Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
DETECTIVE CHASE
G iovanni Costa’s body was discovered in his back yard after a search team of dogs was sent out. It was obvious someone murdered him from the bullet hole in his head and the fact he was buried in an unmarked grave.
One of Giovanni’s employees told the LA police that Giovanni went missing. After the investigation began, it became obvious Nico Mancini was somehow involved.
That lead to me being here in New York, beginning my hunt of the infamous mob boss. Nico Mancini has been on our radar for a long time, but no crimes have ever been associated with him.
Until now.
What I don’t get is that Giovanni supposedly had a daughter, but when researching Giovanni’s life, there are no signs he ever had a daughter. Something doesn’t add up.
I didn’t tell Nico or his new wife about Giovanni being dead. No reason to stir up more suspicion. Better if more people think he’s just missing.
I’m keeping my eye on Nico and his wife, Aurora. She’s an enigma I can’t figure out. A young woman who marries Nico in an arranged relationship. It’s unusual.
One thing I know for sure: I’m not letting Nico Mancini or his unusual wife out of my sights.
AURORA
“How stupid are you?” Beatrice asks me.
The moment I showed up at her hotel, I told her about the police interviewing me.
“I didn’t tell them anything.”
“No. But you cried! You don’t think they’re going to find that suspicious?”
“I made it work. I said my own father passed away a while ago, and I was hit with emotion. They didn’t press hard. They don’t think I’m involved.”
“Of course they think you’re involved, Aurora! Your husband is involved! That puts a target on your back.”
I resist the urge to shove her back. “You put that target on my back! You !”
Beatrice scoffs. “You’re delusional.”
“No. You’re the one who made me marry Nico so I could get close enough to kill him. You put me in this position. You made me complicit in burying my father in the backyard. It’s all your fault, Beatrice.”
Her eye twitches right before she backhands me across the face. The pain of it is so intense, I stumble back against the wall, clutching my cheek.
Enzo knocks on the door. “Is everything all right in there?”
“Stop screaming,” Beatrice scolds me, even though she’s the one who started screaming at me the moment I stepped through the door. “Do you want your own guard to kill you for the truth?”
“You’re impossible. I’m doing all of this for you.”
“No. You’re doing this for your father. You have undeniable proof now that Nico was involved. The contents of Andrew’s briefcase proves that.”
I also told her about that when I arrived, but now I wish I hadn’t. Because now that I admitted to the truth—Nico was involved in my father’s murder—I can’t pretend he wasn’t. Beatrice won’t ever let me forget.
“You know what you need to do,” Beatrice continues.
“But how can I kill Nico with the police watching him? I could get arrested. I’m not going to spend my life in prison for your own vendetta, Beatrice. If you want Nico dead, then you need to kill him yourself.”
Beatrice has her hands wrapped around my throat before I can even react. “I will kill you right here if you don’t do as I say.”
I see the anger in her eyes. I know she means what she says.
I shove her back, jerking away from her. “Then you’d still have to kill Nico yourself.”
“You do your job, Aurora. You kill him.”
“And then, what? Do you have a way to get me out of that house in one piece? Do you have a way to protect me from the police?”
“I gave you a fake identity. I can give you another one. You’ll be safe.”
But my aunt’s words are hollow because she just threatened me with death if I didn’t comply.
“I’m trapped,” I say.
She snorts, and the sound is so dismissive, I can’t help but flinch. “You’re fine. You’re just being dramatic. Kill Nico, and all of this will end. I’ll get you out of there. But no more talking to the police, you hear me? They’re probably watching you right. You might have lead them right to me. You need to make sure your guard doesn’t let them follow you.”
“Enzo doesn’t trust me. If he had his way, he’d hand me over to the police himself.”
“You’ve gotten yourself into quite a predicament.”
You have , I want to shout.
“You need to help me, Beatrice. I can’t do this on my own.”
“I am helping you. I got you that combination so you could find proof, and you did. I will get you out of that house once you kill Nico.”
“But how am I supposed to tell you I killed him?”
“You have my number.”
Something tells me it’s not a smart idea to text my aunt right after I kill my husband. But how else am I supposed to get her help?
“Fine. But once this is done, we’re over. I don’t want to see you again. I want the money that belonged to my father. It’s rightfully mine.”
“No,” Beatrice says slowly. “My brother’s money is rightfully mine.”
“I’m putting my life on the line. I deserve something. You don’t get to cast me out.”
“You’ll get your husband’s money.”
I scoff. “I don’t think Nico is going to write me into his will anytime soon. And when I get accused of his murder, I’m not getting any of his money. And stealing his money will definitely make me look guilty. I can’t take any of Nico’s money and you know that.” I pause. “We can split my father’s money. It’s the only fair thing. Deal?”
