Mob sorcery 5, p.23
Mob Sorcery 5, page 23
“I don’t think this was just to help Houou,” Vince said quickly.
Fia nodded. “That’s the confusing part, Alessia. Vince says the Miuras wanted to hire him to fight on their side when Houou brawls over their next leader. Why the hell would a corrupt elemental for Houou intervene…” Her eyes widened. “Fuuuuuck.”
“Ah, you caught on,” Vince said.
“I hate that you’ve known this all along.” The blonde wolfgirl pressed her hands against the sides of her skull, her wolf ears drooping. “Makes me feel stupid for chiding you over making assumptions. Kreesa was there to stop you from working for the Miuras. She’s on the payroll of a different clan—one that backs someone the Miuras will oppose, right?”
“I’ve missed a lot, but I can understand this at least,” Alessia said. “A corrupt police elemental tried to arrest you using the anti-cartel laws, which pierce the protections the Special Corporations Act provides for independent enforcers. This is why the video of the police outside the hotel is so confusing, isn’t it? And why your friend asked for our help?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Toya was confident Kreesa wouldn’t even make it to the precinct without someone intervening. He expected the state police to arrest her.”
“Toya?” Gabriela asked, her horse ears twitching.
“The clan head of the Miuras,” Alessia said. “And that is an impressive guess. Both June and Kochhar were furious. If Commander Frost hadn’t called the mayor to tell him that he’d interceded, I suspect Toya’s prediction would have been accurate. If only to stop another conglomerate openly assaulting a police convoy.”
“Okay, I don’t follow this at all.” Gabriela shook her head. “Forget the stuff I wasn’t here for. Why is it such a big deal that Vince gets charged? Therox intervenes all the time when cartel members get in shit. Everyone knows how it goes. We rarely get jail time. Even Malus avoided it after the stupid shit she pulled attacking Vince in public.”
“Because the anti-cartel laws are punishing you for refusing to act as a single corporation,” Alessia said, shooting Gabriela an odd look. “I am certain you know why this matters.”
“I mean, this is complicated stuff. Way above my head.” Gabriela grinned and her horse’s tail flicked rapidly behind her back.
“And I’m sure the British would be so keen to get back a huge idiot. I know Kochhar offered to pay off your debts if you joined the police force, too.” Alessia stared at the unicorn. “Do not play dumb. The unicorn academy is one of the finest educational institutions in Aulfair.”
The two women stared at each other for several long seconds. Finally, Gabriela looked away with a huff.
“Fine. I get it.” Gabriela flicked her white bangs. “I’m not a dumbass.”
“Wow. Could have fooled me when I was bashing your head in a month ago,” Nina drawled.
“Oi.” The unicorn’s horn glowed softly.
Fia frowned at Vince. “You already knew.”
“Uh, we talked about this.” He shrugged. “But to answer the question, it’s a big deal because if the police start charging genuine independent enforcers with crimes for associating with the cartel, it means potentially every independent is in danger. Those laws might get extended to another conglomerate, and they even tried to take Nicki in. How often do draconian laws get used on their prospective targets, instead of for something completely different years down the track?”
“Yeah, they’re doing pretty dumb shit. Therox was pissed when they made laws just to target us, I heard,” Gabriela said. “If she did this, it basically nukes the Special Corporations Act, right? Independents exist because the cops don’t want the corpos to beat each other up with their monsters. Take that away, and the gang wars get hotter. No reason for the conglomerates to hold back.”
“Which raises the question of why a police elemental would risk it, even if she is corrupt,” Alessia said.
“Um, maybe she actually wants to blow everything up?” Pola suggested. “Don’t some elementals disagree over this. Like Auntie June!”
“Except Kreesa is one of the originals, like Frost, from when the elementals showed up in Aulfair during the 1940s. Why now?” Alessia grimaced. “It’s pointless to speculate over motivations with so little information. Am I correct in assuming this is why Ronin acted? While Frost claimed credit—or took responsibility, depending how this falls out—I understand Ronin orchestrated this.”
