Mob Sorcery 4 - Ch6

Note: No revisions are being made to earlier chapters at this point.

The night passed in a blur. This was in spite of how little alcohol Vince drank. After practically blacking out on NYE, he figured to take it a little easier just two days later. Even if the Lionettis and his lioness girlfriend apparently didn’t believe in moderation.

Several attempts to drag him into the VIP rooms attached to the capo bar failed, and the night wound down. Pola laid claim to him. Surprisingly, Nina backed down without even a fight.

“It’s not good for her to get her way so easily,” Fia said while Pola bounced over to the bar for her final drink of the night. “You’ll teach her bad habits.”

Nina snorted. She swirled a tumbler of whisky that matched Fia’s. Vince had been nursing the night’s cocktail—a new thing the bartenders were trying now that Pola drank cocktails over straight whisky or champagne. Tonight’s was called the Penicillin, an amber drink served over ice that was somehow smoky, sweet, and herbal all at once.

“She’s been unlearning bad habits, I’d say,” Nina said. “Plus, it doesn’t hurt to share Vince around. I’d join him in the penthouse, but if Pola even hears a murmur of that—”

“It’s my penthouse,” Pola hissed, her tail puffing out behind her as she returned. She leaned over the back of Vince’s chair and pressed her face against Vince’s. “Get your own.”

“Vince can just marry you and then we get yours.” Nina smirked.

The wolf’s eyes flashed, but Nina waved her off.

“Have your fun tonight,” the lioness said. “Just remember I need Vince for training.”

“I might be late,” he said. “I need to talk with Kiyoko, and Ally asked me to stop by her shop.”

“Well, make an appearance at least.”

Pola dragged him back to the tower. Or more accurately, Lucia did in a convoy of SUVs. Tensions remained high, especially after today’s events, and there wasn’t a chance in hell Pola would be allowed to head home alone at this hour.

If the rest of the night passed in a blur, Vince’s time in the penthouse settled in his mind. It helped that he had a howling girlfriend in his bed who wanted to spend hours making up for missing him the past few nights.

Like all good things, it came to an end. He at least remembered to turn on the soundproofing. After some more fumbling, he also found the window tint. No more waking up too early because the sun streamed in through Pola’s gargantuan floor-to-ceiling windows.

Only for him to be awakened in the darkness anyway. The warmth by his side began to vanish while Pola bounced atop him.

“Viiiince,” she whined. “I know you’re awake.”

“I am now,” he groaned. “It’s…” He looked over at the digital clock nearby. “Not even 6AM. What the hell, Pola?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

His eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness yet, so he struggled to make out her expression. Something about her tone suggested she wasn’t being entirely honest, however.

He wrapped his hands around her bare thighs, which straddled his waist. She wriggled in his grip. Her soft butt rubbed against his morning wood.

“Do you need help?” he asked, expecting some vigorous morning exercise.

Pola’s face lit up, before she caught herself. His vision slowly adjusted and he saw her roll off him. Her naked body rose beside the bed as she stood up. His eyes raked across her bare ass and sleek backside, although he stopped upon seeing some of the scars adorning her body. He’d grown accustomed to them by now, but he doubted he’d see Pola in a bikini in public.

Fortunately, she could simply rent out an entire swimming pool or beach if necessary. The power of being a billionaire in the USA.

 “Why don’t we go for a walk?” she suggested out of the blue. “I’m trying to start running of the morning, but a walk might work better.”

He raised an eyebrow and sat up. “At this time? With the sun still struggling to get out of bed? In the middle of winter?”

“Yes, yes, and yes?” She reached out and poked his nose. “Alessia will be up soon, so why don’t we have a quick shower and run off?”

He blinked. Why bring up Alessia?

The truth crept into his mind, but he let it lie for now. Instead, he rose and followed Pola into the bathroom. Not a difficult task, as following her beautiful naked figure was practically automatic for him.

The lights flicked on when Pola entered. Even after staying overnight several times by now, Vince still struggled with the sheer luxury of his girlfriend’s bathroom. It was the size of his bedroom in his apartment, and furnished just as opulently. A gorgeous view of the bay, marble on almost every surface, a huge stone bath right out of a renovation TV show, and an open shower fit for two people.

