CHAPTER ONE.

CHAPTER ONE.

A Dept, A daughter, A deal.

                   (Raffael Pov.)

       (A WEEK AGO.)

“You understand what that means, don’t you, Rob?” Theo murmurs as he straightens his suit, not that it was even wrinkled in the first place. Fucker always dresses like he’s ready to walk a runway. Though the cold calculation in his gaze lets you see he's more than just a pretty face.

I told him once I could scar his face for him, it might make others take

him more seriously. I don’t know why he said no.

I, on the other hand, am not covered in Rob’s blood but Giovanni  is. His scarred, tatted up knuckles bleed from the punches he delivered

to our unhappy host. Munching on the guy’s crisps, I watch in glee as Giovanni delivers another brutal blow before stepping back. 

There’s a reason they call him Raged Dog in the ring, you don’t even see the big bastard

coming. I’d know, I’ve fought him a couple of times. They were good times, even if I did break a couple of my enforcers bones.

Blinking, I look back at Theo who is now seated, carefully cleaning robs blood off his finger tips. Rob’s eye is ballooned shut, his lip split and cheek already bruising. And those are

only the wounds you can see. I know there are a few blisters forming under his shirt from where Theo  had  some fun. 

This is why I let my computer gizzard of a cousin let off some steam sometimes, you never know what's brewing underneath.

I lean against the wall opposite me, dice rolling between my fingers.

It was Theo  who brought this man to our attention, after all. But Rob looks only to me by the wall, good. That clearly tells me that he has insider information in the mafia and knows who is in charge.. he could be a bigger problem.

Outsiders think theo is in charge and we like to keep it that way. To have him as the face of our…company.

I snort at that, fucking company. We do have a few legit businesses, not that I have anything to do with them. I was deemed too insane to deal with

employees after I burned one of their eyes out for calling me scum.

So we delegate, theo handles our tech companies and other less mafia related stuff so any one not affiliated with the mafia sees him as the boss but not Rob here.

“Rob, pay attention, I don’t like to repeat myself,” Theo snaps, drawing Rob's shaky gaze away from me. Giovanni grabs Rob’s greying, short hair and yanks his head back, a blade appearing in his hand, which he presses to the shaking man’s throat. Sweat

drips down his face as he cries out, and I know I have to step in. As much as I'd like to let Giovanni have some fun, I need to keep Rob here around.

It’s been a few days since Giovanni got to kill someone, and I can tell he's  getting restless.

"Fermo!” Giovanni pulls away immediately, staring at me.

“We'll be keeping Rob here alive if he can give us something in exchange for his life.” I say, leaving my position by the wall enough to feel closer but still in the dark.

“Rob.” I murmur,. “Do you have anything in exchange for your life?” I ask, causing him to flinch.

I've looked into him already, he has no family member on record, his best chance here is giving me his Intel into the mafia. 

“Speak.” Giovanni yells, causing Rob to flinch again. At this rate.. he'll definitely give the man a heart attack.

“I have a daughter, ” Rob screams. 

“No you don't,” Theo counters, “there's no digital trace of any so you need to stop the lies.” Theo finishes in the flattest tone ever.

“I do.. it's all in my phone, she goes by Anthonia now.”

I turn my gaze to Theo and he already has Robs phone in hand, a tiny nod confirming Rob's claims.

“You do understand what happens to you if she isn't your daughter and what happens to her if she is..right?”

“Yes, yes, I understand, take her!” he screams.

What a prick. The loser would sell his own daughter to cover his debt to

us. I suppose when you don’t have the money to pay, and the only other option is to take it from your flesh…you become real easy on what you’re

willing to do.

This city is ours, he would never escape us. He know that, it’s written in the defeat in his brown eyes. I wonder if his daughter is better looking

than him. We normally don’t deal in flesh, well, not live flesh, but beggars can’t be choosers.

A debt is a debt, and it has to be paid or others will start to think we’re going soft and I can't have that.

Theo  leans back, a smirk curling up his pretty boy lips. Rolling my eyes, I step forward from the dark properly  and that’s when Rob starts to cry. He knows what I am in our world, death. 

Theo might be the face to our legit organisations , Garret might be the enforcer, the muscle, but me?

I’m the fucking Grim Reaper. 

“Have her!” he screams, thrashing in Giovanni's grip, whose face tightens in disgust. Me? I laugh.

Leaning down, I get into his face, letting him see the madness in my gaze. My fingers itch to grab my lighter, to burn his house down with him in it but not yet.

“We’ll do whatever we want to her. Fuck her. Torture her. Beat her. Kill her. I just wanted you to

know that,” Theo remarks as he stands, buttoning his blue suit as he does so. Habitually, he swipes back his perfect hair and aims a business-like smile at Rob.

“We will be in touch.” I turn and walk away, pocketing my dice.

Giovanni let's go of him.  “Don’t be a stranger at

the tables.” Gio releases Rob’s neck, tapping his cheek with the blade, all friendly like.

“Why are we letting him off?” Gio asks immediately we step out of the shitty two storey building.

“He knows who I am. He isn't just any gambler, keep tabs on him.. he'll have to contact whomever he works for soon.”

“And the girl? She's pretty.” Theo remarks passing me a phone which I pass back.

“Track her down.”

“You didn't even look man, you're so gay.” Theo says, forcing a chuckle out of Giovanni.

Of course the bastard only laughs at my expense.

____________

     

“Oh finally, you decide to grace your dying mother with your presence.” My mother murmurs dramatically as I take my seat at the table.

Since my mother's last visit to the hospital a few days ago she is convinced that her colon cancer is progressing even without the doctor's note.

“You're not dying aunt.” Theo counters, “We're tracking down a clinical trial to get you all better.” 

“Oh theo darling, I'm not scared of death,” She says, touching his cheeks lightly. “I'm scared of dying with no grand kids with sons of different variants.”

“Different variants?” Gio asks, possibly as confused as I am.

“Yes, one is a total hard rock who I doubt ever gets laid, the other is a complete sex machine and you..” She breathes, staring at me. “I'm convinced you're sexist and gay.” She finishes causing me to almost choke on my food while theo and gio exchange a knowing look.

There goes the sexist word again, “I'm not gay mom, if I was.. Theo wouldn't be around so many women.” I finished, earning a disgusted look from him.

“But you can't deny the sexist part, look around.”  She goes on, gesturing towards the guards around the dining hall. “They're zero females in your organisation.” 

“They wouldn't survive a day..”

“You forget how I met your father before she bastard left me in this world to deal with you three.” 

“If other dons thought same..you would've never been born.” 

“You know what.. they're no use telling you.” She said, dropping her cutlery. “Let's do this, hold a six months mafia female training..”

“Mom..” Giovanni tried intervening but she wasn't having it.

“Don't mom me, 6 months. If no one shows promise then I'll let you all be.”  

“But..” She continues, a smile I know too well forming.  “If even one shows promise then i win and you’ll all get an arranged marriage.”

“I’m not sexist.” Gio says.

“Oh please, i’ve heard your traditional remarks. This applies to all three of you and I'll pick the worse fuvking matches that exist.” 

Look at that, Donna Deluca still swearing at Fifty eight.