An Offer You Can't Refuse by Sal Bianchi (best beach reads .txt) 📕

here to talk to him, though, and it was probably a good idea to get off the main floor as soon as possible, anyway.

I sighed and pushed my way through the crowd and toward the stairs. Most of the men parted as I approached, backing away and staring in disgust as though I were a leper or something. I brushed off their reactions and braced myself as I headed up the stairs for my long overdue reunion with my brother.

30

Nick

Alessandro’s office was different from I remembered it being. When I’d left, everything had still been the same as how our father had left it. As I took a look around, it was clear that he’d redecorated to his own tastes. The old-fashioned couches and the long, heavy wooden desk were all gone, replaced with more modern and sleek furniture. It matched my brother’s aesthetic, but it really didn’t match with the rest of the bar.

My brother looked different, too. His face was thinner, and his expression was more stern than I remembered it being. There were bags under his eyes, too, as though he hadn’t slept well in a while. I felt a pang of guilt as I remembered what Franco had said about how I was making life difficult for my brother. He’d slicked his blond hair to the side the way our father used to. I didn’t like it.

We’d been sitting in silence in his office for a few minutes now, each waiting for the other to break the uncomfortable silence.

“It’s not like you to get drunk to the point of starting fights,” he finally sighed before leaning back in his office chair.

“What?” I furrowed my brows in confusion. “I’m not drunk. What are you talking about?”

“Oh, excuse me,” he replied calmly. “I just assumed that you must be since I can’t understand why else you would show up here in the middle of the night to pick a fight.”

“Yeah, that’s nice,” I retorted. “First time you see your brother in three years, and your first response is to tell me off? I wasn’t even the one who started that fight.”

“Oh, no?” Alessandro raised an eyebrow at me as he poured himself a glass of scotch. “So you didn’t beat Domenico half to death a few nights ago?”

I pursed my lips together at his question. It wasn’t surprising that news of what had happened had gotten back to Alessandro, but I still didn’t like him throwing it in my face like that.

“I didn’t start that fight either,” I scoffed. “That moron came up to me and started throwing punches completely unprovoked. Did you think I was just going to lie down and take a beating?”

“I suppose not,” he replied before taking a sip of his drink. “Then again, if you hadn’t been parading around with a fed--”

“I didn’t come here to listen to you scold me,” I snapped impatiently.

“What did you come here for, then?” he asked me coldly.

I frowned. I was honestly a little disappointed. It wasn’t like I’d expected some touching, heart-wrenching reunion, but I hadn’t expected him to be so aggressive either. At the same time, I’d come here in a rampage after being confronted by Franco, so I guess it would have been hypocritical of me to expect any different.

“Does the mafia have anything to do with the murder of Senator Alexis Rothschild?” I asked point-blank, watching carefully for my brother’s reaction. Unfortunately, he was good at hiding his emotions, and I couldn’t discern any physical reaction from him at all.

“I really wish you’d stop playing detective and come back home,” he replied, completely ignoring my question. “You’re still welcome back here, you know.”

“Again with the ‘playing,’” I grumbled. “I’m not playing at anything. I went to school for four years for this job. I’m not coming back. Should I take your refusal to answer my question as a confession of guilt?”

Alessandro sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes before speaking again.

“I’m not trying to insult you,” he replied, his voice more gentle than it had been since I’d gotten here. “But you have to understand, even as the boss, there’s a limit to how much I can do to protect you. I’m able to keep the Family pacified by telling them you won’t touch cases that are directly connected to us, but I won’t be able to look the other way if you start fighting against us.”

“Is that a threat?” I scoffed.

“Nicolo,” he snapped as he clenched his fist on top of the desk. “It’s a plea. Stop doing this before I’m forced to take action.”

“Right,” I grumbled bitterly. “Of course. I shouldn’t be surprised that you’d choose the mafia’s interests over me. After all, you chose the mafia over Mom, right? Why should your brother be any different?”

I couldn’t keep the venom and pain out of my voice as I spat the words at him. Our mother was a taboo subject and bringing her up had exactly the effect I’d expected. Alessandro’s eyes went wide with shock, and for the first time in the evening, he seemed at a loss for words.

“That isn’t fair,” he finally replied through clenched teeth. “You know that isn’t true, and you know everything I’ve done has been for your benefit.”

“You’re such a liar,” I sneered in disbelief. “Either that or you’re delusional. If you gave a crap about Mom, you wouldn’t be sitting there right now. And if you gave a crap about me, you wouldn’t be sending Franco to keep tabs on me.”

“Franco?” Alessandro blinked in confusion. “What are you talking about? What did Franco do?”

I froze at his stunned response. Franco had claimed he was taking a risk in coming to warn me to stop investigating, but I’d honestly thought he’d been bluffing. I sent him a mental apology as I realized I’d just ratted him out to the boss.

“Whatever.” I shrugged. “I got what I came here for. Now I know without a doubt that the Family does have something