Pola flicked on both showers. At some point she’d memorized the exact level of heat he preferred, and her shower provided it to an almost precise level. He suspected a hidden control panel enabled her to pull off the trick by controlling the heat that came through the showerhead, but maybe he was just crazy.

His arms wrapped around her as he ignored his shower. She gasped, and her damp tail slapped against his legs.

“Vince,” she said, biting her lip as he rubbed her soft tummy with one hand. “I really do want to go for a walk before Alessia is up and about.”

“Do you think she’ll stop us?” he asked.

“No, but…” Pola hunched her shoulders and glowered at the wall. “She’ll be out there, waiting for you. Not me, but you.”

“Jealous?” he asked, aware that Pola definitely wasn’t worried that Alessia wanted to see him more than her own sister.

The wolfgirl snorted. She turned her head and pressed her lips against his cheek. “No. But…” She bit her lip. “You’re only here once or twice a week at most. And I bet you’ll be really busy this month. Alessia can wait before I have to share you.”

His hunch had been right. Pola brought up Alessia for a reason.

Which suggested this “walk” had little to do with exercise and more to do with getting him to herself. Now that he was dating Fia as well, Pola rarely got alone time with him, other than when he came to the penthouse.

And that meant Alessia. The elder Lionetti sister used to spend more time in her condo in Lionetti Tower, but in Vince’s experience she stayed in the penthouse almost all the time.

“Doesn’t Alessia stay in her condo?” he asked.

Pola’s eyes narrowed. “She used to. Her excuse now is ‘it’s Christmas, so there’s less work’ but we’re flat out. Even I have meetings to go to about all the new territory we claimed. If I’m busy, she’s buried in paperwork.” A grin crossed her face. “You turned on the soundproofing last night. I bet Sis will mention it later.”

Only one way to find out.

They cleaned up while avoiding any funny business, although Vince enjoyed drying Pola off with a fluffy tail and brushing out her tail once she used her special hair dryer on it. Amusingly, drying her tail took longer than the shower.

She bit her lip as he brushed it out to be pristine and fluffy. “We could just do it later.”

“Who is it that gives Fia shit over not taking care of her tail?” he asked.

Pola shut up.

Vince lacked any running clothes to speak of. He’d worn his enforcer outfit over, but threw on some ordinary spare clothes he kept here instead.

Meanwhile, Pola tossed on jeans and a skintight black top that clung to her massive tits. She bit her lip while holding up a dark weatherproof jacket—an expensive one, as Vince recognized the brand—and a simpler thermal hoodie.

“Are you really worried about fashion at this time of the morning?” he asked.

“You’ll be looking at me,” she said. Then she held the hoodie against her body. “If I get cold, will you heat me up?”

“With magic or my body?” he asked drily.

“Both?” She grinned. “There are plenty of hotels around.”

Apparently public sex wasn’t on the cards. Good, because even Garn Trippych would struggle to keep candid photos of Pola being fucked out of the media. Let alone off the internet.

Once dressed, they wandered out. Alessia stood in the kitchen and Pola pouted upon seeing her sister.

Wearing little more than a black nightie, Alessia prepared a coffee for herself. Her black wolf ears twitched when the door opened. Her blue eyes lit up when she saw Vince walk in. Her special makeup from yesterday was gone and she wore the tanzanite earrings he’d gifted her at Christmas.

Then she frowned when she saw both of them fully dressed.

Way to prove Pola right, Alessia.

“Going somewhere?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.

“For a walk,” Pola chirped.

“No time for coffee?” Alessia tapped her fingernails on the coffee machine.

“We can grab some while we’re out. Come on, Vince.”

Pola practically pushed him out the door, while Alessia stared after them in confusion.

The earliest hints of sunlight crept over the horizon as they left the tower. Brisk, morning air washed over them. Even with Vince’s heating magic he felt the temperature difference between the climate controlled building and outside. Pola’s tail shivered from base to tip.

“Hold on,” he said, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Slowly, he poured heat into her. A very gentle spell, as he didn’t want to constantly maintain the magic. The heat would bleed out of her over time.

