Mob Sorcery 2 - Ch22

Chapter 22

Nina remained seated while the Lionetti mobsters approached as a pack. But her narrowed eyes and clenched gauntlet suggested that her demeanor would flip like a switch given an excuse.

More than a few nervous glances were shot at Vince by the enforcers, although Alessia’s regular bodyguards kept their cool. Even their tails seemed stiffer than usual. Lucia at least spared him a wink.

A railing separated the outdoor seating from the street. At the moment, it seemed to hold symbolic importance as the flimsy barrier between Nina and the Lionettis. Alessia made her way around it toward the front of the store while refusing to meet either Vince’s gaze or that of his girlfriend.

“If I wanted a mafia shakedown, I’d have stayed in the lobby,” Nina grumbled, her ears lowering. “At least that way I’d have a chance to teach that pipsqueak a lesson.”

Pola had been upgraded to pipsqueak from bitch, presumably due to the proximity of a small army of enforcers with excellent hearing. Or maybe just due to Alessia. No way Nina hadn’t noticed the pair of enforcers that showed up earlier.

“Where is the pipsqueak anyway?” Nina asked, looking at the assembled enforcers.

“Confined to the penthouse,” Fia said. She leaned against the railing rather than follow Alessia. “I managed to keep her from charging out to fight you, and Alessia’s ordered her to stay put.”

“You should have let her come out and get taught a lesson.” Nina didn’t so much glare at Fia as shoot her an annoyed, almost pouty look. “Vince could have witnessed firsthand how much stronger I am.”

“Or been disappointed at how out of shape you are after 5 years of office work,” he said.

Nina’s face reddened while her ears and tail shot up. “The hell I am! I might not spend my nights battling hired hitmen and crazed vampires anymore, but magic’s like riding a bike. I’m still more than powerful enough to be on top.”

“You don’t seem the sort to ride bikes,” Fia said, looking Nina up and down.

“My parents got me one when I was little. They make big ones, you know.” The lion crossed her arms and left Vince to imagine just how big a little Nina would have been. “More to the point, Pola Lionetti doesn’t seem like the sort of woman to stay put after sending out a challenge. Not after I rock up, ready to test her claim.”

Every enforcer in sight visibly reacted to Nina’s words. Tails shot up, ears twitched, smirks appeared on faces. The many wolfgirls Alessia had brought along seemed intrigued and amused by the relationship drama. Vince had expected more hostility, given Nina’s past, but while the enforcers remained wary, they weren’t posturing as he’d expect before a brawl.

“That’s how you view her stunt? She sends you a photo of herself on Vince’s dick and you think it’s a challenge,” Fia drawled.

“Isn’t it?” Nina rocked back in her chair and kicked her feet up. This would have earned her a glare from the waitress, but she was too busy fawning over Alessia, who had just entered the café. “I don’t care if Vince bends over the whole lot of you Lionettis and fucks you into submission.”

“You said no orgies last night,” he corrected.

“Unless you invited me.”

“You were serious?”

Nina clicked her tongue and didn’t meet his gaze. While she talked a big game right now, he felt pretty glad he hadn’t tested her limits that far. And not just because she and Pola would have beaten each other up if Nina turned up for some “fun.”

“I’m not talking about Vince,” Fia said. “I’m talking about Pola. To you, taking us on five years ago was a job. To us—and especially Pola—it changed our lives.”

“You danced in the underworld and got burned. That’s how it works. Same deal with those enforcers last night that you, Vince, and everyone else splattered all over the pavement and your fancy-ass tower.” Nina’s eyes bore into Fia. “We walk with death and get to keep all the filthy money we make doing so. If either of your bosses wants to hold something against me, that’s their problem. My interest in Pola is purely about making sure she knows her position in the pride.”

Vince raised an eyebrow. “Do I get a say in this?”

“I dunno, Vince, do you?” Fia rolled her eyes. “Not like you just fucked Pola last night and made a decision.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?”

“Reality’s.”

Snickers erupted from the nearby enforcers, although some kept quiet as they watched Alessia approach. The café staff bustled about, presumably trying to prepare something for her. Not that Vince expected to remain here for much longer. Although the sheer number of people now behind the counter preparing coffee, including what appeared to be the owner, suggested Alessia had ordered something big.

