Guns n' Boys Book 1 Part 2 (35 page)

Dom was pointing a gun at him. A big, black
gun, polished to perfection and ready to be used. Dom’s face was
like carved in stone.

Seth raised his hands in panic, with his eyes
wide. He knew damn well Dom didn’t play around with guns. “What did
I do?” he whimpered, his heart slowly ripping apart.

“Go down,” was all Domenico said before he
fired, and the room filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Seth screamed, his mind in a frenzy, but then
it all went dark and he hit the floor, out of breath. For a moment,
he thought he was dead already, but when Domenico fell on him like
a Harpy, he knew it wasn’t the case.

“Don’t kill me!” Seth cried out, trying to
crawl away, his body cold with sweat. “I don’t deserve this!”

Domenico pressed against his back and stifled
his words with his hand. Seth could actually feel the gunpowder on
the meat of the palm. “Calm down!”

Seth whimpered, unable to stop the shivers
going through his body. Dom had shot at him, he actually shot at
him. Seth tried to pull away, but there was no use.

“I didn’t kill you, did I? I’m saving your
life here, so calm. The fuck. Down!” growled Domenico, forcing him
to a standstill. Seth’s eyes were still not used to the darkness,
and his senses were completely out of order.

“Is it the Chinese?” he whispered, though he
had no idea how shooting him could help with the Chinese. His mouth
froze in an open position when they heard a rapping on the door. It
didn’t help that Domenico turned into stone beside him, before
suddenly pressing his lips against Seth’s ear. And it was sweet
poison.

“Hide. I’ll kill them all.”

Seth’s eyes were wide open, and he could
finally see the shapes of furniture in the darkness brought about
by the closed shutters. The words pounded in his ears, and he gave
Dom one more look before running for the bedroom and rolling under
the bed. His body was on fire. What the fuck was happening?

The carpet smelled of dust when he lay under
the low mattress. For a surreal moment, he thought how displeased
with the cleaning lady Dom would be if he knew, but it died in his
mind when he saw Dom’s perfectly polished shoes in the corridor. He
passed the open bedroom door and Seth heard the front door being
unlocked, followed by a bit of a commotion.

“Where’s the body?” someone asked in Italian,
and Seth’s blood ran cold when he realized it was their local
accent. What was happening? Was someone out to get him?

“I put him into the shower. It’s right
through the bedroom,” said Domenico. He was such an excellent liar.
Seth’s body hair bristled when three pairs of feet appeared in the
doorway, strolling through the room so close to him, he was afraid
to breathe.

“Where?” Another man asked, and Seth’s
stomach shrank to the size of a ping-pong ball. He couldn’t believe
this was happening.

He followed the three pairs of shoes along
the length of the bed, all the way to the door. Domenico was
closing this funeral procession, walking slowly and confident. He
was in no doubt about what he needed to do, and it both frightened
Seth and gave him hope that whatever was gonna come, he could count
on Dom.

There was a gasp, followed by a hollow sound
of a slumping body, but it wasn’t the end of it. Two pairs of legs
emerged from the bathroom, Dom’s and someone else’s, tense as the
men locked in a deadly embrace.

“Why…” the unknown man hissed, and for a
moment Seth considered going out to help, but his body was frozen
in fear as he watched the trembling calves. Dom had told him to
stay put. Dom had to be able to take care of this. He had to.

The confrontation ended with a low gurgle and
the man Domenico was fighting with fell to the floor. From where he
was, Seth could see his lover pull the man’s hands back and tie
them with rope. He then hooked his hands under the unconscious
man’s armpits and started dragging him to the corridor. “Seth, come
on!”

Seth swallowed at the smell of blood bringing
up too many memories. He tried to say something, but couldn’t choke
out a word, his body as stiff as if his joints were filled with
led. Domenico grunted, slowly pulling the dead man out of the room.
“For fuck’s sake, there’s no time!”

Seth fought back the wetness in his eyes.
“I’m coming…” he whispered, but his body was cramped in panic.
“What’s happening?”

“I’ll tell you when you come over.”

“I’m… Did you kill them?” Seth uttered, but
started rolling from under the bed. It was like a crawl through the
Sahara. “They’re our men.”

“Yes. One’s alive,” said Domenico, and Seth
heard a rattle in the living room.

