Of course, all that shit came to an end two years ago when Mia became more than just my assignment. I jacked off when I needed to take the edge off, and trust me when I tell you, jacking off barely takes the edge off when you want someone as badly as I wanted Mia.
However, if I had continued to get my dick sucked by random club sluts, Michael never would have given me permission to pursue Mia. He loved his sister something fierce, and her happiness was paramount to his. He’d never let her date a man who would cheat on her or beat her. So, for the past two years, unless I was called upon for side jobs, I’ve dedicated my entire life to protecting Mia Gallo.
I was pretty sure that even Ciro approved, and I knew that if I ever hurt her and Michael didn’t come after me, Ciro Mancini would. Yeah. I didn’t need that kind of nightmare in my life.
I sat back and continued to watch Mia in silence and wondered, not for the first time, how she was going to react when she learned about me. At five-foot-two, she wasn’t much of a threat to my six-foot-three, but I knew Michael taught her self-defense, so I could see her losing her shit on me. But with a mane the color of melted chocolate, eyes the color of expensive whiskey, a petite, feminine figure, and a face to die for, I was willing to take the ass kicking.
Anything to be with her.
Chapter 2
Mia~
Chemical engineering was bullshit.
Okay.
It wasn’t bullshit.
It was my future.
But, God Almighty, why did it have moods? Some days, it was so easy to understand, and other days, I wanted to tear my hair out.
Or maybe I was the one with the moods?
I had chosen chemical engineering because I liked the idea of creating. I enjoyed research-minus the hair pulling moods-and knew a degree in chemical engineering opened a wide variety of job opportunities. The possibilities were endless, and that was exciting to me.
However, my major left time for little else. I was either in class, at the library, or at home, stuffing my face in between class work or doing my best to get some sleep. I got my college-party phase out of my system my freshman year, and realized I wasn’t really missing out on much. Or, rather, missing out on things I discovered really didn’t interest me.
I wasn’t like most college students. I had spent the first few years of my life fatherless and with a mother who preferred drugs and alcohol over motherhood. Georgia fed me, but barely. As for my father, she said his name was Tazio Gallo, but I couldn’t know that for sure. However, it was the name she put on my birth certificate, so it’s the one that stuck. I had a half-brother named Michael, but he was ten years older than I was, so he had other things going on during those tender years.
It wasn’t until we had moved in with my mother’s cousin, Jeanie, that things had started to look up. Ciro Mancini had taken Michael under his wing and had steered a better life for us. I had been eight and Michael eighteen.
At the time, I hadn’t known who Ciro Mancini was, but the older I got, and the more Michael worked for the Benetti Family, I learned that Ciro Mancini was The Son of The Holy Trinity. Phoenix Fiore was known as The Holy Ghost, and Luca Benetti was known as The Father. Upon learning all that, Michael had given me a murky overview of what he did and who he did it for and, sad to say, I hadn’t been surprised. Everyone in Morgan City knew who the Benettis were. And you either worked for them, or you got out of their way.
Michael had taken care of me with the help of Jeanie, and he did his best to keep my sheltered from the life he led, but not ignorant of it. It was also hard for me to have any negative opinions of the Benettis because I wouldn’t have the life and opportunities I had if it hadn’t been for them. Even though Ciro Mancini wasn’t technically a Benetti, he was one of Luca Benetti’s closest friends and his right-hand man. Phoenix was the other hand, and if rumors were to be believed, Francesca Fiore, Phoenix’s wife, was even closer to Luca Benetti than they were.
In looking towards the future, there was also the question of what I wanted to do with my life. I knew what I wanted to be, but would I be a chemical engineer in Morgan City, or would my offers and ambitions lure me away from the city? And could I leave Michael? After Mom died of an overdose when I was nine, Michael became my only real family. Sure, we had our cousin Jeanie, but Michael was my brother. Jeanie never had any kids, so it was truly just me and Michael. The best way I could describe it was, while she was always kind, Jeanie sheltered me, but Michael raised me. And even though he was only thirty, one day, he was going to get married and have children. Did I really want to be a long-distance aunt?
The chair next to me jostled me to attention. I turned to see my friend Justin Abernathy. “Hey, Justin.”
“Hey, Mia,” he returned. “How goes it?”
“It goes,” I grimaced. “Usually in the wrong direction, but it keeps going.”
He laughed. “I’m heading down to Betty’s to grab a burger. Wanna come?” Betty’s was a local diner that served the best fries in the
