Chapter 23 – Rae
My fingers strained to clutch the frame.
The cold burned my backside, and I lost feeling in my legs from the crooked, cramped position.
And my bladder. My poor, poor bladder. I left the party to pee, and instead of the upstairs bathroom, I led the monster on a wild hunt.
Because in the moment, it seemed like the kind of fun that would give me relief.
Now, I was going to die if I didn’t find a toilet.
This nightmare was exactly why I shouldn’t be sneaking around with Dominico.
It was Arabella who talked Signor Grimaldi into going to bed.
He huffed, but with her, it was all bark and no bite.
The same could not be said for the way he spoke to his wife.
Though I didn’t see them, I felt like Arabella had a backbone of steel, whereas the signora lost hers, if she ever had one in the first place.
As the group departed, I let out a long breath.
The curtain in front of me vibrated ever so slightly from the exhale.
This had to be the worst hiding place imaginable.
With the exception of the desk, there wasn’t another.
And boy was I sure glad I hadn’t hid there!
The don would have sat down and seen me straight away.
Then what? Pretend I was seducing his grandson to save my skin from a worse fate?
“This is why we don’t sneak around,” I scolded myself, peeling my white, rigid fingers from the frame. They ached at the change in position.
But isn’t this a teeny, tiny bit of fun? my inner she-devil argued.
I scowled at her. I would not admit she had a point. Never. Ever.
“Besides, I’m leaving—”
I screamed as the door opened, revealing a living, breathing thunderstorm. Black eyes snapped to me.
The noise cut off the moment I recognized him, but in that split second, the damage was done. I bent, clutching the desk, and breathed hard. The moment of fear released the tight grip I had on my bladder, and a little liquid took advantage of the moment.
“Fuck you, Nico,” I hissed, clutching my ribs.
Everything hurt. Embarrassment flooded my face with heat.
“That can be arranged,” he said smoothly, closing the door.
“Oh, no you don’t!” I struggled to walk straight as my bladder wailed.
I barged passed him, avoiding his attempt to catch me.
If I could have run, I would have. I moved as quickly as I could to the bathroom farther down the hall, no longer caring if anyone saw.
Self-preservation gave way to basic, bodily need.
I heard the monster follow, but the door slamming stopped him.
Barely making it to the seat, I bit my lip as a pain lanced through my lower half. Painful. Embarrassing. Dangerous. This whole night had been one long scene of stupidity.
Once I was done, I sat there for a moment. My head fell into my palms, and it was all I could do to breathe.
I needed to leave Boston.
The truth was glaringly obvious.
Trouble from my past found me. I left for a better life. Small towns weren’t charming and quaint. People lived rough lives and spent their hard-earned checks to escape. Their vices were booze or drugs. That same shit followed me north, and now things were worse. Oohhh, so much worse!
If I had a better relationship with my uncle, I would have told him. But my round-about train of logic wondered what he could even do about the situation.
As I washed my hands, a pang reverberated through my chest. It had been there since the phone call the other night.
There was one person who might be able to help me.
Nico said he would do anything for his family.
And I’d seen him do just that! The old men in that room had no idea who they owed their protection to.
I rubbed my chest.
If Nico was the boss, I would be tempted to go to him with this problem. I could beg his protection. Barter for a solution. But his grandfather was in charge, and that old geezer wouldn’t help me.
I needed to help myself—like I always did.
Which meant leaving. Monday was when I would disappear. No goodbyes. The only reason to wait was to form a better plan and put a few more hours on the next paycheck, praying they paid me even though I was going to skip town.
Leaving the bathroom, I found Nico leaning against the far wall at a respectful distance from the bathroom. He pushed off and took a step.
I held up a hand. “No. Don’t.”
His dark brows knit together. The storm clouds in his face darkened. “Rae, what is it? And don’t tell me it’s nothing.”
“You want to know!” I planted my hands on my hip, gazing to the grand drawing room. “Fine, here it is. That was utterly insane. Probably dangerous.”
“Nothing happened,” he insisted and took a step forward.
I took a healthy step back. “I have work to do. That’s what I am, an employee. You’re my employer’s heir. This—” I gestured between us “—is so unbelievably bad.”
“Quit running away from it,” he snapped. In three long steps, he was on me. “Quit fighting it.”
I tugged away from him. “We’ve had our fun, but it’s over.”
“Don’t say that.” His gaze burned into me. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
“There won’t be a next time,” I insisted. And then, I dropped the truth. If anything would make him stay away, it was that. “I’m not going to be here much longer, and I won’t complicate things for you.”
Nico cupped my jaw in a firm, unforgiving hold. “Don’t make me chase you, Rae. I’ll always catch what’s mine.”
Well, shit.
The truth became glaringly obvious. I needed to leave. Tonight. I didn’t want to take from my uncle, who’d taken me in, but what choice was there? I needed to grab as much cash as I could and flee.
“Let go,” I breathed. “Someone will see.”
“No one’s looking.”
My heart shuddered. He was fighting so hard. For me. For…us. What if I told him? Could he—
Would he—
Leave him.
I was nothing more than a good time. He might have claimed me for a fun little secret, but he didn’t know the cost of making me stay. The fear that he wouldn’t pay if push came to shove had me jerking out of his grasp.
“Goodbye, Nico,” I muttered, turning and ducking out of his reach. “Thanks for everything.”
Mercifully, he didn’t follow me. I dove into the drawing room, where my coworkers shot me looks, varying in degrees of suspicion to outright hatred.
“Food poisoning,” I said with a lame laugh.
The housekeeper’s face turned purple. But whatever she was going to say was cut off by my uncle’s clipped, “Hope it’s better. We have a lot of work to reset for tomorrow.”
I gave him a nod and fell to work. The mundane tasks grounded me, leaving my mind free to toss and turn.
There was a lot to do if I left tonight.
I just prayed quitting time came soon, before my dumb little heart had a chance to plead its case.
With each rapid beat, it tried to change the course, but my mind was made up and held firm.
That didn’t make the losing battle any less difficult to face.