”

Knowing where she was headed with it, I grabbed her by the throat and fused my mouth to hers. I had never wanted to kiss her in all the time that I had known her in the past, but as soon as our lips touched, I never wanted to stop. I quickly neutralized her, my tongue tangling with hers in some forbidden dance. She was my father’s mistress, and a witness that should’ve been snuffed out a decade earlier, yet I couldn’t stop kissing her as she held my very life in her hands when it should’ve been the other way around.

She struggled against me, as I suspected she would, until she didn’t. The lack of resistance elicited the same response that being doused with a bucket of ice water would, and I slowly released her from my grasp. When I stepped back, I had miscalculated her mood because she slapped me so quickly and with such force that the entire side of my face stung.

“I’m not leaving until I get what I came here for. Get in my way, Nazario, and it’ll be your last fatal mistake. I am not about taking prisoners. I am collecting body bags.”

I shook my head to not only stop the ringing inside of it from her blow, but the words she spoke. Even back in school, she’d been the soft-spoken type. The night in New York City, she’d been scared but resembled the girl I had once known. The vixen in front of me was like something out of my wet dreams. She was arrogant, definitely not a damsel in distress, and someone I would enjoy fucking into submission over and over again. I couldn’t do any of those things, however, because she was going to get her ass killed if she didn’t drop this vendetta and leave this town immediately.

“You’re not the only one that wants him dead,” I stated, causing her to look up at me and deadpan.

“Yes, but unlike others, I don’t lack the balls to get the job done.”

I scrubbed my hands down my face. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Then leave the heavy lifting to those capable of doing it, darling.”

Viviana then turned and moved back to the door. She began slapping around at the bricks until she found the right one. Flattening myself against the stone, I waited for her to leave and the door to close again before I pushed off the rock. I shook my head at her arrogance. I had no idea how she planned to destroy him, but I needed to make sure that I wouldn’t go down as collateral damage with him. Our enemies would be licking their chops, and wondering if she wasn’t working with, or for, one of them. I left the secret space myself. I’d take care of Leonardo, and Viviana, and without either one knowing about it.