Mob sorcery 5, p.6
Mob Sorcery 5, page 6
“Uh, do I get a say in this?” Vince asked, half expecting all three of them to turn to him and say “no” like in some romantic comedy.
Fia rolled her eyes and tweaked his ear. “Yes, obviously. You’re the one we’re all dating, V. And I wouldn’t be dating you if you were the type of guy to meekly sit back and let us dominate you.” He swore he heard her mutter. “Mostly the opposite, given what Alessia needs.”
He pretended he hadn’t heard that, especially as Nina grinned from ear-to-ear and Ally’s eyes nearly burst from shock.
“With a fifth girl on the horizon, plus the unicorn trying to get in the bag, ground rules would be good,” Nina said. “Simple ones. Like Vince gets to choose.”
“I like simple.” Vince nodded. “Can I make a request?”
They all looked at him.
“No schedule,” he said. “I’ve seen and read stuff with them. I think I’d go crazy if we’re literally scheduling the times I spend with you.”
“Yeah, let’s not do that,” Fia drawled, to rapid agreement from the other girls. “The big one for me is that I’d like some solution to the ‘home’ issue.”
He stared at her, uncomprehending.
“Whenever you’re busy, you default to going home. But we don’t all live with you, and I doubt that’ll change anytime soon,” Fia said. She raised her hands. “I love you and all that, but I appreciate some alone time and my own place. Moving in together when we’ve been dating for a month is rushing things.”
“Definitely,” he said.
“That means Nina gets you most of the time, unless we bother you. When you’re really busy, we don’t want to drag you out of your routine. The security issue is temporary, but we need to set something up so either you get used to coming to us regularly, or we go to you more often without interrupting everyone’s favorite cuddlebug.”
“Oi,” Nina muttered.
Ally bit her lip. “Um, I know I’m new…”
“This is all new. Say what you want,” Fia said.
The fox nodded. “I wanted to arrange dates with Vince after the heist. Get to know him better outside the store. Wouldn’t that be the best way to break things up? We arrange consistent date days or nights, then, um, get him to ourselves.”
“Huh. Simple enough.” Fia scratched the side of her head. “I’m not a big date girl, so didn’t think that way.”
“A date can just be hanging out,” Nina said. “Honestly, that might be the best date sometimes. Laze around, drape yourself over Vince, make him pamper you. That sort of thing. He’s good at pampering.”
“Thanks,” he said, aware he was being talked about in the third-person by his girlfriends despite being in the middle of them.
Not that he was going to complain. While he joked about wanting a say, his inaction had caused this problem. The fact Fia and Pola hadn’t gotten upset with how much more attention he paid to Nina was a blessing. Admittedly, it was a blessing that came from working together with them. He saw them regularly, and they’d known how important his training had been.
That thought sobered him.
Sure, he was going around to chat with the conglomerates to get a measure of his worth, but Nina had flat out told him he might get an offer too good to pass up. How the hell could he work for a rival while dating Pola and Fia? Or with Ally now allying with the Lionettis?
Duilio’s words rang out in his mind. The old mafioso had called him family.
For all of Vince’s personal issues and tension with Alessia, he wouldn’t contest that comment. Walking away from the Lionettis felt like a bridge too far.
At the same time, he needed to affirm his place on the totem pole, instead of relying on Alessia’s doting. And the only way to do that was to follow Nina’s advice.
The meeting of Vince’s pride ended earlier than he expected. Then again, it was still morning. The interior lighting of the capo bar prevented him from understanding the exact time, so he almost thought it was night, but an entire day of work and meaningful progress awaited everyone.
Everyone bar him, that is.
“You heard Alessia earlier,” Fia said as the party broke up. “At least wait another day or two before trying to venture outside. It’s too early to say for sure how safe things are. We haven’t heard back from Kiyoko about the state of the Yakuza and rumors are still flying about what went down. If somebody takes a swing at you, the police will be too busy to help.”
