DeLuca (Mafia Romance)

Carlo

“As I’m sure you’re aware, my illegal business dealings are as diverse as my legal ones,” I said as I sat down behind the desk I had just fucked Mia on the day before. “Antonio is my right hand, he handles most of the logistics on that side of things and most of my men report to him.”

“Wait, what? I thought Angelo was your right hand man,” she asked, obviously confused. She had only met Antonio a few times so it was no surprise that she didn’t know what role he held in my operation.

“Angelo oversees security, both here and wherever else I go.”

“But he was with me for years in Chicago. If he’s the head of your security team, why was he sent to babysit me?”

I laughed, “Don’t you remember? You asked for him specifically. Besides, he was the only one I trusted with you at the time. Enzo too but I needed him here more than I needed Angelo.”

“Okay, so what does Enzo do?”

“Enzo is ex-military. After his stint in the Marines he went into private security. He has a specific skill set, mainly extracting information and finding people that don’t want to be found. Also, his military background makes him an excellent fit for managing my enforcers. He reports directly to Antonio.”

“So he’s kind of like middle management? Antonio is the president and you’re the CEO?”

“Yes, something like that.”

“What about Sal, Jimmy, and Al?” she asked.

“All enforcers, along with others, they’re the muscle. They’ve all been around since my father was still alive.”

“So what sorts of illegal business do you have?”

“Drugs, guns, and gambling mostly. I also have a moderately sized loan shark business that coincides with the gambling. Extortion sometimes, usually to gangs and other smaller organizations that want to sell their product in my territory. There is the occasional blackmail of a political figure or judge; used as a means to an end, but for the most part that’s it.”

“So you don’t shakedown shopkeepers for protection?”

“You’re still watching too many movies, Mia.” I laughed again, “This isn’t the old days where organized crime was able to operate in plain sight. The goal is to make money without the knowledge of the general public. And who the hell says shopkeeper anymore?”

“Sorry, okay? I can’t help it if The Godfather is my only frame of reference here.”

“It’s fine, do you have any questions?”

“Just one, umm,” she cleared her throat. I could see something working behind her eyes. It concerned me that it seemed she didn’t want to know the answer to the question she was about to ask. “What about women?”

My eyebrows pulled together in a frown, “What do you mean? The women that work for me?”

Taking a deep breath she quickly asked, “I mean, human trafficking, I know there’s a lot of money in it. I just want to know if that is something you’re involved in.”

Ice ran in my veins, was she fucking serious?

“No.” I said my voice loud and vicious, “There are a lot of things I am involved in Mia, but that is not one of them. I earn my money by providing goods and services that people want and need, not by taking away someone’s free will.”

Did she actually think me capable of that? Of kidnapping an innocent girl and selling her off to the highest bidder like fucking cattle?

“Mia, what the fuck? Who do you think I am?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course you wouldn’t be involved in something like that, it’s just that it’s a big business, I had to ask,” she looked sheepishly up at me, willing me to forgive her.

“People buy my drugs and guns because they want to. I’m merely the supplier. I can reason away any slight guilt I might feel at what they do with the products I sell, but what little conscious I have left would not allow me to reason selling someone’s mother, daughter, or sister like a piece of meat,” I stood up and towered over my desk, glaring down at her.

My blood was simmering just under the surface of my skin. I could feel the white hot rage traveling through my body. “I’ve killed, maimed, and stolen but that is not something I would ever do. Am I understood?”

“Jesus, yes, Carlo. I fucking get it okay? I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Offend me? You basically just accused me of being worse than a fucking rapist!”

“I didn’t accuse you of anything, I asked a question, and I said I was sorry. That doesn’t give you the right to talk to me like this.” She was standing now too, glaring at me. Her voice never raised, instead it was quiet and strong.

I paced over to the window, letting my breaths calm. I was upset and letting my emotions take over. I had never been like this before. I never cared about other people’s opinions of me, I never cared about other people.

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Mia was fucking with my head, but I was too obsessed with her to let her go. I was changing. My relationship with her was causing me to feel and do things that I, under no circumstances, would have done before. I just had to figure out a balance before she turned me into someone that couldn’t handle this life.