Chapter 10

The walk to the museum was cold, but neither Antonio nor Lyle were thinking about that. With their bellies full of deliciously luxurious hot chocolate, and with their warm coats on, the pair of them were as happy as anything.

‘I can’t believe you like dinosaurs as much as me!’ Lyle quipped. ‘Who’s your favorite though? No… guess mine!’

Antonio laughed. Seeing Lyle so enthusiastic was great, and Antonio was glad to see that Lyle had interests outside of his career in journalism too. One of the things that kept Antonio going over the years was his interests outside of the business. Be it jazz, old movies, or dinosaurs, Antonio always made sure to have at least one topic of interest to fall back on when times got hectic.

Hell, during the mafia turf war that played out a decade ago, Antonio had managed to work his way up the online chess ranks to such a degree that he had even been able to beat Al Pirlo, a district capo boss who was an expert chess player of some repute.

But Antonio’s interest in dinosaurs was something else altogether.

This was an interest that had been with Antonio ever since childhood. He had fond memories of visiting the museum with his parents, both long since passed away, and would often sit back and recall his trips with a deep nostalgia.

But that was Antonio’s past.

Antonio’s present was very much casting him as Master. And with an enthusiastic boy by his side, the pair of them entered the museum.

‘Ooooh! Look! A triceratops!’ Lyle squealed in pure joy. ‘My favorite!’

‘Hey, I was just about to guess triceratops,’ Antonio said, rolling his eyes.

‘Yeah right. No you weren’t,’ Lyle laughed, charging off to get a closer look at the huge dinosaur skeleton.

Antonio walked over to Lyle and put his arm around his waist.

Together, the pair of them worked their way around the various dinosaurs, each time stopping to read all the information written on the displays.

‘So, what is it about dinosaurs that you love?’ Antonio asked, him and Lyle both staring up at a huge T-Rex in all its dominant glory.

‘They’re big, strong, and despite seeming all tough… they’re kinda cute too!’ Lyle giggled, blushing as his obvious comparison to Antonio hit home.

‘Hmmmm. Not sure I like being compared to a dinosaur,’ Antonio said, playfully ruffling Lyle’s hair. ‘I really don’t want to go extinct any time soon either.’

‘I’d never let a meteor hit you!’ Lyle said, skipping away and onto the next exhibit. ‘Come on, I want to see the diplodocus!’

As Antonio and Lyle continued around the exhibit, Antonio’s mind began to wander. As much as he was enjoying being in the museum, he also couldn’t help but notice Lyle’s thirst for knowledge. This was undoubtedly a positive thing, but it did make Antonio think back to the night they met…

Would Lyle have flirted with me for information?

What would he do if he knew exactly what I did?

Is it still too early to trust him?

Antonio knew he was quite possibly being paranoid. But years of experience had taught him that even the most trustworthy seeming person could suddenly turn out to be a snake in the grass.

Lyle truly didn’t seem to be that type. But it wasn’t as if sweet boys had infiltrated the business before and wreaked all kinds of havoc. Antonio again thought back to Al Pirlo, the chess master capo. His fate had been sealed by a nineteen-year-old with a love of sharp knives and revenge.

But Lyle was different. Wasn’t he?

The more Antonio thought about it, the more he became uncomfortable with the notion of using Lyle to find out about Detective Sloane. Yes, Lyle was sure to have some surface information, but it would be putting Lyle’s job at risk to ask him to delve deeper.

The last thing that Antonio would have wanted would be for Lyle to potentially lose his job, or worse be blackballed from the industry because of cooperating with a known criminal.

I should keep Lyle out of this.

I’m smart enough to bring Sloane down myself.

I need to protect the boy at all costs.

However just as Antonio was about to call Lyle over to look at the pterodactyl suspended from the ceiling, Lyle came over to him and looked like he had something he wanted to get off his chest.

‘Yes, what is it boy?’ Antonio said, sensing that something was on Lyle’s mind.

‘Well… I know you’ll keep me safe,’ Lyle said, his voice a little bit nervy. ‘But I’ve heard things… like serious things about police corruption. And media cooperation in it. I know I’m a reporter so I shouldn’t get so scared, but…’

‘No, no, that’s okay,’ Antonio said, his mind immediately throwing to what Lyle might know or have heard at his work. ‘Listen to me. You know that some of what I do isn’t very nice. Horrible even. But that’s just part and parcel of my world. When it comes to corrupt police… that’s worse. That’s something that just shouldn’t exists. They should be trying to catch the bad guys. Yes, even if that includes me. Police should never be the bad guys themselves.’

‘Are the police trying to get you now?’ Lyle said, a worried look on his face. ‘Please don’t let them take you away.’

‘I’ll try not to, don’t worry about that,’ Antonio replied, wrapping Lyle up in his arms. ‘There’s this one motherfucker though. Goes by the name of Detective Niall Sloane. I haven’t got any proof, but I just know he’s one of the rottenest apples that the city police force has ever had in its bunch. He’s coming for me, I just need to be prepared for when he strikes.’

