The Mafia's Desire

Chapter 25-Set Them Straight

Severin's eyes darkened. "The deal was to get them to turn on me, reveal maybe one secret, not have them work for you! And of all god damn people you chose my candidate?"

His eyes widened as soon as the words left his mouth, and Aurora wanted to laugh at the regret that would plague him from ever admitting that in front of her.

She looked over at Aries, who was watching them silently. His expression, as usual, was solemn. He made eye contact with her, and in his gaze she didn't see the anger that he had just lashed out with at his workers. She only saw genuine pleasure with her that she was literally doing everything right.

Obviously Aurora couldn't just melt at such approval, because she didn't and shouldn't care what he thought or what any of the others thought of what she did, but she supposed it was nice to be appreciated from time to time. Especially by him.

I think.

Aurora looked back at Severin. "He squealed like the fat pig that he is," she told him with a gleeful smile. "But as far as loyalty goes, you can still fund his cause, but just know that he answers to me. Having a rat like that in the capital will work better for me than it ever will for you."

"Aurora, I need him to win."

She threw her head back and laughed one short, dry laugh. Her eyes were twinkling in dark amusement. "You need him," she mocked. "Why? You have the power, the money, and the resources to keep you and your group going for as long as you wish. Why do you need to have that level of influence in the above ground?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Because the cities are all but gone. How else can I grow now that everything is bought?"

"Just be happy with the power that you do have," she shrugged.

Severin shook his head. "No, no, no, no. You don't understand. You may know a lot about the Mafia, Aurora, but until you become in charge of your own group, your own killers, you will never know the hunger for power that resides in all of us. Do you really think any one of us would be okay for the rest of our lives knowing our group is only the 'third-most feared'?"

"Is that how y'all measure yourselves?" she couldn't help but snicker.

"No," he snapped, shutting her down. He shared a look with Aries, and then turned back to her with a stern look. "We don't measure ourselves by fear. That was just a fucking example. Our power and our influence is measured by the size of our groups and the size of the region we control."

"Oh yeah? How would controlling the president change any of that?" she challenged.

Aries stepped forward, cutting off Severin. "Controlling the President means laws don't apply to you. Anything can be illegally done."

"More than usual?" Aurora scoffed.

Aries glared at Severin. "More like seizing land for 'government use' and then turning it over to the highest bidder of a private sector," he replied with a steely expression meant solely for Severin.

"This coming from the man that bought the south of Italy?"

"Don't be generic."

"I'd rather not have to name all of the cities."

Aurora looked at Aries, and then to Severin, and then back to Aries, and at that moment she couldn't tell a difference between the two.

The two men were at a stalemate. In this moment, both had the same problems and the same amount of room to argue, which in all honesty was no fun for Aurora to watch any more.