Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
ARRIANA
“ W hy would he be at my party?” I question, pacing up and down in front of the couch, the photo clutched in my hand.
Mom and Dad sit side by side like they’re the kids and I’m the parent, chastened as I scold them. There’s clear panic on their faces. Part of me feels terrible but screw that. They’ve been lying to me for years.
“He’s a mobster. At the same party, there were loads of guys who were mobsters, too. I’m not an idiot. I know something’s going on here, and it’s not good.”
Dad sighs and leans forward. “Arria, what makes you think he’s a mobster? Where are you getting this information?”
“How is that the point?” I hiss. “I know you’re hiding something. Do you think I’m an idiot? I’m not a little kid anymore. I can see that you’re both withholding the truth. Just be honest, please. For once.”
My phone buzzes. I check it. It’s Nico.
Nico: Where are you?
Me: At home. Why?
Nico: I’m coming to see you right now. Lock the doors. Don’t answer it to anybody.
I rush to the front door, lock it, then go to the back door and do the same. Dad follows me. “What are you doing?” he demands.
“Uncle Nico just texted me. He told me to lock all the doors. I guess it has something to do with the fact that our family has never, at any point, had anything to do with the mob, right?”
“Why is he texting you?” Dad asks. “Why wouldn’t he text me?”
I fold my arms, glaring. Dad’s got a look of suspicion on his face, which is pissing me the hell off. As if he has any right to be suspicious and judgmental after all the lies they’ve told me. But I can see it. He suspects something about me and my uncle.
“Well, Dad, if you know nothing about the mob—which you apparently don’t—why would he text you?”
Another text.
Nico: Are there any unusual cars parked outside?
I go to the front window. Mom is on her feet, pacing, muttering to herself as if she’s on the verge of a breakdown. I almost feel bad again, but I can’t go there and let guilt mess with me.
Me: Not that I can see. It looks normal.
Nico: Okay, I’ll be there soon.
“Nico is coming here,” I tell Mom and Dad.
They exchange another of their secretive looks. Mom whispers, “She’s not a little girl anymore, Rocco.”
Dad drops into his seat, rubbing his hands up and down his face as he groans. “If there are things we haven’t told you, it’s always been for your own good.”
“Okay, fine,” I reply. “But that’s not the case anymore. So tell me—why were mafia guys at my birthday party?”
“I used to work with them,” Dad mutters. “I’m not proud of it. I got into debt with them when I tried to start my accountancy business. To pay the debt, I did their books. I was never in , in. I only did the boring stuff. The paperwork.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s shameful,” Dad says fiercely. “I never wanted to be involved. Initially, I never wanted to befriend them outside of work or invite them to parties, but since they invite themselves to functions, what choice did I have? I couldn’t tell them no. That would be the equivalent of spitting in their faces. When I paid my debt, I left.”
“Then why bring us back?” I ask.
“I guess I thought we could come home and leave it all behind us. I don’t owe the mob anything now. I didn’t expect you to…” Dad narrows his eyes. “What made you look into this, Arriana?”
Uh oh. He’s using the full version of my first name, which means he’s going into parenting mode. It looks like the one-way interrogation is over. “Does it have something to do with Nico?”
“Nico?” Mom says, stopping her pacing and staring at me.
“They’ve been texting,” Dad says, somehow making it sound like one of the worst things we could ever do.
“Texting…” Mom looks at me, searching. “About what?”
“I’m helping one of his pro bono kids with some photography stuff,” I tell them. Technically, that isn’t a lie. But it’s misleading. If they looked at the texts—which I’d never let them do—they’d see they began way before I met Destiny.
“Did he mention something about the mob?” Dad asks.
Before I can answer, the doorbell rings. I rush to the front door, my heart fluttering with joy. It speeds up when I see Nico standing at our front door through the peephole, somehow making him even more imposing. He stares hard with those startling green eyes of his.
I open the door. He walks inside, looking far more on edge than I’ve ever seen him. Unless he loses himself with me, getting steamy and wild, he usually seems in control. Now, his hands are shaking. He steps toward me, then abruptly stops when he notices Mom and Dad in the hall behind me.
Make no mistake. He was about to grab me and kiss me.
“We need to talk,” he says darkly. “All of us. Now.”
