8. Paolo

Paolo was taking a well-earned rest back at his apartment. It might have been a shrine to minimalist living, but there was one slight exception to the rule and it came in the shape of Paolo's vintage armchair.

‘Damn, this is good,' Paolo said, running his hands along the perfectly crafted armrests. ‘And it can get even better with a little drop of this…'

Paolo reached over to the side table and poured himself a glass of whisky, on the rocks. Paolo had been enjoying spending more time with the likes of Danilo, Taine, and Bear. After all, it wasn't often in his life that he was in any one place long enough to arrange hangouts with friends.

But that being said, nothing could ever top an evening alone.

Peace, quiet, and a chance to reflect was something that Paolo cherished. Maybe it was the fact that he grew up in a busy household alongside seven siblings that did it, but Paolo felt a craving for solitude that gave him the sweetest satisfaction when he achieved it.

With the sound of an old Fleetwood Mac album playing in the background, Paolo allowed himself to stare out onto the city's nighttime skyline. With extra-thick bullet proof windows installed as standard in any Doni family owned apartment, Paolo missed the sounds of the city.

‘Hmmm,' Paolo said, sighing somewhat. ‘Something's missing…

Despite eagerly looking forward to his evening alone time, Paolo couldn't help but think that it should be feeling far more satisfying than it actually was.

As he furrowed his brow, Paolo desperately tried not to confront the one potential cause for his frustration that was staring him right in the face.

Nope. Don't go there.

It's not the boy.

I'm not missing him being around…

Paolo knew full well that he would have loved to be in the company of Tommy in that moment. It was almost laughable to even try and deny it. Paolo was a cold, pragmatic man who always faced up to the harshest truths in life. But for some reason, he couldn't quite allow himself to admit that he wishes Tommy was in the apartment with him.

Suddenly, being alone wasn't all it was cracked up to be anymore.

But before Paolo could continue to live in denial, his mind was taken in another direction. He saw his phone flash up with a message, and as soon as he saw that it was from Danilo, Paolo suspected that it was going to be serious…

DANILO: You know I don't hide things from you, my friend. I've heard from more than one source that an unknown man has been asking about you, wanting to know your movements, your hangouts, all the usual things that might get asked ahead of a planned hit. Don't worry, none of the family have spoken out of turn. And I can assure you that we'll be doing everything we can to monitor this. But if there's anything you need to say, you must tell me.

Paolo felt a cold chill running through him. The mystery man in question was clearly Mick Teale. Paolo had a sixth sense for matters such as this. Having been on the opposite side many a time, Paolo knew when he was being hunted. And he knew that Mick Teale was certainly not to be messed with. This wasn't the first he'd heard about Mick gunning for him, but he knew that this meant things were ramping up.

‘Okay…' Paolo said, sipping on his whiskey and pondering how much he should reveal to Danilo.

PAOLO: Thank you, Danilo. I appreciate you keeping me informed. Teale is someone from my past. Let's call him a co-worker. He's no fool. But I've got this covered. Don't worry, I won't let this interfere with my work or cause a problem for the family. We'll talk soon.

Paolo put his phone down and finished off his glass of whiskey. At the back of his mind, he had always suspected that one day Mick Teale would come after him.

Mick was a couple of years older than Paolo and had been pretty much the go-to hitman until Paolo's emergence. For years, the pair of them battled to become the number one hitman. They drove each other on to make cleaner, better kills. And with this success came better pay, more glory, and greater respect in the underworld.

But when it became clear that Paolo was pulling ahead as the number one recognized hitman, problems began to bubble to the surface.

To say that Mick hadn't taken losing his top-dog status well would have been an understatement. And having failed to kill Paolo once, Mick very suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth – the word on the street being that Paolo had killed him himself.

But that wasn't the truth.

In reality, Paolo had responded to Mick's attempt on his life by trapping him and offering him the chance to walk away with his life if he agreed to never return to the city. Mick had readily accepted the offer and duly disappeared into the night.

But even an hour after Mick's disappearance all those years ago, Paolo sensed that he had made a mistake in not killing his rival. It had been out of character for Paolo to let Mick off the hook, and even to this day he couldn't fully comprehend why he had done it. Perhaps it was some kind of mistaken sense of nostalgia or respect for a fellow assassin. Whatever it was, it was something that Paolo was now very much living to regret.

‘Mad Mick Teale…' Paolo growled as he stood from his chair and walked toward the floor to window ceiling. ‘Are you ready to accept the fate that should have befallen you years ago? Where are you? Are you watching me right now?'

Paolo sighed and pressed the button that shut his window blinds.

It was time to start thinking about how he was going to finally put an end to Mick Teale. And despite the fact that this would be solely his responsibility, Paolo knew of two men who would make the perfect sounding board…

Paolo walked into the private members club and immediately spotted both Bear and Taine sitting in a corner booth.

