Ranger - Jericho's Boys #4 - Ch. 17 - Enzo (Patreon)

Unbeta'd/Unedited. I have another chapter coming up tomorrow or Friday. This weekend I'll update The Night Movers and probably another Kozy Kills chapter.

Enzo glanced at Seven for the hundredth time since their scene ended. He sat curled in the chair, a blanket wrapped around his still naked form, eating the last of the cookies Enzo had brought him. He watched Enzo closely behind heavy lids, like he was monitoring him as he changed the sheets. He’d been in a daze for the last thirty minutes or so, totally pliant, letting Enzo bathe him and feed him. He’d even sat docile as a kitten while Enzo blow-dried his hair. 

But this was the calm before the storm, he could feel it. Seven was crashing in real time, even if he didn’t know it, even if it seemed to happen in slow motion. Enzo was on borrowed time. He needed to get this done so he could give Seven a comfortable place to land. 

He threw the comforter on the bed, smoothing it out, then went to the closet, pulling out the weighted blanket stuffed in the back. He’d never had occasion to use it before, but maybe it was time. He dropped it onto the mattress, then dumped the dirty sheets in the laundry basket. Seven continued to munch on the last little bit of his oreo. 

Enzo sighed, then knelt beside the bed, pulling the first aid kit out and retrieving the ointment underneath. 

When he stood once more, he held out a hand to Seven. “Come here, baby. Face down on the bed.” Seven blinked at him but didn’t move. “You want me to carry you?” he asked softly. 

That seemed to bring Seven out of his stupor. “Huh? What? No. I’m fine. I can do it,” he said, processing Enzo’s request in pieces like there was a lag in his programming. 

He went to stand, but his knees gave out. Enzo caught him with an arm around his waist, pulling him against him until they were skin to skin. Seven stared up at him, wide-eyed. 

“Hi,” Enzo teased with a smile, loosening Seven’s blanket so it pooled on the floor. 

Seven started to smile, but it collapsed, tears welling in his eyes and spilling over his cheeks, a sob catching in his chest before he choked it back down. 

There it is. 

“It’s okay,” Enzo said, hugging him tightly. “I got you.” 

Seven was shaking his head, trying—and failing—to push him away. “I’m fine. I’m fine,” Seven said, sniffling like a little kid. 

Enzo gave him what he hoped was a patient look. “You don’t have to be fine, baby. That’s the whole point.” Seven stared at him dubiously, but Enzo didn’t waver. “Lie down… Face down.” 

 “Why?” 

Enzo held up the ointment. “I need to put something on those welts so they don’t get infected.” 

“Oh. Right,” he said, the two words dripping with disappointment. 

“What were you hoping I would say?” Enzo teased softly. 

Seven pulled away from him, flouncing onto the bed so hard, he almost bounced himself off the mattress and onto the floor. Enzo bit back a smile as he sullenly huffed out, “Nothing.” 

He crawled over Seven, sitting on the back of his knees, opening the ointment as he stared down at his own handywork. Fuck, he was so beautiful like this. He was always beautiful, but the lines now criss-crossing Seven’s golden skin made Enzo’s chest tight. He carefully began dabbing the thick paste on the welts, earning a hiss from Seven, but otherwise, he stayed quiet. So quiet it took Enzo far too long to realize he was crying again. 

He replaced the cap on the ointment and set it on the side table, then gathered Seven into his arms. He tried to break free, but Enzo held tight until he stopped struggling. 

“Why am I crying again?” Seven wailed. “This is so stupid.” 

Seven was always so hard on himself. There was no way that his brother hadn’t thoroughly explained what sub-drop was in their many lessons together. Vince never wanted anyone to hide their emotional needs from him or any other dom. It wasn’t healthy or safe. 

“Hey, look at me,” Enzo says softly, brushing his thumbs over Seven’s damp cheeks. “This is all normal, baby. This is just… part of it. I’m sure you’ve read about sub-drop.” 