We’re an awkward collection of people, the four of us sitting around the kitchen table, steam from our coffees rising into the air. Dad’s eyes keep flitting between me and Nico, though I’m doing my best not to show any sign of what I’m feeling, to suppress any urge to grab Nico, clasp his hands, and tell him it’s all going to be okay.
“I’m sorry, Rocco,” Nico says. “I don’t want to cross any lines for you, but what I have to discuss involves the Carusos, and it involves your daughter.”
“You’ve got perfect timing, then,” Dad grunts. “I was just forced to tell my daughter about my old job.”
“I found a photo,” I explain. “From one of my birthday parties when I was a kid. Enzo was in it.”
Nico nods, then takes a slow sip of his black coffee. It must be scorching, but he doesn’t show any sign of the heat bothering him. Well, obviously, he’s all about heat… I need to focus.
“This evening, Dominic Caruso invited me for dinner. He seems to believe that…” Nico hesitates, putting his coffee mug down so hard Mom flinches. “He thinks something is going on between me and Arriana.”
He’s gone back to using Arriana as if we can use that as a shield to hide the affection between us.
Dad’s lips thin as he frowns. To anybody who doesn’t know him, he might not look that mad. But I recognize this as the expression he gets when he’s really, really pissed, and he might explode at any moment. “Why would he think anything is going on between you and my daughter, between you and your niece, Nico?”
Dad throws the titles at Nico. Daughter. Niece . All reminders of just how wrong this is.
Nico looks at me with a sigh. I nod.
“After Arriana had that run-in with Enzo at his club he forced her to apologize for defending her friend, in order to let the matter go. I was there, and Enzo made a cruel comment about Arriana. Against my better judgment, I stood up to the prick.”
“He made fun of my body,” I say. “He called me fat, basically, and Nico wouldn’t let him get away with it. I know it’s caused all these problems, but honestly, it was so nice to have somebody stand up for me. What right does he have to belittle my appearance?”
“You’re beautiful, Arria,” Mom says, touching my hand. She gives Nico an unsure smile as if she thinks showing him any kindness will set Dad off. “Thank you for doing that.”
“You’re right, though,” Dad grunts. “It was a mistake… and not like you, Nico. From everything I know about the Nightmare , you use your head. You make rational decisions. You don’t insult mafia princes.” Dad rests his elbows on the table. “So I’m asking you, man to man, is something going on between you and your niece… between you and a woman almost half your age… between you and my daughter who has never even had a boyfriend… between you and a young woman who has far, far, far less experience than you, Nico?”
“Dad,” I snap. “This isn’t about that. It’s about the mob who you lied about?—”
“Let him answer,” Dad cuts in.
Nico looks at me, his eyebrow raised. Panic grips me. Nico is wordlessly asking me if we should tell the truth. But what truth, exactly? Are we going to tell Dad we’ve talked dirty, flirted, got physical and steamy? It’s not like we’ve even been on a date unless we count texting, which we can’t. I give a subtle—I hope—shake of my head.
“I’m sorry, Rocco,” Nico says. “But I didn’t come here to speak about this. I’m here to keep your family safe.”
“That’s as good as saying yes ,” Dad snaps.
“It doesn’t matter right—” Nico cuts Dad off.
“It matters to me .”
“What matters,” Nico growls. “Is what Dominic Caruso thinks the facts are? I can’t take Lucia from the city without causing suspicion, but you’ve only been here a short while. You can go back to the West Coast, to California.”
I gasp. The idea of leaving Nico… shouldn’t matter. It should be easy. I was thinking about all that stuff —no date, no genuine closeness. But it doesn’t feel that way at all. It feels like something important would end somehow.
“I’ve got my dream job here,” Dad snaps. “A chance to build my business. Investors. Responsibilities. I can’t just leave.”
“Even to save your daughter’s life?” Nico says, lashing out.
“Don’t use that tone with me, Nightmare,” Dad snaps back. “Something’s clearly going on between you and Arria, even if neither of you will admit it. I can see how you look at each other; the brief messages are way too familiar. You caused this mess by taking advantage?—”
“Nobody’s taken advantage of anyone ,” I cut in.
Dad tilts his head at me. “I thought nothing had happened?”
“Dad, this is about the mob . About your lie . Stop taking it out on Nico.”
