Ross

R oss Ballerini wasn't sure how he was going to get through the next few hours, but he had to. He promised his father that he would try to be strong for his mother and little sister, but who was going to be strong for him?

When his father called him into his hospital room, he knew that he was going to be given instructions about what to do when the inevitable happened. His father had stage four lung cancer and there was no getting past the fact that he was going to die. The doctors were amazed that he had made it past the six months that they had given him. His dad was on borrowed time, and they all knew it. That's why he handed a manila folder full of life insurance policies, banking information, and even instructions about how he'd like to be laid to rest. It was too much for his mom, knew that much. He wished that he could tell his father that he didn't want to have to handle it either, but he was the only one left who'd be able to take care of everything for him. At just twenty-eight years old, had become the head of his family, taking his father's place, as if that were even possible.

He hated that his father left him in charge of his business, but he knew that someday that would happen. If had his way, he'd sell everything that his father had built and take some time to travel, but then, he'd leave his mother and sister high and dry, and he just couldn't do that. They'd need someone to take care of the two of them now that his dad was gone.

There was also the fact that his father's business associates wouldn't just let him walk away now. He knew too much about his father's business dealings and to say that they weren't on the up and up was an understatement. His dad had started training him at an early age to be ready to take over the family business someday. When he was younger, he didn't realize that he was being groomed to be the new head of the Ballerini mafia family his father had begun with two of his best friends. They were like uncles to . Hell, he didn't even know that his father ran a mafia family until he walked in on his father and his "Uncle" Tony beating the hell out of a guy for not paying back a loan on time when he was just seventeen. His so-called uncle laughed it off, even saying that they had done much worse than what he had witnessed, but his father wasn't laughing. He sat down and told him the truth about his business and what he would be expected to do someday, once his dad was gone.

That day came a lot sooner than had planned, and when he told his uncles that he wanted out, they told him that there was only one way out of the business—in a body bag. He wanted to believe that they were kidding, but they weren't. Their sons were being groomed to take over for them someday, and had a sick feeling that the vicious cycle might not ever end—unless he never had kids. No one would be left to take over for him and that suited him just fine. His lifestyle wouldn't really lend to him getting a woman pregnant anyway, since he liked men—something that he'd never told anyone but his mother and sister. His bloodline and the Ballerini name would die with him, and he'd never have to force one of his children to take over for him once he was gone. He'd never leave that heavy responsibility on anyone else's shoulders. He'd carry on his father's business, for the sake of his mother and sister, but he'd do things his way—whether his uncles approved or not.

had spent weeks going through his father's papers, trying to make sense of his scribbled notes and directions from the grave. He could hear his father's voice in every order that was written on each paper that was left for him. He had more questions than answers and wasn't sure who he could turn to for help. His uncles had left him to his own devices to figure it all out, and he wondered if they'd even respond to his pleas for some help. Probably not, but it might be worth a shot.

He pulled his cell phone from his desk and found his Uncle Tony's number. Out of his father's two best friends, Tony was the one knew best. Tony and his son Leo were going to be his only hope of figuring out some of his father's holdings.

"Tony Capo," his uncle growled into the other end of the phone.

"Hey, Tony," said. "I was wondering if I could stop by your office with some of Dad's papers. I'm having trouble making heads or tails of some of these things and I thought you might be able to fill in some of the gaps."

"What, you don't call me ‘Uncle' anymore?" Tony asked.

"I'm twenty-eight years old now, Tony," challenged. "I think that the formalities that my father had in place don't hold true anymore."

"Family is family, ," Tony chided, "so, I'll let it slide for now. How can I help you?"

"I'm trying to make some sense out of my father's chicken scratches and all this paperwork he left for me. He seems to have more companies than he told me about and I'm wondering how to handle all of this." had no idea that his father had himself spread so thin. How he did it all was beyond him, but would need to figure it out sooner than later.

"Yeah, your old man liked to diversify his holdings. He said that putting all his eggs in one basket would limit his company's potential. How about I send over Leo, and he can help you out? My son is sick of me, and he'll enjoy a change of scenery," Tony said. The last thing needed was Leo Capo snooping around his office. The last time he saw Leo ended with the both of them nearly in a fistfight over a misunderstanding. Well, Leo claimed that had misunderstood the kiss that they both shared, but he hadn't. Leo wasn't out yet and admitting that he felt anything for wasn't something that he could do. Hell, hadn't told anyone except his mom and sister that he was gay, but kissing Leo felt right, and being rejected hurt like a son of a bitch.

"I'm sure that Leo has better things to do with his time other than come over here to help me decipher my father's handwriting," quickly covered. Turning his uncle's offer down flat would only end up with him in more hot water than he needed right now.

"Nonsense," Tony shouted, "as I've already said, he's sick of hanging around me and he'd love to see you, I'm sure." was certain that his uncle was incorrect. There would be no way that Leo would be happy to see him. Not now after so much time had passed.

"I still don't know if Leo coming here is a good idea, Tony," said.

"I'm not sure what happened between you two boys, but you need to fix it. Once your Uncle Bobby and I are gone, you, Leo, and Zane will run the family business that we're leaving to you. You three boys will need to learn to work together. So, whatever you and Leo have brewing between you two, you need to fix it." wasn't sure if that was even a possibility. How could he fix the feelings that he had for Leo? How could he take back the hottest kiss he had ever shared with another human being? He couldn't, but he wasn't about to tell his uncle that. No, he'd keep Tony in the dark and find a way to work with Leo, even if it meant taking a ton of cold showers to get his libido back in check.