Chapter 3: Dante

I hated it already.

My teeth hurt as I clenched my jaw for the thousandth time.

The bedroom was perfect. Large. Luxurious. It was everything I expected Nero Vecchio to have and more. Not even my childhood home could compare to this.

But I loathed it. I’d take the dingy hotel room with only one window and no air conditioning over this. Working FOR the same man who was responsible for my father’s death.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes I still had been unable to get over the fact that I was now Nero’s henchman.

The urge to leave still raged deep within me and I decided I’d had enough of pacing around the room.

I tried the door handle and was left pleasantly surprised that it hadn’t been locked from the outside. Apparently Don Vecchio thought I wasn’t worth trapping in this room. Still alarm bells rang in my head. I found myself back at the hallway that Tony the fucking tank had led me through none too gently an hour prior.

The path through the hallway was long and winded but not any less ostentatious. My eyes wandered over the walls decorated with gold filigree and lines with expensive looking paintings.

The sun streamed in from the large windows that filled the entire space from the high ceiling to the carpeted floor.

Just when I thought I’d gotten lost I managed to turn a corner and suddenly heard footsteps like a herd of wildebeest.

"Dad!"

A loud squeal got my attention and I managed to tamp down on my surprise to fully process what I was seeing. I neared the open door of the study and saw Don Vecchio holding a boy close to his side. A boy who looked exactly like him.

Well this was a fucking surprise.

"Nero Vecchio has a son," I murmured under my breath that no one would hear. Of course he had a son. Such a fucking twist of fate this was. He killed MY father and made me an orphan who had to struggle from the young age of 14. And ten years later he had son.

My lips curled in sneers as I looked away.

Why had I been so easily taken in by his appearance anyway?

'Because he’s just your type. Dangerous and sexy.' the traitorous voice in my head replied. I grit my teeth and inwardly hated myself for being so fickle.

I had always had a thing for handsome men.

My sexual orientation and desires had never interfered with my work before though. Not like this. And certainly not with someone like Don Vecchio.

"Dante." The devil’s voice rang out in steely command.

I scowled. I should have left before he’d noticed me.

"Come in. We have business to discuss," Nero continued, blind or maybe uncaring of how much I wished I wasn’t there. I stepped closer to the edge of the door, watching as he said something indecipherable to the woman and then to his son. The two of them began to make their way out of the room brushing past me.

I sighed heavily knowing I had no way of escaping and took a step into the room.

Frankly I half expected it to be a small and cramped affair. But perhaps it was wishful thinking because as soon as I stepped in my eyes went up to the high ceiling, scaling it mentally with my gaze. The entire study was decorated with monochromatic colors. The walls were white and the ceiling to floor curtains draped the windows with their black fabric. The sunlight streamed in through the windows and painted the walls with a golden color that filled it with warmth. I looked around; the air of luxury blended seamlessly into this room bookshelves of white oak lined most of the walls and were filled with books that my fingers itched to look over.

But I stopped myself, just barely.

I couldn’t deny this was impressive.

That didn’t mean I hated him any less though.

"Like the place?"

Nero’s voice brought me roughly out of my reverie and I whipped my head around to glare at him.

He looked a tad less formal with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and I tried to not let my eyes wander too much over his lean muscular body.

It was vastly impossible.

"I was simply wondering how far it would take me to jump and escape this hellhole," I replied with bite. To my surprise he let out a startling chuckle.

"You say that like you can escape me. You made your choice. Now you’re stuck with me," Nero responded just as quickly. I wasn’t blind to the edge beneath his playful tone. I had my hackles up as he approached me slowly with his predator like stare.

"Death or I work for you? That wasn’t much of a choice, Don Vecchio."

"Everyone has a choice. Death too is one of them." He paused. "And I’d prefer it if you called me Nero."

Nero. I scoffed and looked away from him.

I knew that he was trying to get me to let my guard down. I wasn’t blind to the way he operated. Nero had been the black sheep of the Vecchio family which was a very powerful one. The Vecchio Mafia still existed today. But Nero had broke out from their hold and formed his own mafia within days. In a month he had become infamous for three massacres which took the lives of some of the best of the Vecchio mafia. Many had chosen to join him. A significant number had been threatened to.

The only one that didn’t ally with him in the city was my father. And he died for that.

I wasn’t going to be a fool.

I’d rather destroy him first.

"Do you even know who I am?" I asked him. "You think you can control me but you can’t."

He was barely a feet from me now and the fact that he was so close made my skin itch.

…