Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
S eptember 5 th
You know when you’re in the store and you see a big bag of your favorite chocolate on sale? You hesitate to grab it because you know it’s not good for you, yet you grab it anyway because, duh, it’s chocolate. You know you’ll feel better when you bite into it.
That’s what happened to me. Let’s not talk about my decision to quickly grab the bag and then snack on it all day long. I know better. It’s not good for me. Yet, it doesn’t stop me from reaching into the bag for another. It made me feel better. Just for a moment. Even when I know that moment has to end.
Paige’s mouth dropped open as she watched Andriano being flung aside as if he were nothing.
“Boss wants to see you.”
Paige looked up into the scarred face of the man standing in front of her and flung her arms around him in delight, hugging him tight and kissing his cheek. “Rocco! I’m so glad to see you!”
“Not the reaction I’m used to getting,” Rocco, an enforcer for New York mafia boss Nikolas Luciano, told her.
Andriano decided now was the time to get bold and charged them as if he were really going to take Rocco down. Rocco turned and snarled, and Andriano skidded to a halt in fear. “That’s the reaction I’m used to getting,” Rocco told her.
“That cagna owes me a hundred euros,” Andriano said, trying to find his confidence again.
“This cagna is under the protection of the Lucianos,” Rocco growled out as he stared down Andriano.
“I didn’t know he was a prostituta . Prostituto? Or is it gigolo ? I thought he actually liked me,” Paige whispered. Now that she was safe with Rocco, she started to feel pretty pathetic. Sure, he was good looking, but Andriano drove an aqua scooter and was so far from the bad-boy biker Paige had imagined that it made her feel even worse than foolish. She’d somehow messed up the MC trope horribly.
Rocco didn’t say anything. Instead, he simply punched Andriano in the face. Andriano’s eyes rolled back into his head and he dropped to the ground as security rushed forward. Rocco said something and security scooped Andriano up and tossed him out the back door.
One glare from Rocco and the rest of the scooter gang, who looked as if they were going to come to their club member’s defense, suddenly decided against it.
“Come with me, Miss Turner.” Rocco didn’t touch her, but he cleared the way for her as she followed him to the VIP section.
Ropes were parted, people stared and whispered, and Nikolas Luciano stood with two other men as she approached.
“I see our little bird tried to fly from the nest and took a tumble.”
Paige had never been so relieved to see a friendly face, even if the face belonged to a mob boss. “I’m so thankful you were here to catch me. Hello, Nikolas. What brings you to Rome?”
A glass of wine appeared in her hand and she took it as she looked around at a lot of men—men in very expensive suits. Men who had MOB practically tattooed to their foreheads. She was safely out of the fire but right back into the pan. At least this pan wasn’t trying to rob her. Yet.
“Just visiting some family, little bird.” Nikolas turned to the man on his right. “Paige, this is my cousin, Vito.” He turned to the man on the left. “This is my other cousin, Franco.”
“Who is this woman?” Vito asked, eyeing her in a way that made Paige step a little closer to Rocco. Vito’s eyebrow rose in surprise. “It seems she knows you and Rocco well.”
Nikolas smiled at her and Paige was wondering if he was toying with her or if he was really going to stick up for her. Max’s warning about staying away from Nikolas was screaming in her head. But they’d come to an understanding, right? She made him cookies and he didn’t kill her.
“We’re . . . friends,” Nikolas told his cousins.
“The cannoli were fantastic by the way. I had Jack drop off the maple cookie recipe for your aunt.”
“She knows Zia Maria?” Franco asked, clearly surprised.
“They trade recipes,” Nikolas said with a smirk as both men used their fingers to cross themselves.
“You must be some woman. Zia Maria is terrifying. Did she give you the eye?” Vito asked.
“No, but some other old Italian lady did after spitting at my feet and calling me a prostitute. I like Aunt Maria better.”
The four men stared at her and then crossed themselves again.
“You had the eye put on you?” Nikolas asked in a whisper. “I can’t protect you from that, little bird.”
Paige shrugged. “It’s okay. It was a curse for me to have no sex life. Jokes on her though since I’m a—” Paige slammed her mouth shut.
“A what?” Franco asked.
Paige waved her hands as if to clear the air. “Not important. I hate to intrude on family night out. After that horrendous ordeal down there, I just want to go back to my hotel and sleep. Tomorrow, I’m going shopping before heading home.”
Vito took her hand and placed a kiss on it. “Please, let us show you Roma tomorrow. You had a curse put on you and you had a prostitute try to shake you down. We need to improve your opinion of our country.”
