Guns n' Boys Book 1 Part 1 (13 page)

“Don’t bullshit me.
Don’t fantasize and focus.” Domenico spat out his cigarette. “What else?”

“I don’t know. Nice
hands.”

“Okay, what does that
tell you?”

“That they’d be nice to
the touch. Not like yours, they’re all weird.”

“Weird?” Domenico
frowned and let his gaze glide down to his hands around the cup. There was
nothing fucking wrong with them, well-manicured and slim.

Seth took off his
sunglasses and pointed to Dom’s fingers. “Yeah, your fingertips are weird.
Uneven.”

Domenico snorted and
shook his head. He might as well show the little fucker who he was dealing
with. “They are, yes. I changed my fingerprints.”

Seth’s frown was
priceless, it warmed Domenico’s chest. “Who does that! That’s freaky.”

“Shit happens. At
seventeen, I blew a job and left my fingerprints all over the place.” He
shrugged and slowly turned one of his hands, showing it to Seth. “My mentor
told me what to do, but I had to do it myself. Chemicals, razor, and pain for
an entire month. It was worth it.”

Seth reached out like he
wanted to trace the palm with his finger but pulled back. “That’s horrible. I
won’t have to do this, right?” He wrinkled his nose and shifted in place.

“Not if you listen to
me.” Domenico crooked his head, looking into Seth’s tense face. “Because it
hurt so bad I had fucking tears in my eyes.”

“And that means a lot
because you’re made out of rock,” mocked Seth.

“Exactly. So be good,
listen and learn, so that I can keep you from getting killed. Now tell me, what
do you think does it mean that he had nice hands?”

Seth moaned and looked
at one of the taller buildings. “That he takes pride in his appearance?”

“No, think, Seth.”
Domenico took a sip from his cup. “If he did physical labor, do you think his
hands would be his prime feature?”

“He was in a suit. Of
course he doesn’t do physical labor. Unless he’s an undercover cop, just
pretending he’s a businessman. You can’t just assume things.”

“You need to.
Good-looking hands mean a job that doesn’t require ruining them. You noticed
the suit, what can you tell me about that?”

“It was hot on him so…
he works somewhere where he can fuck his coworkers?” Seth grinned.

Domenico frowned.
“Listen, you little fucker, you give me shit like that one more time, and I’m
informing your father.”

Seth groaned and
adjusted his jacket. “He was rich? High-paying job? Gay, obviously, ‘cause he
turned to look at me. Didn’t have a suitcase, so maybe it’s his lunch break?”

“At nine in the
morning?”

“Early shift?” Seth
raised his eyebrows.

Domenico waved his hand
dismissively. “Tell me something about the suit itself. What did you notice?”

“You’re the suit master.
You tell me. Dom, is this going anywhere? What are we doing here?”

“I’m teaching you to
read people. Now tell me, was the suit made to measure?”

“How am I supposed to
know that? Oh my God, this is so tedious! You can never know everything about
everything!” Seth got up from the bench, coffee still in hand.

“Sit down.” Domenico was
starting to lose his temper. “Tell me about the fucking suit. What did it look
like?”

Seth sat back down,
rocking on the bench and grumbling something beneath his breath. “Good. It fit
well.” He put his sunglasses back on, even though the sun was hiding behind the
clouds.

Domenico nodded. “Good,
what do you think about the quality of the fabric?”

“I didn’t see it close
enough.”

“You were close enough,
but all your attention was on his dick. I can see you’re hungry for cock after
yesterday, but keep that out of our lessons.”

Seth’s mouth fell open
as if he were ready for sucking already. “You know shit.”

Domenico snorted and
went on with the previous topic. “It was good quality fabric, he wore clean
leather shoes and gold cuff links. He isn’t just someone working at the till in
a bank.”

“Okay, so he’s some
bigwig. Is every day gonna look like this?” Seth wouldn’t even look at him,
finishing his coffee.

“Every day will be as I
tell you it will be, now focus. You’re being an ungrateful brat.”

“What is this, some
master-slave shit?” Seth groaned. “You get off on that?”

Domenico chuckled and
shook his head. “This is unbelievable. Listen to yourself.”

