The Don: Sebastiano (Stud Mafia #1) (9 page)

“Exactly, she was just
some random woman
. You obviously aren’t.” Lorena almost made it sound like I was special, but I knew better. I was being blackmailed to pay off my brother’s debt and I wanted to do it. “I’m twenty-three and I have never known my father to have a partner or even attempt to have a relationship. He’s never asked me to take one of his floozies shopping, either. That is exactly what they are, floozies. He has different women every day. You, though, you are…oh, my God!” she exclaimed.

“What?” I quickly questioned her.

“You haven’t had sex with him yet, have you?” Lorena stared at me in complete shock. “That’s it, isn’t it? I mean, why else would he have been with a woman in his office doing…what did you say they were doing again?”

“I didn’t.”

“Well, guess what, you can tell me all about it during our therapy session,” she announced.

“Our what?” I looked at her, confused.

“Come on,” she urged, dragging me by my arms and steering me toward the foyer. “We’ve got a whole load of retail therapy to do. That’s the only therapy I need.”

Oh, shit. I think I preferred the bitchy Lorena to this one.

***

SEBASTIANO

Riccardo entered the boardroom with Guido, Vincenzo and Stefano. These four men were my most trusted; they were my
famiglia
. They greeted me with the utmost respect, by kissing me on both cheeks and slapping me on the back—as they were expected to greet any crime boss. I was their Boss, after all, and they knew that was the way you respected The Don.

“Thank fuck you didn’t send me shopping with Lorena and Sierra. I don’t think I would have survived another hour in her presence, Boss,” Riccardo announced.

“By
her,
you mean Lorena, right, Riccardo?” pried Vincenzo. “Cause, man, that other chick, she was as quiet as a mouse. Fuck, man, she is one hot number, Boss.” Vincenzo was grinning from ear to ear. I was going to fucking kill him.

“Yeah, is that right?” I chastised him. “You touch her?” I glared at him.

“No, Boss, but I wouldn’t mind—”

“Shut the fuck up, Vincenzo,” Riccardo warned him.

I leaped out of my chair and lunged for Vincenzo, clutching at his throat and wringing his neck with my bare hands. “If you so much as fucking look at her again, I’ll gut you myself, you
stronzo
,” I spat at him, squeezing on his windpipe until his eyes rolled back.

Riccardo pulled me off him before I could kill him. It wasn’t my intention to kill him. Yet.
He better not look or touch Sierra in any sexual way or he’s going down.

“Geez, Boss, he didn’t know she’s yours, man. Let him go,
per favore
,” Guido begged me, helping Vincenzo stand up straight so he could breathe better.

Fuck. I was losing it again, over a woman. A fucking woman was making me lose my shit. I never lost it over a woman. Never. I let Guido and Riccardo tend to Vincenzo. The wanker could barely breathe let alone talk.

“S…s…sorry, B…boss,” Vincenzo apologised, gasping and panting for his next breath.

I fucking nearly choked the poor bastard and he apologised to me half-dead. I walked up to him and he flinched. I grabbed him gently by the shoulders, saying,
“Sierra è la mia donna. Non toccare lei, non
fotterla
il suo cazzo, e non hanno nemmeno guardarla!. Mi hai
Avete
sentito?
”

I turned to all my men and repeated what I told Vincenzo, but this time in English. “For you dumb arses who don’t speak Italian too well, I told Vincenzo that Sierra is my woman. Don’t touch her. Don’t fuck her, and don’t even look at her. You hear me?”

At that moment, John Cerrone walked in. John, better known as ‘Copper John’, was one of the many contacts I had on the Sydney Police Force. I had police informants, senior constables and detectives in every state of Australia. Fuck, if I didn’t have them, I’d be rotting in a jail cell for all eternity.

“What the hell is going on, Sebastiano?” he asked, taking in the scene before him.

“Nothing. You’re late, so sit the fuck down so we can get this meeting underway,” I demanded. “You think I pay you to stand there gaping and ask questions?” John sat down immediately with his hands held up to his head in a gesture of surrender. Funny prick he was.

We had to kick the meeting off. I needed to put a stop to these prostitution rings that were happening. After killing Fernando, I thought the illegal prostitution had stopped since I had taken all his brothels over, but it was still happening. Another fucker thought he’d dabble in it again, and that fucker was Antonio Bertucci.