“He got wind of what Kreesa was doing from a friend in the cartel unit. Or former cartel unit, based on what I’ve heard,” Vince said.
Gabriela grinned from ear-to-ear. “Fuck, I love that we nearly took out the cartel unit with that raid the other night.”
The other girls frowned at her, but she ignored them and finished unpacking the food.
“We should eat,” Gabriela said. “Warming spells only go so far. I grabbed a range of stuff, and I bet most of you like burritos, even if the queen here doesn’t.”
“I’m not a queen,” Alessia said. “You should know, given you were trained to serve a king.”
“That’s how I know you’re a queen, or think of yourself as one.” The unicorn winked at Alessia before throwing her a container.
Lucia caught it before her boss could fumble it. “The food should be safe. I still tested a couple of things before we arrived, just in case.”
“I’d call you paranoid, but I’d be too with this shit going down.” Gabriela picked out a specific burrito and tossed it to Vince. “Dunno if you’re hungry, but I asked them to make something special for you.”
His prediction came true. Nina and Nicki grinned at him, while Fia shook her head in amusement.
“He already had lunch,” Pola said, staring at Gabriela with an unreadable expression. “I can eat it for you, Vince.”
“I’m good,” he said. “You two can negotiate the, uh…”
“They can negotiate where they stand in the pride,” Nina said. “I’m assuming Gaby’s an honorary member, given you’re probably not sticking your dick in her anytime soon with her baggage.”
“I don’t have baggage.” Gabriela glowered at Nina.
“Being bound to Vince until you die sounds like baggage,” Fia said. “I’m with Nina here. And if you’re capable of independent thought, I imagine that puts you above Pola.”
“Hey!” Pola hit Fia in the arm.
Ally broke out into giggles, and everyone began grabbing food. It was clear most of them hadn’t eaten. Nicki still pecked at a quesadilla, while Nina had no trouble downing a container full of enchiladas,
Even Kiyoko daintily took a burrito and nibbled at it. She perched herself on the arm of the couch, but positioned herself so she could see both Vince and the entrance.
The girls chattered over lunch, and Vince found himself with different companions sitting beside him over the next thirty minutes or so. He overheard Fia explaining to Alessia everything he’d told her earlier, and both Gabriela and Kiyoko didn’t even pretend not to eavesdrop.
“Why are you even with Alessia?” Vince asked Gabriela when he got the chance. “I can guess why Kiyoko joined her, but last I heard you were helping Ronin distract the cops.”
His unicorn not-quite-girlfriend wrapped an arm around him, burrito in her other hand. “Yeah, to help you. And not even a thanks.”
He winced. “Thanks. I mean it. Picking a fight with the police to save my ass is huge.”
She grinned at him and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Cute. I love it.”
The hug reminded him of when Nina acted the same way, only without the huge cushions pressing against his side. Gabriela relied on more than just huge tits to look hot.
“Oi,” Nina growled at them. “I’m Vince’s big girl. Get your own niche.”
She leaned on Vince’s other side, and the two women locked eyes. Gabriela refused to budge.
“Nina, do you need to pick a fight with every girl I meet?” he asked her.
“I didn’t intimidate Fia,” the lioness protested.
Fia snorted. “Like hell you didn’t. Just being the same woman who took out Pola and a bunch of our enforcers a few years back made you scary as shit.”
“Oh, so my niche can be the big but nice girl?” Gabriela asked, her grin nearly splitting her face in two and her horn glowing a soft gold.
“Don’t pretend I’m mean,” Nina said.
“Who’s pretending?” Pola muttered and met Nina’s gaze with a snarl.
“To answer your question, I encountered Gabriela while returning here,” Alessia said. “She had briefly evaded a rather immense police pursuit. I extended my protection to her as thanks for helping you.”
Gabriela puffed out her non-existent chest, and Nina smirked. The unicorn ignored the other woman.
“The cops were hounding me like never before,” Gabriela said. “They weren’t going to ice me, but if I had to rely on Norah to bail me out, I’d be paying a price for it.”
