A Valentino's Life (On Hold)

Chapter Two: Brothers and Sisters

Chapter Two: Brothers and Sisters

Cali’s P.O.V.

The eight of us made our way past the line waiting to get into the club. I couldn’t help the sneer of disgust that crossed my face as I took the people in. The low-life’s Lenny gets, I swear. One in five has been in jail, one in three is currently stoned and every other girl in the place is a grade-A slut.

A large black man stood at the front, a clipboard and wad of cash in hand. He was paying no attention to us as we came to a stop in front of him, but Clayton made it evident in a mere two seconds. “Where the fuck is Lenny?” He snarled at the man.

As if he had just been shot, the man’s eyes darted upward and locked onto my brothers before making their way around the rest of us. “Oh, my apologies, Mr. Valentino, he is in his office at the back,” the man replied calmly. Clayton’s gaze became amused at the undertone of the man, though, one that obviously screamed he feared us. We exchanged a knowing look before I looked back over my shoulder to Cody and Don. “You two stay out here and give us twenty minutes. If we’re not back you know what to do,” the order slid off my tongue and they nodded.

All the men seemed happy to retreat one way or another now that some of the skanks had jumped out of line in order to brush themselves against them. I growled lowly in disgust, but returned my eyes forward.

Rule number twenty-three of the mob, don’t ever look back. When you do, you either get hurt emotionally or you die.

The man removed the velvet rope at the entrance and ushered us in before returning to his post. The whole place smelled like vomit, liquor and sweat, it made me want to hurl. People were grinding shamelessly up against each other while the DJ played a random beat over the speakers. The place was practically black excluding the glowing dance floor and bar.

Clayton took one look back at the rest of us before he began weaving, Louis and Frankie hot on his tail. Keeping a steady pace, I followed suit, Jake and Hunter falling into step around me. These boys had grown to be highly protective of me even when there wasn’t a need to be. One time, Jake almost killed a guy from grabbing my ass here. Lucky for us it scared Lenny into paying double, but it was still a little over the top.

We reached the back with no drama and everyone’s noses intact, surprisingly. Clayton knocked twice on the door before barging in. We filed in, except for Hunter and Louis who stood watch outside, and surrounded Lenny. “Valentino’s, what a pleasant surprise,” The old, grimy club owner chuckled nervously. Clayton hated when people acted this way, sketchy beyond belief when they knew we’d be coming, the scowl on his face proved it. “Just give us the damn money, dirt bag.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

Lenny didn’t put up much of a fight, in fact it was the dullest exchange I’ve ever had.

About an hour later, the two cars pulled up to a large gate that could only be opened by a code and then a buzz from security inside. After passing through, we came to a stop in front of the mansion known as Casa De Valentino.

As I climbed out of the escalade, my stomach dropped. Sure, this was my home and all, but Sal was nowhere near being family to me. He was still pretty pissed about me running away all those years ago.

A warm arm wrapped around my shoulders as Clayton hugged me to his side, “Don’t worry sis, Sal’s in Miami.” He reassured me. I physically felt my body relax and even smile as we made our way into the house.

Not even three steps in and Danny enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug. A struggled giggle escaped my lips while my arms snaked around his shoulders and returned the hug. After a minute, he dropped me and hunched over to look in my eyes, “What’s up little sis?”