The Consigliere: Part One of The Revelation Duet

AUGUST

Some people were destined to lead ordinary lives.

Once upon a time, I thought that would have been my fate had I not met Aurora Valentini all’asilo—in Kindergarten.

A nice boring life, I’d imagined for myself. College, a wife—the girlfriend I met at school. A house. Maybe a dog. Eventually, we’d have kids. Go on vacation once a year and bitch about not being able to travel more, visit family, and savor Sunday lunches with them.

Until I was twenty-three, I’d thought Aurora was the reason that seemed so trite.

I just didn’t realize that, from birth, I was meant for more.

Not that more was always good.

Case in point…

“Brunu, what the fuck are you doing here?”

With my grandfather having recently been sent to prison, as his heir, that meant I’d inherited his business as well as his men. One of whom was Brunu, my new Capo.

“Boss, I told you back in Vegas, there ain’t nowhere you can go that I don’t. Capisci?”

Eyes narrowed, I stared at him as I finished off the glass of milk I’d poured myself earlier. “How long have you been standing on my doorstep?”

He grinned at me, revealing two front incisors that had been replaced with gold decades ago. “Since I got here.”

“Which was when?”

“Twenty minutes after you arrived.” Christ. “What’s the hurry, anyway?”

“I’m attending the wedding reception downstairs.”

Brunu whistled. “Bert’d be glad you’re bridging the gap with the Cosa Nostra. He wanted to do it, but the Valentinis know how to hold a grudge.”

Didn’t I know it?

Hell, their ability to hold a grudge without business getting in the way of things was something I’d been dealing with for years without even realizing there was beef between our bloodlines.

On edge, I wiggled the signet ring my grandfather, Alberto ‘Bert’ De Laurentiis, had given me for my birthday last December. It wasn’t much of a gift considering, with it, he’d practically announced his retirement too.

As if it were on cue, Brunu flashed a glance down at the ring and up to my face again.

This ring changed everything. Took me from the sidelines to front and center stage.

Looking back, I had to wonder if he’d known this was going to go down and just hadn’t warned me. I put nothing past Bert.

“Your presence won’t help the situation,” I remarked, even though I knew it was pointless.

“Bert gave me my orders. The last ones he could give as Don. Now I serve you.” That had his chest puffing out with pride.

These Camorrans were insane, and I’d somehow inherited all of their sorry asses when Bert had ‘abdicated’ his position as Don, leaving the role to me.

“There isn’t much to serve,” I muttered uneasily.

Brunu shrugged. “You’ll figure shit out, boss. In the meantime, I’m here and so’s the council. If you can get friendly with the Valentinis, that’s a massive coup.”

My brow puckered. “It is?”

“Sure is. You know they’re obsessed with those rubies of theirs, right?”

I reached up and rubbed my temple. I wanted to get into bed with the Valentinis literally, not figuratively. That was the reason I was here. Not to break bread with them.

“Brunu, can we have story time later? I have a wedding reception to attend.”

This—his presence, the stories, the posturing—was one of the reasons why I’d flown out here alone.

“Sure thing, Don.” He reached out and tugged on my bow tie, straightening it with a grin that revealed another gleam of those gold teeth. “Looking real smart, boss. Real smart.”

Some tension loosened in my shoulders. “Yeah?”

He presented me with a chef’s kiss. “You gonna have some bridesmaids lifting their skirts for you, that’s for sure.”

Closing the door behind me, I sighed. “I wasn’t aiming for that.”

“You got someone specific in mind?” he queried as we stepped down the carpeted hall toward the elevator.

Rather than answer him, I kept my focus on my Oxfords.

Aurora Valentini.

It always boiled down to her.

Yesterday, when Custanzu Valentini had called to tell me his older sister was acting weird, I’d known that there couldn’t be a worse time to leave the West Coast, but because I was a sap for Aurora, I’d come.

I’d even arrived in time for the wedding yet had delayed attending so I could catch some sleep before the reception because my exhaustion was at an all-time high without the air travel, never mind everything else.

I’d paid for my expenses on my personal account, had sneaked out of my hotel suite, had driven myself to the airport—all of which I’d done to fly under the radar.