“‘Cause you won’t even
tell me why we’re here, why we had to get up at an ungodly hour, when I still
haven’t slept well since some cunt cut off my fucking finger. Yes, I
am
cranky.” Seth huffed and crossed his arms on his chest.

Domenico shook his head,
bitter jealousy eating up his gut. “Did no one ever teach you any discipline?
How can your father think you might ever be good enough for the job?”

“I’ll probably get shot
soon anyway, so don’t bother,” Seth lowered his voice, his eyes hidden behind
the sunglasses.

“Exactly, so get real,
because I am here to do my job.” Domenico knocked his fist into the center of
Seth’s chest. It was sad to see someone giving up. If Seth was so certain he
couldn’t handle it, he should man up and confront his father. “This is both
your and my life, so start listening.”

“Sorry you have to do
this then. Whatever.”

Domenico growled and
pulled the sunglasses off Seth’s nose. “Look at me. Do you want to die?”

Seth flinched, his eyes
dark and glossed over. Dom had his work cut out if he was to change this pile
of goo into a man. “No,” Seth whispered.

Domenico sighed, leaning
closer. If he was to serve his purpose for the Don, he had to somehow get
through to that spoiled idiot. “Nobody wants you as the new Don, they will try
to kill you, do you understand that?”

There seemed to be a
glimmer of thought in Seth’s eyes, and he nodded. “I’ll try to get better.”

Domenico snapped his
fingers in front of his face, urging him to focus. “Villani, I can promise you
I will take a bullet for you, but only if you focus and do as I tell you. Do
you understand?”

“Yes.” Seth reached for
his sunglasses, but Dom placed them on top of his own head.

“What we’re doing now is
teaching you to recognize clues in people’s behavior and how they look. Use
your imagination, every detail can have a meaning, and if something doesn’t fit
the general image, it might mean you’re fucked.”

“Like this hot guy with
freaky fingers,” Seth said and it was obviously a dig at Dom, but at least he
seemed to listen.

“Exactly, it’s a good
thing you noticed.” Domenico pulled away to have some space between them. “Now
forget everything you know about me and just look. What can you tell from the
way I look now and why?”

Seth took a deep breath
and took a moment. “Well dressed, but on a budget. Likes some bling.” Seth
wiggled his fingers, indicating Dom’s signets and crooked his head. “Too
casually dressed for a high position office job. Day off maybe. Pampered but
rough around the edges. I wouldn’t assume gay though.”

Domenico’s lips crooked
into a smile despite his best will. “Good, what about my skin tone, or hair?”

“Are you fishing for
compliments?” Seth raised his eyebrows, the glossiness of his eyes gone.
“Southerner, but not as dark as some, so maybe has mixed heritage. The hair…
actually...” Seth bit his lip. “A bit of eccentricity to the conservative look?
Definitely peacocking.”

Domenico chuckled,
rewarding himself with a big gulp of coffee. It was so sweet it stifled any
hunger he felt. “That’s about right. Anything else?”

Seth eyed him for a long
moment and squinted. “Mama’s boy.”

Domenico blinked, but
otherwise didn’t let Seth know there was some truth in his words. “Why?”

“You’re not married, but
you have a signet on your ring finger. I bet you got it from your mom.” Seth smirked.

Domenico leaned back,
frowning at him. “Good.” Slowly, he clapped his hands. “And that’s what I want
from you.”

“A slo-moclap? Really?
That’s all I get?” Seth moaned.

“What do you want? A
blow job?”

Seth’s pupils widened,
and it probably took a lot of effort for him to say no. Domenico was tempted to
laugh in his face and call him out on the lack of balls, but if he was going to
be a successful teacher, sincerity had to wait.

They spent an hour
watching pedestrians, and Seth had some valid observations once he put his mind
to it. He didn’t try to flirt with strangers either, more focused on the task
at hand.

Domenico’s body
stiffened when he saw a familiar face heading for the subway station. Pretty,
but in a common way, Vera Salieri walked past them in a colorful dress with
geometrical patterns and a pair of Louboutins, holding onto a folder with the
Humboldt University’s logo. Her hair was long with blonde highlights, and as
soon as she was out in the sun, she pulled a pair of shades over her eyes.