“I get it, I get it,” Vince said.
Nina was under similar restrictions, but with her arm mostly healed she barged her way into one of the training rooms inside the tower. Vince knew little about them, except that they weren’t at the level of modern ateliers like the one they’d rented out in advance of the heist.
Lionetti Tower was old, and it hadn’t been intended to be a one-stop shop for literally everything the mafia needed. The ateliers and training rooms had been constructed to supplement for intensive facilities elsewhere in the city. Upgrading them would require extensive alterations to the tower, including its wards and structure.
So Vince held off. Plus, he’d had his fill of endless days of training. A week or two off from endlessly casting spells would be good for him.
All work and no play made Vince a dull boy.
“You certainly squeezed in plenty of play,” Daji teased. “I couldn’t say much back then, but I certainly observed you enjoying your women quite often. It’ll be even more fun to watch in person.”
He groaned and pressed his head against the wall outside Alessia’s office. Fia and the others had vanished, leaving him alone up here. Not that he planned on talking with Alessia, but he lacked anything to do or somewhere else to go. Except back to his room. Ally hummed around the corner in the conference room and one of the bodyguards raised an eyebrow at him.
You don’t plan on interrupting me, do you? he asked in his thoughts.
“I could try giving you some advice. Sit on the head of the bed and point out when you’re going too fast or too slow,” Daji said. “Although I’d probably get it wrong. I receive rather than give. Maybe if I could give advice to your pets about how to give a better blowjob…?”
Vince didn’t dignify that with an answer. She laughed at him anyway.
The door to Alessia’s office opened and Lucia and Pola trooped outside. Frustration marred the silver-haired heiress’s face, but she quickly brightened upon seeing him.
“Oh, are we spending the day together?” she asked him, wrapping herself around his arm.
“You don’t have any work?” he asked.
“She does,” Lucia said, one hand on her hips. “Stabilizing our territory is the highest priority and she’s taken plenty of time off for you as it is. We can’t afford—”
“—to look weak, I get it.” Pola sighed. “Don’t lecture me about the obvious, Lucia. I’m getting the old fogeys to help us out, particularly as we reckon the other gangs will get more annoying now the south has settled down. The blackshirts are so focused on the south, especially after the cartel bloodied their nose, that they aren’t sweating the small stuff. And Houou’s too busy to protect their vassals. It’s a good time to claim back more of our turf in Albion.”
Pola clenched a fist and grinned toothily. Determination glittered in her green eyes and her ear twitched.
Part of Vince wanted to ask who this woman was and where the petty, selfish, short-sighted woman he’d first dated had gone. But he knew better. Pola had grown up a lot, fast.
What was the saying? Adversity brings out the best and the worst in people? Pola had definitely shown her best lately, despite how hard things had been.
Lucia smiled at Pola and gave her a soft jab in the arm. “You’re doing great, sottocapo. Feel free to drag Vince upstairs for a quickie so long as you remember to do your job.”
That earned the bodyguard a glare, even as Pola tightened her grip on Vince.
He coughed to distract them. “Uh, am I still staying in your condo?”
“You… don’t want to?” Pola’s ear fell and she looked at him with wide eyes.
“I don’t think that’s what he was saying,” Lucia said drily. “We cleaned up the other condo a bit. It’s still a mess, but at least one of the rooms is usable. Given your… tension with the boss, it’s your call if you use it. On the other hand, things might be simpler if you force her to listen to you fuck the shit out of Nina tonight.”
Pola smirked. “Oh. That. Sis can keep masturbating as far as I care.”
“Blunt,” Vince said flatly.
“You’re mine.” She pouted. “I already have to share you with the new girl, Ally. She’s cute, but Sis can wait a few months. Or years.”
Yeah, Pola and Alessia had argued over him in that room. He rubbed the back of his neck.
Lucia grinned at him. “I’d make a suggestion, but I’m guessing you already talked about this downstairs.”