Beatrice sneers at me before nodding. “Fine. Deal.”
“You get me out of that house, Beatice. You keep me safe.”
She doesn’t reply, and eventually, I leave because we both know the truth: I’m truly on my own.
“Was everything all right with your aunt?” Enzo asks on the drive home.
“Everything was fine.”
“Good. Then how come you have a bruise on your face?”
I tense. I didn’t look in the mirror after she hit me. If Enzo is wondering about my bruise, then so will Nico, and if I tell him my aunt hit me, he might try to hurt her. I’m not fully sure how protective Nico is of me. I can tell he likes me, but he’s still not the warmest of men.
What lengths will he go to keep me safe?
The reality is I need my aunt to get me out of Nico’s house after I kill him.
And yet, Nico seems to be the only one keeping me safe at the moment.
I don’t respond to Enzo’s question. It’s better just to ignore him. He always eventually drops the subject. He knows I have the power here as Nico’s wife.
Once I get back home, I rush to the bathroom to put makeup on my bruise so Nico can’t see.
But I don’t have time to apply concealer before Nico bursts into the bathroom. “Let me see.” He gently grabs my face and turns my bruised cheek to him. “How did this happen?”
“Did Enzo tell you?”
“He told me you came out with a bruise on your face. Who did this to you?”
My aunt. “No one. It was stupid. I was heading into the bathroom and accidently hit my cheek on the door.”
“He said this happened after you went to see your aunt.”
“It did. It happened when I was with her.”
Nico studies my face before letting me go. “I want to meet this aunt of yours. You’ve been seeing her a lot. She’s the only family you have. It seems fitting I meet her.”
Nico meeting Beatrice is the last thing that can happen. I have to do something. I have to stop this.
The only thing that comes to mind is distracting Nico.
So, I grab his face and kiss him.
He wraps his arms around my body, drawing me in closer and deepening the kiss. Unlike last time, neither of us pulls away.
I know I shouldn’t be kissing Nico. If I let myself go here, I might care for him more, which I can’t do. I can’t lose sight of my mission.
And yet … his lips on mine are divine. I’ve never felt this kind of passion before. It’s all-consuming and electric.
Nico growls deeply as he picks me up and carries me into his office. I don’t even think as he places me on the edge of his desk. All I can focus on are his lips on mine. He’s powerful and dominating, and I can’t resist it.
I gasp when he begins to kiss down my neck.
“Tell me to stop,” he says.
I don’t say a word.
Nico has kept me at a distance for the past couple of weeks. I miss my father. I hate my aunt. I’m all alone, and I need connection.
“I need to taste you,” he growls. I watch in shock as Nico kneels before me and shoves my dress over my hips. I never knew a powerful man like him would ever kneel to anybody.
He grips the edge of my panties. “If you want me to stop, then tell me now.”
Once again, I stay quiet.
A soft moan escapes me as he rips my underwear down my legs. A wetness has formed between my legs. I’ve never felt this intense desire and attraction for anyone. It’s confusing. Nico is the enemy.
Or is he?
I let him spread my legs wide. No man has ever seen this part of me before. I should want rose petals on the bed and soft romantic lighting. Not Nico kneeling before me while I spread my legs on his desk.
But I want to hurt. I want to be punished for my thoughts. I’m considering murdering him.
Nico pulls my hips to the edge of the desk, then places his face right between my legs. I gasp when his lips touch my sensitive folds. I’ve barely touched myself here. I tried in the past, but my own touch just never did it for me, and there was no way I would buy a sex toy—not when my father wanted me sheltered.
I flush when Nico smirks up at me before kissing my folds again. His lips circle my bundle of nerves, and my hips jerk up of their own accord. My hands press against the desk, steadying me. I can’t believe this is happening. There’s no way this is happening.
And yet, it is.
Nico growls deeply in his throat as he pleasures me with his mouth. I blush harder at the sound. Anyone could walk in on us. I like the idea of Enzo coming in and Nico getting angry with him and punishing Enzo. That would be one way to get Enzo off my back.
A dark part of me wants to be Nico’s. He’s strangely kind—much kinder than Beatrice has ever been.
And right now, he’s showing me a pleasure I’ve never experienced before.
His hands grip my thighs tighter as he increases the pressure of his tongue on my body. My head drops back, and a soft moan escapes me.
“Nico,” I whisper. “It’s too much.”
“You want this?”
“Yes,” I admit.
“Then it’s not too much. Take it, Aurora. Take all I give you.” His tongue sweeps across my clit and goes farther down to my entrance. My thighs tremble when he circles my entrance, his tongue finally sliding inside me.
