Chapter 6
six
. . .
Nicolette
I swear, even after a shower, my skin still smelled like Valentina.
My dreams had been filled with her and memories of how good she had felt in my arms as she fell apart by my hand.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her against that wall, lips kiss-swollen, her body pressed tight to mine like we’d been starving for years. Which, in a way, we had.
All night, after I left that fake ass party, the taste of her still lingering on my tongue, I tried to tell myself it had been a mistake.
I knew getting involved with her like this was dangerous in more ways than one, but fuck if I didn’t want to throw caution to the wind and dive face-first. This wasn’t like me.
I wasn’t usually the one chasing tail, especially if I knew there was a chance it could all go wrong.
And yet, here I was. Waiting for her like a fool, hoping that we could talk about last night, and I could convince her that marrying that coward, Luca, wasn’t worth it.
I didn’t care if it was just a ruse. I wanted Valentina by my side and my side alone.
I was a possessive bitch, but clearly, she seemed to enjoy it, so I had no desire to hide it.
The conference room we were supposed to meet in sat quietly, with just the hum of the overhead lights and the distant growl of traffic outside.
Midtown buzzed with life, but inside these walls, time stretched thin as I waited, counting each minute that crawled by.
Valentina was never late, and yet here I was, sitting alone, fifteen minutes past the hour when we were scheduled to meet.
I drummed my fingers against the table, staring at the empty chair across from me.
This wasn’t like her. Valentina may not have wanted to do this project with me, but I knew she wouldn’t fuck it up just because of her feelings.
I told myself not to panic. She was probably caught up at her family’s estate, or maybe one of her father’s endless toasts dragged on too long.
But the tightness in my chest didn’t ease.
Finally, I reached for my phone, thumb hovering over her number.
Just one call. I needed to hear her voice; to remind myself she was still on the other side of this thing with me—whatever the hell this was.
Before I could hit ‘call’, the door clicked open.
I looked up, ready to snap at her for making me wait, only it wasn’t her.
“Matteo,” I said, taking a deep breath and smoothing the expression on my face.
He strolled in like he owned the place; hands tucked in his pockets and a lazy grin on his face. But the second I saw his eyes, I stiffened. He was too calm, too measured in a way that was unlike him. I was used to his relentlessly annoying energy, not this relaxed persona he was now sporting.
“What the hell do you want?” I asked, leaning back in my chair, masking suspicion with calm.
“Relax, sis. I come in peace.” His tone was light, but it didn’t fool me. “I know you will want to hear what I have to say, so don’t chase me out just yet.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t bring peace. You bring headaches.”
He chuckled. “Maybe. But this time? I’m doing you a favor.”
That sick feeling in my gut twisted deeper. “Fine. Spit it out and go.”
Matteo moved to the chair across from me but didn’t sit.
He braced his hands against the backrest, leaning forward.
“I know you’ve got some wind of the fact that our father has been working on something big.
Well, his plans are bigger than you know, and your lady love, Valentina, is at the center of them. ”
Every nerve in me went taut. “What kind of plans?”
“The permanent kind,” he said softly. “She’s marked, Nico. He wants her gone. And when she goes, he’ll make sure the blame lands somewhere convenient enough to spark a war.”
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. Rage bled through me, but I forced myself still. I had to be calm and rational to figure out what was going on before I made my move. “And why are you telling me this?”
“Because I like living.” He met my gaze without flinching. “You and I both know you’re ruthless when you want to be. If I kept quiet, you’d find out anyway. Then maybe you’d decide my silence made me complicit. I’d rather not end up on your hit list.”
He wasn’t wrong. He might be my brother, but he was still expendable if he stepped wrong. I tilted my head. “So, you play messenger boy now? That’s your strategy for survival?”
Matteo gave a lopsided grin, but his eyes stayed sharp. “You’d be surprised how far it gets me. Besides, you’re not the only one father underestimates. He thinks I’m too busy screwing around to notice the bigger moves. That’s what keeps me breathing.”
I rose from my chair, closing the distance between us.
I mentally gave him props for only backing up a step and mostly holding his ground.