“In detail.” He shook his head. “My real worry is cramming everyone in. It’s probably for the best if we spread out across both condos. Especially as it seems like I won’t be returning to my apartment for a bit.”
“You can start staying at the penthouse from tomorrow night if nothing goes wrong,” Lucia said. “Assume you’ll be out and about tomorrow, but under lock and key at night.”
“Good. I want to catch up with people and start planning for our hit on Mei,” he said, mostly telling the truth.
He could kill two birds with one stone. Ask about corporate offers and gather allies for the attack on Mei. They needed more than just the Lionettis to take out the crazed eight-tail fox after all.
Pola followed Lucia’s advice and dragged him upstairs to the condo. The “quickie” ended up being a solid hour of sweaty sex that was only interrupted by Fia practically kicking the door down. An important meeting was about to happen, and Pola needed to clean up for it.
As much as his billionaire girlfriend had improved in some ways, she’d remained the same in others. He listened to her squawk and protest as Fia pushed her into the bathroom.
Ally came by for lunch, and he ordered some food from the hotel by texting Lucia. There was probably a more direct method, but it wasn’t like the condo had a tablet loaded with an app or anything. And he didn’t want to deal with any strange questions if he tried using the phone.
For the first time in a while, he went for something simple but great. He’d asked for a rare steak and got a big tender ribeye with perfect grill marks, a quenelle of garlic and herb butter atop it, and sides of the creamiest mash he’d ever eaten and grilled asparagus. The quality of the meat and perfect sear suggested he’d pay far too much for this in a restaurant.
Ally stuck with a crab roll. Always a good choice, Vince had to admit. Even if the sake wasn’t typical.
“You prefer seafood, don’t you?” he asked her after they finished.
She smiled and lowered her tails. “I ate it almost every day when I grew up. At least one meal a day would involve seafood. My parents went beyond Japanese food, but preferred seafood dishes in general. Or maybe otou-san preferred it.” She shrugged. “Mama did grow up in a part of Japan famous for its fishing, though.”
Vince recalled Kiho mentioning her last stand had been at Hakodate, which he recalled seeing mentioned in a documentary about Japanese fishing and fish markets. Not that he was knowledgeable enough to place it on a map, beyond the general location. He recalled it being mentioned alongside Hokkaido, Japan’s northern-most island.
“North-eastern Japan, right?” he asked.
“Yes. I believe Mama grew up along the coast between Sendai and the northern reaches of Honshu, Japan’s main island. Supposedly, most of the foxes who became clanless and fled here came from that area due to how the Boshin War played out.” Ally shrugged. “Mei tried educating me a little about my history, mentioning that she could have secured me a shrine near Sendai if I returned to Japan. I… wonder how much she said was true.”
“Hard to say.” Vince leaned over and wrapped an arm around the fox’s shoulder, causing her to let out an “eep” and wave her tails around. “I feel Mei had plans within plans, and backup plans for those. If everyone knew she was behind the old emperor’s death and did nothing, she probably could have walked away from her plans at any time.”
Rules, laws, conventions—all the things that were intended to stop people like Mei from doing what they did only worked if they were actually used. Once those with the power to stop madness like hers failed to do anything, she became effectively immune to consequences.
No wonder she’d felt free to take such insane risks. At no point did she ever suffer in the past, even when caught. If anything, she had been encouraged.
Vince vaguely wondered what Quintus would say about Mei if the ancient demon spoke honestly on the matter.
“You don’t need to worry about Mei anymore,” he said. “You have us.”
Ally smiled. “I know. I spoke with Alessia. The contractual details will need to be ironed out with lawyers, and I’ll ask Mama for help finding one. Alessia made it clear that while she could provide me with a lawyer, it would be foolish to accept, given any lawyer would have a conflict of interests.”
“That sounds like Alessia. Any conglomerate would have just given you a lawyer or a bunch of business cards without the warning, but she gives advice that hurts herself.”
