~ Chapter 4 ~
Nico
Once again, Cassandra fucking Connelly has me under a spell and acting like a damned animal when I don’t mean to.
I wanted to rip her clothes off and fuck her against the stage after she gave me the best performance of my life just to show her what happens when she teases me like that. Then I wanted to drag her away and lock her in my apartment where no one will see her fiery side as she unravels every mystery clouded around her.
For me. Only me.
Cassie doesn’t protest again after I told her to get in the car a second time. She just huffs out a lungful of air and walks to the passenger door where she eyes me suspiciously with her arms crossed.
Goddamn it, she’s beautiful when she’s mad.
I would love to have hate sex with her. I know she’d fucking come at me like a cat with her claws bared and ready for battle, and I’d gladly sacrifice myself and come out the other side with scratches knowing she gave me everything like she had something to prove.
Then, I’d want to have makeup sex in the kitchen after feeding her, where I’d eat her for dessert before carrying her back to bed to fuck her slowly. She’d give me that little gasp she does when she’s trying to hold back and is surprised when she can’t, as she grips the sheets and moans long and low.
“What are you waiting for?” Cassie asks impatiently.
Oh, right. Jesus, I was lost there for a moment.
“Nothing,” I grumble, and she rolls her eyes.
I open the passenger door for her and she begrudgingly gets in, crossing her arms over her chest again like I wasn’t just sucking on her perfect cherry nipples ten minutes ago.
I place her bag on the seat behind me, but keep her phone in my pocket so she can’t run away when I get to her place.
“Put your address in,” I instruct, bringing up the GPS on the dash screen.
Cassie hesitates, then quickly types it in and goes back to crossing her arms and turning away from me to look out the window.
The drive to her place is a quiet ten minutes, and when I pull into the driveway of her duplex, she shifts in her seat, her eyes scanning the front of the house.
“Where’s your car?” I ask, needing to break the silence. “Is someone borrowing it?” There’s no car in the driveway, and I remember her having one. I walked her down to it after our weekend.
“No,” she clips, her anger still going strong.
“Are you mad at me?” I ask in a tone I know she’ll respond to.
“Give me my phone.”
“Not until you tell me why you’re so mad and where your car is.”
“Why are you so fixated on my car?”
“Why are you being so secretive about it?”
“I’m not. I just…” she pauses, trying to find a good lie I assume.
“You just…” I say, wanting her to finish her sentence.
“Stop that.” Her eyes snap to mine, blazing blue like hot flames.
“Stop what?”
“That. Trying to get information from me I clearly don’t want to share or want you to know. My life is none of your business.”
“It’s a simple question.”
“With a complicated answer.”
I soften my tone so she won’t explode on me when I ask, “Did something happen to it? Do you need a new one?”
“What I need is my phone and my bag so I can get out of this car. This was a mistake. What happened back there was a mistake.”
“Not for me,” I tell her seriously, and her eyes narrow, trying to see if I’m for real or not. “I got what I wanted.”
That was a mistake.
I meant I got what I wanted, which was more of her. But of course, it didn’t come out that way.
Cassie’s jaw clenches and her eyes grow angrier.
“I’m sure you did.” She stretches into the back seat and grabs her bag. “Give me my phone.”
I don’t think I can fuck this up further, but I don’t want to let her go like this with no prospect of seeing her again.
“Nico,” she says forcefully, placing her hand palm-up in the air between us.
I take it in mine and turn it over. Cassie’s eyes grow wide as I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss her knuckles. I can see her anger dissipate before my eyes. Her face and eyes soften to reveal her true feelings.
I knew it. I see it.
My eyes never leave hers as I turn her hand back over and kiss her palm. She melts further for me.
I place her phone in her hand and reluctantly let go.
Cassie can be mad all she wants, but I know her better than she thinks.
She swallows hard and whispers, “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you soon,” I tell her, and before she can think about it, she replies automatically.
“Okay.”
I can’t help my smile as she climbs out of my car, knowing she probably wouldn’t have agreed if I hadn’t distracted her.
Cassie walks the short path from the driveway to the porch, and looks over her shoulder when she reaches the door on the left side of the duplex.
She digs through her bag for her keys, and her brows furrow as she comes up empty. I’m about to get out of the car to help, but she knocks on the door.
Does she live with someone?
