14. ~Emilio~
14
~Emilio~
I’d been proven right.
Well, at least to an extent.
The dirty shit that had gone down last night had definitely taken the edge off for Nico.
He was out on Julian’s balcony now, smoking and sipping at his espresso as he lounged back on one of the heavily cushioned wicker lounge chairs.
The part I hadn’t been right about was that fucking her like he’d been craving hadn’t exactly worked to get her out of his system, or to curb his obsession with Caterina Leone. The fact that he’d invited her to spend the day with us actually seemed to indicate that what had happened had cemented it.
Hell, he clearly thought he’d claimed her.
But I’d been listening in on their conversation through the door—managing to take off just before Julian had arrived with his care package—and what I’d heard from her made it clear she didn’t see it the same way. She wasn’t just hesitant about drawing closer to him; she was worried.
Rightfully so.
It could only lead to a shitshow of epic proportions.
Nico wasn’t equipped to build, nor sustain, a relationship with anyone.
Letting emotion lead the way for him was a no-go with his pivotal role as Capo, all the people counting on him, the businesses he needed to run, the complicated moves and decisions he needed to make—and now this added complication of Marco becoming unhinged and Leo coming down on his nephew and trying to leash him. Nico needed to be at the top of his game, remaining completely rational and his usual cold and calculated self. And, this woman, she impacted that; she weakened that, weakened him. She fucking softened him. I mean, he’d invited her to breakfast with us, he’d made Julian’s personal shopper bring in clothes and hell knew what else for her, he’d insisted on spending time with her. He should’ve just sent her home the moment they’d woken up. And if he had been keeping it unemotional, he would have.
But I’d already warned him, and he’d ignored it.
Julian had also been right about what he’d said last night. Continuing to push it with Nico and read him the riot act when it came to this would only serve to create a divide between me and him. Not only didn’t I want that, but we couldn’t afford it right now.
Clearly, the way to go was not through him, but through her instead.
Now I knew she was concerned about this development just like I was, I could capitalize on that, try to control things from her end, try to push her back from Nico and keep her at a distance, making it safer for all of us.
“Here,” Julian said, walking up to me and handing me a cup of coffee. “It’s got your favored brandy in too. Hopefully, it’ll take the edge off.”
“What edge?” I asked him, finally looking away from Nico and watching Julian slump down on the couch and kick his feet up on his coffee table.
“Your nostrils are flaring. You were doing that intense staring thing at Nico as I walked on in.”
“I’m fine.”
“Lies. You’ve been avoiding me all morning. I mean, I know my penthouse is big, but it’s still quite a feat to pull that off on one floor for a couple of hours straight. Just admit that you’re still pissed about last night.”
I took a gulp of my coffee, choking a little because he’d put in so much brandy instead of the few drops I usually added for a tough day, or when Nico and I had a lot of shit ahead of us with the unsavory aspects of Marchetti business.
I thumped my chest, narrowing my eyes when I saw him grinning and looking pleased with himself. “You mean, when you didn’t just supervise Nico, but actually participated, then you came back into your office when you’d ordered me to get ready for you only to tell me you were no longer up for it? Quite fucking literally.”
“Yeah. That.” He shrugged. “I didn’t see it coming, but it happened, and I got what I needed from their dirty little scene.”
“You didn’t even get off.”
“Physically, no, but it turned out to be enough for me.”
That was… another level. Especially where he was concerned. Sex addict didn’t quite cover it when it came to him.
“Besides, it also meant last night was one of the very rare instances where you and I hung out without fucking being involved.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You were making a point, after what we talked about.”
“Actually, no. It just happened the way it did last night.” He gave me a withering look as he stretched his arm along the back of the couch. “Not everything is a manipulation, or has double meaning, Milo. You need to fucking relax.”
"Sei proprio uno stronzo,” I muttered.
The slide of the balcony door took my attention, and I looked to see Nico striding back on in. “Julian? Such an asshole? Really?” he said, frowning between us.
I chugged some of my coffee. “That’s right.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Julian told me.
“He did a fine job last night,” Nico cut in. “Although you already know that.”
Julian tensed. “What are you getting at, N?”
