Texting My Mafia Savior (Text Me You Love Me #11)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

NICO

“ I ’m not blind,” Rocco barks, staring at me across the table. “I know what I saw between you and my daughter.”

Somehow, I hadn’t even stopped to think what her father’s response to us would be. I’ve been so concerned with the mob, so worried about putting her in danger. This layer of impossibility didn’t even occur to me. Talk about misguided… But it’s hit me now, and I have to accept it.

Arria and I will never work. She needs to let her savior go.

“You don’t need to confirm it,” he snaps. “I can see you want to tell me, but I guess Arria doesn’t want to. I bet she thinks it’s not real if you don’t bring it out into the open. But it is real. Whatever. I meant what I said. It ends now, understand?”

I take another sip of coffee, then nod. That’s enough for Rocco. I’ve just agreed to end things with his daughter, my niece. It’s for the best, anyway. Hell, not the best . It’s the only course of action that makes any goddamn sense. It’s the only path we have out of this.

“It’s clear something’s happening, anyway,” he says. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have overreacted and told us to leave.”

“You can’t call it an overreaction,” I growl. “You’re right. Dominic wouldn’t usually risk doing something drastic like going after a civilian woman. But that was before he thought I stole Lucy from him. He’s unhinged.”

“How are you going to stop him?” Rocco snaps. When I don’t answer right away, he says, “It seems to me that the only actual course of action is to go on like everything’s normal. It’s making sure he believes in you and Lucy. It’s making sure that he never, not even for a second, suspects anything’s happening between you and my daughter.”

“He made me do a lie detector tonight test, Rocco,” I say.

He closes his eyes. “Fuck.”

“I cheated the test. I made myself so full of adrenaline that he couldn’t confirm or deny anything. But you’re a good example of why a man doesn’t need to confirm or deny anything to show what the truth is.”

“You think he knows, then?”

“We didn’t leave things on good terms. Don’t you get it? That’s why you have to leave.”

“Don’t you get it?” he barks. “What I said is true. If I leave, it’s obvious. It’s suspicious. Less so if the ladies go on a trip together.”

“But that’s just a short-term solution. When they come back, then what?”

He sighs, shaking his head. “You might have to become the person you were, Nico.”

“You want me to become the Nightmare again?” I snarl. “You want me to sacrifice my practice, my pro bono work, bloody my hands again, and even then, it might not work? Even then, I might end up dead. Lucy will be in his hands, and maybe Dominic’s rage will get worse and worse. He’ll hate your daughter just because I …”

“No more of that,” Rocco growls. “Never again. I know what you’re hinting at it. I can see how much you care just by looking at you. But I mean it. It’s over. You need a plan. You need to make him back off. Even if it means agreeing to work for him again.”

“Why don’t you work for him again?” I snap. “She’s your daughter, and you’re acting like you don’t give a damn.”

“How dare you,” he whispers.

“You should run , Rocco. But you want to hang around so you can keep your job.”

“I want to avoid suspicion . Ultimately, that’s how we keep them safe. If we panic, we die. Can you be sure the Carusos won’t send somebody after Sandy and Arria?”

“So far, they’re not tailing your daughter. If they leave soon, they’ll be able to slip out of the city unnoticed. But they may visit you and get you to tell them where they’ve gone, even.”

“They’ll get nothing,” Rocco snaps.

“They could torture you.”

“They’ll. Get. Nothing. I’ll play the game, play my role—a hard-working father with nothing to hide. You play your role, too, Nico. A loving husband. A man who wouldn’t look twice at your niece, at a woman half your?—”

“I know,” I snarl when he looks like he’s about to get going again. “It’s wrong. It’s twisted. I get it. All right? Fuck .”

I stand up, my hands trembling.

“I’m going to wait outside until they leave, then follow them to the city’s edge to make sure nobody’s following them. Tell them to hurry.”

I stalk outside to wait in my car.

“What do we do?” Lucy says, pacing up and down under the stark lights of the kitchen at three am.

I check my phone. Arria has just texted me.

Arriana: We’re still on the road. Everything is going well so far. Dad called, and he said there have been no visitors. Maybe it’ll all be okay.

Me: Let’s hope so, Arriana.

Arriana: So we’re back to Arriana, huh?

She adds a heartbroken emoji.

I don’t text her back. I need to remember my promise. I need to remember that I told her dad I would have the discipline to leave his daughter the hell alone.

“If we run,” Lucy says when I don’t reply, “it’ll be obvious we’re hiding something. God, can’t he just let go? It’s been years. He never loved me. How could he? He never even knew me. It’s absolutely ridiculous for him to even still care about this.”

I grind my teeth, nodding. “The lie detector stunt was a failure. I didn’t expect that. Now he’ll know we’re waiting for him to make his next move. He said he’s going to prove that our relationship isn’t legitimate. You need to be careful with Giancarlo—maybe even cut things off for the time being…”

“And you need to do the same with Arria.” Lucy throws her hands up. “Don’t give me that look. You care about that girl—my niece. I know you do. I’d be happy you could finally find somebody if it didn’t mean…”

“That Caruso and his goons might string us all up and bleed us the fuck out.”

“Exactly,” she says, shivering.

“Let’s say you’re right. Let’s say something is going on between me and Arria.”

Lucy rolls her eyes. “Sure, let’s say… ”

“Would it be such a bad thing?” I snap. “I know she’s younger than me. That she’s my niece, I know she’s…” A virgin . My body aches for her. “Inexperienced. But I’d never take advantage of her. I’d never lie. I’d never use her. Despite who I used to be, I like to think I’m a good person now .”

