Lev: a Shot Callers novel (28 page)

To which Alessio responded a hushed, “Shut the fuck up, Eden.”

Chapter Thirty-Six
Mina

I initiated sex with Lev as a distraction. It was a shitty thing to do, but I felt I needed it. I needed him. At first, he fought me, trying to tame my lustful kisses to the sweet ones I viewed as dangerous. I climbed him, nipping the taut skin at his neck, sucked at his tongue, and ground myself into his hardening length until my panties were soaked through. I’d said it before, there was just no faking my reaction to Lev. I pulled my panties to the side and slid down on him, impaling myself on his thick cock as far as I could. He’d lost this round, and with it, his control. With his back to the headboard, he sat up taller, thrusting up into me, his strong arms wrapped around me, holding me firmly, and the sex was no longer a distraction, rather a place of refuge for me.

Lev’s hands on my body calmed me like a prayer. He had proved time and time again that he was everything I needed.

God…I loved him so.

My body begged for release. I wanted so much to not feel numb. I wanted to feel him release inside me. Nothing satisfied me like that feeling.

His hand came around me, gripped my wrist, and then brought it down between our joined bodies. “Rub your clit, baby. Nice and slow.” Then his head dipped down to take my nipple into his warm mouth. I did as he ordered and he suckled me. Within a minute, my body went rigid, my head flinging back as my pussy clamped around him, and I whimper through my orgasm. It took less than ten seconds for Lev to follow. He released my nipple with a pop and let out a long groan as his arms tightened around me, holding me in place. His cock pulsed inside me, and I felt that wonderful wet warmth drip down, out of my core.

I felt better, and I blinked sleepily at him, cupping his cheeks and taking his mouth in a tender kiss. “God, I needed that.”

“I know you did,” he said quietly as he stroked my back. “How are you feeling?” he asked, keeping us joined at our most intimate places.

I leaned my forehead onto his shoulder, accepting his embrace. “I didn’t have a brother before. I’ll be fine without one now.”

“Mina,” he started. “You must be hurt.”

I was hurt, but I wasn’t going to let it affect me. “I’ll be fine, sweetie. I promise.” But my heart ached for Alessio. “I’m just sad that he suffered like that by the hands of his—
our
— father. I wish he’d been there with us. I wish Mom had taken him with her.”

“You’re too kind,” he huffed out. “He was rude and obscene. He was a dickhead. You shouldn’t care about him at all. He certainly doesn’t care about you.”

“Yeah,” I muttered as I turned my neck to breathe him in. “Still, I don’t blame him for being bitter. Sins of the father and all that crap.”

His lips landed at my temple. He kissed me there and whispered, “It’s okay to feel wounded, mouse. It’s okay.”

The first sob escaped me so painfully that I felt like my chest was ripped open and my heart was falling away piece by piece. More tears followed, and as I let out my sorrow over losing the brother I’d never had, Lev kept his arms around me and his lips at my temple, holding me until there were no more tears to cry.

The truth was, I wanted a brother, and now that I knew I had one and he rejected me, it hurt worse than the agony I’d felt when my mother passed away.

My brother hated me.

He didn’t know me, yet he hated me.

The jury was in.

Life just wasn’t fair.

Two days passed, and although it was a short time, it was long enough for almost everyone at Bleeding Hearts to find out I had a brother, more shockingly that it was Alessio ‘Scar Face’ Scarfo. Sasha found it particularly funny. And I hated him for it.

He found every excuse to tell people about the brother who didn’t want a sister, and gloated while I shrank into myself.

It surprised me that Anika took me aside, and with a sympathetic look in her eye, she hugged me tight as she stroked my hair, telling me she was sorry. I despised her for that too. I could never figure out if we were friends or not. She made it hard to hate her when I so desperately needed the comfort.

Nas asked me about Laredo, feigning disinterest, but I could see she wanted to know about him. I smiled at her. “You want to come with me next time I see him? He’s our uncle, after all.”