She smiled up at him. “Thanks. Let’s go!”

Pola’s penthouse resided along the northern side of Aulfair’s harbor, with amazing waterfront views. While a bustling district of cafes and shops lay nearby, she dragged him down to the shore. Walking and biking paths ran between the plazas and boardwalks that dotted this side of the water front.

If they walked far enough west, they’d stumble on what remained of the old commercial and industrial districts of Albion. In the early days of the city—before it expanded heavily across the bay—the docks and shipping industries existed on the north side of the harbor.

At some point, they’d pushed the industrial district over the harbor. With downtown also being on the south side, Aulfair separated itself into old and new money. Albion and much of the north side of the harbor was old, dated, and wealthy. Except when you got far enough north, it became rundown and ignored. The south attracted all the new business investment, and most new developments stretched out to the south and east.

Not that Vince expected today’s walk to take them anywhere close to the remaining industrial buildings here. They’d have to walk for an hour or more.

At first, they walked in near silence. Birds sung from buildings and trees, and Pola hummed as she bounced alongside him. They encountered few others at this time. A few morning runners and plenty of people walking dogs.

A pair of wolfgirls trailed them as they walked, dressed similarly to Pola. Vince recognized both of them as Pola’s bodyguards. When he glanced back, one gave him a lazy wave.

Pola oscillated between dancing ahead of him, then doubling back as she nearly lost sight of him like an overexcited child, and clinging to his arm and trying to trip him over. Somehow, she managed to dodge his feet at the last second every time and he eventually got used to ignoring her while he walked.

Eventually, he decided to break the silence between them. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but why don’t you try coming over to my apartment? Fia does all the time.”

“Is it your apartment, or Nina’s?” Pola asked, expression darkening. Her arms tightened around his.

“Is the penthouse yours or Alessia’s?”

She frowned. “Both… Oh.”

He awkwardly reached up and ruffled her hair, causing her single wolf’s ear to flatten. Doing so while walking proved difficult and they nearly fell over.

“Is it just because of Nina?” he asked. “You want a pack, don’t you, and she’s—”

“I know.” Pola looked away from him and abruptly let go of his arm. “But you’re my mate. My first and only. When you come to me, I get you to myself. It’s just the two of us, so long as Alessia doesn’t sniff around at our door.”

He laughed at the image. “I think you’re being mean to your sister.”

She shrugged and continued, “I know it’s selfish. I’m… trying to be better, and I’ve heard some of the capos act and talk differently to and about me. I’ve never been a very good sottocapo, no matter how hard I tried. But I won you. Even if I have to share you, I want some time with my mate that’s just mine.”

Pola’s stride slowed, her hands rubbing her arms as if to warm them up. Vince stopped and turned. He wrapped his hands around hers. Warmth ran into her body as he reinvigorated the spell he’d cast earlier, although she didn’t truly need it yet.

“That’s fine, Pola,” he said, smiling at her and causing her to smile back. “You don’t need to wait days to ask, either. While I can’t come over every night, or else Nina will murder both of us, I can come over more often. It’s just easy to forget with everything going on.”

Pola’s ear twitched, and she frowned. “I can feel the ‘but’ coming.”

His smiled broadened a little. “You’ve gotten better at reading others.”

She pouted. “Maybe.” Her eyes searched his. “You still want me to try coming over to your apartment, don’t you?”

“It would mean a lot to me,” he said. “If it helps, I can ask Nina to—”

“No.” She shook her head. “I can face her down, even if it’s on her home turf.” A grin stretched across her face. “Plus, if I can make your bed smell of me instead of her, then it’s a true victory. You even said you have a pack earlier, not a pride.”

He had, but not for the reason she implied. Even so, he patted her head.

Her tail wagged and she bounced beneath him. After only a few seconds, her arms wrapped around his and she dragged him ahead.

They’d walked far enough that Pola lost interest in the walk itself. Instead, she pulled him back into Albion itself once they reached the next plaza. A five-star hotel shined nearby, complete with a doorman, and a café catered to workers stumbling past on their way to work.

Pola stood on the corner near the café, but she gaze shot past it. Instead, they settled on a golden beacon of greasy food and bad coffee known to everyone across the world.