“I will not have women being abused in those brothels. They are there because they’ve chosen to make a living using their bodies for sex, not to be beaten within an inch of their lives. I need it to stop!” I slammed my fist on the table to get my point across.

John spoke up. “There’s no way you can control abuse, mate. It happens all the time and everywhere.”

I shot him a look full of daggers, sharp-edged daggers. “Do you think I’m fucking stupid, copper? I know I can’t stop it everywhere, but I
can
stop it in every brothel
I own
in Sydney. I want this city cleaned up, with no sign of abuse in any club. I have the power to do that.”

John complied. “Yeah, okay, but…how are we going to find out who’s doing it?”

I looked around the room full of my most trusted men. They all looked tightly wound up, and I knew after the scene with Vincenzo that this was hard for them. But their loyalty to me and my family filled me with pride. Pride at what we had been able to create in this city alone over the last twenty years.

I slammed my fist on the table again. “Not
how
but
when
is what you should be asking. Don’t worry; I know
who
it is. It’s Antonio. We need to set that bastard up and catch him and his men in the act. John, I need you to work on that. Some of my boys are going to go pay Antonio’s brothels a little visit. Let me have a show of hands: who’s volunteering to get their dick wet?”

I snorted a laugh when almost all of them raised their hands to my question. All of them except Riccardo. He didn’t do brothels; it wasn’t his scene. “While you’re there, I need you to keep your eyes and ears open about the drug shipments. I’m the only one who controls the major drug rings and shipments in this city, no one else.”

I glanced over at Stefano. “What have you got for me?”

“The next shipment is scheduled for the twenty-first,” he said. “We need to have things moving no later than that.”

“I don’t want to hear about anyone doing drugs when we’re dealing. So, who thinks they can handle a shipment?” I asked. After the downfall that happened last time, where two of my men overdosed, I didn’t know if I was ready to have these guys make another drug run.

“We’re good, Boss,” Riccardo spoke. “We need to get this shit moving. I’ll personally keep an eye out and make sure no one fucks up. The guys I’ve got are back to business. Two fucked up last time, and we dealt with them. The rest are now ready to prove themselves. Trust me, Boss, I’ve got your back.”

“Good. Now, who wants to bow out of this run?” I asked. I didn’t want to ever force any of my men to make a run with drugs if they didn’t want to. They all pitched in on other jobs, but the drug runs were more dangerous than anything.

No one put his hand up, not even Vincenzo, which surprised me. The man hated drugs, ever since his younger sister took her own life a few years ago. With all the shit going down in the last few months, I didn’t know everything that was going on with my men. This was something I needed to change very soon.

“Vincenzo?” I asked, singling him out.

“Got nothing to stay behind for. I’ll be joining the rest of the boys.” Vincenzo’s voice had almost returned to normal, and he didn’t flinch or back down. He was fucking loyal, and I nearly killed him over a woman.

“Fair enough. We leave on the twentieth so we can get all the shit moved.” I slammed my hand down on the desk, signalling the end of the conversation. The men got up and left the room, leaving me alone with Riccardo.

“Do you think doing the shipment is wise? I can tell them to hold everything off,” Riccardo said.

“No, we can’t wait.” I stood then turned away to look out of the window. Something didn’t feel right. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I had a feeling deep in my gut telling me to watch my back. I’d never felt this way before.
“Think, Boss. We’ve got a lot of enemies out there. I know what you’re thinking about the drug deals and what happened before.” Riccardo stood beside me.

“What are you thinking?” I asked, curious to know.

“The past can’t always stay buried. The past has a way of finding us.”

I didn’t say anything to Riccardo’s words. My past was most definitely not shiny or even great, but it needed to stay in the fucking past. I had done shit in my life I wasn’t proud of. The shit I’d done before would have my daughter and Sierra running in the opposite direction.

“Do you know anything?”

“No, nothing has been discovered, but I’ve got the feeling it’s someone who knows us and how to get past us,” Riccardo speculated.