“Yeah, sure. But why is it happening to me? Vince said not everyone experiences it. I didn’t think I would. I wanted this. I do want this. I like it. Now you’re not gonna want to do it again.” 

Enzo sighed, his chest constricting. “Woah, okay. Let's unpack that. First, if sub-drop only happened when people were engaged in play they didn’t want, that wouldn’t be sub-drop, it would be assault. Second, you crying isn’t going to deter me from playing with you like this unless it's because you truly don’t like this. I think you look pretty when you cry. Third, and most importantly, sub drop isn’t some gauge we use to measure how well you did or how much you wanted it. This is purely chemical.” 

“Chemical?” Seven muttered. 

“Yeah, you just went through a scene where your brain, your body, your emotions—everything—were firing on all cylinders. Your adrenaline was up, your endorphins were flooding you, your oxytocin was spiking. That’s what made you feel high and floaty and invincible while we were in it.”

He cupped Seven’s jaw. “Now? All those chemicals are crashing. Your body’s trying to level out again, and the drop feels like this, like confusion, like you need to cry, like you’re not sure why. This is what sub drop is. It happens because your body’s been through something intense, physically, emotionally, or both…and now it’s recalibrating.”

Enzo leaned in, resting their foreheads together. “Nothing bad happened to you tonight. You’re not weak for feeling this way. It’s just your system resetting. My job is to take care of you while it does, to hold you through it, keep you grounded, feed you, get you warm, and make sure you know you’re safe.”

“Oh,” Seven said, wiping at his face with the back of his hand. 

Enzo took the weighted blanket and draped it over Seven, tucking the sides underneath him so it was snug. 

“Is this okay?” Enzo asked. “Doesn’t feel to…claustrophobic?” 

Seven rested his head against Enzo’s shoulder, shaking his head. “No, it’s…nice.” 

“Good,” Enzo said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “But tomorrow we’re having that talk. The one you’ve been avoiding for months.” 

“What talk?” Seven mumbled. 

“The talk,” Enzo emphasized. “We’re going to talk about all of this. Soft limits. Hard limits. Rules. Consequences. Boundaries. We’re gonna put it all in writing so that there’s no ambiguity. For both our sakes.” 

Seven was quiet for so long, Enzo worried he’d passed out, but when he glanced down, Seven’s pretty face was pinched with worry. When he caught Enzo staring, he asked, “Did I…suck at it?” 

The question threw him. Suck at it? Was he crazy? He was amazing. He’d exceeded every one of Enzo’s expectations. This was just the sub drop talking. It often caused insecurity, uncertainty, and a need for constant reassurance. And it was Enzo’s job to give that to him. Sometimes he forgot about how deep Seven’s  self-esteem issues ran. It was all Stan’s fault. There was a reason Seven preferred to call Enzo Daddy. 

But he wasn’t going to make him talk about that. Not now when he was already so vulnerable. “Have you ever sucked at anything in your entire life?” Enzo asked. “You were perfect. Beautiful. I still can’t believe you’re mine.” 

Seven glowered at him. “Let’s not go overboard.” 

Enzo booped his nose. “I can do whatever I want. You’re exceptional at everything you do. That’s why everyone loves you so much.” 

Seven scoffed. “Not everyone. He glanced up at him, miserable. “My dad seems to think I’m worthless.” 

Or maybe they would talk about it now. Fuck that man for making someone so beautiful think he was somehow unworthy of everything he deserved. 

Enzo pressed another kiss to the top of his head, his forehead, his cheeks, his nose. When Seven tipped his face up for more, Enzo obliged, pressing their lips together softly. Seven deepened the kiss, lips parting with a needy little sound. Enzo bit back a groan, lazily exploring his mouth until Seven pulled away. 

“You mean your dad, the career criminal and serial philanderer? The man who turned abandoning children into an olympic sport? That guy?” 

Seven gave a pathetic sniffle once more. “Well, when you put it that way…” 

Enzo squeezed him tighter. “You should put it that way, too. He’s a scumbag. Don’t let him have all the power when he deserves nothing.” 