Despite suggesting that they meet in the morning to discuss the issue, Paolo had been surprised by the fact that both Bear and Taine insisted that the matter was too urgent to sleep on. Paolo could see that both men wanted to be there and support him, and it felt good. But now wasn't the time to be getting sentimental, it was a time to start weighing up all the options – no matter how unpalatable they might seem…

‘I have to make a choice,' Paolo said, nodding his appreciation as a waiter brought a round of drinks to the booth. ‘The way I see it, I have a few options. I wait for Teale to make himself known, and then strike. Or I aggressively pursue him. Or…'

‘Yeah?' Taine said, arching his eyebrow.

‘Or I disappear myself,' Paolo said, shrugging. ‘I know that's a strange thing for me to say. But… if I get involved in a war with this guy, it might not be just me who's at risk.'

Paolo paused for a moment.

He was referring to Tommy, of course.

But given his private nature, Paolo couldn't quite bring himself to say this explicitly in front of Taine and Bear. However, with both men being Daddies themselves, it was clear that no further explanation was required.

‘I hear you,' Bear said. ‘I haven't got a boy, but I hear you for sure.'

‘Same,' Taine replied. ‘Speaking personally, your whole outlook changes once you find a boy to call your own. I know how tough it would be for me in your situation.'

‘It's not like we're official,' Paolo said. ‘I mean, one spanking doesn't make a summer, right? But I'm already feeling too much about Tommy to allow him to get mixed up in something that could get pretty fucking vicious.'

Bear and Taine took a moment to consider what Paolo had just said.

For Paolo, too, it felt like he needed to digest his own words. Would he really want to walk out on his life? Could he justify giving everything up purely to save a boy he barely knew?

Paolo's professional life had been all about making cold, hard decisions and making them without any room for doubt or hesitation. If he chose to cut and run for the sake of protecting Tommy, would he be able to live with himself? Alternatively, if Paolo stayed and fought Mick Teale, could he ever forgive himself if Tommy got caught in the crossfire?

‘Fuck, life's hard,' Bear said, letting out a long sigh before downing his Jack and Coke. ‘I've been through some shit in my life. Trust me, being a bodyguard for the Mafia Daddies NYC meant I saw enough death, destruction, and heartache to last me a damned lifetime. But I know one thing… you have to do what your heart tells you. Self-preservation is all well and good. But you need to be able to live with yourself afterward.'

‘Hell, when did you get so fucking wise?' Taine retorted, playfully jabbing at Bear's boulder-like shoulder. ‘I think you should have been a psychologist instead of a bodyguard.'

‘I'd sure as shit have way fewer scars too,' Bear laughed.

Paolo allowed himself a brief smile too.

There was no doubting that this situation wasn't going to resolve itself overnight. Far from it. But Paolo felt better for knowing that Taine and Bear were there to offer an ear and some advice when he needed it.

That being said, Paolo knew that when push came to shove, the decision of how to handle the threat of Mick Teale could be made by one man and one man only.

But would Paolo make his decision as a hitman, or a Daddy?

The next morning, Paolo and Tommy were walking the city streets together. Despite having initially been disappointed that he wasn't back up at the academy, Tommy was very much warming up to the task that Paolo had set him…

‘Up there,' Tommy said, pointing up to a small balcony on the fifth floor of a small office building. ‘That would be a good spot to snipe someone.'

Paolo smiled.

‘I see why you think that,' Paolo replied. ‘But it's a balcony. In a city. On the fifth floor. Too obvious. And remember, the second you get spotted, it's all over. Not just for the hit itself, but quite possibly for your own life too.'

‘Poo,' Tommy replied, shaking his head. ‘You're right. I should have thought of that.'

‘No, it's good. This is what learning is all about,' Paolo said, gently placing his hand on Tommy's shoulder. ‘My mentor did a similar exercise with me. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to get it right.'

‘How long?' Tommy said, a sweet smile on his face. ‘A day?'

‘More like a month,' Paolo replied. ‘The truth of the matter is that there aren't actually any right or wrong answers. It's all about knowing the pros and cons of any available spot. Once you can make that kind of assessment, then you can justify anywhere. Does that make sense?'

‘Yeah, I think so,' Tommy replied, looking delightful in his slim-fit red t-shirt and pale blue jeans. ‘Did you do much when you got home last night?'

‘Um, no, not really,' Paolo said, not wanting to get into any details about the Mick Teale problem. ‘You?'

‘Nah,' Tommy said. ‘I kinda… wished I was with you.'

‘Same,' Paolo said, sounding calm but his heart beating as hard as he could remember it doing in a long time.

‘You know I'm a Little, right?' Tommy said, his cheeks reddening but a confidence in his voice that Paolo appreciated. ‘Well, are you a Daddy? I mean, I think you are. But…'

‘I am,' Paolo replied, his cock hardening and a desire to lean over and kiss Tommy proving difficult to resist. ‘But things are complex for me. In more ways than one. Let's keep walking.'

In that moment, Paolo would have loved nothing more than to admit his increasing attraction to Tommy. Even more so, he would have done anything to be able to kiss, cuddle, and let loose all his affection in the boy's direction. But Paolo was still wrestling with his trust issues, not to mention the Mick Teale issue.

However that didn't mean that the moment had to be ruined.

In a subtle but powerful gesture, Paolo reached across and took Tommy's hand in his as they walked into a large crowd and felt the anonymity of the city engulf them.

Things were about to get seriously complicated…