“You were a good person then,” Lucy says with a sigh. “You wouldn’t still be here otherwise, helping me.”

“So, if the—the goddamn world , if it was different, if it didn’t mean risking our lives, if it didn’t mean putting a wedge between her and her father, who’s told me to back off, would there be a problem?”

“Maybe not, but it’s not like you to live in imaginary worlds,” Lucy says.

My phone buzzes again.

Arriana: Have I made you mad, Nico?

I text back quickly.

Me: I didn’t tell your dad about us, but I didn’t need to. He knows. He asked me to back off. I didn’t say yes, but I nodded, so I might as well have. Even if we weren’t risking our lives by doing what we’re doing, we’re risking you ever having a decent relationship with your dad. I can’t be responsible for that.

Arriana: I’m not a child. I can make my own choices. I can take my own risks. Anyway, we’re just texting. What’s the harm in that?

Me: We both know this has never been ‘just texting’…

“We should try to get some sleep,” Lucy says. “We can’t do anything right now, can we? Despite what else is true about Dominic, he’s worked hard to establish himself as the sole ruler of this city. He did that by putting his fucked-up family before his personal desires.”

“True,” I say. “But that doesn’t mean he’s going to quit, Lucy. He’s going to keep digging. He will not stop until he gets what he wants. After that lie detector test…” My hand curls into a fist. “Dammit. I can’t see any way out of this for any of us.”

“It’ll seem more manageable in the morning,” Lucy says. “You’ll see. Maybe we’ll have to pay him off? Or we’ll have to—I don’t know. There has to be a way out of this.”

But she’s wrong. There doesn’t have to be anything.

“Stay in public, busy places,” I tell her. “Tomorrow, when you go to work. No stops at a cute, quiet little cafe. No routes that avoid major traffic. If he’s going to strike, it’ll be somewhere that won’t cause a public scene. We won’t even see him coming. It’ll just happen.”

I feel sick saying this, but it’s the truth. The sick, broken, twisted truth.

“Okay,” she murmurs, walking toward the hallway. Then she pauses. “Nico, I want you to know… I’m grateful. You’ve always put others first. You put your life on hold to save mine. I’ll never forget that.”

I go to bed too, since there’s nothing else to do. If there’s going to be a war, I need my energy.

In bed, I type out a quick text.

Me: Pay for the lake house with cash.

Arriana: You’ve already told me that, Nico.

Me: I know. But I just want to make sure. Your life wasn’t supposed to be like this. You were supposed to find a job, save some cash, go traveling. Your uncle wasn’t supposed to develop an… what the hell can I even call it? An interest, I guess. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.

I’m typing fast, stream-of-consciousness style, like my thoughts are pouring into the cellphone. I could stop and edit, but somehow, that would feel wrong.

Arriana: An interest? Is that what you think this is?

Me: What would you call it, then?

I stare at a patch of moonlight on the ceiling. This room feels far colder and emptier than it ever has before.

Arriana: If I answered that question honestly, I’d seem crazy.

Me: I’m a crazy, deceitful douchebag. At least you’d only be half that.

Arriana: Deceitful?

Me: I told your dad that I’d leave you alone.

Arriana: You’re not doing anything romantic, though. We’re just talking .

Maybe she’s texted this for my benefit, but everything we do seems romantic to me. Everything we do or say to each other feels meaningful. I wish I were driving to Maine with her, wish none of this was happening—that we were just going on a trip, laughing together, sharing that easy warmth that feels far too natural considering everything. Who I am. Who she is. Who we can never be.

Arriana: It’s obsession. I’d say that when we saw each other, we knew we wanted each other. I’d say that, yeah, there’s probably something wrong with us. But if that’s the case, we don’t want there to be something right.

Me: I can’t agree with you.

Arriana: Because it’s not true… or because you promised Dad?

Me: Do you think our relationship deserves a future?

Arriana: That seems like you’re dodging the question—which, BTW, is a specialty of yours—but yeah, I do. Why?

Me: I ask because if you look at us, what sort of future can we ever have? The mob is the most powerful force in this city, and because of them, I have to pretend to be married to somebody who has only ever been a friend to me. You’re half my age. You’re my niece. Your dad has specifically told me to stop. Even if none of that was true, you’ll be traveling soon, building your own memories, forming your own experiences.

Arriana: So you’re saying it’s hopeless?

Me: How else would you describe it?

There’s a long pause. I don’t think she’s going to reply. But then my phone pings.

Arriana: I’d say the fact we’re talking about this, and not the Caruso Family, proves there’s something real here.

Does that mean our mountains of problems will sort themselves out, then?

Arriana: What are you going to do?

Me: Lie here. Don’t let myself sleep. Think. Think hard. Think until my head hurts. There has to be a way out of this.

Arriana: There’s a happy ever after, Nico. I just know it.

Me: I wouldn’t go that far, but you’ve got the optimism of youth.

Arriana: You know I don’t care about age gaps, right? I never would’ve mentioned it if you didn’t. I care about you for you. Age is just a number.

I shake my head, putting my phone down, deciding I won’t reply unless necessary. I’ll keep my phone on loud. Although I said I wouldn’t sleep, I should. But my mind won’t stop spinning.

Just like when I was an enforcer, plans take shape in my mind. But all of them involve bloodshed. Am I willing to start a mafia war to keep my niece safe? Or am I willing to kill so many, so efficiently, that there’s no one there to start a war? Am I willing to become Nico the Nightmare, but even worse, even deadlier, a version that Arria could never love?