After a minute, Seven snickered. “A scumbag? Sometimes you’re so old.” 

Enzo grinned. “Sometimes? I’m always old. And I’m gonna keep getting older. You just like me that way.” 

“I’m such a cliche. Shitty dad equals weird kinks,” Seven mumbled, dropping his head back on Enzo’s shoulder. 

“Not everyone who’s into kink has daddy issues. For some people—like me, like Vince—its a way to safely fulfill a need for structure, for control. There’s safety in that predictability. And I get off on knowing you trust me enough to let me have that power over you, that you trust me to keep you safe when we play like this. I like being the one who takes care of your needs. Providing for you makes me feel needed. And that doesn’t come from some traumatic childhood. My life was pretty bland,” he said, before tacking on, “aside from the bullying, I suppose.” 

“What was your real dad like? Do you remember him?” Seven asked after a minute or so. 

“Yeah, kind of,” Enzo said, the words sticking in his throat as a sudden wave of emotion hit him. 

“Tell me about him?” Seven asked. When Enzo hesitated, he hastened to add, “You don’t have to.” 

Enzo smiled, resting his chin on the top of Enzo’s head. “No, its okay. I just don’t really think about him much anymore. Which is kind of fucked up, I guess. But its more self-preservation than anything. If I think about him…like really think about him, I miss him too much.” 

“So…what was he like? Is he like your step-dad? All hot and polished?” 

Enzo couldn’t stop his laugh. “No, not at all. My dad was loud. Not in a mean way. He just had this big, booming voice. With all those kids, I guess he had to be loud for us to hear him, but no matter where we were in the house, we always knew the minute he got home, because he would call for all of us like he’d just returned from the war and not from work.” 

Enzo clenched his jaw, trying to remember exactly what his father sounded like. It got harder and harder as the years passed. 

“If he was mad, he would get really quiet. It was terrifying. He was definitely a swing first, ask questions later kind of guy, but he always sat us down and explained everything to us afterwards. It didn’t really make getting our asses beat any less traumatic, but we knew he loved us.”

“Was he…” Seven trailed off. 

“Was he what?” 

“Was he…” Seven hedged. “Did he…commit crimes?” 

Enzo smiled. “My dad was no criminal. If anything, he was too moral, too black and white when it came to the law. My mother has always been the one who did what needed to be done. She said that what’s just and what’s right aren’t always the same thing.” 

“She sounds like Jericho.” 

“She’s always saying, ‘When the law protects the powerful and punishes the poor, justice lives outside its margins.’ When my father died, my mom just kind of shut down for a while. My step-father was the one who swooped in and taught her how to be a better criminal…for the greater good. They’re both very in sync with each other when it comes to doing bad things for good reasons.” 

“And does his family know what your family does?” 

Enzo nodded. “The Conti family enterprise extends far past our own family. My step-father is a Durante.” 

He waited for Seven to connect the last name. “As in the-” Seven dropped his voice into a whisper. “As in the mob?” 

“Why are you whispering,” Enzo asked, amused. “My house isn’t being tapped by the Feds.” 

“How am I only just now learning this?” Seven asked. “Is that why they’re always accusing your mom of being some kind of mob boss? Because she married one?” 

“My step-father is the boss of nothing. My mother runs both families. My uncles and aunt answer to her. When Dario’s father died, he demanded that my mom step in. Said she was the only one ruthless enough to make sure his businesses didn’t collapse like a house of cards.” 

“My new mother-in-law is an actual mob boss?” Seven said, like he was testing the weight of it on his tongue. 

“It’s not exactly Goodfellas,” Enzo assured him. “More like Get Shorty.” 

Seven huffed out a quiet laugh. “Is he a good guy? Dario?” 

Enzo nodded. “Yeah, my mom is an incredible judge of character. That’s why she picked you for me.” 

Seven side-eyed him. “Do you really think she put me in your office as some elaborate matchmaking scheme?” 

