Authors: Jen Cousineau
Al
éssandro
Due to the nature of our family business, security is a top priority for us. Hence, we have surveillance throughout the house, excluding bedrooms and bathrooms, of course. Being locked away in the office most of the morning left me staring at the monitors watching Joey’s fine ass each time she bent over or squatted. Every jump caused her ample breasts to bounce, leaving my imagination running wild and my dick hard as a rock.
“Are you actually going to do any work or are you going to stare at Joey the entire time?” Dad grumbles with just a hint of a smile touching his lips.
“I’d rather stare at Joey,” I shoot back as I reposition myself.
“What do you think of Tommy stepping up?” he asks me without taking his eyes off his books.
“With his attitude, I’m not exactly sure that he’s ready. He’s smart, but I think he’ll let it go to his head, and we know that could cause us all unnecessary trouble.” I lean forward, intently watching Joey’s tits bounce with every jumping jack.
God damn.
“Hmm
.” I hear him grunt his agreement.
“What?” I ask looking from the monitors over at him. His brows are pinched together, his cheeks turning red.
“It appears that Trick’s numbers are off,” he says causally.
“How off?” I ask
. My blood is beginning to pump hotter.
“About half a mil
.” His eyes meet mine, darkness seeping through.
“Want me to take care of it?” I ask. When I first came into the family business, I was a pussy through in through. First time I killed a man
, I cried. Had nightmares, too. He had a family of his own, but when you cross our family, you had better be able to pay the consequences. I don’t kill innocent people,
but
I do what needs to be done—for the family.
“Not yet, but stay available. I just
might need you.” He sighs as he takes off his silver, square-framed reading glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to run to Luca’s. Tina called in and Ricardo can’t make it in, either to open up. Keep an eye on the ladies. Make sure the guys in there don’t bother them.” He smiles knowingly at me before walking out, not even giving me a chance to respond. I just shake my head as I walk around his large oak desk and take a seat in his king size, deep brown leather chair. Dad has a mess of documents and other things cluttering his desk—a few framed photos of random occasions, a dusty lamp, and a laptop that he rarely uses. He’s old school and terrified of the internet. Says a human is more trustworthy and prefers to keep paper documents instead of trusting a machine to keep them safe. I start to shuffle the documents around, trying to organize it all when I come across a red file folder that I’ve never seen before hiding under the disarray of papers.
My interest piques
as I glance at the security monitors to check on how the ladies are doing. If I followed suit with my routine all morning, I’d watch Joey as long as possible, but the red file’s burning a hole in my hands. I look at the door, back to the monitors, and then flip it open.
The first page knocks the breath straight from my lungs. My brother Franks’ face
staring back at me. It’s the only mug shot he ever had taken. He had just turned twenty-one and was stupid enough to drive drunk. No,
wasted
. Of course, he was caught and arrested after a ten minute ‘chase’ at the high speeds of thirty miles per hour. At the time, he thought it was fucking hilarious. I spent the entire time on the phone with him when he called to tell me all about it. I finally was able to get through his drunken stupor that he needed to pullover.
Needless to say, he was arrested. Dad had the means and power to get him out of it, but Dad’s ‘old school’ in many ways. Being taught a lesson when you fuckup is one of them. So, he made Frank trudge through it. On top of the requirements from the court system, Dad took away his car for a year. Frank could’ve gone and bought himself something else, but Dad refused to let him have it on family property. Frank respected his wishes, knowing he fucked up and sucked it up like a man. He never lived to see the day Dad would give him his car back.
Snooping further into the file, I see police reports, statements and interviews, and autopsy reports. They ended up ruling Franks’ death an accidental death. His blood and alcohol levels were over three times the legal limit. We reported him missing exactly twenty-four hours after we saw him last. A few days later, someone discovered his body on the shore. They determined after investigation and autopsy that he was sick, hurling over the railing of the bridge, and must’ve fallen over on accident. They determined that drowning was the cause of death. I understand why they came to that conclusion, but even if he did get sick from the alcohol, I had seen my brother wasted countless times. I had never seen him messy. Sure, he liked to test limits and have fun—like his joy ride that led to his arrest. But falling over the railing? I don’t buy it. And apparently, neither does Dad, but Franks been gone for ten years, so why does he have his case file out now?
Flipping through some more pages
, I see that a witness statement was taken from a party that Frank went to shortly before he died. A teenage girl, named Briana Marblen had stated that her boyfriend and Frank had gotten into a verbal altercation shortly before Frank left the party on foot. She claims she and her boyfriend left together a while later. Skimming through the rest of the report, my eyes catch a name I recognize. The boyfriend of Briana was none other than
Cameryn Martin.
*****
I walk into the gym to see Maria and Joey sitting on a mat off in the corner talking and laughing. Sweat is pouring off both of them. I have a sudden urge to go over and lick the beads of sweat rolling down her neck and hiding under the cloth covering her ample tits. I inwardly groan as I try to convince my dick to stand down. Walking over to them, I see Vito and Sammy eye fucking her through the mirror they are standing in front of with free weights. I stop in my tracks, turning to face them and give them a look to warn them to back the fuck off. As soon as their eyes connect with mine, they lower their eyes to the weights in their hands.
Smart men.
I
turn to the girls and see Joey stand and offer Maria a hand to help her up. Maria groans as she slowly makes her way up to join Joey.
“Tough workout?” I smile at Maria.
“You bet. She may be thin, but she sure is feisty.” Maria chuckles. I catch Joey as she grimaces for a second before covering it with a smile.