“What about her?” asked
Domenico, finishing his coffee.

Seth took a while, which
was good. Meant he didn’t just throw stuff at the wall to see what stuck.
“Student. Elegant for her age. Doesn’t look local with the darker skin tone,
but then again there’s lots of immigrants here. Unmarried.”

“How do you know that?”
asked Dom, slowly getting up from the bench and gesturing for Seth to follow.

“No ring, obviously.”
Seth quickly caught up with him. “Maybe she… nah, just fantasizing. I can’t
really see much more.”

“She’s not just a
student,” said Domenico, frowning at the too-short skirt
.
If he didn’t know any
better, he’d assume she’d come from some pit of Jezebels.

“Undercover cop?” Seth
inched closer, instantly more interested.

“No, she’s working for
the Chinese,” said Domenico, following her into the subway station, past a
bakery where they’d gotten their breakfast earlier.

Seth went silent, even
though he didn’t stop walking. Dom could
smell
the fear prickling on his
skin.

“Don’t you worry, act
normal. She doesn’t know what we look like. And you’re right, she’s an
unmarried student, from a family without great means.” He lowered his voice,
waiting for Seth to recognize the meaning of this as they followed her into the
station with wall tiles forming big geometrical figures.

“Yet she’s wearing
expensive shoes.” Good, Seth wasn’t as stupid as Dom had begun to think. He’d
stepped closer to Dom as soon as the Chinese had been mentioned.

“Don’t.” Domenico
stopped him with a gentle pat on the arm. “There will be time for
confrontation, but not today. Today, we watch,” he said, walking toward where
Salieri stopped. She opened the folder and was leafing through what looked like
handouts. His face soured when he spotted the lace of her stocking, and her
neckline wasn’t modest either. What a tramp. No way was she still a virgin.

“What do you know about
her?” Seth watched her as well, attentive and straight as a streetlight.

“Loosen up,” Domenico
told him, proceeding only after his student changed the unnatural pose. “We
don’t know who gave her information about you, but we do know for a fact it was
her who answered your Craigslist ad.”

“Bitch,” Seth spat, his
nose flaring, his hands already squeezed into fists, but he stood in place as
told. Good.

“Revenge is a dish best
served cold, Villani. Cool down, forget who she is and what she did. She is a
person we’re watching, nothing more.” Just as Domenico finished, the train
pulled into the station with a loud clatter. “We’re getting into the same car,
but use a different door, clear?”

Seth nodded, and it was
becoming disconcerting just how quiet he went, all the stupid comments gone. He
was eyeing the girl with caution and when she chose a car, they followed.
Domenico hardly stopped himself from scowling when he brushed against a man in
a dress, who exited through the same door. Christ almighty, what was the world
coming to?

He didn’t comment on it
though and took a seat next to Seth, taking his cell phone out just in case he
needed to pretend to be busy, or snap a picture. Salieri parked her
far-too-exposed ass in a plastic seat and crossed her legs, focused on the
handouts. Her lips were moving as she repeated whatever information she was
revising.

He had a hard time
believing she thought such an outfit was proper for class. His mother, always
the epitome of elegance, would never allow herself to be seen outside in
anything that uncovered almost all of her thighs. This wasn’t a beach.

Despite his best
intentions, he’d recently started to pay more attention to women, as his mother
mentioned his single status every time they spoke. According to her criteria, a
good girl should be well-behaved and unspoiled, preferably Sicilian. He knew
Mother wanted him to enjoy his future wife’s looks as well, but that was a
secondary factor, at least as long as asking a girl for a fertility test was
still considered rude. Domenico tended to take his mother’s words to heart, but
this really was a tough one. The closest to a virginal Sicilian bride he could
offer her was Seth Villani, whose sweet, tight bottom was riper than a freshly
picked peach. He could hardly believe how a guy that handsome had stayed a
virgin for so long in the first place. Seth was gorgeous even by Italian
standards, and Dom believed his nation to have the most attractive men.
Italians were always his first choice. Maybe guys were too intimidated by
Seth’s looks to hit on him? Whatever the reason, Seth was Dom’s first virgin,
and one that didn’t put out lightly at that. It was endearing. Made him feel
like a conqueror.