“Vito,” Nikolas warned, his voice low and menacing.
Vito smirked. Franco grinned. Rocco frowned.
“Yes, brilliant idea. We’ll pick you up at nine,” Franco told her. “After all, we want to get to know our cousin’s friend .”
“Rocco, please take Miss Turner back to her hotel,” Nikolas stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders before kissing each cheek. “It’s good to see you, little bird. Don’t let my cousins worry you. You’ll get plenty of shopping in. See you in the morning.”
“Thanks for the save tonight, Nikolas. You’re a good friend, right? Like your cousins aren’t going to make me sleep with the fishes or anything?”
Nikolas chuckled and shook his head. “If I knew it was so amusing to have friends, I would have done it sooner. No, little bird, you’re safe with me. I’ve given you my word.”
Paige hoped he kept it too as Vito and Franco were whispering and smiling at each other. “Then I’ll see you in the morning. Good night. Try not to kill anyone tonight.”
Nikolas froze for a second, tossed back his head, and laughed out loud.
Rocco drove her to the hotel, but neither of them were chatty. He even escorted her up to her room, cleared the room, and then nodded to her before leaving. Paige fell onto the bed, kicked off her shoes, and fell asleep.
“Little bird?”
Paige was dragged from her sleep when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She screamed, rolled on her back, and scrambled up her bed.
“ Oh mio Dio! ” Nikolas gasped in horror. “Do all women wake up looking like this in the morning?”
Paige ran her hand over her hair, now partially stuck to her cheek where she might have drooled a little in her deep sleep. “Haven’t you ever slept with a woman?”
“No. I’ve fucked women. I don’t sleep with them. And after this terrifying sight, I don’t think I ever will.”
Rocco rushed in, having heard Nikolas’s outburst, skidded to a halt, and crossed himself.
Paige rolled her eyes. “What are you doing in my room?”
“I’m picking you up for your last day in Roma.” Nikolas turned to Rocco. “Who do we call about this? A priest?”
Paige scooted out of bed and trudged to the bathroom. She flipped on the light and then it all made sense. Her smokey eye and mascara was smudged all over her eyes making her look as if she were a feral raccoon. Her red lipstick had also smudged, giving the appearance that she might also be a freshly fed vampire. Frankly put, she looked as if she were a vampiric raccoon on a bender.
“Just give me ten minutes,” Paige called out.
“No, I think you should take more than ten,” Nikolas replied from behind the closed bathroom door.
Paige turned on the shower and rushed through getting ready. She didn’t bother with full makeup. She put on sunscreen moisturizer and lip gloss and called it good enough.
“Better?” she asked, stepping from the room in a casual dress, sneakers, and her hair up in a ponytail.
“Much better. Come, let’s meet the family for a very special breakfast.”
Paige had thought Nikolas had meant Vito and Franco when he’d said family. She wasn’t expecting a table in the middle of a famous art museum filled with pastries, mobsters, and old Italian women.
Old Italian women who were staring her down.
“Mama,” Nikolas said, bending and kissing the cheeks of the woman at the head of the table. “This is my friend from New York, Paige Turner. Paige, this is my mother.”
“Mrs. Luciano, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Paige told her, smiling, but not holding out her hand as the woman looked her over.
“Maria called. She said you make wonderful cookies and you’re not screwing my son.”
“Oh, well, tell Maria she makes the most amazing cannoli I’ve ever had.” Paige smiled as they all kept staring at her. “I also haven’t and don’t plan on screwing your son. No offense, Nikolas.”
Nikolas shrugged as if it didn’t bother him.
“I didn’t think it was possible,” Mrs. Luciano said to the other women who had been introduced as her sisters. “Little Nikky actually has a girl friend. I hope you can find him a good woman. Those others have been nothing but whores.”
Paige blinked as Nikolas held out her chair and she sat down as Vito and Franco smirked. That was before their mothers smacked them and told them they were no better.
“Nikky says you want to go shopping,” Mrs. Luciano said as a butler poured coffee. “What are you looking for?”
“Nothing fancy. Just some souvenirs for my friends. You know, T-shirts, or maybe some nice perfume.”
“I know just the store.” She snapped her fingers and one of the men lining the wall stepped forward. “Call my usual place and tell them to be open in thirty minutes.”
The man disappeared and thirty minutes later Paige found herself standing with Mrs. Luciano, Nikolas, Vito, Franco, and Rocco in the middle of a store she couldn’t afford to use the bathroom in.