Nico rolled his eyes. “Your timing, even knowing Caterina had burst into that room… you think it didn’t cross my mind that you’d turned on the camera?”
“It was—”
“No need to make excuses. I know it wasn’t your idea. You hate the cameras being there in the first place.” Nico eyed me and it was my turn to tense then.
“Thanks for looking out for me. For both of us, actually.”
What the— what was happening? He hated when he was called into question in any way. Not to mention, it had already been firmly established that he abhorred my interference when it came to Caterina.
He even enforced his comment with a genuine smile.
He was obviously more relaxed than I’d even realized then.
Before I could speak to it, he reported, “My research on possible additional buyers for our coke operations has come through with a viable match for a long-term partner. I just reached out to Tony before my smoke and he’s going to run in-person recon on the prospect for a couple of days to confirm their viability and ensure the dealers are well-versed in the discreet way we do business.”
“Wow, that would be an amazing get and definitely something to calm Leo down when it comes to you.”
“Nice,” Julian said. “He’ll be expecting you to retaliate, so you do the opposite, smooth things over, bring in more business, exceed your financial targets.”
“Precisely.”
I smiled to myself.
Nico was on the top of his game.
Had I been worried for nothing?
Had him wavering been only a temporary thing?
Or… goddammit… did this stabilization have something to do with Caterina? Or, Hades forbid, was it a direct result of her influence over him? Was she actually good for him, after all? I mean, her business acumen was renowned. She’d outdone herself. She was even being awarded for it soon. Maybe that influence could actually rub off on Nico, instead of it being something negative and dragging him down after all.
Maybe.
It was still worrying. She still definitely impacted him in other ways, too.
If that could be offset with this side of things, all would be well and good.
If not, though, then we were all in a shitload of trouble.
As it was, it was too early to tell.
The clack of heels sounded, and Caterina rounded the corner into the living room.
She looked a far cry away from last night when I’d had to carry her limp body in her barely lucid state up here from the parking garage. And from the club itself, actually. She’d been drenched in sweat, blood, and Nico’s cum, her hair matted, her makeup smeared all over her face.
Now, though, she looked impeccable.
Her wavy auburn hair was cascading about her shoulders, brushing the rich fabric of her black wrap dress that really highlighted her breasts. As if that crystal Swarovski necklace wasn’t already doing that with its turquoise square-cut gem. I’d seen the bag when Julian’s personal shopper had brought in those things for her. It was something Nico had dropped his secret stash of money, independent from the family on. Apparently, the shoes, Louboutin’s, according to Julian, hadn’t been enough.
She was fingering the necklace as she stared between us suspiciously, her phone in her free hand. I tried to ignore the sight of Nico’s marks all over the exposed skin of her cleavage, her throat, her arms, and her legs.
That was made easier when her next words were uttered, a whole lot of accusation—and what sounded like actual hurt— spewing forth as she glared at Nico. “You videoed us fucking last night?”
Nico walked to her. “It was a whole lot more than fucking or—”
“Explain or I walk right fucking now,” she demanded.
He stopped in front of her and slid his hands to her hips, but she jerked away. “It’s not what you think.”
“There was a recording device in that room and it was active, so how is it not what I think?”
“How do you know that?” I asked, concerned about her reach.
“I have an app constantly running on my phone that alerts me to any recording devices in my vicinity. A necessary precaution.”
Julian pushed off the couch. “There are secret cameras in Nocturne, yes. ”
“J!” I cried at him revealing confidential information to her like it was nothing. Information that was Marchetti business, that the princess of the Leone Family most definitely shouldn’t be privy to. He was risking implicating himself, for fuck’s sakes.
He looked back at me, but didn’t get to respond when Nico told Caterina, “It wasn’t intentional to record what happened between us. Not at all.”
“Nico wasn’t even a part of it.”
“ I had Julian activate the camera inside that room to keep an eye on Nico. We did so before you even showed up.”
“But you kept them running once I did?”
“To make sure you were okay,” Julian told her. “Because of how Nico is. The footage has been deleted, I swear.”
“I know it has. I made sure,” she bit back.
“You hacked his system?” I demanded.
“You recorded me without my permission. Which violation is worse?”