I didn’t appreciate Brunu’s presence.

Didn’t appreciate that he’d outsmarted me.

As much as I liked him, the fucker could barely conjugate verbs. How he’d gotten the drop on me, I didn’t know, but I was thankful that there was more to him than met the eye. At least he wasn’t boring.

I doubly appreciated the fact that he didn’t prod me for conversation as we made it to the elevator, just kept up a constant stream of words that somehow didn’t need my response.

Until, of course, he said something that caught my interest.

“I paid your fees, boss.”

“My fees?” I questioned.

“Yeah. This is The Victoria.” He wiggled his head. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

“No? It’s a five-star hotel. I know that much.”

“Yeah, but it’s The Victoria.”

“Still in the dark, Brunu.”

“It’s neutral territory.”

“It is?”

“Sure. Has been for the last couple decades.”

My eyes bugged. “So long?”

“Yup. Old man Victoria’s on his last legs though. That’s why things have been doubling down. Fuck knows what’ll happen if the fam sells out to corporate goons.”

It always amused me when my grandfather’s men talked like that. As if being a whore for capitalism was worse than being a mafioso—a literal goon.

“What does it mean for the hotel to be neutral territory?”

“If you’re in the life, you gotta pay a fee for entrance. Then if you fuck up, you get fined.”

“What constitutes a fuckup?”

“Shooting someone, attacking someone. Killing someone. The usual.”

“Interesting.” I tugged on my ring again, aware that Brunu watched the move, then I straightened up as the elevator delivered us to the ballroom floor.

Stepping out, I grabbed his arm to hold him in place.

“‘Sup, boss?”

“I want you to stick to the outer edges of the ballroom.”

“What if there’s food?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’ll have been a sit-down meal, Brunu.”

“Yeah, but at this time, there’ll be a buffet. I’ve been on my feet all day, boss—”

“Fine. You can eat. But don’t talk to anyone. Capis—You understand?” I quickly corrected.

Goddammit, I refused to start talking like them even if I headed a motley crew that spanned Vegas to L.A. and over a quarter of the West Coast now.

Brunu beamed at me. “I understand, Don.”

Dipping my chin, I moved away from him as I headed toward the door. As it opened, there was little fanfare.

The party was in full swing, the bride and groom were dancing, tables were gathered around the dance floor, and they were overflowing with people, food, and drink.

It was a good time to slip inside.

A quick glance around the room had me pinpointing her in a matter of seconds.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.

As if years hadn’t passed since the last time I’d seen her in person, I noticed she still looked like she was an angel.

Which was the ultimate of ironies to me.

Aurora was not an angel.

She was a sinner, quite content to live in a paradise of her own creation, and I adored that about her. Jennifer Valentini, née MacNeill, might be the new Queen of the Valentini dynasty, but to me, Aurora would always reign over them.

Her intelligence knew no bounds; her capacity to strategize was terrifying.

New York didn’t know what had hit it now that she was Luciu’s Consigliere.

As if she sensed my presence, her head whipped to the side, away from her brother Stan who was sitting next to her, and our gazes collided.

God, she was beautiful.

Almond eyes that saw everything were topped by naturally arched brows which led to a pert nose. Mouth painted in a gloss I wanted to feel around my cock, the bottom lip luscious, the Cupid’s bow on the upper had my tongue begging to follow its curves.

Her cheekbones were sharp, making my fingers long to trace the angles, and it led to a chin that declared to the world exactly how stubborn she was—there was even the tiniest divot at the center.

Tumbled dark waves bobbed around her shoulders, spilling out of a loose bun: oddly neat, oddly messy. Like she’d just gotten out of bed.

There went my dick.

Her reaction was the opposite of mine—she froze. In horror. Everything about her tensed. Before, in a flurry of action that broke the collision of our eyes, she reached for her purse.

But what resonated most with me after clashing with the woman I hadn’t seen for years?

The starburst earrings that dangled against her cheeks.

Earrings I recognized…

And that was when my cellphone vibrated in my pocket.

**ChasteSunlight enters chat**

ChasteSunlight: D? Are you there?