Fia nodded at Alessia. “Boss.”

All eyes turned to the mafia don, although Nina kept up her tough girl front. Vince hadn’t seen her this bitchy and bossy since he’d first met her. Her enforcer mask had firmly slipped back into place.

Maybe it truly was like riding a bike.

Alessia dressed as elegantly and fashionably as always, contrasting heavily against her more casually dressed enforcers and Nina’s enforcer gear. Her figure-hugging one-piece dress practically glowed in the morning sun due to how pure white it was, but only fell to her upper thighs. A neat little black jacket kept her chest and arms warm, but seemed almost too short. Sheer white pantyhose covered her highly exposed legs.

A monochrome outfit that worked well with her black hair and tail. Even her jewelry was silver. The only color came from her ice-blue eyes, which smiled at Vince before she turned to face Nina and they became steely.

“Miss Hayes. I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure to meet before,” Alessia said, her smile stiffening along with her eyes.

Nina snorted. “Pleasure. Right. The only time we’ve had a chance to run into each other, you were holed up in that tower of yours and I was being offered half a million dollars to dump your ass in front of an alley for Houou to collect.”

The pleasant atmosphere around the enforcers vanished. Their nervous shifting became more pronounced, along with more than a few bitter glances.

Whether it had been a job to Nina or not, the wounds ran deep.

Alessia didn’t even react. Her tail and ears remained completely still. Vince found her reaction eerie, as she was typically quite lively around him. The last time she’d been so stiff had been around Arnulfo and the branch families.

“And if I overheard correctly, that was a job that doesn’t relate to today, correct? Or was your visit to the lobby of my penthouse actually related to enforcer work?” Alessia asked.

“If you overheard me, then you know that I came here for Vince and to teach Pola a friendly lesson.” Nina crossed her arms over her breasts. “Keyword: friendly. I’m not an enforcer anymore.”

“So I’ve heard. But one can never be too careful, and everyone has their price.” Sighing, Alessia looked over at Fia. “Pola is still in the penthouse, correct?”

“Yeah.” Fia nodded. “I don’t think she’ll actually pick a fight. She left her gauntlet back at the tower.”

“Seriously?” Nina asked.

“Guess she got a little caught up with you, lover boy.” Fia grinned from ear to ear. “Although she did dig up her old focus. A rapier that I don’t think she’s used for years.”

“I remember it,” Nina said. “She used it damn well, even if it is the sort of focus that only obscene wealth can buy. Good fit for wind magic. Why the hell would anyone let her switch to a gauntlet? They’re more the domain for earth magic, or any of the more cerebral elements.”

When Alessia and Fia pointedly stared at the bulky metal gauntlet around Nina’s left hand, the lioness snorted. She flexed her claws and leaned back.

Vince admitted he didn’t quite understand elemental affinities for focuses. He had done enough research on those good for fire magic, but relied heavily on Ally’s expertise when he’d bought his sword cane. Even then, she’d focused on the materials, not the appearance of the focus.

Nina knew her shit, though. Even if he was the same age she was when she retired, he held a fraction of her experience and knowledge.

“You may not be a registered enforcer anymore, but the fact you’re equipped like one is enough,” Alessia said, pulling the conversation back to business. “While I always have business with Vince, I’d like to invite you to join us, Miss Hayes. Perhaps you can find a better use for your talent than wearing out office wear.”

Nina’s chair thumped against the ground as she sat up straight. Her eyes bore into the mafia don, who simply stared back at her, poker face firmly in place.

“I don’t think you want me around when you negotiate with Vince,” Nina said.

”What if I want to negotiate with you?”

A snort escaped Nina and she shook her head. “I’m not registered. It’s a pointless discussion.”

“Registration as an independent enforcer is trivial, especially with an established background and a corporate sponsor. You and I both know you could be on the streets by lunchtime if you wanted to.” Alessia placed one hand on her hip. “It is up to you, however. Vince, I’d like to discuss business affairs somewhere more private. Once the round of coffees I ordered are done, please join us on the ride back.”

He stared at her for a moment, then pointedly looked up at the skyscraper that contained her penthouse. It was so close he could probably hit it with a lazily hurled fireball.

Alessia had the good grace to flush.

“We do need to park the convoy,” she said, fiddling with her silver necklace.