Seth sped up, shaking all over at the blood
on the floor. He held out his hand to Dom. “What’s happening?”

Dom pulled him close over the unconscious
body. The man had short, gray hair, but Seth didn’t see his face
yet.

“I was meant to kill you,” whispered
Domenico.

“Why? Who ordered it?” Seth clung to Dom
tightly and looked into his eyes. “What did I do? Dom!”

“Nothing,” whispered Domenico, his face
suddenly going slack. “I couldn’t do it.”

Seth swallowed and started planting kisses
all over Dom’s face, savoring its warmth and slight saltiness of
sweat. “My father said you’d do anything you were ordered to.”

“Your father’s dead,” whispered Domenico. “We
need to go.”

“Huh? Who? What?” Seth could barely catch a
breath.

“Focus.” Domenico squeezed Seth’s shoulder.
“Is there anything you need to take? Ignore documents and money.
And no cell phones or computers.”

“I… I…” Seth looked toward the bathroom,
where a piece of brain was sliding down the mirror. Breakfast came
up his throat. He turned away instantly and rushed to the kitchen.
His mother’s cookbook? It wasn’t big. He could take that. “Dom?
What now?”

“We go next door,” said Domenico and gave him
a single key along with a pair of gloves. “Don’t turn on the
light.”

“Oh… Okay,” Seth nodded and put the
handwritten cookbook inside his leather jacket, along with a gun
Dom had had him practicing with before. It was burning through the
fabric of his hoodie. He looked back at Dom, but went straight for
the door, stiff and empty-headed.

The elevator wasn’t moving, and he could hear
nothing from the staircase, but even so, the decision to exit the
relative safety of the apartment felt like going out of a trench at
the frontline. His mind was telling him someone was waiting for him
to make the wrong move, and this time it would be his brain
splattered on the wall. When Dom joined him at the entrance though,
he made himself take a step forward. Nothing happened. Another step
and still nothing. He swallowed hard and rushed to the only other
door, pushing the key into the lock at a frantic pace. It was so
graceless with his hands trembling he wanted to swear. He
eventually breached the door, and Dom followed him with the body,
dragging it all the way through the apartment, which seemed to have
the same layout as their own. It was semi-dark with the shutters in
the living room closed, so they should avoid being noticed from
outside.

“What now?” he muttered, going into the empty
kitchen. Even here it felt like the safest place to be.

The man dragged by Dom burst out with shaky,
muffled laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Seth hissed, holding onto
the tap.

“Luigi, sorry about all that,” said Domenico,
walking up to an antique cupboard. Only now Seth noticed that
unlike in their own apartment, everything here was far from the
quality he’d expect Dom to prefer. Most items looked second hand at
best, but he supposed they were only there to make the apartment
look normal from the outside. Dom started throwing out towels and
leaned inside the cupboard.

Seth looked at the man with his eyes wide.
“Luigi Tassa?”

The man had his arms tied back and a gag in
his mouth, but Seth knew him from his father’s home. His stomach
clenched with nausea, but he didn’t have much time to think.
Domenico pulled out a broken piece of plywood and threw it on top
of the towels, before ripping a leather suitcase out of the
double-backed cupboard.

“I lied, Luigi, because I wasn’t sure what
I’d do. But I’m not doing this, I’m not betraying my Don.”

Seth looked at the suitcase, mesmerized and
feeling out of place at the same time. Dom had this planned? He
slowly walked behind the kitchen island, too stressed to
breathe.

Luigi let out a grunt through the gag,
following Dom’s moves with clear amber eyes. Seth could almost see
the cogs moving in his brain. Domenico slowly pulled on a pair of
leather gloves, approaching their prisoner. “I’m gonna remove the
gag now. Don’t scream.”

Luigi glared at him, but didn’t raise his
voice. “You are out of your mind,” he said calmly as soon as Dom
pulled out the piece of cloth, releasing his mouth.

Domenico watched him, expressionless, staying
in the crouched position. “I’m loyal.”

“Loyal to who? There are orders from the top
of the Family food chain. How can you hesitate, Domenico?”

Seth swallowed, watching them both with his
nerves in bundles. His life was about to fall apart yet again.