“So that’s what Kreesa meant by a diplomatic incident.” Vince frowned. “How can you lead a gang and also be protected by the British Government?”
“Because I’m a unicorn. Everyone’s equal, but some of us are more equal than others,” Gabriela said.
“Yeah, I think that line works when you don’t have a glowing horn sticking out of your head,” Fia drawled. “It is bullshit, but no blackshirt wants to kill a unicorn. Texas got turned upside down a decade ago when that happened. The governor resigned after a detailed MI6 dossier listing every affair, bribe, and other dodgy thing he’d ever done since being born got leaked.”
“I don’t think we lost anything of value there,” Nina said. “Wouldn’t mind if more of those dossiers got leaked.”
“Uh, back on Gaby,” Vince said, and saw the unicorn’s ears and tail bounce when he called her by her nickname. “Did everyone get out alright? By the time I knew you were involved, I wasn’t in a position to warn you. Couldn’t use my phone until minutes after Kreesa went after you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Gabriela ruffled his hair. “I got word the second that crazy elemental started moving. Sent the gang home. Just needed a way to get away myself.”
He left Gabriela and the girls to continue arguing over things. Although Gabriela excused herself from the political stuff swiftly and introduced herself to Nicki instead. Vince sat back down.
Pola appeared next to him in an instant. She leaned against him, her tail trying to wrap around his back and fingers drumming against his thigh. They’d both finished eating. The wolfgirl happily pressed her head against his neck.
“Are you okay?” she murmured. “You sounded so tired earlier. If you need a break, I can make Sis wait.”
He smiled at his girlfriend and wrapped her hand in his. She stole a kiss before he could say anything.
“I get it,” she said. Her smile was a touch disappointed. “Fia’s comment earlier was about Sis, wasn’t it?”
“It’s time to deal with this,” he told Pola.
“The Yakuza, Houou, or the sexual tension this room is full of?” Gabriela asked.
She towered over them, beer in hand. Where the hell had that come from?
Given it looked Mexican, Vince guessed she’d snuck it in with the food.
“The sexual tension comes from you,” Fia said. “Most of us have already fucked him.”
“Yeah, but I know my place. I’m not the one who wants to ride him in front of you.” Gabriela paused. “I mean, I want to ride him, but—”
“And there’s the sexual tension,” Fia drawled.
While the unicorn glared at Fia, the others cleaned up and reformed along the couches. Alessia remained standing, leaning on the couch just behind Pola and Vince. Lucia lounged on a separate recliner, happy to keep her distance from the group while keeping an eye on things. While she had her phone out, the way she acted suggested she was still working. Likely directing enforcers in the absence of the others.
“Before we move on to anything else, I need to know more about Toya’s offer to you, Vince,” Alessia asked. Her face was oddly free of emotion and her tone cold.
Gabriela frowned at the mafia don, but said nothing.
“I think it’s better if we talk about that later,” Vince said. “Unless there’s nothing else from today that you need to discuss?”
“Later?” Alessia scowled. “You’ve been approached by a direct foe, and it sounds like they want you exclusively. That needs to be talked about now.”
“I won’t betray you,” Vince said. “I think that answers that. But we can discuss the money separately.”
“That’s not…” Alessia trailed off and looked away with a regretful expression. “Does it need to be about that?”
“I think that’s exactly why you two need to talk this out privately,” Fia interrupted, shooting Vince a dangerous look. “We still have to handle Mei.”
“Today isn’t about Mei, it’s about this mess, which revolves around others trying to poach Vince,” Alessia insisted. Then she glared at Gabriela. “Including you.”
The unicorn took a swig from her beer, but otherwise didn’t react. Her horn remained dim. “Vince approached me, not the other way around. I bet you know that given you have him tailed everywhere.”
“That’s…” Alessia flushed. “But you don’t deny trying to tempt him?”
“I won’t tell you a damn thing. If Vince wants to tell you, that’s up to him, but anything I did or didn’t offer is my business.”