Enzo smiled. “Oh, I know she did. My mother never does anything without looking at the whole board. She is always five moves ahead. You were perfect in her eyes.” 

Seven’s brows knitted together. “She didn’t even know me.” 

“She did, though. She was already friends with your mother, who she adores. She already had Levi working at the restaurant, so she knew of you. When you ran away from me that day, you ran straight into her trap.” 

Seven rolled his eyes, still looking amused. “You make it sound so calculated.” 

“It was. Think about it. You were perfect. Sweet. Charming. Attractive. Soft. Intelligent. A law student. Neith’s son. But more than anything, you were one of Jericho’s boys. And she’s wanted to cement that friendship for years. By marrying us off, we’re joining three really powerful families.” 

“Apparently, we’re joining four families if we include your step-father’s family.” 

“The Conti’s , The Mulvaney’s, the Navarro’s, and the Durante’s…” Seven marveled. “Damn. I wish I could be mad about it, but its kind of genius. This really was an arranged marriage.” 

“And your mom was a willing accomplice. Which means she thought I was good enough for you.” 

Seven snorted. “No offense, but when it comes to men, my mother’s bar is so low it’s floating in the Earth’s core. She spent the last twenty-something years letting some piece of shit lie to her, cheat on her, treat her like one of his harem and yet, every time he crooked his little finger, she went running.” 

Enzo was quiet for a bit. Should he tell Seven what he knew? Even if it would hurt him more?

Seven glanced up at him anxiously, “I don’t mean you’re not good enough for me. If anything, you’ve been way too good to me. More than I deserve.” 

Enzo tipped Seven’s head up so he could press another kiss to his lips. “That’s not true. I could spend the rest of this life and the next spoiling you and it still wouldn’t make up for how I treated you that day at the restaurant." 

“It’s not that dire. I was just in a really bad place mentally and your offer just tipped me over the edge. I was going through some stuff because of my dad. Your offer…made it worse. It was just a series of unfortunate events. You’ve more than made it up to me. I just meant my mom has really bad taste in men, not that it made you a bad choice.” 

“Do you ever wonder if maybe your mom just went along with your dad all this time because she had no choice?” Enzo blurted. 

Seven froze. “What do you mean?” 

Fuck. 

Enzo shook his head. “Nothing, I’m just... I-Just forget I said anything.” 

“No,” Seven said, frowning. “I won’t. Tell me what you’re thinking.” When Enzo still hesitated, Seven scrutinized him further. “Do you know something about my parents?” 

Enzo closed his eyes. What the fuck was wrong with him? This wasn’t going to make Seven feel any better. If anything, it would make him feel much worse. 

“Enzo…” 

It was too late now. “I don’t know anything…not for a fact. It’s more speculation, I guess.” 

“Spit it out,” Seven demanded. 

Enzo sighed. “I told you that I knew of your dad, right?” 

Seven nodded. “You mentioned it the day we met. I was afraid he was one of your clients.” 

“He wasn’t. But I represented one of your father’s other…women…once. It was a favor for my mother. A pro bono case. Check writing fraud. She’d written a bad check to try and buy groceries for her children, one of whom was your father’s.” Enzo took a deep breath and let it out. “She told me she didn’t love him, never had. But she came when he called because every time she tried to cut ties, he’d remind her how easy it would be for their kid to go missing. How easy it was to make people disappear. So she just gave him what he wanted, whenever he wanted. To keep her daughter safe.” 

Enzo watched the color drain from Seven’s face. “What?” 

“I think the reason these women keep going back isn’t because your father is just so charming…it’s because he threatens their children…his own children…to keep them in line. Your mom feels safe dating my uncle Rocco because she knows your father can’t hurt you from prison and if he tried, my family has your back. I’m sure my mother has told her this. I’m sure Rocco has told her this.” 

“So it's my fault?” Seven whispered. “This whole time he’s been holding my mother hostage? Blackmailing her into sleeping with him…I think I’m gonna puke.” 

