Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
NICO
I head to the club, knowing I may regret this, but I know I’ve got to put Lucy, her sister, her brother-in-law, and most of all, her niece first. It doesn’t matter what I want. It doesn’t matter that I never wanted to be part of the mob longer than it would’ve taken to help my parents. I’m The Savior. I’m Nico the Nightmare. My biggest mistake was pretending I could be someone else.
I’ve already called ahead and let Enzo and Dominic know I’m coming. They’re waiting for me in the same back room where my angel and I met with Enzo the last time. Both have got shit-eating grins on their faces. Like father, like son. Enzo is back on the whiskey. Dominic drums his fingers on a glass table, a calculating look in his eyes.
“It’s brave of you to agree to face me after last night,” he says.
I incline my head, swallowing wave after wave of fire. I want to kill these two men, to spring into enforcer mode, and murder them in cold blood. But what if they’ve given instructions to go after Lucia or Arria after their deaths? Or what if they’ve got men waiting outside this room? Hell, that wouldn’t be so bad. I’d gladly give my life if I knew my niece and my wife could be safe.
Ha. Niece. Wife. Titles stopped meaning a thing a long time ago.
“I’m here to offer my services,” I say. “If you’ll let me, Don Caruso, I’ll come to work for you again. On a subsistence wage, just enough to live. But I have conditions.”
“Oh, really?” Dominic grins at me, raising his eyebrows. He looks giddy . “Would you care to explain what they are?”
“You leave Lucia and her family, including her sister, niece, and brother-in-law, out of this. You agree not to question me about my and Lucia’s marriage. For this, I’ll go back to my old work. Any man who’s given himself to the life…” I swallow. Darkness grips me. Just when I thought I was capable of something else, something more. “You can send me at them. I’ll be your weapon.”
“It’s too late for that,” Dominic says after a pause.
I look up, my body beginning to hum with adrenaline. But unlike last night, this comes naturally. This is completely genuine. My mind springs into action as I attempt to figure out how to tear both men apart, the distance between me and Enzo leaning against the wall. What sort of weapon could Dominic be hiding under the table?
“Don’t look at us like that, Nico,” Dominic says. “This is good news. For both of us. I’m willing to let bygones be bygones.”
Is this a trick? “Really?”
“Fetch her, Enzo, will you?” Dominic says with a wave of his hand.
“Sure, Father.”
Enzo strolls from the room. Dominic doesn’t take his eyes off me—that manic gleam in them. A moment later, Enzo returns with Lucy. I just saw her last night. She was gone when I woke up this morning. She’s wearing a short red dress, unlike her usual style.
“Lucy?”
Approaching Dominic, she sits on his lap, putting an arm around his shoulders. She gives me a panicked look. She’s silently screaming at me to go along with this I can see.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “Except, I’m not. I can’t be. I had to make the right choice. We’ve been living a lie, Nico. I was trying to run away from my feelings. For years, I’ve been trying to run. But I lied to you. I’ve always wanted Dominic more than you. It took me too long to work up the courage to face it.”
“You made the right choice in the end,” Dominic says, sliding his hand up and down her leg.
Does Dominic actually believe her, or is he so desperate to think she could want him? He looks like a kid in a candy store as he feels her up. It’s grotesque.
“You’ll need to get a divorce,” he goes on. “For obvious reasons. I’ve got a lawyer who can speed up the process. We’re going to get married as quickly as possible, aren’t we, beautiful?”
“I can’t wait.” Lucy reaches up and strokes her hand across his face. She’s playing her role sickeningly well. “You understand, don’t you, Nico? What we had wasn’t real. It could never compare to this.”
“You’re getting off lucky,” Enzo says, pouring himself a whiskey from the bar at the back of the room. “You should be grateful my father is Don, not me. You don’t want to know what would happen if I were in charge. Rest assured, it wouldn’t be good for you, Nico.”
I swallow. Lucy is glaring at me, willing me to play along. There’s no indication that anyone forced her into this. She has more skin on display than usual, and none of it is bruised.
“Can I speak to my soon-to-be ex-wife in private?” I ask. “To say goodbye?”
Dominic frowns. “My son is right, Nico. This is more than you ever could’ve expected.”
“And I’m grateful,” I tell him. “It’ll be the last time we’re ever alone together.”
“Listen to him,” Lucy murmurs, still touching Dominic’s wrinkled face. “He’s desperate. He can’t accept it. I’ll make him see sense, Dom.”
“I might be convinced with a kiss.”
Fear passes across Lucy’s face, but only for a moment. Behind them, Enzo leers at me, his hand near the holster at his hip. He’s waiting for me to do something. I cringe as Lucy turns and presses her lips against Dominic’s. Dominic makes sloppy, ugly noises, sticking his tongue down her throat roughly. Finally, he stands, patting her on the leg like a pet.
“Don’t take too long. We’ll be right outside.”
Dominic and Enzo leave the room.
Lucy wipes her mouth.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I growl quietly.
