Little Bird

III

I was in the kitchen scooping cookie dough onto a sheet when I heard the front bell, once I got the pan in the oven I grabbed my tray of sliced walnut banana loaf and went out.

"Ciao Little man, my usual please"

His gaze went from me to Sarah as he ordered, she gave Mister Rossi my discount before getting his drink ready.
He took his food and drink before finding a seat, as I finished placing the treats into the case our usual came in.

Sarah happily greeted him and I kept my eyes away, grabbing a tray and a clean rag I went to wipe down the tables.

I had just removed the dishes when he decided to sit at the booth I was cleaning, I glared down at the table before quickly wiping it down.

"Quit glaring and focus on your job, mute"

He rudely states before I huff, then take the dishes to the kitchen. When I came out to check on the stock of muffins, Sarah started chatting.

"Gods, he is hot"

'Pretty face, ugly heart'

"Oh stop, you don't know him! He's not that mean, just mean enough to be super hot"

'You will get hurt thinking like that'

I signed back, her language is bad but she at least understands it well.
I went to Mister Rossi to collect his dishes, but he stopped me by pulling out the notepad.

"What's your take on that guy? And be honest"

'He thinks too highly of himself, not in a well-mannered way, he acts as if his looks will be enough, he is rude and looks down on people with jobs like mine, and flaunts his money like that earns him respect, he disregards people feelings, and has no sense of personal space, a few days of working here he sends me into a panic attack, screw him'

"Damn... Alright, thanks kid, here's a tip"

I quietly thanked him, then went back to work.

For the next few days, things were quiet, no Rossi, no college-rich dude, it was weird but I didn't dwell on it.

Then one night, I got a knock on my door at midnight.
I wrapped my robe around my barely clothed body before shuffling out of my room, I opened the door to find Mister Rossi, Moster Gio, and another man I didn't know.

"Can we come in?"

I moved aside with a yawn, a hand over my mouth as I did. Slowly I grabbed my phone and typed a question.

"Water or tea for anyone?"

"No, kid can you sit? We won't be long and we will stay quiet for the little one"

I hummed as I sat in my rocking chair, they found themselves seats before speaking.

"I am Allesandro Campioni, one heard quite a lot about you, little one"

"What do you want from me? Sorry for being blunt, I had a long day and I open tomorrow"

"No apologies needed, I wanted to speak to you about my son's behavior, the narcissistic rich boy"

I was confused for a moment, then my eyes widened. I had spoken badly about the son of a mob boss, and I am still alive?!

"See? He is smart, he just peace it together who he was talking about"

"And he isn't shitting his pants or begging for his life, so he knows people wouldn't normally still be alive if you were mad at them"

He knitted his fingers together as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his chin sitting on top of his hands as he stared into me.

"What is your name, and who is your father"

"Corbin Sokolov, my sperm donor is Ivan Petrov, Sir"

"your name, the last name means Falcon, and your first means crow, which makes me think your shift is a bird of some kind, yes?"

Only shifters can identify other shifters unless you get ahold of their ID, but since they didn't know my name then that means they did know this based on it.

"Correct, and if I had to guess yours, I would say some sort of large or medium-sized predator"

My phone spoke, and he chuckled as he nodded his head.

"You would be right, now little bird, how about we strike a business deal?"

"No, mob work is not a life for me or my daughter, I escaped that sort of thing, I've paid with blood and my pound of flesh during my years with the Petrov family"

"I don't want you to fight, I want you as my eyes and ears, you wouldn't be in any fights, and you wouldn't even step foot inside my home unless needed to, or my wife wants to feed you, we offer you money, safety for you and your child, a new apartment, and if needed, you may live in my home for protection, if the Russians stick their noses into our territory"

I give him a look, and he clears his throat with an awkward chuckle.

"My Apologies, if the Russian Mob, stick their noses into our territory, or threaten you"

"I want a contract written up, signed by you and someone else stating if you don't hold up your end, the security or only having me be your eyes, then I can wipe my hands clean of this without horrible and bloody repercussions, then we will have a deal"

He shakes my left hand, Gio and Rossi pat me on the back.

"Welcome to the Familia, Little Bird, the first Russian in the Italian family"

"And the first Bird too, we will try to keep the others in line"

"Thank you, I just want the best life for my daughter, she may not bear physical scars but emotional and mental ones"

They said their goodbyes and left, I sighed as I tossed my robe off and collapsed in bed.
I think I only agreed because I'm tired, but oh well, I remembered to get a contract and cover my butt while taking care of Lila.

Before I fell back asleep, a sleepy Lila climbed into bed with me.

"Papa noisy"

I kissed her head with a silent chuckle, then fell asleep holding her.