Surrender To Me

Hunter is a friend of mine. We’ve known each other since high school and we went to the same college together and majored in the same field. But he’s not family. Nor is he part of my world, as much as he wants to be. Anytime he sees a glimpse, he goes wild with excitement. When we were in high school, I once showed him the gun my father had given me after my first kill. He grabbed it out of my hands, pulled the trigger, and almost shot a maid who happened to walk by. That was the last time I ever gave him a firearm. But to please him, from time to time, I let him in on the Mafia world just so he can stop constantly bugging me. So, I say, “Yes.” His eyes widen and he leans in, clearly wanting to know more. “That’s all I’m saying.”

“Come on.”

“Invisible wall, remember. You’re too cute to go to jail.”

He chuckles and lets it go. Hunter knows I’m right. He handles the Grand Palazzo’s finances and overall, I’ve done my best to keep them clean. The only link this place has to the underworld is Sal and his crew. Their job is to keep watch on any suspicious activities and steer away cheats and Rainmaker types from the gambling tables.

“Anyway,” I say to Hunter, “I came to see how you guys are doing.”

“Everything’s great,” he casts a glance at Nate, who’s now lapping the cleavage of one of the girls as Jesse pours all the shots she was balancing. “This will probably end up being the best weekend he’s ever had.”

“Hardly,” I say. “He’s about to become a billionaire from his IPO. The parties are only going to get wilder from now on. Speaking of which, where are we on that front?”

“You never let go of business, do you?” He brings the girls on his lap closer to his face and says to them, “Your boss is such a bore. He’s always thinking about money.”

One girl giggles. The other says, “He’s not my boss. We’re private contractors.”

Hunter raises his eyebrows at me.

“I did tell you; you aren’t allowed to fuck the staff.”

Hunter roars with laughter. I take that as my cue to leave.

My little iced-up princess must be ready to talk now.

“Dude, where are you going?”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I have shit to deal with.”

“BoNo I shrug and continue to make my way out of the lounge. “Boo!” he shouts as he leaves. He even gets the girls to join in the jeers although theirs are half-hearted and punctuated by giggles. I tell one of the bouncers outside the door to get me Sal and as I’m making my way back to the poker lounge, I bump into him and two of his other guys.

She jolts up when I open the door. Her eyes are bloodshot as if she had been sleeping. The little fucker. Here I am, thinking she’s clawing at the walls, but she was sleeping. I march over to her and she looks up at me like a student, unaware of why she’s at the principal’s office.

“Have you thought about it?”

She sighs. “I didn’t steal your money.”

“Fine. Sal-”

There’s something within her that clicks when I say so. She straightens her spine, shifts in her seat, and leans forward. “Let’s leave this to the police. Call the police and I’ll call my lawyer. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I don’t know. There’s a lot more you’ve done wrong.” She frowns at that statement, but I continue talking. “Plus, I don’t just let people go.”

“Call the police. Let the law deal with me.”

“Oh, we’re not doing that.”

“I could call the police.” Her threat is so funny, that I almost laugh. Half the people in the city’s law enforcement work for me, and that includes the police chief and a few prosecutors.

“You don’t want to do that.” She withdrew, clearly getting the implied meaning of those words. “There are only two ways you’re getting out of here. Confession or coercion. Personally, confession is less bloody, so I prefer that, but if you want coercion…”

I let it hang in the air and I can tell the words are taking effect as her bravado slips and the slight tremble in her left-hand returns. I might have to off her. Which is a pity. I like her.

“What do -” My phone rings. I fish it out of my pocket. It’s Gio.

“What up bro?” his voice booms from the phone. I hear odd moaning noises in the background. Then a sigh and a plop. Is he getting his dick sucked? He might be my brother, but he’s one of the biggest manwhore I’ve ever encountered.

“Hi.”

“I heard you have a girl with you. One of Saccone’s people.”

“Yes?” I glance back at Sal. Why is he going around yapping about this?

“Don’t get mad at him,” Gio says as if he read my mind, “I asked Sal. The thing is, we need her. You might have landed on a gold mine if my information is correct.” I turn back to Corina.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

As Gio tells me, my outlook on her has changed might be the biggest asset I’ve just stumbupostumblediuponGio is to be trusted, she has no clue how important she is. “Thank you for telling me.” I cut the call and focused my attention on her. “You’re one of the luckiest people I’ve ever met, Corina.”

“Really? Am I?”

I go over around the table and grab her arm. She’s so shocked she complies, standing to her feet. “You’re coming with me.”