She blinked down at her coffee mug and nodded. “Yeah, that might be okay.” She quickly added, “I mean, I wouldn’t let you go alone anyway. Not after Alessio pulled that shit.” She nudged me lightly. “I got your back,
kukla
.”

“I know he had an affair with your mom, but it’s okay to admit you miss him,” I muttered gently.

“I don’t,” she said all too quickly. At my unmoving stare, she shrugged and squawked, “I don’t!”

I let it go. She didn’t want to admit it, but I knew the truth.

Saturday morning came, and Lev and I lazed around in bed, making love with aching slowness, in no rush to leave our bubble-o-love when the buzzer sounded. Lev got out of bed, in all his nude glory, went to the wall, and picked up the receiver. “Yeah?”

I watched from across the room as his shoulders stiffened and he hissed, “
You got some nerve, asshole
,” then he hung up. When he turned, his jaw was tense and he looked over at me.

A frown marred my brow. “What is it?”

He opened his mouth to speak, when the buzzer went off again. He picked up the receiver once more and held it to his ear. He held it there a long while and closed his eyes. “You’ve got five minutes. Not a second more.” With a sigh, he hung up the receiver and told me, “You might want to shower. You have a guest.”

“Who is it?”

He leaned against the wall and spoke quietly, “Your brother.”

I pulled the sheets higher up my body, my shoulders stiffening. “I don’t want to see him.”

Lev watched me closely. “Are you sure?” I didn’t respond quickly enough, so he threw on a pair of pajama pants. “Okay. I’ll send him away, mouse.”

Just as he unlocked the bedroom door from the inside, I called out, “Wait.” If I didn’t hear him out, I would forever wonder what he’d come to say to me. “Okay, I’ll see him. Give me a minute.”

I rushed across the room into the en suite and had the quickest shower of my life. I didn’t bother with makeup, just brushed out my wet hair, threw on a pair of blue jeans and a loose white sweater, and slipped on a pair of flip-flops before making my way downstairs.

Lev stood there in his pajama pants, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Alessio in complete silence. The moment he heard my footsteps, he spoke to my brother who stood a few feet away, his hands behind his back. “You’ve got five minutes. Make the time you have worth it, because you’ll never get another chance.”

He kissed my head as I passed him, and I watched him walk into the kitchen. I stopped a long way from my brother. He was dressed in a pair of brown khakis, a white tee, and a black jacket. He also looked extremely nervous.

“Hello,” I mumbled.

He raised a hand in greeting and sighed as he spoke, “Hey.” He stepped forward and held out his other hand. He did this so quickly that I stepped back with a flinch. Alessio’s face twisted as he held out the bunch of pink tulips, his hand falling slightly. “Shit. I’m not gonna hurt you, Mina.”

I hugged myself, my voice flat. “You already have.”

His hands found his hips, the bunch of tulips hanging upside down. He dipped his chin, nodding to the ground. “Yeah,” he admitted. When he lifted his head, he spoke sincerely, “I shouldn’t have said what I said. I thought about some of the things I told you later on, and I…” His lips thinned. “I shouldn’t have said those things. It wasn’t your fault he was a mean bastard, and I mean it when I say I’m glad I took all that shit from Enzo so you never had to. So,”—he shrugged awkwardly and spoke quietly—“sorry.”

He seemed genuinely sorry—or at least he acted it.

“Okay,” I muttered under my breath.

I didn’t know what else to say, so I didn’t say anything.

Alessio, looking more and more uncomfortable by the second, swallowed hard. He moved to place the bunch of tulips on the hall table by the door and stepped back. “Okay, well, that’s all I wanted to say, so I guess I’ll see you around.” He thought about that then sighed, “Or not.”

He was being civil, and something told me that was a big deal for Alessio Scarfo.

Alessio moved to leave when I called out, “Would you like some coffee?”

He stilled, spun back around, and then reached up to rub the back of his neck. He nodded uneasily. “Sure. Coffee would be great.”