“I didn’t think you even ate this stuff,” Vince said, as he followed her gaze.

The biggest fast food chain in the world, and just as popular in Aulfair. Vince visited his usual haunt downtown less often these days, especially after the assassination attempt on him. Daryl was presumably back to working nights by now.

“I eat here,” Pola protested. “They do delivery.”

Figured.

“The coffee’s pretty bad,” he said. “And it’s overpriced as hell.”

Ignoring him, Pola strode through the automatic doors. He followed dutifully, while the bodyguards jogged to catch up.

Almost nobody joined them inside. Like almost every fast food joint in the city, there was a second story for the Wings fliers. At the moment, the only other customers appeared to be them. A single staff member put the bags down and managed the delivery orders while a few birdfolk milled around on their phones.

Vince wondered how many of these orders were going to residents of the towers nearby. Too many, he suspected. Pola and Alessia were far from the only people too lazy to walk a few minutes for food, especially in this weather.

Pola’s eyes glowed and her tail wagged as she looked around the restaurant. She looked over the furnishings, the counter, and eventually landed on the menu. Childlike joy lingered on her expression.

“You haven’t been here for a long time, have you?” he asked, gently guiding her closer to the counter.

“… not since I was a kid,” she admitted. “Fia hated coming here, but even before then it wasn’t ‘proper’ to eat fast food.”

Vince wondered how much Fia’s habits affected the capos in general. Too much, he guessed. She was a girl of strong opinions and made them known, to the detriment of those who lacked them.

“I’d say this is my treat, but I doubt that matters,” he said.

Pola giggled. “You said this place was overpriced as if it mattered. Cute.”

His cheeks flushed. He’d gone on a date with Pola to a restaurant where a single dish probably cost more than they’d spend together this morning. Assuming she even wanted food.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Famished.” Her tail rubbed against his legs. “I shouldn’t have too much, though. Not after I drank so much last night. I’ll just get a bacon and egg muffin and pancakes. Oh, and two hash browns.”

Not too much, she said, before ordering a hefty meal’s worth.

They ordered in person, despite the unwillingness of the person manning the counter to take their order. Unlike the downtown store, the digital kiosks worked here. But Pola had taken one look at them and walked up to the counter. Her experience demanded ordering in person, and Vince didn’t care that much about making somebody do such a basic aspect of their job.

“You only got one,” Pola said, frowning at him while they waited.

“Yeah, but it’s big.”

After a short wait, during which time the bodyguards ordered using the kiosks, they got their food. Pola stood near the stairs while he grabbed straws.

A pair of office workers dwelled in the corner. The bodyguards eyed them as they came up and positioned themselves between Pola and the office workers, but also with a view of the stairs and the balcony entrance the Wings fliers used.

Vince grabbed a corner table, and Pola happily unwrapped her muffin while she inhaled a hashbrown.

Then she stared at the tiny thing in her hands. She tilted it back and forth, as if it might change shape unexpectedly.

“This is smaller than I remember,” she said.

“The corporate line is that you were smaller back then,” he said.

She glowered at him. When she took a bite out of her muffin, nearly a quarter of it vanished. It was a pretty big bite, he had to admit.

“But, really, they just got smaller,” he said. “Shrinkflation and all that.”

He unwrapped his breakfast burger, and she stared at it. She gulped.

Immediately, he knew what was coming. “Do you want half?”

Pola bit her lip. “Then you’ll be hungry.”

Even with pancakes to eat, she was definitely way too hungry. But he’d lived with Nina for years now and knew how much demihumans ate. Pola didn’t have Nina’s bulk, but that didn’t stop her from chowing down on far more than he’d eat in a day. Fia whined that she couldn’t build muscle mass, but it meant the puppers could demolish a buffet and not gain an ounce of fat.

“We’ll grab you one, boss,” one of the bodyguards said, interrupting them. “Just a breakfast burger?”

Pola looked over and hesitated. She then shrugged. “Throw in a few extra hashbrowns. Remember to use our card.”

While the bodyguard vanished downstairs, Vince raised an eyebrow. “Card?”