Enzo held him tighter. “I didn’t tell you this so you could swim in guilt. None of this is your fault. The only person at fault is your father.” 

“Easy for you to say.” 

Enzo shook his head. “It’s not, actually. But if you were your mother, and you were sleeping with someone to keep your child safe, would you blame the child for being a target?”

Seven just shrugged, his face stormy. 

“Of course, you wouldn’t,” Enzo answered for him. “Your mother loves you and if that was why she kept going back, she did what she had to do to keep you safe. And she pretended to love your father so you didn’t feel guilty. I shouldn’t have told you this. I just thought it might help you forgive her or at the very least, understand her.” 

Seven jerked his gaze to Enzo’s. “No, I’m glad you told me. But how do I not feel bad about it? She lost decades to that piece of shit.” 

Enzo pulled Seven in for another kiss. “And if you asked her whether she’d do it again, I promise you, she’d say yes. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to her. She tells me so every time we see each other. And then she reminds me that she has an army of people willing to slaughter me on her command if I break your heart again.” 

“Again?” Seven asked. “Oh, God. Did your mom tell my mom what you did?” 

Enzo flushed. “Not in so many words, but I think she got the jist of it.” 

“Oh, my God. That’s so fucking embarrassing.” 

“Yeah, for me,” Enzo murmured. “The fact that your mom didn’t just kill me and make it look like an accident is a miracle. Hell, I’m shocked that Jericho didn’t.” 

“Jericho knows, too?” Seven cried. 

“I don’t know if he does or not, but the way your friends overshare, I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t.” 

“We overshare with each other, not Coe.  He’s the closest thing I have to a real dad. He’s too protective. He almost stomped a man to death when he stabbed Nico.”

Enzo’s stomach soured. “Well if he did try to kick my ass, I would let him. I deserve it.” 

Seven rolled his eyes at him. “Stop being such a martyr. You had a lapse in judgment based on your traumatic breakup and self-esteem issues. You didn’t cheat on me. We’re so far past that now that its not even worth bringing up.” 

Enzo’s insides twisted painfully. “I just hate that I hurt you.” 

“I’m over it,” he said, then yawned. “But if you do cheat on me, I’ll release the full weight of the Navarro’s, the Mulvaney’s and the Conti’s on you and I’ll have Felix make me a designer work bag out of whatever’s left of you.” 

Enzo squeezed him against his chest until Seven wheezed. “Don’t even joke about that. I would never do that to you. The idea of being with anyone else makes me a little queasy. And the thought of you wanting someone else makes me homicidal.” 

“Good,” Seven muttered. “Cause I’m still waiting on my official proposal.” 

Enzo smiled. He already knew just how he wanted to do it. He just didn’t know how he would make it happen. But he wasn’t afraid to exploit his connections if he needed to. 

“Just wait a little longer, okay?” Enzo asked. 

“Okay,” Seven mumbled sleepily. 

“Lets go to bed,” Enzo said. “You’re exhausted. Do you want to sleep in the cocoon or out of it.” 

“Out. If I wake up and can’t move my arms, I’m gonna have a panic attack.” 

“Fair enough.” 

Enzo unwrapped him and tossed the blanket aside. 

Seven immediately laid down beside him and made himself the little spoon, backing his naked ass up against Enzo’s crotch. “Snuggle me.” 

Enzo didn’t have to be asked twice, but he was grateful he’d put on underwear. He slid his arm under Seven’s pillow, then threw an arm and a leg over him. “This okay?” 

“Mm,” Seven hummed. “It’s perfect.” 

Enzo kissed the back of his neck, resting his head on the pillow next to Seven’s. 

If anyone had told him a year ago that he wouldn’t be able to sleep unless he was wrapped around another human being, he would have laughed in their face. Now, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else, sleeping anywhere else. 

Seven owned him, body and soul. He might be his sub, but Enzo was definitely the one who’d been collared. 

He drifted off with the scent of his shampoo in Seven’s hair and a smile on his face.