“You’ve given up years of your life for me, Nico,” she whispers urgently. “I can’t let you do it again. I know you would. For me. For my niece. You’d go into the city and take chunks out of your soul for us. It’s who you are, who you’ve always been. That’s why I had to make this choice for you. Now, you’re free to be with Arria. She won’t be your niece anymore.”
“That’s not the point,” I snarl. “You were terrified of being with Dominic for a reason . He’s going to make you his prisoner, his slave. He’s going to use you. Abuse you. He’s going to make your life hell, Lucy.”
“ Your life will be hell if you return to your old ways. How often have you told me you’d hate yourself if you had to return to that? This is the only way to make sure everybody’s safe. I should’ve listened to you. We should’ve let Enzo take Arria to court. Now…”
“Are you done?” Dominic barges into the room. He’s got a gun in his hand. “Lucy and I have discussed her moving into my house immediately as we plan the wedding. I’ll summon you to make the divorce official, of course. In the meantime, it’s not becoming to have my wife-to-be chatting with her ex. So, Lucy, is this over? ”
Lucy glares at me. “Yes, darling. I was trying to let him down gently. Please, Nico. Accept this.”
She walks over to him, links arms, and together, they leave. Enzo swaggers in a moment later, walking over to the bar. “I bet you want to do something stupid, don’t you, Nico? But my father has let you off easy. He’s agreed to ignore the lie-detector mess. He’s agreed to leave Lucy’s family alone. All he wants is Lucy. Don’t ask me why. It never made sense to me.”
Because he can’t have her, or couldn’t.
“But it’s what he wants. He’s happy. When my father’s happy, people get lucky. You’re free to go on with your life. Seriously, Nico, this is significantly better than you ever could’ve dreamed of, isn’t it? All you need to do now is walk away.”
Instead, I walk right up to him, proving he’s a coward when he shrinks away from me. “If you lay a single finger on me…” His voice trembles. “You know what will happen.”
“Your position protects you,” I growl. “That’s all, Enzo. Just your position.”
“Stop,” Enzo hisses. “I can forget that. But if you keep going, you’ll make it worse.”
He’s right, dammit. I turn and walk away, trembling with disgust and outrage.
“She wouldn’t listen,” Giancarlo says on the phone. I can tell he’s been crying. “She’s always felt guilty for the sacrifice you made. I begged her not to do it. She said she loved me, but you were her best friend, and she wouldn’t let you give up another decade of your life for her.”
“Fuck.” I slam my hand on the steering wheel. “Fuck, fuck, fuck .”
“What do we do?” Giancarlo says. “We can’t just let her do this. Stop her, Nico.”
“Stop her,” I repeat. “You don’t understand what you’re asking me. He won’t let her out of his sight now. Stopping her would mean risking her life. Stopping her would mean bloodshed on a scale you can’t imagine.”
“What will he do to her if they stay together?”
“Fuck,” I bellow again. It’s not exactly productive, but the rage in me won’t stop. Of all the ways I saw this going, this wasn’t it. My head is still spinning as I try to figure out how we got here. A simple court case, a simple lie, and now everything is ruined. “I don’t know. I wish I had simple answers.”
“Soon, you’ll be getting a wedding invitation in the mail,” Giancarlo says grimly.
“First, he needs us to get a divorce,” I snap. “He’s going to rush it through. He’s got contacts who are capable of that.”
“I don’t understand why he still wants her after all this time. He doesn’t even know her, Nico. Even back then, when he first claimed he wanted her, he didn’t know her. What’s wrong with him?”
“It’s never been about her,” I say. “It’s always been about his pride, his ego. He saw a woman and decided, on a whim, to claim her…” For a moment, it’s like I’m talking about myself. But there was no whim with my angel. It was something deeper, more meaningful. “Ever since I took her from him—or he thought I did—he hasn’t been able to let it go. His ego won’t let him.”
“Please,” Giancarlo pleads.
“I’ll try to think of something.”
“That doesn’t sound promising.”
“It’s the best I can give you right now,” I bite back.
I hang up. Before I can start my car, I get a text from Arriana.
Arriana: Is it true? Aunt Lucy called Mom. Apparently, she’s going to give herself to the don. She’s going to trade her life so that he doesn’t punish you or me for being together. It can’t be true, can it?
Me: It’s true. I’ve just met with them. She’s made herself his prisoner. She pleaded with me and asked that I allow her to proceed. She said that I’ve given so much of my life for her. Now, it was her turn. She’s serious. She thinks this is the answer.
Arriana: Does that mean we can come back to the city? I want to help.
Me: Help? What help is there, Arria? I can’t think of a way out of this.
Arriana: But we can’t let her get married to him. There must’ve been a reason she didn’t want to be with him all those years ago, right?
I swallow. Darkness clouds me. My mind floods with terror-laced images and sounds. All the ways Lucia will suffer if she remains in a relationship with Dominic. He’s going to use her, abuse her. He’s probably already started. She’s willing to let it happen, to subject herself to that misery, all for me.