Cassie quickly looks over her shoulder, checking to see if I’m still here, when the door opens and a man is standing there.
What the fuck?
The porch light illuminates his face, and it’s clear someone just recently used him as a punching bag.
Cassie’s hands fly to her mouth and she frantically looks over at me again before pushing the guy into the house and slamming the door closed.
Who the fuck is this guy?
Pulling out my phone, I dial Stefano. I need answers.
“Hey, Nico, what’s up?”
“I need your help.”
“Alright, one second. Let me get my laptop.” I’m lucky he chose to stay the night at The Aces after the meeting, and lucky he doesn’t go out or sleep much. “Okay, what do you need?”
“I need you to tell me who the guy at Cassandra Connelly’s place is.”
Stef is good in that he doesn’t ask questions. I can hear him typing away, finding out what I need without needing to know the reason. Whatever any of us need, no matter how crazy our request, Stef gets it for us without judging our level of insanity.
“She inherited the duplex from her aunt that passed away last year. She does have a younger brother, Sean, whose last known address was in New York. It could be him.”
I rub my eyes in relief while my jealousy wanes. He must be her brother.
“Are there any problems with him? He answered the door and clearly had the shit beaten out of him. Most likely tonight by the surprised look on Cassie’s face when she saw him. I don’t want whatever he’s involved in to touch her.”
“Yeah, give me a minute.”
Stef goes quiet again as he does his thing, and I don’t take my eyes off the house. I’m not leaving until I know she’s safe.
“He’s not in the system for anything. He’s barely on the grid. No job, no apartment, no car. Nothing.”
“Shit.”
“My thoughts exactly. He used to have a little money to his name, but that dried up a few months ago. If he got the shit beaten out of him, then it’s not for anything good.”
“Or legal.”
“Want me to dig deeper into them and see if I find anything?”
Yes.
“No,” I sigh. “She’s already pissed at me. I don’t want to add fuel to the fire when she finds out I’ve been digging into her life without her knowing.”
“Alright. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“I will. Thanks, Stef.”
“Sure.”
We hang up, and I take a breath to calm down. If I wanted, I could have a packet of Cassie’s entire life in my hands by the morning, but that’s unfair to her.
I dial the manager of Dark Horse next, needing to fix one problem at a time. “Hello?”
“Sam, it’s Nico.”
“What can I do for you?”
“You can fire Cassandra. She no longer works at Dark Horse. I don’t want you to ever let her in those doors again unless she’s with me. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. And if she asks why, you can tell her it’s because of me.”
“Yes, Sir,” he repeats.
“When did she start working there?” I ask, needing to know how many men have seen my girl looking as sexy as she did tonight. My blood fucking returns to boiling.
“Tonight was her first night, actually. She came in to audition earlier in the week. She said she hadn’t worked at a club before, so I was skeptical, but then she surprised me.”
“Just tell her she’s fired,” I order.
Sam clears his throat, knowing he crossed the line. “Yes, Mr. Carfano.”
Hanging up, I close my eyes and rub the bridge of my nose. Thank fucking God tonight was her first night. I couldn’t stand the thought of all those assholes watching her and getting to see what I saw. I think I’d go on a murder spree across the city.
I’m selfish that way, I guess. I want what I want, and I don’t want anyone else to have it.
Next, I dial Alec. “Hey, Nico, what do you need?”
“I need you to put a car outside of someone’s house.”
“Why are you calling me for that?”
“Because she’s in Atlantic City, not New York City.”
“She? Who?”
“Cassandra Connelly.”
“Okay, who is she? What’s going on?”
“She’s Lexi’s friend. Something’s going on with her brother and I need a car outside her house to make sure whatever he’s into or whoever he fucked over doesn’t come for him here. I want her safe.”
“Why didn’t you call Vinny if she’s Lexi’s friend?”
“Because I don’t want him to give me shit about it, and I don’t want him to tell Lexi.”
“Fine. Text me her address and I’ll send someone over.”
“Good. I’ll wait until he comes.”
“Do you need me to look into what her brother’s into?”
“No, I’ve got that covered.”
“Alright.”
Hanging up, I back out of Cassie’s driveway and drive down the block, only to turn around and park across the street and a few houses down so she thinks I left.
It takes about fifteen to twenty minutes for a car to pull up behind me, and I get out to talk to him.
