Kissing The Moon Goodbye - A Midnight Mafia Novel

Fifteen

Alessio

I came into Padre's office, no knock, no pleasantries. I threw the door open, it cracked off of the wall behind it and I slammed my palms down onto his desk. "What the fȕck was today?" I yelled.

He didn't so much as glance up from his work. "Temper. Temper." He said slowly in a neutral tone. I knew all of his tones, every single one of them was a threat. "Sergio, do shut the door behind you. You know how the hallway has ears."

My flattened hands clenched into a ball. "What. Was. That?" I repeated slowly and finally he placed his pen down. He motioned to the two seats before his desk. Obviously he was expecting us together, there was usually only one chair in the room. He'd had a second brought in for us.

"Sit."

With clenched teeth I sank into the chair. Sergio on the other hand leaned against the door. "No thanks, I'm good here."

Ugo's tone didn't changes, eyes didn't sharpen, hand didn't flex impatiently. Rather he repeated himself in the exact same robotic tone. "Sit."

"Look." Sergio said flatly. "It's been a long damn time since I've taken orders from anyone in this house. I'm not about to start now. I'm only here because your royal highness demanded my court and I would so hate to see his pretty little panties get all in a bunch again. I will stand."

I almost felt bad for Sergio. Not enough as I probably should have. He'd had everything coming to him for a long time now. Aria was likely the first friendly face he had seen here since he arrived, even Madre who babied all of the boys working under Padre looked the other way when he entered. But to talk out of term to Padre? I had come in hot headed but Sergio was downright disrespectful. I was almost worried for him.

Padre leaned forward and set his laced fingers on the table.

The thing with Padre was...he was a robot. While Pietro, Ari, and myself along with so many of our men had been taught to be the exact same thing we fell short. We were cyborgs, programmed to follow orders and complete our mission regardless of any outcome, but we had emotion. We could get angry, sad, fall in love, our emotions made us a liability. We yelled, and fought, and got down right angry. But Padre? He was a robot. He was all mechanical piecing. He was cut and built from scratch for this one simple job. He was cold, hard, emotionless, metal.

No matter what Padre was doing or saying his expression remained untouched, his tone unfazed. Whether he was complimenting your dress or describing to you in great detail where he was going to brand you before shooting you in the head his tone was exactly the same. When he watched someone do something great, he would sometimes nod, and when he was severely disappointed he would shake his head slowly before turning and walking away all together, but never did his expression change. He didn't yell at his men, he didn't lower or raise his voice, he was a robot.

He didn't used to be like that though, with us that is. He was violent and belligerent. Aria and I had once invented a drinking game based on his yelling and breaking things. We only played a few times before getting so drunk we were sick and decided the game was more trouble than it was worth. When we had aged and no longer needed to be "taught" and before everyone else he was picture perfect. I hadn't heard his voice change in a damn long time, not unless he was faking pleasantries of course. When it came to work, he was ice.

So when he leaned forward and his eyes narrowed and his tone came out low and threatening towards Sergio I was shocked. I hadn't heard a change of tone from Padre since I was a child. Surely, this was the end for Sergio. "Being here for this wedding is an honor and a privilege and you will do well to remember so, should I have to remind you of your betrayal to this family and how the consequences should have been certain death. Gia and I have kindly spared your life boy and it would be in your best interest to grow very grateful, very quickly, lest you wind up on the bottom of the ravine as your actions have surely warranted."