We took our coffee in the living room where we could speak alone, but where I wouldn’t have to be far from Lev. I wasn’t sure how this would end. It seemed Alessio could be unpredictable when provoked.

I kept my first question simple. “How old are you?”

“I’ll be thirty this year,” he told me as he held his coffee mug tighter than he should have. “How about you?”

“I’m twenty-four.”

A long silence followed.

“And you were homeless,” he added quietly.

“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. “I don’t really like to talk about it.”

“Sure. Okay,” he said. “And you’re working at Bleeding Hearts?”

“Yeah. I’m bartending.”

“How are you liking it?” he asked politely.

I smiled down into my mug. “I like it just fine.”

Oh, God, this conversation was so freaking
painful
.

It was like eating chalk. Cheap and tasteless.

I sighed, running a hand through my damp hair. “You don’t have to be so polite, you know? You can ask me real questions. I promise I won’t get freaked out.”

He nodded, but his hesitation was clear. “Clara…” He cleared his throat. “She was nice, huh?”

“She was,” I said genuinely.

He bit the inside of his lip. Just like I did when I was nervous. And the act made me smile. “You got any photos of her?”

“No,” I told him with deep regret. “I left my photo album with my foster parents when I ran away. I was seventeen and stupid. I didn’t even think.” I huffed out a long breath. “I’d do anything to get it back.”

He must have really wanted to see that album, because the next thing he said was, “I’m good at finding people. If you give me their names and whatever other info you can, I’ll see what I can do.”

I smiled at him then, and I grinned wide. “Lev’s already looking for them.”

Alessio shrugged. “Can’t hurt to have two people looking.” His lip twitched. “Many hands make light work, you know?”

The conversation was getting easier. My heart warmed.

But my smile fell. “You’ve never seen a picture of Mom?”

“Yeah, I have, but those were at the club. Laredo has a stack of ‘em. She was all dolled up for the stage. I guess I wanted to see how she looked in real life, you know?” His lip twitched and he caught my eye. “Those photos at the club…I’ve seen our mother’s tits.”

A bark of laughter came out of me so hard that I had to cover my mouth. “Oh, man.
Ewww
.”

His body shook with silent laughter and the scars around his mouth stretched. “Yeah, not cool.” His smile stretched as far as it could and he winced, reaching up to rub the thickest scar at his lip.

I noticed.

He noticed that I noticed, and his smile fled.

He lifted his hand and ran it in front of his scarred face. “I wish I could change this.” He paused a moment before adding, “I haven’t always looked this way.”

I tried to smile. “I haven’t always looked this way either.”

Alessio pinned me with a stare. “You’re beautiful though.” He shook his head. “You don’t scare kids with your ugly mug.”

His words were pained, and it hurt to listen to them, but he was my brother, and if he wanted to talk about it, I would listen attentively, because he needed me to.

“I know about what happened. I know about your wife and Sasha.” I reached over to lay my hand over his, the hand that rested on his knee. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. She was a fucking lunatic. We married in Vegas after a drunken night out. We met a few hours before. I didn’t even know her. I sure as fuck didn’t love her. She was beautiful though.” He shrugged. “My own fault for thinking with my cock.”

I removed my hand, flushing at his crude admission. “I see.”

He glimpsed down at his wristwatch. “Shit. Is that the time? I…” He looked up at me, wearing a hesitant look on his face. “I gotta go.”

Disappointment filled me. “Oh.” I stood and he followed suit. I forced a smile. “Well, it was nice talking to you, Alessio.” I wasn’t sure how my next request would go. “I know it might sound crazy, but if you have any pictures of Enzo, I’d really like to see them. I know I can’t call him my father, but I was made from part of him. I’d like to see how he looked.”

His face brightened. “Yeah, I got a few. I can bring ‘em down one day.”

A breath of relief left me. “That would be great.”

Alessio grinned then. “I’ll bring ‘em down if you let me find your foster parents.”