“Well, ours wasn’t intentional, so—”
“All right!” Nico snapped. “Enough.” He took Caterina’s hand, and she didn’t pull away this time. “You were never in danger of being exposed by us. You never will be. What happened last night meant a great deal to me. I’d never fuck all over that. I’d never hurt you like that. And if you can’t believe in that at this juncture, follow the logic. My goal is to earn your trust and something like this, if it had been intentional and done to release it to the public to embarrass you or expose you, or to hold over your head, would be in direct opposition to those efforts.” A possessive growl escaped him as he said, “The idea of anyone outside of the four of us seeing you in that state, unleashed in all your glory, taking me like that, makes me murderous, principessa. ”
Her lips twitched. “Okay.”
“Yeah?” he asked warily.
“Yes. I believe you.”
“So, we’re good?” Julian spoke.
“We’re good. You do it again, though, and I swear to fuck—”
“Never happening again.” He looked out at me. “Right?”
“Sure,” I ground out.
He and Nico glared at me from my tone and the lack of commitment there.
What about at the Manor when I needed to keep an eye on her? Of course, they were too fucking smitten with her to even consider that. Goddammit.
Julian clapped his hands. “Now that’s sorted, let’s eat! You two must be starving after all the insane energy you expended last night.”
Caterina blushed and went to ease her hand from Nico so she could turn away, but he tucked her into him instead, wrapping his arm around her tightly. Urgh. “J, tone it down. Let’s just get breakfast without your sexual commentary.”
“I’ll try my best, but you know sometimes it can’t be helped.”
Never had a truer word been spoken.
As Nico led her out of the living room and toward the kitchen, I followed, noting Julian’s excitement.
Normally I’d put it down to him having a full house with plenty of distractions in lots of people, but after last night and his continued comments about it toward Caterina, I was concerned that it had more to do with her personally. Fucking great.
“This is beautiful,” I heard Caterina say, as she fingered the necklace Nico had made Julian’s shopper procure for him.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“And where might my other one be? I didn’t see it on the bedside table with the clothes you brought in for me, or in the bag Julian left for me.”
“I sent it out to get it fixed. The chain is broken after last night.”
“After you ripped it off me in a fury, you mean?”
“In a burst of passion,” he countered.
“More like possessiveness.”
“Hmm,” was all he said before looking away.
“You don’t like that Levi gave it to me.”
“I wouldn’t go there,” Julian warned her.
He was right with the warning. Nico looking away, and not speaking more to it was him trying to reel himself in.
“I’m not going to tiptoe around you, Nico,” Caterina said firmly.
He stilled as we were right at the entrance to the kitchen and then turned to her, forcing all of us to pull up short and stop walking.
His eyes had darkened and his voice was a low rumble as he told her, “The mark of another man on you doesn’t sit well with me, Caterina.”
She pulled away from him. “I’m not yours.”
“Christ,” Julian uttered worriedly.
“You don’t think so?” he asked in that dangerous, challenging tone of his, closing the distance between them and effectively looming over her.
Julian moved to step in, but I snagged his arm and pulled him up short.
I wanted to see how this played out, where Nico was going to take it and if it would push Caterina to make things just business between them again and lessen the complications majorly in doing so.
“Is that what you thought last night was? Staking a claim?”
“It wasn’t just fucking. You gave yourself to me last night.”
“You’re right. I did.”
That darkness in Nico’s eyes retreated, replaced by a whole lot of surprise and confusion. He’d definitely been geared up for a fight. And it had appeared to be heading that way too on her end. Her defiance had seemed forthcoming.
“What?” he questioned, at a loss. “What does that mean?”
She smiled. “It means we take it one step at a time. Like starting with having breakfast with you and your brotherhood. And telling you that I wouldn’t mind if you texted me once in a while, and that maybe that date you suggested wouldn’t be completely abhorrent to me after all and that we should sort it out after our mission in a couple of days.” She pressed her hands to his chest. “ But I won’t be controlled. Not even with the necklace issue. So watch yourself.”
“Okay.”
“Yes?” she asked skeptically.
“I’ll work on it.”
“Good. And just so you know, that necklace was given to me when I was going through a difficult time, when I’d split from the Family and all of that awfulness. Levi gifted it to me because it’s a symbol of protection and peace, to reassure me, to help me and to try to make me feel better.”