“How many shirts, dear?” Mrs. Luciano asked.
“Um, three. Two for women and one for a guy,” Paige leaned down and dropped her voice. “I can’t afford anything in this store, ma’am.”
“Family discount. My cousin owns the store. Now, go shopping. I’ll be over by perfume.”
Paige walked around the store with Rocco following her as the guys stayed with Mrs. Luciano. She picked out shirts she knew Leah, Amelia, and Eli would love and not a single one said I LOVE ROME.
The perfume took longer, but when she tried one on and Nikolas had to clear his throat and place his hands in front of his crotch, she knew she’d found the right scent. The bill was rung up and she about cried when it totaled over three thousand euros.
Mrs. Luciano looked at the man and suddenly the cost went down to three hundred euro. Paige wasn’t stupid. She’d just let the mob intimidate the store owner. Cousin or not. However, she only felt slightly bad about it when she handed over the money.
They stepped outside the store and Mrs. Luciano kissed both of Paige’s cheeks. “It was lovely to meet my son’s friend. I hope to see you the next time I’m in New York.”
“That would be nice, thank you. I can take you to my favorite café.”
“I look forward to it. Now, you boys take care of Paige today.”
“Now for the cool stuff,” Vito said, holding out his arm for her.
“The really cool stuff,” Franco said, holding out his arm for her.
Paige walked down the street with a mobster on each arm and hung on for the ride.
“Okay, that was really cool,” Paige said to them as they exited the tunnels under Rome. The amount of history that the two of them knew was astounding. She’d explored all the behind the scenes things at the museums, the Colosseum, and now the tunnels under Rome.
They hadn’t eaten at fancy five-star places, but places some cousin or family friend owned and they’d been so good she had foodgasms. Now that night had fallen, they were sipping drinks overlooking the city.
“When are you coming back to New York?” Paige asked Nikolas.
“Next week. Vito’s little sister is getting married in a couple of days.”
Vito rolled his eyes.
“You don’t like the guy?” Paige asked.
“He’s a slut,” Vito spat. “But the family is rich and powerful.”
“Is he famous? Would I know him?”
“He owns a vineyard,” Vito said. “Well, his family owns it.”
“That’s where I got cursed. At a vineyard. I met this guy, Dario, on the plane and his grandma cursed me for being a prostitute.”
Vito, Franco, and Nikolas set their glasses down hard.
“This Dario?” Vito asked, turning his phone around.
“Yeah, that’s him . . . oh shit. We didn’t sleep together. I just stomped some grapes.” Paige was quickly realizing he was the same Dario who was about to marry Vito’s sister. “What an asshole! You have to tell your sister.”
“No way will I hurt her feelings like that. We’ll take care of it.”
Vito and Franco were up and out of their chairs before Paige realized what they meant. “Nikolas, please. I can’t have a death on my hands. I know he’s a slut, but—” Paige was frantically grabbing at Nikolas, hoping he’d understand.
“We’ll take care of it. Rocco, take Paige home and make sure she gets to the airport tomorrow.” Nikolas bent and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I had fun today with you, my friend. And now the fun continues.”
“They’re going to kill him, aren’t they?” Paige whispered to Rocco as they left the bar.
Rocco shrugged. That didn’t make her feel any better.
Paige scanned the news the next morning for deaths. She didn’t find anyone fitting Dario’s description. Rocco knocked and took her bags to the car. She finally found the courage to ask him what had happened when they were driving to the airport.
“It was taken care of.”
“Is he dead?” Paige asked in a whisper.
“No.”
Paige let out a breath of relief. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I would have killed him. Nikolas stopped Vito and Franco from doing so. Instead, they took half the vineyard and cut off one of his balls. From my understanding, Nikolas got the idea from you. I didn’t know you had it in you, but Patrick Bolten?”
Paige groaned. “That was an accident.”
“How did you accidentally stab a man in the balls with your heel?” Rocco actually grinned when he asked her that.
“Maybe it was fate. He was a dick.”
Rocco’s grin fell. “Want me to have a word with him?”
“No! No words with anyone. Ever. But thank you, Rocco.”
Paige boarded the plane three hours later. She put on the eye mask, refused to look at the sexy businessman sitting across the aisle from her, and slept the entire way back to New York. It had been one heck of a trip. She wasn’t sure how to tell her friends about it. How do you lead with, “I spent the day with a crime family and had fun until I somehow caused a man to lose one of his balls?” Maybe she’d leave that part out.