“We give the bodyguards a corporate card to cover a lot of expenses while they’re working. Alessia says it simplifies paperwork.”

In between sentences, Pola’s muffin vanished. Vince slowly munched on his burger. Her pancakes were cracked open and cheap margarine and syrup was applied, before she dug in. A happy hum escaped her.

“It tastes like I remember,” she chirped, mouth half-full.

“Don’t speak with your mouth full,” he said.

For some reason, her tail stopped dead mid-wag. She stared at him with wide eyes, then swallowed.

“You sounded like Papa then.” Pola tilted her head. “If you learned to speak in the right accent, I think you’d sound just like him.”

Silence. Vince’s eyes somehow met the remaining bodyguard, whose face screamed that she wanted to burst out laughing.

“Do… Do you want me to sound like him?” he asked.

Pola blinked. “No?”

He relaxed. “Thank fuck. I was terrified for a second there.”

Seconds passed. Then Pola’s face nearly exploded. “I’m not like that!”

He hid his laughter with his cheap, bitter coffee. Fia would probably throw this stuff in his face if he gave it to her. Even he had to admit it was bad, especially now he had good stuff at home.

Despite everything, the women in his life had been improving his coffee palate.

The bodyguard returned with a new bag of food, just in time for Pola to dig into it.

“So, what’s your plan for the day?” Vince asked. “You heard mine last night.”

“Work and buying stuff from the fox Sis wants to get infusions from,” she said between bites.

Barbecue sauce dripped down her chin, so he reached out and cleaned it up with a napkin. She automatically raised her head to give him better access. He scratched under her chin once he finished, causing her to whuff.

“Basically,” he said. “And you?”

“I need to make sure that none of Kaziern’s trucks are sneaking out. Plus there’s a meeting with a major brothel owner about some deal he supposedly had with Kaziern that he wants honored.” She held up a hand and stuck out her fingers one by one. “Um, we put down a gang just before Saturnalia but we’ve been too busy to sort them out properly. I need to deal with them, make sure they know the rules and pay rent if they want to keep operating in our turf.” She sighed and stared at her burger. “Lots of small stuff that needs authority.”

“Management stuff, in other words.”

“Basically.”

“I can see why Alessia doesn’t want you working on the heist. If you’re this busy…” he trailed off at Pola’s grumpy expression. “I take it you disagree.”

“Sis is right, but I don’t like it.” Pola demolished the final few bites of her burger, then grimaced. “I want to work with you and handle such a massive job for the Family. But…” Her eyes glazed over as she stared into the distance. “I remember the night I thought I lost Sis. Houou hit us hard, and nearly took all of us out in a single night. If the Yakuza betray us, that could happen again. So we have to spread out. Even if I don’t like it.”

Vince nodded. “It’s a dangerous job by itself. Made worse because the Yakuza aren’t trustworthy. That’s why I need to talk to Kiyoko. To check…”

The bodyguards seized up, and he stopped talking. Pola cottoned on and glanced over, then followed their stares.

The external door opened and a familiar woman strode through. She was a Japanese beauty with a lithe figure. Narrow black wings furled behind her while elegant shoulder-length black hair swayed with each step. She wore a form-fitting tailored suit, complete with a small Yakuza pin that gleamed from her breast. A pair of earbuds sat in her ears.

“I apologize for interrupting you, but Fia told me you wished to speak with me as soon as possible,” Kiyoko said, stopping near their table and ignoring Pola. She stared directly at Vince. “She said that you wished to investigate our… mutual interest directly. But I believe you wish to speak about more than just that.”

- - - - -

Commentary: For the first girl, Pola spends a lot of time playing second fiddle. Poor girl. She's also growing up a bit, and still gets judged harshly at times. So she gets a chapter.

Ironically, I'm kind of doubling down on the stuff that frustrated me earlier, except this chapter didn't frustrate me. Hard to say exactly why, but the character development in the past two chapters is the main thing that kept me from changing them for now (a point somebody made about Nina's insecurity being tied to the van sequence came up). I'll worry about it later, when I'm doing editing for the whole book.

Anyway, we'll be on to the more hands-on heist planning stuff now.