Before the mafia don said or did anything unwise, Pola stood. “Sis, I think this can wait. Vince isn’t leaving us. And even if I’m incapable of thought”—she glared at Fia—“I know this is about Mei. If Houou are falling apart, can they really do anything? And everyone is here, too.”
“Even me.” Gabriela smirked. “Assuming nobody objects?”
“We’ll take your fists,” Nina said.
“Fine by me. Vince can have everything else.”
Alessia calmed herself with several deep breaths and waved at Lucia. The bodyguard nodded, then returned to her phone.
Presumably, Lucia had shown some concern that Vince had missed.
“I understand that,” Alessia said. “But I think Vince and I need to sort this out first.”
Staring at her stony expression, Vince realized he couldn’t put this off. He stood.
“Agreed. I’ve had plenty of time to think and sort things out,” he said. “Sorry to interrupt, but I think Alessia and I need to talk in private. There’re some things we need to say to each other that are long overdue.”
Chapter 15
“Do you mean ‘private’ private, or should I join you as consigliere?” Fia asked, her eyes dancing between Alessia and Vince.
Alessia bit her lip and hesitated.
“This will be about more than money.” Vince rose to his feet. “So probably not.”
Pola pouted and glowered at her sister. A few of the other girls raised an eyebrow at Alessia.
“What?” the mafia don asked defensively, hunching her shoulders under their combined gazes. “Vince is saying that, not me.”
“Uh huh.” Nina turned to look at Gabriela. “Fifty bucks she can’t walk out of that room after they’re done.”
Gabriela blinked and her expression turned to confusion, then understanding. “Ohhh, right. Forgot he said he wasn’t fucking her. I just sort of assumed with how she acted.”
A hiss escaped Alessia as she bared her teeth at the two taller women. She then spun and strode toward the exit, the frills on one side of her dress bouncing with each step she took.
When he didn’t follow, Alessia turned and looked at him. “We’ll talk in the study.”
“Try not to eat too much,” Vince told the others as he followed his boss. “Or kill each other.”
“I will restrain any who attempt violence,” Kiyoko said, drawing several looks of surprise. Evidently they’d forgotten her as she remained relatively quiet.
Alessia led Vince into the long, winding hallway that wound around the northern side of the penthouse. The doors remained closed at all times here, so even after a couple of months of visits, he still had no clue what lay inside each room. Alessia and Pola each had their own bedroom, and there were two unused ones—he’d had his first time with Fia in one. Another was a shared bathroom.
But there were seven doors along this L-shaped corridor, and that only accounted for five of them. His boss’s mention of a study was news to him.
Of course, Vince became just as distracted by the sight in front of him, compared to the mystery of what lay behind each door.
Alessia practically sashayed ahead of him. Once they’d left the main room, she began to exaggerate her stride, waving her hips from side to side with each step. Thanks to her dress, the effect forced Vince to focus on her rear.
“Forced?” Daji asked with obvious amusement. “So if I shake my ass in front of you, you’ll have no choice but to stare at it?”
He refused to give in to her teasing.
Alessia’s dress today was an odd red-and-black number that initially appeared modest. The bottom half comprised a multi-layered cascade of frills that fell nearly to her ankle. The frills favored one side, revealing one calf but hiding the other.
But when she walked like this, the frills bounced out of view and revealed the skintight bottom. Vince had ample time to admire his boss’s ass with only a thin layer of fabric in the way.
“She’s wearing panties under it. You can see the line,” Daji said, ruining his illusion.
Then again, he now wanted to spot the line for himself.
Only for Alessia to ruin it by turning in front of one of the mystery doors. She raised an eyebrow at him, her cheeks coloring.
“Is there something wrong?” she asked. The husky tone of her voice suggested she knew exactly where he’d been staring.
Part of Vince wondered if he should seize the opportunity, but then recalled what he needed to discuss. Pulling his dick out, metaphorically or otherwise, would make the coming discussion harder.