“Yeah, well, while you park, Vince and I will stroll over on our own time,” Nina said. “I’ll decide whether to waste my time on you, unless your sister has the balls to respond to my challenge.”

“I don’t think she has balls,” Fia said. “Unless Vince has discovered something new last night.”

“No,” he said flatly.

Nina simply rolled her eyes.

After several long seconds of silence, Alessia curtsied to Vince. Hell, she even moved slightly to ensure she was only facing him, not Nina. Then she turned and returned to the café counter.

Vince wondered if he imagined the sway of her hips, which stood out more than any other encounter thanks to her figure-hugging dress. He certainly enjoyed the sight.

Until Fia poked him in the back of the head and Nina flicked his forehead.

“Hey,” he said, rubbing both spots.

“While I’m sure staring at my boss’s ass is an enjoyable pastime, are you actually coming with us?” Fia asked.

Nina pointedly ignored the question and instead stared at nothing. Despite all her bluster, the decision lay with Vince. This was his contract, after all.

“If Alessia wants to talk work, I’ll come along. Just need to cover the bill,” he said.

Alessia’s ears twitched in the distance and she abruptly trotted toward the register. The staff bustled as they prepared what appeared to be fifty separate coffees to go.

“I wouldn’t worry about the bill,” Fia said, her eyes on Alessia as well. “If you’re coming, I’ll walk with the two of you.”

While they waited for Alessia’s order to be completed, Fia and Nina made small talk about another outing this week. This time to the gym. Fia dodged the specific topic, but Vince caught her eyes running along Nina’s sides.

The waitress from earlier darted over with three coffees, including one for Fia. When he tried to get the bill from her, she just muttered something about it being taken care of and rushed back behind the counter. Alessia pointedly refused to look at him.

Well, he’d take a small bonus where he got it.

Finally, she left with her enforcers, each of whom carried a takeaway coffee cup. Lucia once again shot him a wink as she escorted Alessia back to the convoy.

Fia hopped the railing and waited patiently for the doors to shut.

Then she shot Nina an annoyed look. “Would it have killed you to warn me? By the time I got control of the situation, every capo knew you’d showed up at the penthouse.”

“Seems like a fair punishment for Pola to be the source of some chaos,” Nina said.

“That’s not the problem,” Fia snapped. “Other than a few that panicked, almost everyone connected the dots within minutes. The entire Family knows you’re fucking V. I can’t even work out if Alessia knew all along. It makes me look like an idiot or a traitor at the worst possible time, given we had a major leak last night and now everyone knows I either missed you or knew about you, but didn’t tell the others.”

Nina winced and scratched the back of her head. “I didn’t ask you to keep a secret. And Vince didn’t mention—”

“Whatever you were told this morning means sweet FA.” Fia slugged back some of her coffee, as if trying to distract herself. “I’d really prefer to be kept in the loop. Vince was balls deep in Pola, so I’ll forgive him for not updating me until he woke up, but you should have known better.”

“Oh, so he gets off.” The lioness glowered at Vince, who sipped his coffee and stayed out of the argument.

“That’s what I just said, in more ways than one.”

Fia continued to glare at Nina, until the lioness raised her hands in surrender.

“Fine. I lost my shit a bit,” Nina admitted. “Do you have any idea how fucking annoying it was to receive that photo? I only just nabbed my boyfriend, and now some bitch I chose to leave alive is picking a fight with me. And she’s still pissed off over my old job. Fuck, you’re even implying she changed her magic focus to match mine. I don’t see why I’m getting reamed instead of her.”

“Pola is absolutely getting reamed for her stupid shit, and not just because you’ll flatten her,” Fia said. “I’d just prefer if you worked with me, not against me.”

“We’ve barely…” Nina stopped herself and instead drank some coffee.

“Barely met, I know. People become friends by talking to each other, often about their problems and annoying mutual friends. My problem right now is that I think you’ve made things harder all around, and Alessia might go back to playing hardball.”

Nina narrowed her eyes at Fia.

But Vince spoke before his girlfriend could, “I’m not sitting back and letting Alessia screw me over my work again. Last night was insane and I’m still feeling the aftereffects.”