He stared at her for several moments, obviously surprised that she was letting him in and opening up, showing a human and more feeling part of herself.
This was what he’d asked her to do when I’d listened in on their conversation earlier. To open up, to stop running and shutting down.
And she was.
Now he could pull her closer.
Goddammit.
He slid his hand into her hair. “Thank you. Once the necklace is fixed, I’ll… be fine with you wearing it.”
“You will?”
“Now I know it means so much to you.”
“And that it’s not rooted in any feelings for Knight,” Julian spoke.
Nico smiled. “That too.”
Caterina shook her head, but there was amusement dancing in her eyes. “Like I said earlier, you really can be impossible.”
Nico laughed, then grasped her hand and led her into the kitchen. “Let’s get you fed and properly hydrated. Last night was a lot.” He leaned in and whispered, but his voice carried so I heard it as he told her, “And you handled it incredibly. Like my filthy little princess.”
She slapped his chest, and he moved out of her space, albeit still holding her hand, smiling from ear-to-ear.
My gut twisted, guilt slashing through me.
I’d never seen anything like this from him before. Sure, I’d seen him satisfied and appearing at peace when he’d brokered a lucrative deal for the family, or achieved something of note for them, but this was different. Deeper and more intense. And it wasn’t about earning and performing for the family like it had been all his life.
It was about him, just for him.
“Wow,” Caterina breathed as she took in the kitchen.
The cabinets were painted in a high-gloss cobalt blue.
The waterfall-edge countertops had under-cabinet lighting that created a floating effect. There were two glass-front refrigerators and a high-end espresso station.
The kitchen table and kitchen island were a sleek white with blue veining and gold specks.
“A fan of blue, are you?” she asked Julian.
“Cobalt blue, if we’re getting specific.”
Caterina’s surprise came once more, as Nico settled her into a chair beside him at the breakfast table and she took in the food that Julian’s staff had prepared before he’d dismissed them so we could be alone.
In front of her was an egg white omelet with a bowl of berries, along with freshly squeezed orange juice and a coffee heavy with the milk. “My favorites,” she said, beaming out at Nico and Julian, the latter who sat down opposite her.
As I took a seat beside him, Nico stroked Caterina’s hair and said, “My stalking can come in handy .”
She rolled her eyes, then looked over at Nico’s breakfast, which was merely a protein shake. Off her look of surprise, he told her, “I usually skip breakfast entirely. This is a lot for me.” He gestured at my plate consisting of two hard-boiled eggs, avocado toast, and a bowl of yogurt. “Milo is the breakfast guy. He never misses it.”
“True that,” I said, as I dug in.
When her eyes fell on Julian’s breakfast, she grinned.
It was a bowl of Nesquik cereal.
“He eats like a child,” I told her.
She stilled for a moment, maybe surprised that I’d actually said something to her that wasn’t terse or harsh.
She smiled back at me and I didn’t exactly know what to make of it, so I looked away and focused on my food.
“I have a chocolate fetish, actually,” Julian said.
Caterina lifted her shoulder. “Everybody has their own thing, whatever works for you.”
“ Thank you,” he said, eyeing me pointedly.
“You have a lot of fetishes,” I muttered, still sore about last night.
Bothering me more than what had happened itself was the fact that it was getting to me so much. Like that time when he’d come home from being away working on the Reincourt Construction deal and gone straight to strangers at the club instead of coming to me.
“So, is this a ritual of sorts? Do you guys eat breakfast together daily?”
“I wish,” Julian said.
I frowned. He did?
Before more attention could be given to that, Nico told Caterina, “No, it’s actually rare. It’s not feasible with mine and Milo’s work, then Julian’s. Our schedules don’t intersect that often, especially not in the morning. We take the time together when we can.”
“Circumstances being what they were last night, it actually provided one of these rare opportunities,” Julian added. “Too fucking rare,” he muttered.
“Are you all right?” Nico asked him.
“Fine.”
Not fine at all, Sunshine.
“Is this because you didn’t get off last night?” Nico pressed.