I agreed. “I’m still thinking it’s Antonio. If not, whoever it is on to us and they’re keeping a close eye on our connections. This is why I’m leaning toward Antonio. He knows how a crime family works; he grew up in one.”

“We need to warn the men before they go do the run.”

“Not yet. We will when the time is right.”

“It’s your decision, Boss. I’ll be here when you do.” Riccardo moved away from me and left the room, leaving me alone, contemplating what I had to do next.
 

CHAPTER TEN

SIERRA

The quiet little bistro was packed wall-to-wall with patrons. I was exhausted after our shopping expedition and could do with a late lunch and a strong cup of coffee. Wine glasses clinked over the sound of old friends chatting, children misbehaving to the horror of their mothers and an array of businessmen sat nearby discussing finances and stocks.

Lorena and I sat outside at a tiny, isolated table. I was trying to enjoy my caramel latte while Lorena was busy on her phone, making a hair and nail appointment. God knows why because her hair looked bloody amazing as it was. Damn bitch. I wanted to hate Lorena but I didn’t. I couldn’t, because she was actually quite sweet once you got to know her. And boy, did that girl know how to shop. She even organised for all my shopping parcels to be delivered to the mansion.

I was slouched with my head in my hands as I idly poked at my chicken salad with my fork, tossing pieces of chicken back and forth around the plate. I wondered what Sebastiano was doing. My infatuation with him would have to remain my own deep, dark secret, one I could never reveal to Lorena or my brother.

If they knew I had fantasised about being under Sebastiano, feeling his big, hard body on top of mine and thrusting away, they would think I was insane. He was trouble all the way. He was a mafia crime boss and dangerous as hell, but I still wanted him. I was scared, but at the same time, I couldn’t wait to have rough, hot sex with him. Yeah, despite all the rumours about Sebastiano being a monster, I still wanted him in the worst possible way.

“Sierra? You on planet Earth?” I looked at Lorena, who stared at me as if I had grown another head.

“I called your name like three times.” My face heated, and I knew she noticed. She smirked at me mischievously.

“What?” I took a sip of my water then started guzzling it. I was nervous and knew it showed.

“What or who are you thinking about?”

I coughed as my drink went down the wrong pipe. “Nothing. Nobody.”

Lorena’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a damn liar, and a bad one at that.”

I straightened my shoulders and said, “I don’t see why you keep pressing me. I told you it’s nothing.” Lorena’s lips thinned, but she didn’t question me again.

“Fine then. You sure you’ll be okay then if we drop you off at the mansion while I go have my hair and nails done?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll be fine,” I assured her. Lorena had asked me to join her ‘pamper party’, but I’d had enough for the day and was wanting to go home. Although, my new home was going to be very interesting and challenging.

“Daddy will be home by now, so it’s not like you’ll be alone.”

Like that was meant to make me feel less nervous.

***

When I walked into the formal lounge area, I saw a number of suitcases and carry bags filled with all my items. Oh my, they were all my
personal belongings
from the house I shared with Paulie. I couldn’t believe it; Sebastiano must have organised it for me, even though he said he was against me having them. I needed to find him and thank him.

I asked the bodyguard where Sebastiano was. Without answering me, he motioned with his head and I followed his eyes toward the staircase. I quickly marched out of the hallway, totally ignoring yet another bodyguard standing at the other end of the room and his curious stare as I headed upstairs. He was obviously another one of Sebastiano’s men. They were everywhere. The mansion was flooded with them.

I stood at the door of what I assumed was to be his bedroom and took a deep breath before knocking twice and he opened the door.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to get up here,” he drawled. Sebastiano stood with his shirt off, but he had changed into sweatpants which were riding dangerously low and exposing that delicious
iliac furrow
or
Adonis Belt,
better known as ‘The V’. I was perplexed at the sight of his naked chest. He had no tattoos on his chest and the only thing that adorned his chest were his wooden rosary beads, which seemed to be always on him. He appeared to be somewhat obsessed with them.

Although his chest had no tattoos, his arms sure made up for it. Both his arms were full of them. I stepped back instead of forward so I could get a better look at all of them. The tattoos were of…holy shit, they were all intricate drawings of rosary beads and crosses. They were hot, and yeah, he was most definitely
obsessed
with them. I wanted to ask him but I didn’t dare.