Fortunately, the thirst had died down enough by now that he wasn’t so worried about a medical emergency. He’d grab an energy drink on the way out if doing so wouldn’t freak out both women.

The convoy had left by now, so they rose and left. By now, all other patrons had left save the suited wolffolk, who dug into his ham and eggs. No sign of the catgirl sisters.

Walking back to the penthouse only took a few minutes, although they were awkward as hell. Fia and Nina seemed unwilling or unable to talk to each other. He suspected they’d work things out once he was out of their hair. If they didn’t, he’d prod them both.

Lucia stood in the lobby along with most of the other enforcers, including those who had tried to confront Nina earlier. The bodyguard waved them over to the penthouse elevator.

“Gotta say, of all the lions you could be fucking, this wasn’t in the betting pool,” Lucia said to Vince. “I think more people expected you to be railing Luscarne.”

“The dumbass leading Kaziern’s enforcers?” he asked.

“Well, yeah. You crushed Kaziern so soundly that a few of us thought you might have turned her. Not like anyone believed you were on their side after what you did last night.”

Oh, good. Although he wondered how any of them might think he was fucking Luscarne. Surely they recognized her scent?

“Pola would have murdered me if I’d had Luscarne’s scent on me. And Alessia never would have hired me,” he said.

The penthouse elevator doors opened while Lucia stared pointedly at Nina. The lioness ignored the wolfgirl as she entered the elevator with Fia.

“Alright, point taken, but Nina’s not an enforcer anymore,” he said.

Lucia shrugged. “Who better to hire as an assassin? Hey, big girl, how many offers do you get per month to come beat people up?”

“Too many,” Nina grumbled. “Houou never reached out to hire me for this one, though. I’m betting they knew I was with Vince.”

Silence overtook the elevator as it shot upward. Vince knew that neither of the wolves wanted to state the obvious: that Houou had connected Nina to Vince before the Lionettis.

Although Pola had known all along and just… not told anyone. Vince had a feeling she’d be getting an earful from Alessia over that. Fia wouldn’t be the only wolf in Alessia’s bad books.

Nina tensed as the elevator came to a halt. When the door opened and revealed an empty foyer, she relaxed.

“Alessia’s not going to let Pola ruin her negotiations,” Fia said as she strode toward the entrance to the penthouse proper.

Lucia stepped over to the other door and unlocked it with a spell. Voices escaped the small guard room adjacent to the penthouse, then she closed the door and dashed over to them. Vince saw a couple of beds in the room, but caught little else.

Nina shot Fia a look as they waited patiently outside. “You’re telling me you don’t have a key here?”

“Only Alessia and Pola have keys,” Fia said. “I think there are a couple of spares, but they’re magically encoded to the sisters.”

“So when Alessia slips in the shower and breaks her back, you’ll just leave her to die.”

The wolves shot Nina annoyed looks, but she crossed her arms with a triumphant look.

“We can unlock the door from the guard room, but it takes 24 hours,” Lucia said. “They can open the doors remotely from the inside if they need us to enter.”

“Amazing. The mafia don done in by soap.”

The door opened right at that moment, and another of the bodyguards looked out with a confused expression.

“Soap? What?” she asked.

Lucia and Fia pushed past her, keen to get the hell away from this conversation. Nina and Vince followed.

One of the dining chairs had been pulled into the living space, and Alessia sat with her back to the view over the harbor. She sipped her coffee while gesturing for everyone to sit on the couches in front of her.

Naturally, Fia and Lucia ignored the command and instead stood on either side of her. Nina leaped over the back of the couch. She landed with an explosive rush of air as her weight slammed into the cushions. Vince wandered around the long way, unwilling to damage any furniture.

“I expected somebody to be up here to pick a fight with me,” Nina said, looking around at the handful of bodyguards present. No Pola. Only Alessia’s handpicked enforcers.

“I gently requested that Pola remain in her bedroom until I finalize affairs. If you still desire to confront her about her relationship with Vince, you may do so later,” Alessia said.

“It’s not about the relationship,” Nina muttered.

She stretched out across the cushions but kept her distance from Vince. He’d expected her to curl up against him, but maybe that would look weak in her eyes.

“I’m assuming you’re interested in what I have to say, given you came,” Alessia said.

“Maybe. Maybe I’m just here to give you a hard time on Vince’s behalf.” Nina stared back with a dull expression. “I told you. I’m retired.”

