Step Bride: A Bad Boy Mob Roman(40)

“Too obvious,” I said, bored. “That will only spook him.”

Alfonse made a face, but Reginald spoke up. “Lucas is correct,” he said. “We need subtlety now, especially since we do not know what is going on.”

I nodded. I liked Reggie; he was one of the smarter captains.

“What is your plan then, Lucas?” my father asked.

“I have an idea,” I said, avoiding the question.

“Ideas,” Ernesto said, scoffing. “We need more than ideas, Lucas.”

“Let the boy speak,” Nicolas said. “What are your ideas, Lucas?”

“I have informants within the police, as we all do.”

“Of course, Lucas,” Gian said, “but aren’t you afraid they’re also working for the Russians?”

“Maybe,” I said, “but you simply don’t lose an entire shipment like that and nobody notices.”

“That’s true,” Alfonse said.

“Someone saw, and someone will talk,” I said.

“How can you be certain?” Ernesto pushed. “And how can you know the Russians won’t hear?”

“I’m not sure it’s the Russians,” I said.

The others looked at me like I was an idiot.

“Of course it is the Russians!” Ernesto said, laughing. “Those snake fucks robbed us.”

“It does seem to be the Russians, Lucas,” Nicolas said, frowning.

“Enough,” Arturo said, drowning out the commotion. Everyone looked toward him. “We must choose a course of action. Lucas, how sure are you of this?”

“I am very sure that I can handle this, father,” I said.

There was a murmur of dissent at the table. I noticed most of the captains weren’t speaking, though, which was good. They didn’t want to get between me and my father.

“Who here believes they should be given control of this task?” Arturo asked.

“I do,” Ernesto said.

I laughed at him.

“Quiet,” Arturo snapped at me.

“I second Ernesto,” Alfonse said.

“Then we vote,” Arturo said. “Those for Ernesto?”

Some hands, but not many.

“Lucas?”

The remaining captains raised their hands.

“Lucas takes it.”

I nodded to the men, but it was a hollow victory. The fact that there even was a vote spoke volumes.

Arturo didn’t trust me. He didn’t believe I was capable of fixing this tense situation, and he was looking for an out that didn’t put the blame squarely on his shoulders.

Fortunately he wasn’t getting that.

The meeting quickly wound down after that. The captains all filtered out of the room, heading into the main banquet room for an extravagant lunch. I stayed behind with Gian and Reggie.

“This whole shit,” Gian said, “is just a power play by your father.”

I nodded. “I know. But what can be done?”

“You could poison him and assume control,” Reggie said softly.

I laughed. “Maybe soon, Reg. Maybe.”

“We have your back, brother,” Gian said. “We’ll back your play.”

“Thanks, brothers,” I said. We shook hands and they headed off toward the lunch. I stood by the window, looking out over the grounds, my mind clouded with doubt.

The truth was, I did have a difficult road ahead of me. I needed to interrogate and push some buttons to try to track down the shipment, but I had to be subtle. Any overt accusations against the Russians could mean war.

I didn’t want a war, but sometimes it felt like the old guard did. They were constantly pushing for blood, while I was only drawing blood where blood was needed. They were wasteful, stupid fools.

As I watched out the window, I caught sight of a small figure heading over toward the barns.

It took me half a second to realize that it was Natalie.

I felt something inside me stir. I remembered the smell of her panties from the night before, and my cock quickly got hard. I gripped the windowsill for a moment, watching her disappear into the horse stable.

And then I decided. I was going to skip the damn lunch. Maybe it was a bad idea since many alliances were made at captain gatherings, but fuck that.

I wanted my stepsister. I wanted my wife. I wanted her dangerous, tight fucking pussy, and I was sick of waiting.

I turned and headed down the stairs, out toward the stables.





Chapter Twenty-One: Natalie





I reached up and he snorted, tossing his head. I laughed, touching his skin.

“What’s your name?” I said softly.

He didn’t answer.

“I guess you don’t speak English. You are a horse, of course, of course.”

I laughed at my own joke and softly stroked his snout.

Ever since I was a little girl, I had liked horses. Not in the crazy equestrian way. I never rode them, either, because I couldn’t afford them. Or at least that was what my mom had said. In retrospect, we totally could have afforded it. Mom just didn’t want me to ride.