“It makes her trustworthy, though. Otou-san would like her. He, um, once told me about this sort of business approach. Modern businesses treat their best allies and customers like dirt, taking them for granted, and instead expend resources attracting everyone else. But he believes that you treat those close to you perfectly, with the understanding that if they turn on you, there’ll be no mercy. All business is personal, according to him.”
“That’s a unique way to view things,” Vince mused.
Was that the criminal blood shared between the Yakuza and mafia? Or simply an old-school way of thinking?
But, yes, all business being personal certainly fit Alessia’s ethos. A fact that was causing Vince no end of consternation.
He whiled away the afternoon on reading. He picked up a textbook on magical wards, with a particular focus on advanced home defense. It had a prepper feel, as if the author expected magical government agents to bust into his magical drug lab. Maybe it was all the wards about trying to hide huge heat and magical signatures, or the advice about building and warding large underground structures.
Daji provided commentary at times, mostly to point out inefficiencies or wards that flat out wouldn’t work.
But as the warm glow of sunset washed through the windows of the condo, Vince realized he’d accomplished little today. When his phone buzzed, he received the push he needed to finally act.
A message from Gabriela had arrived. Figure you’re laying low. Appreciate the warning the other night. Was hell getting reason into the peanut-sized brains of the other captains, but those who rode out at least believed me when I said they were riding into a trap. Keen for a drink with the girls to thank you?
No doubt the unicorn demihuman wanted to use the drinks as a chance to get closer to him, and maybe offer him a job. She led one of the Mane Eleven, which were the biggest gangs of the demihuman cartel.
Unfortunately, while he wanted a job offer, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to ask would be smart around her entire gang.
I do want to catch up, but I think it might be best if it’s one-on-one, he replied. I might be safe to move around the city tomorrow, but Sunday is best. I have something big to ask.
Gabriela didn’t reply for nearly an hour, despite his fast response. Vince moved on. For all he knew, she was out with her girls. Unlike him, she led an entire gang. She was doubtlessly as busy as Pola.
Nina trooped in for dinner, alongside Fia. While they argued over what to eat, as both wanted to have something to share but couldn’t agree on the cuisine, Gabriela’s reply finally came through.
You’re acting suspicious. Gabriela added an animated emoji of a catgirl holding up a magnifying glass, only for the catgirl to have her head blown off, along with the magnifying glass. I’ve learned not to shove my horn down rabbit holes. I can do one-on-one, and can keep it private. Come out to this café and let’s talk business. Or whatever you’re up to.
She attached the details of a café in the north-west of Aulfair, beyond Albion and well into the older parts of the city. Not exactly the sort of place he’d expect to meet with a cartel captain, but that was probably the point.
See you then. And I’ll see if I can give you something worth sticking your horn into, he said.
Then he read back the message and quickly added. I didn’t mean me, by the way.
Don’t worry. I’m all about riding horns. Gabriela added a winking emoji.
Nina raised an eyebrow at the messages, and he slid his phone into his pocket. She knew what it was really about, at least.
Vince had organized his first discussion about his future, as well as to potentially gain allies to battle Mei. He’d find out what Gabriela might have to say or offer if he wanted to go corporate, or as close as it got in the cartel. As a cartel captain keen to claim him as her mate, she’d almost certainly have something interesting to say.
Chapter 4
Sunrise on Saturday brought welcome news.
First, Vince was freed from his luxury prison sentence in Lionetti Tower. Pola and Lucia refused to let him wander about without an escort or telling them where he planned to go. They also preferred for him to remain close to the tower, at least for the first day, and avoid his apartment.
Second, the police officially announced an operation against the Yakuza in the south of the city. Not that they stated they were acting against the Yakuza. Openly stating they were taking the offensive against an arm of the Japanese government—even if it was an unofficial one—would be too problematic. But a large-scale REAT operation in the Yakuza’s territory with the intention of removing a dangerous organization undermining public confidence and stability was just a fancy way to say the truth.
