Don't Touch

-53-

A/N: So things were plot-heavy and then smut-heavy, and now they're about to get plot-heavy again, tbh... I think I do a better job at plot-smut integration (yes, I am v proud of this phrase 😂) in my other books. The Last Petal is blowing tf up on Inkitt, so y'all might be interested in it! Thank you for reading!

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Simone and Sean sat in the conference room of their parents' house on a video call with Manuel to make the last minute preparations for the annual Council meeting.

"So, exactly how many of the families in that region have you managed to win over, Manny?"

"As of now, I have 38," he responded confidently.

"As of now?" Simone questioned with a raised brow. "We have a week until the meeting. You're saying that as if you have a ton of time to make more alliances. There are 54 families in that region. That leaves 16 that could start some shit."

"Well, it's clearly better than Santi already, considering I was able to win over 38 in like a year. And those 16 families won't be a problem for us... They're just afraid of crossing Santi while the others see his power is dwindling."

"You better be right, Manny. We can't afford a fuck up, especially now..."

"And with those 38 families," Sean finally spoke up. "How sure are you that they're going to comply?"

"Well, this approach I'm taking is new for them, so I can't make any guarantees, but I do know that they're tired as fuck of Santi and as long as I have your backing, they should fall in line. The same goes for those other 16 families."

"And Jared?" Sean asked. "He's down there, right?"

"Yeah, we got him in that location you told us about. But I don't get why your head of security is here-"

"He's just there as an advance," Simone interrupted. "... He's our head of security, remember? And he's got all that CIA experience and shit. You know they have their own thing... And we can't put anything past Santi. Even if we are there on Council business, he might still make a move and it'd be the perfect place to do it."

"Fair enough," Manuel sighed. "But, my people could've done that, though."

"No, we need you to focus and making sure your shit is tight for next week." Simone looked at her phone and then turned to her brother. "Is there anything else we need to discuss with him?"

Sean shook his head and Simone turned back to the screen.

"Anything else from you?" she asked Manuel.

"No, we'll just continue doing what we're doing here. Santi is freaking the fuck out and I'll be sure that we keep the pressure on him."

"And what about Viktor? Are you sure the Russians are out of the picture?"

"Positive. And we have you to thank for that. After Santi not only lost Dmitry to you, but Dmitry ended up dead by your hands as a result, Viktor was like fuck it and went back home to Russia."

"Excellent," Simone chimed with a clap. "Gracias, primo!"

"See you next week."

After hanging up, Simone leaned back in her seat and propped her feet up on the table. "It sounds like we're in decent enough shape for next week. I just don't like the idea of possible opposition from 16 families."

"Don't worry about it too much, sis. Like Manny said, they're just afraid of Santi, but he won't be in a position to scare them for much longer."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just getting anxious because we've been working on this for so long and it's been expensive to say the least... I hope everything pulls through."

"It will," Sean assured. "You've been doing damn good at this."

"You know what?" Simone said with a smirk. "You right, I am doing good at this."

Sean let out an amused chuckle and shook his head. "Cocky already..."

"As I deserve! Anyway, how have you been doing? I know I see you at least weekly, and I know that you're doing better physically, but what about everything else?"

"Humph," Sean huffed. "You mean have I gotten over Lali?"

Simone was caught off guard with how casually he asked. "Well... yeah."

"Honestly, Simone... that shit hurt. And it still hurts. But I can't continue to let my feelings for her fuck with business. And besides, keeping focused on this stuff - which I should be doing anyway - is helping me keep my mind off of all that."

"Okay... Well, you know I'm here for you if you ever wanna talk about anything."

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, are you ready for next week? We're good with the other Council members?"

"Of course," Simone shrugged. "Money, connections, and a respected name are all you need to get whatever the fuck you want. And guess what? We have all three."

"Gahdamn have you changed, Simone." A grin came to Sean's face. "I am proud of you. You on your shit. And to think, this was the life you spent about 10 years running away from."

"You're right... I don't wanna say I regret running, but I'll confess that I feel like I'm exactly where I'm meant to be. I just wish that it was under different circumstances." Simone's demeanor completely changed and she swallowed as she began to choke up. "Every time I see pa, it's like- Why did this have to happen to him, Sean?"

"I know what you mean. It's been tough being around home more often and seeing- Well, anyway... He's made it clear to us that he doesn't want us to be moping and shit about it. He'd whoop our asses if he saw us like this."

"Yeah," Simone sniffled. "You're right."

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A/N: Thank you for reading! This is the shortest chapter I've written for any of my books (I think), but I didn't want to put it with the previous chapter or the next one and I also didn't want to drag it out for the sole purpose of a word count, so here we are!