That took guts, considering this is probably the closest we’d been to one another in years.
My hand fisted in his collar, yanking him closer. “If you’re lying to me—”
“I’m not,” he said quickly, voice low. “He already has someone lined up. Someone in his pocket, ready to take the fall. I don’t know who.
Everything started moving so fast that I didn’t have a chance to put everything together, just enough to know I want no part of it if it comes to pissing you off. ”
Pissing me off was an understatement. The world around me had already gone crimson with fury.
I knew our father had been making moves that he kept from me, but I didn’t know he would go this far or be this stupid.
Despite Matteo’s words, I was still suspicious of him.
We had never been on good terms since he realized he was the favored one in our father’s eyes.
I released him with a shove, pulling out my phone again, thumb pressing Valentina’s number.
The line rang once before Matteo’s hand shot out, covering mine, shaking his head.
“Too late, Nico. Things are already in motion.”
My vision tunneled. “Don’t you dare say that.”
“I don’t want it to be true either,” he said quietly. “But you know him. Once Father decides a course of action, it’s as good as done, and he won’t let go even if he’s wrong. The best you can do now is move fast enough to cut him off.”
I clenched my jaw in frustration and looked at my phone again. “If you’re setting me up, I will make sure you’re dealt with slow enough that you’ll pray for a quick death. Don’t think I will spare you.”
His smirk was humorless. “I don’t, which is why I’m not lying. I don’t want your crown, Nico. I just want to stay out of the grave.”
He reached into his jacket and handed me a phone.
Suspicion narrowed my gaze. “What’s this for?”
“It’s for you to call Camilla,” he said simply.
“Camilla? Isn’t she Valentina’s friend?”
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “She’s got eyes in places neither of our families see coming, and she knows more than either of us about the cracks forming. Use her to find Valentina and let her know I did my part.”
I studied him for a beat, trying to peel away the layers. Matteo, the perpetual jester, now stood in front of me like a man who finally understood the weight of the game.
“You’ve been letting us all underestimate you for your whole life,” I said softly, testing him.
He shrugged. “Makes it easier to know when to show my cards.”
I looked at the phone again. “If you cross me—”
“I won’t,” he interrupted. “I’m not dumb enough to think I’d survive it.”
We stared at each other before I turned away, pocketing the burner. I wasn’t thanking him. Not yet. By the time I slipped into my car, my hands were trembling with barely restrained fury. I dialed Camilla, not surprised when she picked up on the first ring.
“Took you long enough,” she said, voice cool as ice.
“Where is she?”
“I’ve been tracking her phone,” she said, getting down to business. I could appreciate that, given I wasn’t in the mood to mince words or waste time on unnecessary small talk. “Last ping I got puts her near some warehouses on Waters near the airport.”
My heart nearly stopped. I knew that area.
We had warehouses all over that area. Most of them had been gutted years ago, but were still used for the kind of business no one admitted to.
It was a perfect place to take someone, especially considering the noise overhead with planes coming and going.
It also lent legitimacy to what Matteo had said.
The area was our father’s favorite place to take people from whom he wanted information.
“Send me the exact location of her last ping so I can narrow down whi—”
“Already done,” Camilla replied, cutting off my words.
“Good,” I replied, not even the least bit upset at being cut off. Camilla and I had the same objective right now.
“But Nico, don’t be reckless. If Valentina’s harmed…” Her voice hardened into something lethal. “If she’s harmed, the Lombardi family will come down on yours with the swiftness. You know what we do best.”
Fuck. The Lombardis were notorious. Most people steered clear of them or at least made sure not to cross them beyond hiring them for help in red matters.
They did it all. Assassinations. Cleanups.
No mercy was their brand, and it was said that if you ever truly had one on your side, you were set for life.
“Then we’re the same,” I said, letting my feelings leak into my words. “Because if she bleeds, so does anyone who touched her, family or not.”
Silence stretched, then Camilla exhaled. “Go. I’ll be watching. I won’t move unless it’s necessary, but you had better make this right, Nicolette. She trusts you. Don’t make her a fool.”