The Mafia’s Princess

3. A Game Of Poker

“So you’re looking for Alfonso?” Mr. Gambino asked out as a smirk played on his sexy lips.

“Yes.” I said back, not showing any fear. “If you tell me where he is, I can get out of your hair.”

“What do you want with the old bastard?” I gasped at his words, not expecting them.

“Why is it any of your business?” I snapped back, making the men laugh around him.

“Well, you are in my hotel demanding things.”

“It’s not your hotel, it’s Alfonso.” I said back, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Seeing that I bought it from Alfonso over a year ago, it is my hotel.”

I stopped breathing as I stared at the man, not being able to process what he said.

Alfonso sold the hotel?

“Why would he sell it to you? He would never sell this hotel, it was like his baby.” I didn’t make the conscious decision to think about my words before they came out of my mouth.

“Why wouldn’t he sell it to me? I did pay him 300 million for it.”

“300 million?” I whispered, not believing my ears at this point.

“The dead bastard knew it was a worthy investment sweetheart. Don’t be mad at us for scooping it up when we had the chance.” Another one of the men said out, making me meet his gaze.

He looked like Mr. Gambino, but younger and slightly smaller. His eyes were a little lighter as well, almost like an amber color. His dark hair made them pop, drawing you in through his gaze.

It soon died off once I let his words process through my brain.

Dead bastard?

“What do you mean by dead?” I asked

“The man died over a year ago sweetheart.”

My heart sank in my stomach as his words processed through my brain. I looked around, seeing every ounce of eyes studying me in this room.

“I take it you didn't hear about it?” Mr. Gambino asked in such a smooth tone that had my body trembling slightly.

I walked over towards the bar, picking up an expensive bottle of scotch and pouring some in a crystal glass.

“What are you doing?” His Italian voice was like butter, making it so much harder for me to control my lustful thoughts.

“Drinking, what else would it look like?” I downed the glass, swallowing the strong liquor.

I could hear snickers from some of the men while my back was turned to them.

“No s**t, but who said you could have some?” I turned around to Mr. Gambino glaring at me. I could see a blood vessel poking out of his forehead.

“If you do that any longer, you might pop a blood vessel Mr. Gambino.” I chuckled out, making the others laugh around me, “Plus I can pay my way, don’t worry about it.”

I poured another glass of the expensive scotch, downing that too. I winced as the warm liquor slid down my throat.

“That’s an $80,000 bottle of scotch, I doubt you can pay for it.” I could hear some of the men snicker again as he said that comment.

I laughed sarcastically, taking the bottle and walking over to the poker table. I sat it on the table as I pulled my bag off of my back. I unzipped it and pulled stacks and stacks of cash out. I sat eight stacks of $10,000 on the table, giving them all a sly look.

“I can always pay my way darling, don’t misjudge me.”

“Damn!” The younger version of Mr. Gambino laughed out, “You are a breath of fresh air sweetheart.”

“You must be suffocating all the time then.” They all laughed, except for Mr. Gambino. He just studied my every move.

“Are you single, sweetheart? I would hate to envy whoever is tapping that.” Another man said out as he kept his filthy eyes on my ass.

I rolled my eyes, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Please, join us. We would appreciate your company.” The younger version of Mr. Gambino chuckled out, pointing to the empty seat at the table.

“Speak for yourself brother.” Mr. Gambino spat before he rolled his eyes, taking his gaze off of me.

“Nonsense!” He cheered, “She’s intriguing, is she not brother?”

“More annoying than anything.” Mr. Gambino muttered back, earning laughs from around the table.

“And you're not?” I asked back as I took a seat in the empty chair.

He just glared at me, never even blinking.

“Don’t mind my brother, he’s just a brooding asshole.” The younger version of Mr. Gambino teased “I am Giovanni, and this is my brother Nìkolai.”

I choked on the air I breathed in, not believing his words. They really were the Gambino brothers.

Fuck me, I shouldn’t be here!

“You alright sweetheart?” Giovanni asked with a smirk

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect I would meet the infamous Gambino brothers tonight.”

“Ah, so you do know us then?” The men snickered around, while Nìkolai studied me from across the table.

“Everybody who lives in New York knows who you are.” I said back as I sipped from the scotch bottle itself.

I should have been nicer with my words, Nìkolai could kill me if he wanted too. He had a reputation that preceded himself, and I could see why.

Nìcoli Gambino was a beast.

A cold and calculated killer who took no mercy on his enemies. He took over for his father at the age of eighteen, becoming the youngest Don in history. Not only was he the youngest, but he was the most ruthless of them all. And that’s saying something, because my grandfather is a ruthless man.

He took over when I was around the age of fourteen, so he would be four years older than me. I was twenty four now, so that meant he must be twenty eight currently.

When he took over, a lot of s**t changed. There was a lot more bloodshed between families because Nìkolai enforced more rules in his family than most did. He upheld the rules so much where people had to come to him for everything. He and his family controlled a lot of the drug trade, but they owned a lot of the ports in and out of New York, among other parts of the world. They also made most of their wealth through money laundering. They’re honestly the best at it, nobody could top them for it. They also had business in many cities of Italy, expanding their drug trade even more.

The Gambino family was the wealthiest and largest crime family, along with us, the Genovese. But they had to be the best honestly, just don’t let my grandfather hear me say that.

We weren’t friends, but we weren’t entirely enemies either. There was a treaty pact that was signed amongst all the families before I got shipped off overseas. It was to stop all the bloodshed, but I’m not sure if it actually worked or not. Supposedly the only time bloodshed was allowed, was if both parties acknowledged the deceit. Then they would take care of the guilty parties in their own family. I guess it was easier for everyone to kill their own, then to have another family kill them.