Me: If I challenge him, he’ll push me on our relationship, Arria.
Arriana: Is that what we have? A relationship?
The age gap has never seemed so clear. She’s questioning my phrasing about our relationship status when lives are on the line. My phone buzzes again. It’s a number I don’t recognize.
Unknown number: Hello, Mr Barberi. I am Dominic Caruso’s lawyer. Please be at the following address at 1 pm tomorrow to handle your divorce proceedings.
I stare at the address, grinding my teeth. A sick, cowardly part of me wants to go along with this. I gave years of my life to Lucy. Let her repay the favor. I could even propose to my niece once she’s no longer my niece. Perhaps I can finally allow myself to feel something. Maybe I don’t have to be cold. I don’t have to be a nightmare, a barbarian.
But no. I can’t. Lucy doesn’t deserve this. If Savior means a goddamn thing, it’s that I never let things like this happen.
Arriana: Nico , are you there?
Me: Yes, but I don’t have any answers. Come back to the city. Hopefully, by the time you’re home, I will have thought of something.
I stuff my phone into the glove box and drive. A constant, ugly movie is playing in the back of my head. It’s a reel of what might happen to Lucy, my best friend.
Parking outside Rocco’s office, I head inside, asking for him at the front desk. He meets me in the lobby, looking flustered. “What’s happened? Is Arria okay? Is it my wife?”
“They’re fine,” I tell him. “In fact, they’re on their way back to the city.”
He sighs, putting his hands on his hips. “Does that mean it’s over?”
I shake my head. “Lucy’s given herself to Dominic Caruso. She’s agreed to be his wife. In exchange, Dominic wants to put all of this behind us.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“What do you think?” I snarl. “He’ll treat Lucy like trash and do terrible things to her. Dominic Caruso is not a good man.”
“Lucy made this choice herself, though? I’m being practical, Nico. I have to think about my family. I have to think about my wife , my daughter .”
I rub the bridge of my eyebrows. “I didn’t come here to discuss any plans. I came here because I need to stay at your place tonight.”
“What, why?” he snaps. “I’ve made my wishes clear with Arria.”
“This isn’t about that,” I bark. What the hell would he say if he knew what we’d been texting to each other? I’ve tried to back off. Or have I? “I can’t just take Dominic’s word that he’ll leave your family alone. You’ve got a guestroom, haven’t you?”
“You’re so polite, Nico, inviting yourself into my home,” he grumbles,
“I know you’re not happy any of this is happening, Rocco, but try to be more mature about it.”
He sighs, nodding. I don’t expect him to apologize. When he does, I’m shocked. “I’m sorry. It’s just… well, everything.”
“It can’t be easy.”
“I thought we were done with the mob.”
“You couldn’t know that Arria would have a run-in with the spoiled prince.”
I concede.
“And now it looks like there’s a way out. But it’s not, is it? Because you won’t let Lucy do this.”
“Honestly, Rocco, it makes me sick that you’d be willing to.”
“This entire city is sick. This world is sick. Unlike you, I wasn’t in the life, but I was close enough to see how evil it could be. Sometimes, it’s about picking the lesser of two evils.”
He’s not wrong there.
“You can stay,” he goes on. “But in the guest room, understand? You know what I’m saying, don’t you?”
“I get it.”
“Just in case.” He takes a step forward, glaring at me. “I’m telling you to stay away from my daughter.”
She’s a grown woman. She can make her own decisions. I almost say this out loud, but that’d make me a jerk. There’s enough stress in this situation without heaping that on top of it.
“I understand, Rocco,” I tell him.
“I need to get back to work… don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” I retort.
“Like you think I’m a monster for putting work first? I’ve worked like a dog my entire life to provide for my family. On the West Coast, I sometimes had to pull fourteen-hour days. It might have made me cold or obsessed, but it’s given my family a home and luxuries I never had as a kid.”
“I’m not judging you, Rocco,” I say earnestly.
He walks away. I return to the car and remove my phone from the glove box. Damn, Arria has texted me four times asking if I’m okay.
Me: Sorry. I wasn’t near my phone.
Arriana: Phew. I was worried. Sorry. I know it seems nuts.
Me: Under the current circumstances, nothing seems too crazy. I was with your father, actually. I’ll be staying at your house tonight to make sure Dominic keeps his word and backs off. But listen, Arria, your dad has been pretty clear. He wants nothing to happen between us.
Arriana: Is that his choice to make? I get why he’d have a problem with it, but I’m not a little kid anymore. I can make my own decisions.
She adds an angry emoji. The world’s gone to shit, but somehow, she makes me smile.
Me: I was thinking the same thing, but I will not disrespect him in his home by sneaking around behind his back. If we can somehow find a way through this mess, save Lucy, and force the mob to back off, maybe we’ll figure out how to prove to your dad that I’m not the monster he thinks I am.