1. Xander

1

"I don't know who wronged you, Don," Toni pleads.

Lorenzo, Father's right hand sits to his left, his glass still half full. Lorenzo has thick, slicked back black hair, thin glasses, and a crisp, clean button-up rolled to his elbows.

Beside him and next in rank is Marco. Marco has graying hair at his temples and is the only one to smile at Toni as if he isn't bleeding to death. He nods and pushes an empty glass towards me.

I pour my own drink, sitting next to Toni, a bald, short man, who is toothless, gripping the arms of the chair he's in. "Xander, you know Toni."

I pour myself a shot of whiskey and glance in his direction with a slight nod. "Toni here is going to tell us a secret, aren't you, Toni?" A knife glides along Lorenzo's knuckles and it's only then I notice the blood on Toni's shirt.

I train my eyes on the men and watch them watch me swallow down the drink and though my chest burns, I keep the grimace off my face.

"Shame to lie, Toni. You know we know, don't we know, Xander?"

I agree despite knowing nothing of the situation. "We know Toni. Be honest; death will be quicker."

"I don't know his name, padre. I'm sure."

"You hear that, Don? He begs you for mercy." Lorenzo throws the knife into Toni's shoulder, and he screams uncontrollably. I pour myself another shot, unable to look in the direction of the wailing man.

"Mercy, such an idiotic last request." Father looks me over before downing another glass. "Maybe I'll let Xander kill you, Toni. It'll take him a minute. He'll miss an artery, or two. You know he can't aim for shit."

I grimace as Toni begins to sob. "Don, please I have told you all I know."

"It's a pity you know nothing." The next knife flies across the room into Toni's throat. We all sip whiskey until he chokes out his last breath, then Marco breaks the silence.

"Amory Corp. treating you well?" His eyes are gleaming with the curiosity that only the underworld breeds.

Every member of the Emory family cuts their teeth at the corporation, which is the barely legal family enterprise. It cleans our money and still manages to make less money in a month than we could make in a day in the streets. "It's running perfectly smooth, Marco, but I'd much rather prefer your job."

"Ha. The last man you were supposed to kill ratted to the cops."

I glare at him, but he's not wrong. I didn't make sure my target was dead. Rookie mistake. It cost three members of the Mafia thirty years in prison. They still have 28 to go, 22 with good behavior.

"Well, your father thinks it's time for a redo."

Carlo Vitale emerges from his corner of the room. While he is the enforcer, he also happens to be the oldest man in the room apart from Father. His eyes are sharp and shrewd, and he's staring at me like a hawk circling innocent chicks below.

"What?"

"Your time to be Don is fast approaching." Father stands walking over to my chair. I shift looking over his drunken frame. "You were smart in the Sedric meeting, maybe you'll be smart again."

I smirk, sipping my whiskey. "The mole, Don. What do we do?" Marco queries as he lights a cigar and passes it to Carlo.

"I could handle it in a day. Send a message," Carlo barks.

"No, we need more than a message. Obviously someone smells weakness, and we have to show the Famiglia's strength." Marco pounds the table, but Father silences them all with a flick of his wrist.

"Xander will handle it."

Marco laughs. "Don, forgive me but Xander has never killed. He's never intimidated anyone, surely he can start by shaking down the renters."

"That's a good starting place." Vittorio nods.

"No, he must show himself. If he does not kill the mole, then the mole will kill him. Plain and simple."

"You're willing to let me die?" I snap.

"If you die so easily, then you were never right to lead this family." Father slams his glass of whiskey down, looking me over. "This is your mark as a man. I have let you be a boy long enough."

"Don I?—"

"Dismissed." The room is silent. I can hear my chair scraping against the wood as I stand to exit and become a murderer.

"Daniel, I'm outside. I need more drinks, girls with jewels dipping between their breasts and overly confident smiles, the whole nine yards. Pick up the phone." I pace in front of the Sedric estate.

I can't believe what my father says. I can be the Don.

I can do the deed, but I can't confide in Daniel, who I'm guessing is either asleep or balls deep already ignoring all my calls. The buzz from the whiskey earlier warms me, as I throw rocks at his window again.

The guards on constant watch roll their eyes at me. Daniel and I have been drunkenly throwing rocks at each other's windows since we were kids. They see me as an annoying childhood best friend, and I relish in the freedom. It won't be like this for much longer.

"Why are you always lurking about?" Her voice cuts me out of my downward spiral.

Melissa stands in a sheer, white lace robe and a yellow ribbed pajama short set, looking like a ray of sunshine. She shifts from the breeze outside with a wry smile on her face.

"Why are you always finding me?"

"You're always so loud." She giggles, sitting on her front steps. I join her, keeping only a few centimeters between each other, because I am so attracted to her warmth. "Daniel isn't home. Nobody is, and you're lucky because that's the guest window. Daniel moved out to the guest house for privacy a week ago."

"Oh." I sit down, leaning back against the steps, closing my eyes as I listen to the melody of her laughter.

"You never answer my questions." She flips her hair over her right shoulder, smirking at me. "Why are you here?"

"I believe your question was why are you always lurking, and I needed to blow off some steam." Melissa crosses her legs as she leans closer to me. Her fingertips graze my arm as she contemplates whether or not to comfort me. "It's nothing big, just the responsibilities of being the next Don."

"Oh yeah, no biggie," I let out an exacerbated laugh. Her legs shift and I can see the curve of her ass, and without meaning to, the peaks of her nipples through her tight cami. I clear my throat and shift.

"Yeah, I just needed a night before I—" I can't tell her even though I feel as if I can tell her anything. Her loyalty belongs to the Cedrics. "Before I need to take on more responsibilities for the famiglia."

"I get that. Our life is nothing but loyalty to the famiglia. Sometimes it's hard to see where they end and you begin."

She looks down at me, pouting slightly and my cock swells at the way she sucks in her lips. And again, she makes me react on impulse. I invade her space, but she does not move away—instead she leans in closer.

"Who are you when there is no Mafia? No responsibilities. Just you."

Who am I? I gaze over her body, my eyes focused on the way her hand is casually thrown over her torso, and the look of interest in her eyes. And right now, the guy I want to be wants to walk away from her. I want to know the boundaries of not fucking your best friend's little sister, or the daughter of the rival Mafia.

But the guy I am, pulls Melissa into my lap, right onto the tent of my swelling cock, gripping her ass hard. The way I've wanted to since I saw her in that bikini.

The guy I am smiles when she shrieks and swallows the sound with a kiss.