“You’re watching that house there.” I point to Cassie’s. “If anyone comes or goes out of the door on the left, or if there’s anything or anyone suspicious, call me. Don’t be seen if you can help it, but intervene in anything if you need to. The woman is the priority, understand? She has red hair. You’ll know it’s her.”
“I understand.”
“Give me your number.” He prattles off his number and I text him so he has mine. “And your name?” I ask as an afterthought.
“Rocco.”
“I’m trusting you, Rocco. Don’t let me down.”
“I won’t.”
I nod my agreement and take one last look at her house before climbing in my car and driving back to The Aces.
After a hot shower, I lie down and stare at the ceiling. The minutes pass by until I can’t take it anymore. I grab my phone and text Cassie.
Me: Night, Cassandra.
I want her to know I’m thinking of her and I want her to have my number. I had Stefano look it up and give it to me after our weekend together, but I haven’t used it yet. That doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it, though.
I want to make sure she’s okay, I want her to tell me what’s going on, and I want her to ask me for help.
Fuck.
I’m fucked.
Getting up, I go to the mini fridge and pull out three small bottles of whiskey and pour them all into a glass. I check my phone again. She’s read it, but she hasn’t responded.
Cassie is the only one who’s successfully gotten me – the most level-headed of the family – to go just a little crazy. And after tonight, a lot crazy.
I collapse into one of the club chairs by the window and look down at the boardwalk lights flashing – memories of when I was a kid flickering on the periphery of my mind. When my dad ran The Aces, Vinny and I had Atlantic City as our playground when we came to visit. We would run around the boardwalk playing games, eating fried food, and going on rides until one of us threw up. Usually Vinny.
We had fun, Vinny and I. Dad always let us do whatever we wanted when we were here because he knew how strict our lives back in New York were. I used to hate that we lived apart, but I understood why. He wanted us to go to school with our cousins, and train and learn the family business alongside them.
We lived with our mom in an apartment in our family’s building in the city. When Vinny graduated high school, he moved to AC to work with Alec and our dad to learn the business here. He loves it. I, on the other hand, prefer New York. That city made me the man I am, and being Leo’s right-hand man, and third in command, is the job I know I’m best suited for.
I’m mostly by myself, I don’t have the weight of the family on my shoulders 24/7, I don’t run a small city, and I get to make sure my family is safely heading in the right direction.
It’s not that Leo doesn’t have a level head himself. Same with Luca, his brother and underboss. I’m just the quiet man two steps to the side and behind them that’s there when they need me.
We all carry the power of the Carfano name.
No matter our position or role we play, each of us – every immediate descendant to my father and uncles and aunts – carries power.
But with power, comes a target on your back. And with that, comes an isolation within your family and a lack of trust for anyone else. A result of that, is a loneliness I’ve only known to fill with women who I get close enough to to fuck, but then it’s over and I move on to the next. I never see a woman for longer than a night. I don’t want them to get attached, and I certainly don’t want to get attached.
But then Cassandra happened, and I haven’t been the same since. I broke my rules and got attached. I spent the whole weekend with her and became addicted.
I check my phone every few minutes, waiting for her response, but nothing comes.
I send a quick text to the guy watching her, and he promptly replies that there’s been no movement in or around her house thus far.
That’s good, and I relax for a minute. But after another mini bottle of whiskey, I pick up my phone and stare at my message to her. I want her to know I’m not letting her go this time.
Me:I’m here if you need me.
Cassie:Why do you think I need you for something?
I smile down at my phone. She answered quickly this time.
Me:You tell me. I saw him when you opened the door. I just want to make sure you’re safe.
Cassie:I am. Don’t worry about me. I’m not your concern.
Me:But you are.
Cassie:I’m really not.
Me:Cassandra.
Cassie:Nico, why are you texting me right now? How did you even get my number? I never gave it to you.
Me:I have my ways.
Cassie:You could’ve just asked me.
Me:Would you have given it to me?
Cassie:No.
Me:Then I did the right thing.
Cassie:Why are you choosing to use it now?
Me:How do you know I haven’t almost used it every day since I watched you drive off after that weekend?
She doesn’t answer me right away this time. I stunned her with that one, I guess.
I wait three minutes, and she still doesn’t reply.
Not this time, piccante.
I press the call button.
“Hello?” her soft voice filters through the phone after ringing three times, and my dick is instantly hard.
“Hi, Cassandra.”