Omerta

Chapter 79 (Nick's POV)

         "Hey, listen man...I wanted to talk to you about something" my cousin Marc cleared his throat to gain my attention. We were at the compound waiting for my father. We had a couple things to handle before I was done for the day.

Having Marc sitting in the leather chair across from my fathers chair on the other side of the desk made me feel my position for the first time. Maybe my father would disagree, but behind this desk is power and he's slowly handing the empire to me now. Which means I belong in this seat.

When I looked at Marc without saying anything he knew that meant he could continue. 

        "The other day..." he paused, he looked nervous. Marc still has a black eye from when I knocked his face in for sneaking into my car to show off to some girl. That lipstick left me without a lot of goddamn problems. He's lucky that's all he got.

"What about it?" I waved my hand for him to continue. I thought maybe another apology was coming. But instead he caught me off guard when he said, "You...dating Gia...that's a risky fucking move man. And probably a damn stupid one."

The muscle in my jaw jumped with the clenching of my teeth. I didn't mean to have anyone find out about us so soon. Especially not my number two and three running the empire with me, but when Gia wouldn't let me see her I lost my cool. 

I thought she was gonna actually break up with me and I needed to get to her...so I caused a whole scene at Dom's apartment building. I openly said I didn't 'cheat' on her right in front of them.

Still that gives my cousin no right to bring this shit up to me.

        "You have a problem with my relationship?" I asked him in a false calm. He fidgeted in his seat but huffed out a breath and tried righting himself. "Look, Nico, I wouldn't usually get into anybody's business, but frankly this business is our business, as in all this- the empire your relationship is threatening. Not to mention you man. The Russian's would try to kill you if they knew you and Gia were dating." 

Marc got ballsy and gave me the opinion I didn't fucking ask for.

"WHAT?!" A loud, deep voice suddenly broke the moment's pause between us. Both of us shifted quickly to see who had just been coming around the propped open door of my father's office. 

My father looked livid.

        Marc immediately shrunk in his chair and gave me an apologetic look. I'm gonna kill him. I grit my teeth and brought my eyes back to Giuseppe Luciano who was stomping his way over to me. "Get up" my father tried ripping me out of his chair by the arm. I snatched it out of his grasp before he could, but I stood up anyway. And my height is obvious.

It didn't stop my father from almost going toe to toe with me while confronting me on this. This is deja vu, back when he found Giada in my bed and proceeded to call her a whore and kick her out of our house.

"I better have misheard you" he gritted out through a tight jaw. 

        He's not in a suit today. He's been around the house so he's in his polo and chinos. His hair is always combed neatly and his face is always close shaven. He's opposite me in most things. If anything Vincent always took most after my father. Same dark pitted eyes, same close shave and no tattoos. 

I've covered myself from neck to knuckles in markings my father never liked.

Vincent is also as evil as I know my father can be. The Reaper in me can go to that same place, but I'm not them. Its different even if I can't explain what the difference is. Yeah, I'm evil when I wanna be, but I am also able to genuinely care about a person- and I only recently just found that out.