The desk is hard under me, bringing me back to the moment. I’m letting Nico go down on me. I’m letting him pleasure me with his mouth.
This is all too much. And yet I don’t want it to stop.
He brings his tongue back to my nub and licks harder. The growing pleasure in my body knows what to do while my mind is confused. I’ve never felt this before.
“Nico?”
“Let go for me, Aurora.” He presses his lips and tongue hard against my clit, and my body knows what to do.
An orgasm hits me before I can stop it. My body shakes and trembles as my breath comes out ragged, and my mind is in shambles.
I slump back against the desk, all the fight leaving my body. Nico stands up, looking way too smug.
“Ready for more?” he asks.
As I stare up at the ceiling of his office, I know I can’t let things go further. It would be so easy to let Nico show me pleasure. Now that I’ve had a taste of it, it would be too easy to crave it.
But I can’t. I need to keep a distance between Nico and me. It will make killing him easier.
Slowly, I push myself up.
“Are you brave enough to let me fuck you?” he asks.
“I’m …”
“You can suck my cock, Aurora. Or if you can’t, then you should leave. Because I want to fuck you badly, but I only want to if you want me to. So, prove to me you’re ready, or leave if you’re not.”
I know I’m not ready to have sex with him. To take that final act would change everything between us.
So, I slip off the desk and tug my underwear back on and leave without looking at him. Nico doesn’t follow, but I swear I can feel his disappointment all the way down the hallway.
I rush into our bedroom and melt onto the bed. Nico won’t be joining me in here until later at night so I have time to myself.
My hands find the knife under the pillow, and I take it out. This is the weapon I’ll use to kill Nico tonight. I have no choice. I can’t let myself get too close to him. Forget Beatrice’s plan to make Nico fall in love with me. I need to end things now.
The door opens, and I don’t have time to put the knife away before Enzo is looking at me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, shoving the knife behind me.
“Nico wanted me to let you know he won’t be joining you for dinner.” His eyes narrow. “What do you have behind your back?”
“You’re in my room. Leave.”
Enzo ignores me and rushes forward, grabbing my arm and twisting it until I gasp and let go of the knife. It falls to the ground.
We both stare at it for a long moment before reaching for it at the same time. Enzo grabs it first. “Why do you have a knife in here?”
“Uh … Nico and I like … certain things,” I lie. I hope Enzo believes Nico and I are just kinky.
But, of course, it can never be that simple.
“Were you going to hurt Nico with this?”
I gulp. “What? No!”
Enzo nods slowly, backing away from me. “You were. You were going to kill him. I knew I couldn’t trust you. I knew there was something off. You’re in so much fucking trouble. Nico!” he shouts. “You need to get in here now!”
“No, please,” I beg. “Please.”
Enzo scoffs. “You’re fucking screwed.”
Nico comes running into the bedroom. “What’s going on?”
I know in this moment that everything is going to go wrong. I’ll either be locked up or killed.
I have to save myself, and to do that, I need to throw Enzo under the bus.
“He came at me with that knife!” I shout.
All the color drains from Enzo’s face. “No. Lying bitch!”
Nico whirls around to face Enzo and grabs the knife from him. “Don’t speak to my wife that way.”
“She had the knife!” Enzo says. “She was going to kill you.”
“Somehow, I doubt that. All I see is you with the knife, Enzo.”
“He came in here and tried to hurt me,” I say, the lie escaping me easily. “Please, Nico.”
Nico stands protectively in front of me, and I can’t help the flash of guilt that courses through me.
But I need to do whatever it takes to survive. This is for my father. He’s what matters.
“I’ll have your fucking head for this,” Nico says. “Coming after my wife? What the hell has gotten into you?”
“I didn’t do anything,” Enzo growls.
“Don’t kill him,” I blurt out, making both men look at me in surprise. “Just … fire him. I don’t want any blood on my hands.”
Nico stares at me for a long moment before he nods. “You heard her, Enzo. You’re fired.”
“What?”
“I don’t want a man around the house who wants to hurt my wife. You’re fired.”
“You’re not even going to let me explain?” Enzo begs.
“There’s nothing more to say. Go,” Nico growls.
Enzo looks between Nico and me before he shoots me a glare and storms out of the room. Nico takes out his phone and calls someone. “Enzo is leaving. He’s fired. Make sure he’s gone.” He hangs up and turns to me.
“Are you all right?” he asks, placing his hands on my arms.
Am I all right? I just got an innocent man fired who just wanted to do his job and protect his boss.
So, no, I’m not all right.
I can’t tell Nico any of this, so I just lean into his arms and let him hold me. It’s the first comforting touch I’ve ever received from him.
I don’t want to ever leave this moment.