Surrender To Me

“You shouldn’t have gone to Rio,” Nico says. I look around the room. Enrico and Giovanni nod their heads. Even I have to concede that he’s right. I should have known he was looking for payback. Soon after I came back from Rio, I called a family meeting. Just my brothers. After I told them of the events in Rio, they were more than eager for it. And now, three days later, here we are in my office discussing what to do next.

“What’s done is done,” Gio says, “But how did he know who she is?”

“Really brother? You wound me. He could have killed me.”

“But he didn’t.”

He’s right. I live to fight another day. “I don’t think he knows. He thought she was my girlfriend.”

“Why would he think that? You’re not fucking her, are you?”

“No.” But I very much want to. It’s been hard trying to avoid her ever since we came back. Because of the increased risk, I have to make sure I know where she is, and having to check the tracker app constantly is driving me crazy. My obsession has only grown. I can’t stop thinking about her in inappropriate situations. My mind right now is half-occupied with the thought of ending this meeting, going to her room, and wrapping myself in her arms. The Brazil trip has only intensified the tension between her and I. Every time we’re in the same room together, the need to pull her closer to me and touch her, kiss her, run my hands down her hair only gets stronger. The only comfort I get from driving myself crazy with her presence is knowing she feels it too. She tries to be discreet, but I’ve seen the way she looks at me whenever she thinks I’m not watching.

“Why does that sound like a lie?” Rico, who had been standing in the corner of the study nursing his drink, says, dragging me out of my thoughts. Unlike his more talkative twin, he preferred observing and rarely said anything unless he had to.

“I’m not fucking her. But he thought I was, and that’s why he targeted her.”

“Whatever the reason, one thing’s right,” Nico says, “We’ve lost a supplier. If Saccone starts a war, we’re fucked.”

“Yeah. My ammo is running low,” Gio adds, “And from what I gather, Saccone is stocking up. He deliberately poisoned the well.”

“You should have killed that snitching slut when you had the opportunity,” Nico says. “She’s more of a headache than she’s worth.”

“I can’t do that,” I say, trying to sound as nonchalant as I can. Ever since Rio, the thought of seeing her dead brings a foul taste to my mouth. “She’s an ace. You never play your ace until you absolutely have to.”

“Whatever you say,” Nico relents and sits back to drink his cognac. Rico stares at me as if he can see more about what I’m saying. I ignore him.

Nico takes another swig of his drink. “I hear she’s a sweet piece of ass. Is that true?”

“She’s not without her merits,” Nico says, taking out his phone and showing it to Rico. I had forgotten that I sent him some pictures of her when I discovered the relationship between her and Saccone.

“Damn,” Nico says. Rico removes himself from his corner to go look and he whistles. Nico looks up at me and says, “You’re definitely fucking her. I’ll be all over that if I were you.”

“Not all of us lose our minds when we see a woman.”

“Where is she?” Rico asks. “Are you hiding her?”

What is it with these people? The moment they see a woman, their brains turn into mush. “Don’t we have serious things to discuss?”

“Is there anything left?” Gio says, “I was sure this meeting is over.”

“Don’t tell me you of all people want to see her too.” Even though Gio is younger than I, he usually acts more mature. And he, of all people, should understand why sleeping with her would be bad, but no, he’s just as eager to see her as our younger twin brothers.

“Are you sure they’re related?” Rico says, his eyes still glued to the picture on the phone. I wanted to yell at him and stop gawking.

“Yes. We even did a test to confirm it, but definitive results aren’t out yet.”

“Nico is right,” Rico says. “I think you’re lying to us. She is totally your type.”

“I didn’t know I had one.”

“Sure you do. Petite. Blonde. Not too skinny. Bonus points if she’s curvy. Corina ticks all boxes.”

“Whatever. She’s more trouble than she’s worth.”

“Has she been giving you hell, brother?” Nico says, “I can take her off your hands?”

“I think we should get back to-” A soft knock on the door interrupts me. It must be Rob. I don’t mind the intrusion now that the meeting is about to wind down. “Enter.”

The door opens slightly. A head pops in. It’s Corina. She looks like a lost child. Her enormous eyes widen as her gaze darts around the room and stops when it meets my own, no doubt furious one. She balks. “Oh. Sorry,” she says, already drawing the door to a close.

I can already feel from the tension in the room that this little peek of her has already peaked my brothers’ interest in her and it won’t go away. “What do you want?” I drawl.

“Oh. I’m looking for Colin. I wanted to, um, never mind.”

She’s about to close the door again when Nico smiles at her and says, “Stay.”

Her gaze darts to me again, uncertain. I nod. She gets in and shyly closes the door behind her. She’s wearing white shorts and a tank top. Her demeanor is that of a naive church girl. Far from the fireball she usually is. All eyes are glued to her.

“Hi,” Nico says, walking over to her with an extended hand, “I’m Niccolo, but my friends call me Nico.” She looks uncertain as she takes his hand. I almost want to roll my eyes. How does she pull off all these personalities? At one time she’s combative and sarcastic, another a seducer, but now, she is a fragile doll.

“Corina.”

“I know.”

Rico strides over to stand next to Nico. “Enrico. You can call me Rico.”

I get up from my chair, realizing that the meeting has ended. “Meet my brothers.” I walk over to her and I put my arm around her. She glances at me, no doubt surprised. I’m sure this is the first time since we came back that we’ve come into contact. “They’re twins,” I say to her, “I don’t know if you can tell.”

“It’s hard to miss.” She makes a move to get out of my grasp, but I hold her firm.

“The youngest in our family. Right below that guy over there.” I nod to Gio, who stands up for the first time and says hi to her. He seems less struck by her, but no less curious. His handshake lasts longer than necessary. Even Corina catches on. She can tell there’s something odd about the atmosphere and that it has to do with her. She keeps glancing at me, looking for reassurances.

“I now know why my brother has been hiding you.” Nico says.

“And why is that?” she asks.

I don’t give him time to respond. Nico could be reckless.

He could say one wrong thing and it will all be over. “Weren’t you looking for Colin?”

“I’m sure Colin will heal,” Rico says. “He can enjoy her company later.”

Corina laughs. “It looks like you were in the middle of something important, so I am going to leave you to it.” She doesn’t wait for a response and leaves the office immediately after. We all watch her as she walks out.

“Well, I get it now,” Gio says, looking at the door, “Your obsession with her.”

“Obsession?” Nico says, “What’s this now?”

“Our eldest over there hasn’t been honest with you two,” Gio adds.

“Come on, Gio,” I say.

He continues like I said nothing. “Dante has this weird thing for her. You should see the way he gawks at her from his office tower.”

“I don’t gawk.”

Nico looks at me like he’s seeing something new. “I never thought you’d be interested in any woman more than just to fuck her.”

“Yeah. Pity she’s Saccone’s spy,” I say.

They all sigh. That sours the mood a bit. Good. They should focus on who she is and not how hot her body is. “Still,” Rico says after a while, “She needs to be protected from further harm, but at the same time we need to make it look like she’s not important to us.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“And how do we do that?” Gio says.

Rico shrugs. “Business as usual. Saccone probably has some spies around. I doubt he had just the one. Let him think she’s just some girl you fucked once. Let her work back on the casino floor.”

I shake my head. “No. That’s too risky.”

“Don’t you have a tracker on her?” Gio asks, “I saw her bracelet.”

I don’t want to, but they’re right. We need Saccone to think nothing out of the ordinary regarding her. And besides, I need to confirm if she truly is Saccone’s spy. If she is, she’s going to reach out to him and I will catch her. That would be definitive proof.

“Fine. You win.” I just hope we aren’t making a big mistake.