Domenico sighed. “I swore to protect him, and
I’m not gonna stop just because of betrayal at the top. You need to
understand that, Luigi,” insisted Domenico, and for the first time,
Seth noticed something strange. The way Domenico leaned forward,
the lower tone at the back of his throat, his eyes... he was trying
to actually convince the other man instead of just forcing his
will.

But Luigi Tassa wouldn’t have it. He gritted
his teeth like a madman and stared straight at Dom. “You’re not. I
know why you’re doing it. For that piece of ass. Is it worth your
position? Your life? I’ve known you since you were a little kid. Do
you think I’m blind?” Luigi looked at Seth in a way that made him
go farther behind the kitchen island. He’d just hide behind it if
it wasn’t beyond childish.

Dom’s face froze. “What?”

Luigi groaned. “I’ve never approved of it,
but I tolerated your weakness. I knew you had a man in Paris. I
knew you went to clubs in Berlin. You weren’t as stealthy as you
thought you were a few years ago. But this?”

Domenico bit his lip, shoulders tensing. “We
may be blood, but not brothers. And if you knew, you could have
foreseen that.”

“I know this is some twisted modern fancy. I
even thought you might fuck him, just to mess with that jellyfish
of a man, but this? You’ll find another pretty face to fuck.
Domenico, be sensible.”

“How did yo—” Seth started, but Luigi shot
him down in an instant.

“Shut your cocksucking mouth when we’re
talking!”

Dom grabbed the front of Luigi’s shirt and
shook him with a growl. “Don’t test me!”

“I already did, and you failed,” Luigi
hissed. “I’m giving you another chance because you’re like a son to
me. Get rid of him, and we’ll blame the other dead on the fight.
I’ll cover for you. Like I did all those years.”

Domenico snorted and shook his head, but his
hands were so tense they seemed ready to burst. “I’m not feeding
him to the wolves. I’ll never find another man like him.”

Seth would have smiled in any other
situation. Now, all his muscles, including the ones on his face,
were completely stiff.

“Why not? There’s a hundred men like him in
Palermo. Soft hearted, ready to spread their legs for a real
man.”

“Luigi, don’t fuck with me!” growled Domenico
and in one rapid move, smashed his fist into Luigi’s face, knocking
him to the floor. “He’s mine, and I’m taking him,” he said,
straightening his shoulders with a deep frown over the intense
eyes.

Seth shuddered at the sound of cracking bone,
though it could have been Dom’s words that caused it as well. He
wasn’t like Luigi said, he wasn’t just spreading his legs. There
was so much more between him and Dom. Trust, love, secrets. Seth
was
Domenico’s. He’d go wherever Dom chose to lead him.

“Oh, yeah?” Luigi rasped through his broken
nose. “What the hell do you think you’ll do now, huh? They will
find you. They’ll make him suffer, make you watch, and then kill
you so everyone else knows you don’t give up loyalty for
pussy.”

“He is my Don. He is my man, so don’t fucking
dare talk to him like that, Luigi!” growled Domenico, grabbing the
other man’s throat in an iron grip. “And for your
fucking
information, he has a great cock.”

Seth sucked in his lips. As much as he felt
offended by Luigi, getting to watch Dom defend him like that was
better than doing it himself. The smell of blood in the air wasn’t
all that scary anymore, and the sight of Dom’s leather-clad hand
squeezing Tassa’s throat, combined with his words, actually sent a
shiver all the way to Seth’s cock. It was beyond inappropriate, but
he could do nothing to stop it.

Luigi rasped under the grip. “He will never
by a Don.”

“He will be mine, and you need to understand
that, or I’ll have to make you quiet,” whispered Domenico, his
Adam’s apple bobbing.

Luigi got up to his knees, even though he
looked shaken. He had to be at least fifty after all. “You won’t
kill him? You are defying the new power?”

“I will
not
be Frederico’s lapdog
again!” Domenico bared his teeth. “And
you
were the one to
propose defying them. So don’t you dare to lecture me. I’m not a
boy anymore.”

“I told you what your options are! It was
your choice! Frederico is a necessary evil, Vincente isn’t.”

Seth looked at them, unsure what it was
about. Domenico laughed out loud in a way that chilled Seth to the
bone. “Necessary evil? Were you telling yourself that when he was
fucking me?”

For the first time Luigi’s mask fell, and he
paused, with blood dripping from his crooked nose. “What?”