I haven’t spoken to my grandfather since the first year I left this place. After that, I stopped keeping in contact. I just wanted to forget about this life and never come back.

Look at me now.

“What’s your name sweetheart? Maybe we know you too?” Giovanni asked, throwing me from my thoughts.

“No names, I don’t disclose any of that.” They all looked at me in confusion, not understanding why I wouldn’t tell them my name.

“What are we supposed to call you then?”

“I don’t know, you all seem smart. You can come up with a name.”

“Or I could always look up your name in our system. You are staying at this hotel, aren’t you?” Nìkolai’s voice held a lot of annoyance, among a cockiness that ticked me off.

“I don’t doubt your skills Mr. Gambino. I’m sure you’ll do that as soon as I leave the room.” Giovanni laughed, looking between the two of us.

“This is gonna be such a great night, I can already tell.” Giovanni just seemed to be enjoying himself, looking back and forth between his brother and I.

“Quite frankly, I’m still wondering if you're single or not.” The man who hit on me earlier eagerly chimed in.

“And what is your name?” He looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on who he was.

“Johnny Colombo, sweetheart.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at his introduction.

Johnny was the heir of Mattias Colombo.

The Colombo’s were the weakest family of the bunch. They were like errand boys, always trying to put their hand in the pot of wealth. They could never be anything more than worker bees. They’re alliances with the other families is what keeps them afloat. If they burned their alliances, they would be nothing.

“Wow, Colombo’s and Gambinos getting along. I’m surprised to say the least.” I teased.

“What do you know about the mafia sweetheart?” Johnny asked back, making me smirk

“More than you probably think I know.” Giovanni laughed, slapping his brother's shoulder in amusement.

“Isn’t she great, brother?” Nìkolai rolled his eyes, not paying his brother any mind.

“So, are you single, sweetheart? I would love to take you back to my place tonight.” I couldn’t help but cringe at Johnny’s words.

He was such a thirsty, thirsty man.

“No thanks. If I’m gonna get into bed with an Italian, I would at least make sure he was of higher stature.” I muttered back, making the men laugh all around us. I even saw Nìkolai’s lips curve into a smile.

I took another sip of the scotch, needing to get drunk already.

“You must not know that I am the Don of the Colombo family sweetheart.” I rolled my eyes at Johnny, knowing he was gonna try and prove his worth.

“I know exactly who you are darling, that’s why I will never get into bed with you.” I muttered back, “You're like the errand boys of the mafia, always jumping at the first offer someone gives you.”

They all laughed, making Johnny even angrier. He glared at me, looking like he wanted to rip me from limb to limb.

“She’s so right though!” Giovanni chuckled as he downed his glass of a dark brown liquor.

I was surprised to find that Nìkolai was laughing. He looked so sexy when he smiled and laughed, as if he was normal and not a killing machine.

I could even see that he had his canines capped with gold, making him even sexier. All I could imagine was his mouth on my body, showing me his sexy smile and having his way with me.

God what I would do to be underneath that god of a man. He looks like such a good f**k. He was too big for his seat, letting me know he was big in other places too. His wide frame told me there was so much more hiding underneath that crisp navy blue suit he was wearing.

I couldn’t help but trail my eyes over his large arms, then to his thick neck, and then up to his strong jawline. I couldn’t help but moan so softly, fantasizing about him on top of me.

My gaze traveled up to his dark brown eyes, realizing he was watching me the whole time. I quickly looked away, cursing myself mentally. When I looked back, he had a cocky smirk on his face. He acted if he was the sexiest man alive, making it so much harder for me to appreciate his good looks.

I always hated cocky men, they were the worst.

“You must be a groupie who likes to hook up with mafia men. I’m sure if I asked around, I would hear all about you.” Johnny scoffed out, making me smirk

“If you asked around, you would hear nothing about me. I’ve only been with one man in the mafia, and he’s dead now.”

“Did you kill him?” Giovanni teased

“I don’t kiss and tell Gio.”

“You can’t call me that, my girlfriend Isábella would kill you if she heard you say that.” He chuckled back, “She’s the only one with the right to call me that.”

“Isábella who?” I asked curiously.

I only knew one Isábella and she was my best friend growing up. Her father was a long time friend of my grandfather, making us good friends when we were born. She was the same age as me, born the same year I was.

We stopped talking about three years ago. She kept in contact with me, but I honestly stopped answering her calls. She was one the last people in my life who held the connection to the past. I honestly just wanted to move on and forget, so I let her go, no matter how hard that was.

We were always thick as thieves growing up. She was my sister that I never had and I loved her dearly growing up.

I wonder what she’s up to these days.

“Isábella Cordelia, why?” I smirked at Giovanni’s words, knowing he was talking about my best friend.

“No reason, I was just curious.”

She grew up in the mafia too, so I’m no surprise that she found a way to weasel into the Gambino family.

“You know, you ask too many questions to not want to tell us your name.” Nìkolai said out, making me meet his gaze.

His dark eyes bore into mine, making my skin crawl in pleasure.

“Can’t I be curious? Or do I need a reason to be?” He smirked as he watched my every move.

I picked up the bottle of scotch and took a lengthy shot. I felt like I was on display for the men to just stare and critique me in their minds.

I put the bottle back down and winced at the strong liquor sliding down my throat.

“Are we gonna play poker or what?” I asked out as I looked at the finished game on the table.

“You play sweetheart?” Gio chuckled surprisingly.

I nodded my head yes as I watched him collect all the cards back.

I guess I could stay and take their money.