“No, this is about Nico forgetting that he’s a married man and letting himself get feelings for his goddamn niece. Even a blind man could see that he has feelings for you. Even a blind man could see that he’s crossed the fucking line. Your niece , Nico? Your wife’s niece? You’re technically family.”
“We’re not blood-related,” I mutter.
Dad glares at me. “Do you have any idea how you sound?”
“Enough,” Mom yells, slicing her hand through the air. “We all know that Nico married my sister to save her life. We all know, I think…” Mom looks at me. “About her other relationship?”
“I know about Giancarlo,” I say. “I know about the sacrifice Nico made… knowing he’d never be able to have a family or a marriage of his own. All to keep a woman he didn’t even really know safe. What a terrible man he is, right, Dad?”
“Enough,” Mom says again.
“Arriana is right,” Nico says. “You may not be happy with me, Rocco?—”
“The truth would make me happier.”
Again, Nico glances at me. But I can’t nod at him. I can see how badly he wants to reveal it, but then what? Where do we go from there?
“There’s that look again,” Dad grumbles. He stares at Nico, then at me. “Fine, let’s do this, then. You don’t want to give me the specifics? Then don’t. But let me clarify one thing: even if a blind man could see it, I’m not blind. I see it. Whatever’s happened or is happening between the two of you ends here. It ends now. I’m her father, and I’ve got the right to be disgusted and outraged when an older family member preys on my daughter.”
“Dad, stop phrasing it like that, ” I hiss.
“Why would it matter if nothing was happening?” Dad turns to Nico. “Do you understand me, Nico? I left the East Coast because I wanted to get away from the mob life. I could’ve returned and never heard the name Caruso again if you and Arria hadn’t decided to become entangled.”
“My only concern,” Nico growls, “is keeping you all safe. You need to leave.”
“I can’t just leave my job,” Dad snaps. “Why would Dominic target me, anyway?”
“But you’re happy to let him go after your daughter?”
“He won’t do that, though. Even the Carusos know better than to go for civilian women. Don’t forget. I’ve lived in this world. He’d only do that if you slip up, seeing her, texting her when you know you shouldn’t. Even you being here is a risk.”
Nico turns to Mom. “Sandy, I’m telling you right now, you need to get her out of the city. If Rocco won’t listen, you need to. Take her on a trip. Leave for a couple of weeks. Let me try to…” He laughs darkly. “Fuck. I don’t know. But let me try to fix this.”
“It couldn’t hurt to take a brief trip,” Mom murmurs, looking at Dad. “I trust you, Rocco. I know if you thought we were in danger, you’d leave. You wouldn’t put your job before your family.”
Dad clenches his jaw. That sounded almost like a jab to me, like Mom was subtly putting Dad in his place for doing just that—worrying about his career before worrying about us.
“What if I don’t want to leave?” Dad says.
“Arria,” Mom and Nico say in the same urgent tone.
Dad gives me another look. Still want to pretend nothing’s happening ? I look down at the table, chipping at the wood with my thumbnail.
“We can take a trip. Perhaps we could visit that lake house in Maine we were always talking about, Arria? In the cold, there will be so many chances for amazing photographs. By the time we come home, everything will have returned to normal.
“Your mother’s right,” Nico says. “It’ll be better if you’re outside the city…”
“And,” Dad goes on. “If only two of you are gone, it looks less suspicious than if I suddenly leave work. If the Carusos get word that I’ve abandoned work, it looks like running. But if a mother and daughter decide to take a trip—especially one that affords a chance for photographs—that’s more believable. It will trigger less panic.”
Nico nods reluctantly. “Yeah, that’s right. Overall, this is the best path forward. We don’t want to spook Dominic.”
“When you get back,” Dad says. “Things will be normal. You can go back to looking for a job, Arria. Maybe you’ll find a nice man at your new job. A man your own age. A man who isn’t married to your aunt.”
The entire situation is such a mess. I bite back on so many responses I could hurl at Dad. He wants to act all high and mighty, but he lied . It’s like he’s forgetting that. But I can’t help but think how impossible any relationship with Nico could be.
As if everything else wasn’t bad enough, Dad has forbidden us to be together.
Mom touches my hand and stands. “Let’s look at trips, Arria. We don’t have to think of it as a bad thing. It can be fun.”
I stand as well, nodding. Nico and Dad remain seated as if they have more they want to discuss. But I don’t want to leave the room. I’m afraid they’ll get into a fight if I step away.