“Well, we have a goal to reach, and I don’t like to fail,” she winks. “
You did awesome today, Maria. I really am proud of you for pushing through it.” She smiles genuinely at my younger sister.
“So meet again in a week when I can walk again?” Maria jokes.
“Not a chance!” Joey laughs. “Tomorrow morning we’re going to utilize the pool. Be ready by eight. We’re going to stick to an easy cardio while we give your legs a break.”
“So I won’t drown from being in too much pain to swim?” Maria asks all seriousness evident on her face.
Joey laughs. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you drown. You’ll be sore, but I know you can push through it. Remember what we talked about for nutrition. Try to stick with it, drink water, and feel free to stretch every now and then, okay?”
“Okay
.” Maria nods. “I’m going to go shower. And then die. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smiles as she walks a bit bow-legged out of the gym.
“So, how did she really do?” I ask her once Maria’s out of site.
“She did really well!” She smiles. “Honestly, I thought she’d give up halfway through, but that girl’s definitely a fighter. She didn’t complain or quit once. I’m proud of her.”
The way that she talks about my sister
makes me proud. The adoration shining through her eyes. I have to admit I like it. It’s not every day someone that’s not family speaks genuinely nice about any of us. They normally only do it out of obligation. Or fear.
She
begins to grab her bottle of water she must’ve grabbed during the training and starts to head for the door. I’m not ready to say goodbye to her yet.
Quickly catching up to her, I ask, “So what are your
plans for the day? Anymore clients?”
“No, I normally only have clients during the week. Cam usually takes the weekenders at the studio, and in return
, I take the early morning session during the week. And the first order of business today for me is a shower.” She smiles as she turns into the hallway that leads to the main area of the house.
She stops abruptly, her head cocking to the side just slightly. “Do you hear that?” she nearly whispers, her face growing
pale.
Focusing in, I hear the faint sounds of the piano floating through the air. “Yeah. It’s this amazing instrument that some dead genius invented. It’s called a piano,” I tease. She lightly backhands my chest. I quickly catch her hand before she has a chance to pull away. Her hands are clammy
and slightly cool to the touch.
“Joey, are you okay?” I ask her. My brow
furrows and I dip my head slightly to be on eye level with her.
“
Hm?” she mumbles as her eyes flash from nowhere back to me. “Yeah.” She nods. “Yeah.
“Then why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” I ask her. Her eyes fall to my chest before she tries to turn away. My finger latches on her chin, forcing her eyes back up to mine. Stepping closer until we’re only a breath away, I repeat, “Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Her eyes turn glassy, her breathing growing more erratic.
“Can I see?” she whispers just loud enough to barely hear her. “The piano?”
I stare intensely at her before I nod once, clasping her hand tight in mine. I lead her to the rec area down the hall. It’s a huge room with a shiny black Baby
Grand piano, and a set of drums in the corner. A vintage jukebox fills another corner, and there are game tables scattered strategically throughout the space. Pool tables, air hockey, and a poker table. One wall has a black bar with stools lining the outside. Two dartboards, a few guitars, and music memorabilia decorate the dark blue walls.
A few family and friends litter the room. Some drinking
while others play a game. Basically, a typical Saturday at the De Luca’s. My cousin, Stephen, is sitting at the piano playing a song I’ve heard him play countless times, although I’ve never heard the lyrics to the song.
If there are any lyrics.
Joey’s grip tightens slightly in my hand. Looking over at her, her eyes are wide, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. Her lips moving just barely, but no words are coming past those luscious lips.
“Joey?” I whisper, turning my body in front of hers, blocking her view of the room, and everyone else’s view of her. My hand frames her cheek, my thumb wiping the tear away. “What’s wrong, Joey?”
“Huh? Um…
I-nothing,” she stutters breathlessly. “I-umm… it’s just… he plays beautifully. That’s a beautiful song,” she says quietly, her eyes darting away from my gaze. “I, uh. I need to get going,” she says more reassured as she yanks her hand from mine and then she nearly runs away.
What the hell?
Quickly following her, I catchup just in time to prevent her from opening the front door. “Why are you lying to me?” I accuse her.
“What? I’m not!
Alé, I need to go,” she demands, her eyes wild.
“If there’s one thing I don’t like, its liars,” I growl.
“Noted,” she says firmly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Now, do you mind?” She nods her head at the door.
“No. Not really,” I quip. “Have dinner with me tonight,” I command.
“I can’t,” she rolls her eyes.
“Can’t or won’t?” I question
as I narrow my eyes at her.
“Both
.” She smiles like a Cheshire cat.
“Why?”
“Because I said so,” she responds coolly.
“Fine,” I nod. “Every Sunday Ma and Dad
hosts a barbeque. Kind of like a Sunday dinner, but during the summer it’s a barbeque with swimming all day. You should come. You’ll be here anyway, so you can just stay after your training session with Maria,” I tell her as I give her the best panty-wetting smile I can manage.
“Why?”
She cocks her head to the side. Speculation is clearly written on her face.
“Because I want you to,” I say firmly.
“You’re my client’s brother,” she sighs. “I can’t—”
I place a finger on her lips to stop the bullshit she was about to spew. “A brother
who you’ve already slept with.” I wink. “Besides,” I add before she could cut me off, “it’d be nice for Maria to have you there to help her with the temptation of all the unhealthy food Ma will definitely be serving.” I can’t help the smile that slowly starts to tip my lips. I saw how she and Maria connected. I knew that would hook her.
“
Ugh, fine,” she grumbles. “Can I go now?”
“Until next time,” I say slyly before kissing her full on the mouth.
“You can’t just—”