“And working a highly fulfilling career as an accountant. Yes, I kept some tabs on you after the… incident.” Alessia’s expression remained unchanged, but Vince caught her eyes turning steely as she looked at Nina.

“I’m sure that was a great use of your resources. You know there are plenty of other independent enforcers just as strong as I used to be, right? Vince took one out last night.”

“Hamelin, yes. And the fact he did so only cements that I made the right choice to hire him.”

Vince’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, I know you said the mouse was a big deal, but as strong as you? Bullshit. I could vaporize the phantoms with any of my spells and she went down easy.”

The stares from everyone around him made his skin itch. He shrugged off the feeling.

“She singlehandedly kept our enforcers from entering the building,” Fia said. “Maybe you should remember just how absurd that dragon of yours is. Both of you had meister-tier spells and could deny entire areas to any enforcer weaker than you. Yours was just better.”

“And that’s my point,” he said.

Nina hit him in the arm. “Give yourself more credit. You’ve come a long way since we met.”

“There’s no way in hell I can beat you with my dragon.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But there are things you can do with it that I can’t. Hell, you chased away Juliet and I never even risked fighting her. Don’t give me shit about how you’re still chasing my shadow.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Vince effectively admitted that would have been his argument. Nina saw through him.

Alessia took the opportunity to steer matters back to her favorite topic. “It’s foes on Juliet Forest’s level that have forced me to request your aid—”

“Nobody forces you to do anything, Don Lionetti,” Nina said, head snapping back toward Alessia and stretching out languorously again. “You’re scared shitless of what Houou’s willing to do. They’ve blown millions of bucks and a lot of political cred to try to take you out. Even though you barely even qualify as a thorn in their side. Somebody has a grudge.”

Alessia’s hands balled into fists and whitened. Her composure remained intact otherwise, but Nina had struck close to home.

“Warm?” Nina teased.

“It’s apparent that Houou has some deeper resentment for my family’s position in the city, even as our presence in the underworld has waned,” Alessia said. “With so little time to rebuild our forces, and relatively little territory to attract elite enforcers, any movement by a conglomerate against us might be lethal. Which is why I want you to work for me.”

“So I can take the bullet for you?” The lioness scoffed. “I retired so I could stop putting my neck out for billion-dollar corporations who paid me a fraction of what they made from any mission. It’s not like you have a reputation for paying top dollar, like Houou or our lovely dragon lord.”

“I can more than afford your rates,” Alessia said stonily.

Nina simply raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

Seconds passed in silence. Alessia likely wasn’t used to being refused outright like this. Or so combatively.

“What of you, Vince? Do you have doubts about my ability to pay you?” Alessia asked, annoyance creeping into her voice.

“Given the expensive alcohol you splash around and this penthouse, no,” he said. But before Alessia could smile triumphantly at Nina, he added, “You know that Nina’s not talking about whether you can afford her, but whether you’re willing to. If you wanted to throw around plenty of cash, you’d have been the one hiring Hamelin and a bunch of other top-notch enforcers.”

“I did,” the don growled, before wincing. Her wolf ears flicked up and down once as she sipped her coffee. “Money doesn’t guarantee results. Miss Hayes destroyed one group of ‘top-notch enforcers,’ and the Golden Path ruined the second. Even Houou just learned that lesson, after burning who knows how many millions. All of their efforts to stamp us out in the past few years are on the verge of collapse. An investment that can’t even be written off for tax benefits.”

Somehow, Vince doubted that. Houou surely found some way to claim a tax write-off even for their bribes to the mayor.

“There’s always an unknown performance factor when hiring people and investing in human capital,” Alessia continued. “In investment, it’s referred to as alpha. You certainly possess a lot of it, Vince. Miss Hayes as well.”

Fia and the other wolves looked away while covering their mouths. A series of coughs escaped them all. Alessia rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t call Vince an alpha male,” Alessia insisted, tail lashing the ground as she glared at her subordinates.

“Never implied that,” Fia mumbled between suppressed laughs.

“I even said that Nina was—”

“There’s only one alpha in the pride, and I think that’s Vince,” Nina said.

Alessia glared at the lioness, and she smirked back.