“Yeah, that’s it. Exactly.” He was a damned good liar. His response sounded so believable and he was even able to look Nico right in the eye as he spoke too. “No matter. I’ll remedy that tonight.” He smirked at Caterina. “Wanna help me out, darlin’?”
“Do you have zero short-term memory?” Nico demanded of him, rubbing Caterina’s shoulder. “Did I not say no more sex talk?”
Hmm, he clearly thought she was overwhelmed. By what had happened, by us.
“Did I not say that it can’t be helped with me sometimes?”
I saw Caterina looking shrewdly between the three of us, taking everything in.
Then, before Nico could bite back at Julian, she told the latter, “Well, you certainly know your way around a dildo.” She leaned forward. “And how did you do that thing with the vibrator?”
She’d undoubtedly recovered from her embarrassed and overwhelmed reaction earlier. Julian had told me that she’d hid under the covers. She’d clearly taken the twenty minutes to do more than just get ready, and to also embolden herself where this was concerned and rise to the occasion. Hmm, I had to respect that.
His eyes lit up. “Otherworldly, huh?”
“Definitely.”
“Can’t reveal my tricks. At least not until we get to know one another better.” He sat back against his chair. “You know, when I’m playing more than a supervisory role?”
“You already fucking did that last night,” I muttered.
“Please, you know that was barely participating for me.”
“That’s right, I do know. I know you.”
“If you knew me as well as you seem to think, you’d also have picked up on the fact that after that supervision of these two, I was happy that it managed to satiate me for the night, and that I didn’t need to go there with you too, that we could have one night where fucking wasn’t front and center with you and me.”
I paused on taking another bite of my egg. “I didn’t—”
“You didn’t know? You didn’t notice? Of course you didn’t. You were far too concerned with Nico and Caterina, obsessing about the perceived danger that the two of them growing closer is to all of us.”
“Obsessing?” Nico spoke. “Still?”
Godammit, Julian.
“You know I’m concerned.”
“Not to the extent of obsession, and it blinding you to everything else.”
“This is amazing,” Caterina spoke.
The three of us stared at her as her odd comment cut through the building tension between us, pulling us all up short.
“Amazing?” Julian asked.
“The three of you, the bond you have. It’s special and rare to have this kind of connection, this understanding between you. How much you trust one another, how much you care about one another and fight to protect each other and what you have. That’s what these arguments and tiffs are about, fighting for this brotherhood of yours.” She looked at me. “I understand your concerns when it comes to me. I share the same concerns on my end, though. It’s definitely a dangerous situation, but as Nico pointed out to me—or more like rammed home to me—earlier, it will become more so if we can’t find a way to work together and try to develop some trust. And not just with this operation coming up. Whether we like it or not, I am being pulled into your lives, into your orbit. We’re not in a position to prevent that from happening. We’re being controlled by the three families.” She gritted her teeth. “As much time and effort as I’ve spent trying to distance myself from it, especially my father, here I am being forced back in, being used by him. Just like the three of you are, too.” She looked out sadly at Nico. “Especially you.” She blew out a breath. “I’m not willing to let you all in on my secrets. It’s too early for that. But I can lay down a promise right here and now that I won’t hurt you. I won’t screw you over, backstab you, use you, nothing like that. Nico is right. We need each other and we need to start operating that way.” She popped a blueberry into her mouth, chewed it, then rose to her feet.
“Where are you going?” Nico asked.
“Like I said, what the three of you have is rare and special. It’s likely the reason why you’ve survived and thrived. But now you need something more with the way the tide is turning. That something is me. None of that is going to work if this alliance splits the three of you apart. So think on it. Take some time. I’ll see you in a couple of days for the operation, and we’ll take it from there.”
Nico rose to his feet. “I don’t want you leaving right now, Caterina.”
“Yet, you know that I need to.” She surprised all of us then, very much Nico, as she slid her fingers to his cheek in a wholly intimate gesture and told him, “This isn’t me backsliding. I heard you earlier, and I felt you last night, too. There’s no denial anymore, just cautious steps forward from now on.” She smiled and dropped her hand. “I promise.”
With that, she walked out, the clack of her heels highlighted with the silence that we’d all fallen into as we fought to absorb her heavy words.