Page 34 of Hidden Empire
Maybe they are! There’s so much I don’t know about him, and the itch to find out more is beginning to eat at me.
I watch as he finds me looking at him, his lips twitching before he disappears. Again. I’ll find out his name when we sit down with dinner, I can’t wait any longer. I’m a smart girl, I can get one of my brothers to tell me.
I know just which one to ask, too.
Taking a quick look at our options, Matteo and I both settle on a pasta option. Huge meatballs with spaghetti and marinara sauce for him, creamy spinach tortellini for me, both served with a side of garlic bread. Armani, Nico, and Remo all get plates full of tacos. Some chicken, some steak, all decorated with different toppings.
The food isn’t as good as Martha’s, but it’s still delicious. The creamy tortellini is steaming but not too hot, which is very nice. I’d definitely eat it again. Matteo must think it's good too, because he’s taken four whole bites off of my plate since sitting down. At least I’m used to it now; I always just get extra just for him. The man can eat comically large amounts of food without blinking, and it’s honestly a bit impressive.
While Nico and Remo start doing that twin thing they do sometimes where they talk quietly to each other, Armani and Matteo converse with me.
“So there really are cowboy mobsters?” I ask, lips twitching. “I honestly thought you were pranking me when you put them on the list.”
I can’t ask about the mystery man right away. Matteo is far too smart for that. I need to let him know I’m in an inquisitive mood before I bring him up.
Matteo snorts. “Jade, what do you think cowboys are? Or at least what they were?”
I lift a shoulder. “All I know about cowboys is that it’s very likely they did more than just ride horses together on those long trips away. At least, that was a theory we debated in Western American Civ.”
My youngest brother howls with laughter, drawing some attention our way, but not much. “You talked about cowboys fucking in class? Maybe I did miss out on public school!”
“I can’t wait to tell Colton that’s all you could think of when asked about cowboys as a whole,” Armani snickers.
Colton Wyatt is the heir to The Outlaws, which Matteo pointed out to me as we were getting off of the boat. I honestly kind of figured he was fucking with me about the cowboy bit, but seeing him and four other guys with Stetsons on at dinner kind of tipped me off to the truth.
“Well, that’s not all,” I huff. “But that’s fine, I’d like to hear his thoughts. I, for one, am on team gay cowboys. It’s only logical.”
Armani chuckles. “Logically or statistically speaking? Because if we’re discussing the numbers, that would mean that at least one of your brothers is gay as well. How do you feel about that?”
“How do I feel about it?” I echo. “I think it’s great—” A bit of worry creeps up my spine, and I lower my voice to a whisper. “Do we… does The Outfit not think it’s great?”
My stomach gives a painful drop. That would be horrible.
“The Outfit cares about heirs,” Matteo answers with a grin. “Outside of making sure our line continues, the organization has no qualms about who we’re with. And Dad already has three grandkids, so it doesn’t actually matter if the rest of us reproduce or not. Though, he wants Apollo to, and he’d prefer if we were at replacement rate.”
Well, that’s a relief.
“Replacement rate?”
“Ten of us, at least thirteen of them,” Armani explains. “The extra three would replace him and Cesar and add a new Moretti member. More if you want to replace the wives as well.”
Wowza. “That’s a lot of babies.”
“There’s a lot of us to make a lot of babies,” he replies. “Mafias that rely on a strong family name expect high birth rates. Can’t stop us if we keep multiplying.”
I nod along. “And, um, about what you asked earlier—” Before I can awkwardly string together the right words to tell my brothers they can be open with me, Matteo cracks a magnetic grin.
“Nico is gay,” he tells me. “He isn’t shy about it. And Armani?—”
“Can speak for himself.”
“—fucks anything he finds pretty.”
Armani lets out a long sigh. “Thank you for so crudely informing our sister that I’m bisexual.”
“And you, little sister?” Matteo prods, poking my arm playfully. “Any chance we’re getting a sister-in-law in the future?”
“Extremely unlikely, sorry,” I answer sheepishly.