“Fine. I’ll cut to the chase. Money isn’t the issue, as you’ll soon find out,” Alessia said. “But are you so wedded to your new life that you’ll leave Vince to battle Houou’s machinations by himself? Especially with a corporate war brewing. It may not erupt in the next week, based on my discussions with Mayor Kochhar and June, but it is coming.”

A fierce glare shot at Alessia. Nina said nothing, however. Vince felt a storm brewing and knew that if Alessia pushed too hard on this topic that his girlfriend would add another wolfgirl to her shitlist.

Sighing, he leaned forward. “Alessia, you can’t force somebody’s life to change. Nina’s given you her answer. Why don’t we talk about my contract?”

“Force?” Alessia bit her lip. “I’m simply making my position clear. Everyone has talents they excel at compared to others, and we don’t get to choose them. Some of us don’t get to choose our lives.”

“Being an enforcer is a far cry from being born into a mafia family,” Vince said, trying to keep his tone steady. The implied comparison annoyed him. “Your own enforcers sure as hell get to choose. They, and anyone else, can walk away at any time, whatever threats might follow them. We don’t owe anyone employment.”

Alessia glared at him. “I don’t threaten my employees or members of the Lionetti Family should they pursue a different future. It’s a common occurrence.”

The fact it was common caused a few enforcers to shuffle uncomfortably. Vince doubted the Lionettis saw the same turnover prior to the attack by Houou five years ago. Were there elite enforcers waiting in the wings, who had stepped away from the Lionettis after their fall from power? Vince doubted there’d be much love for them among the current enforcers.

“Then you sure as hell understand. So let’s talk business,” he said, meeting her gaze.

After running a hand down her face and muttering something in Italian, Alessia sat up straight and smiled at him. For the first time in a while, he saw the fakeness of her expression. She’d smiled genuinely at him earlier.

“Very well,” she said. “First, I’ll explain the current situation.”

“We debriefed last night.”

“Yes, and I’ve spent more time than I typically care to speaking with important officials across the city. Houou’s clan heads refuse to acknowledge me and their public executives won’t risk implicating themselves in last night’s disaster. What I do have are assurances from the police.”

“Are they worth anything?” he asked.

Alessia ran a hand through her hair and sipped her drink again. “More than they would have been yesterday. Your friend, Mr. Kilpatrick, was right that the police executive is cracking down on the corrupt elements in Albion. They’ve stated that they’ll treat any further public enforcer conflicts as criminal and react accordingly.”

“So if Houou sends the Golden Path in—”

“I expect the police to attack everybody involved, unless they’re corporate. If they attack enforcers defending our… property”—Alessia’s lips twitched at the euphemism—“then they’ll set a dangerous precedent. It’d kick off a dozen corporate wars overnight. But it reverses the usual state of affairs. Independent enforcers like you are in danger. Especially while completing your current contract.”

He showed no reaction. Sure, Alessia had just implied that trying to finish his job and fend off the Golden Path would be a one-way ticket to bankruptcy, but he doubted she’d hang him out to dry.

Although he might need to push back hard if she tried to screw him again. Whatever he got paid wouldn’t be enough if the police made an example of him.

“I have an offer to reconcile the matter,” Alessia said. “Join the Lionetti Family as an associate. You’d have almost all the benefits of joining as a corporate enforcer, despite not being wolffolk or Italian. It’s the only way to join us short of marriage. This way, I can protect you legally and financially. The position would come with significant compensation, naturally.”

- - - - -

Commentary: More cliffhangers! Partly it's because this set of chapters is longer than I planned, as I'm adding in lots of little dialogue and back-and-forth.

Being a mafia associate is something I've glossed over so far, and implies that it's rarely used by the Lionettis (at least at present). It's how the mafia worked with people that didn't meet the requirements to become made men (namely, being of Italian descent). Organized crime can't get too far if it completely limits its potential allies, and plenty of famous mobsters were actually associates rather than true mafioso.

Otherwise, Alessia gets put in the spotlight for a few reasons. I'm trying to make her act stiffly when dealing with Nina, but more "human" with Vince.

As a sidenote, Fia uses the term "sweet FA." I always figured that was a common term to use abbreviated (rather than saying "sweet fuck all" or the much older variation) but I've also been told otherwise. Curious on your thoughts.