Lyle didn’t respond. But he still looked worried. Antonio knew it was time to change the subject…

‘Anyway. Enough about all that,’ Antonio said, playfully nudging Lyle. ‘Let’s go grab some lunch before we get so hungry that we go extinct!

After lunch, Antonio offered Lyle the chance to go anywhere. And unsurprisingly, Lyle chose the Velvet Iron. Antonio had visited once or twice before to see Damian, and he didn’t mind going again – especially if it was going to make Lyle happy.

But even better than that, visiting the Velvet Iron would allow Antonio to meet up with Luca and catch up on all things business related while Lyle played with his fellow friends.

As Lyle and Antonio checked in at the Velvet Iron, both were hit by the super-cozy aircon. It was a marked contrast to outside, and it was a relief to be able to get their coats off and put safely away in the locker room.

‘Is your sub-buddy here yet?’ Antonio said. ‘You can go and find him if you want, I’m good to go to the café and grab a drink.’

But before Lyle had a chance to answer, he felt Tommy jump up from behind him and cover his eyes.

‘Yo! Let’s go!’ Tommy cried out, his multi-colored hair flopping across his forehead. ‘That’s if it’s okay with you, um… sir?’

‘It’s absolutely fine by me,’ Antonio said, amused by Tommy’s equal parts zaniness and clear nervousness around him. ‘And you can call me Antonio by the way.’

‘Okay, thanks… Antonio,’ Tommy said, taking Lyle by the hand. ‘I can’t wait to have some fun. They’ve finished the pirate ship in the cosplay room. I was trying it out before we opened today. It’s super-wicked!’

‘You’re kidding me?’ Lyle replied. ‘That sounds wicked cool.’

The two boys laughed and did corny pirate impressions to one another.

Antonio felt the kind of warm and cozy sensation that was very rare for him. For someone who usually let his head rule his heart, it felt strange to feel so emotional. But Antonio wasn’t going to let it show. He still had his reputation to protect!

‘Leave me to my espresso,’ Antonio barked. ‘I want to see you two pirates having fun. But I need my alone time too. Caffeine is calling me. Go!’

‘See you in a bit,’ Lyle said, excitedly jumping up and down with his friend Tommy as they charged off into the giant cosplay room, ready to immerse themselves in the pirate world.

‘Have fun,’ Antonio called out, smiling.

The Velvet Iron area for Masters was pretty basic, but comfortable enough. It had a good view of the main play area so that the Masters could keep a watchful eye on their subs. The only downside perhaps was that the music being piped into the Dom area was the exact music that the subs were hearing too…

‘Holy shit, how do you put up with this?’ Luca said, adjusting his black tie and straightening it up. ‘We need some real music on, not this old timey sea shanty bullshit.’

Antonio shook his head and laughed.

‘Drink your espresso Luca,’ Antonio said, unable to stop laughing. ‘Be happy at being able to check out some boys while you’re at it.’

‘Whatever,’ Luca said, arching his eyebrow. ‘So, you’re obviously all loved-up, brother?’

Antonio didn’t answer Luca, his stoic expression perhaps telling Luca all he needed to know. But before Antonio could move on to business related issues, Luca wasn’t quite ready to give up…

‘I wouldn’t blame you if you were into the kid,’ Luca said, the pair of them watching Lyle and Tommy as they dressed up in pirate outfits and clambered up onto the large wooden pirate ship that was surrounded by naked pirate mannequins and scattered sex toys. ‘But just remember that we’re in tricky waters. Rival gangs. The fucking cops being more corrupt than ever – and not in a good sense either. There’s a lot going on.’

‘Yeah, which is why we need to make sure that we’re keeping a low profile!’ Antonio snapped back, referring of course to the recent altercation that Luca had found himself embroiled in. ‘I’d rather not be getting late night messages about brawls. You know?’

‘Fair enough, I guess I had that coming,’ Luca replied, part distracted by Tommy as he attempted a forward flip off the pirate ship plank and down onto the cushioned rubber mats below. ‘But my behavior aside… we need you to stay on top of things. You’re the brains. I’m the soldier. I was never cut out for the strategy side like you.’

Antonio nodded. Luca had a point.

It was going to be a delicate balancing act having Lyle in his life, and Antonio wanted to ensure that he was doing everything he could to protect both Lyle and his crime family members too.

On top of that, with his growing feelings for Lyle, Antonio had even more motivation than ever to stay out of Detective Sloane’s clutches and avoid jail. Antonio knew that the police would never come after him with a minor charge, it would be a total waste of police money and resources. If the cops were truly after him, it would be something major.

It would be the kind of charge that would be hard to defend against.

It would lead to the type of conviction that would see Antonio put away for several lifetimes.

Antonio knew that from this point onward, he would have to up his game several levels. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect those closest to him, and the only way he could do that would be if he was free himself.

It was time to step up the work and go after Detective Niall Chase. And if anyone got in the way, or found themselves in the firing line, then they would need to be taken down too.

Antonio Sorrento had made his name based on his control, his brain power, and his instinctive sense of what the right play would be in any situation. And right in that moment, Antonio knew that he would need to bring all of these qualities to the table.