13. Chapter Thirteen #2
The New York skyline is the best sight I’ve seen in a while.
It means I’m coming home. But that doesn’t mean I’ll get to see my sisters any time soon.
Nico will not let me see Natalya, for obvious reasons, and Denis is the last person I want to see, so going after to his house is out, even though I want to check in with Irina and Ana.
Nico brings me to his large mansion in the suburbs. It’s even larger than his home in Rome and I thought that place was practically a castle.
“Home sweet home,” Nico says, dropping our bags in the foyer. “Should we christen the place?”
I shoot him a look. “I’m not having sex with you, just because you showed me kindness.
” Though, the entire plane ride here, I couldn’t help but look at Nico in a new light.
After he comforted me from the Giovanni incident, I’ve felt closer to him.
I know what it’s like for him to touch me and show me pleasure.
The only thing keeping me from fully giving in to him is that I’m worried once I do, I’ll lose myself to him forever. I need to keep a clear head around Nico. He’ll consume me the first chance he gets.
And now that my heart has grown closer to him, I know sex is inevitable. I’m just trying to push it out for as long as I can, even if my body is desperate for him to touch me again.
“Christening a place doesn’t have to mean sex,” he responds, settling his hands on my hips. “We could share a toast, welcoming you into your new home.”
“A toast?:
“Yes. You know when two people have a drink in their hands and they clink their glasses together.”
I roll my eyes but I can’t stop myself from smiling slightly. “I know what a toast is.”
“Shall we?”
A part of me still wants to defy him but that part of me is getting smaller and smaller. I find myself drawing in to Nico more; in to his charms. And he is charming. Distractingly so.
“Ok,” I say.
Nico raises his eyebrows. “Not fighting me on this, are you? That’s a change.”
“Well, some things can change. Change isn’t always bad.”
“For the first time, I’d say we’re on the same page.”
He brings me into the large, pristine kitchen, which smells faintly of sugar. “I had Maria go on ahead and come here to make some dessert for dinner later tonight.”
“Maria works here too? Does she not have a family in Rome?”
Nico grabs a champagne bottle sitting on the counter, then pauses. “I guess I’ve never thought to ask her that.”
“You don’t even know your own staff?”
“Do you?”
I shrug. “My family never had much staff. My mom did most of the cooking. We had a maid come in once a week to clean but other than that, we never had a home chef or housekeeper.”
“Well, I guess I should ask her then.”
“I think that would be a nice thing to do.”
Nico gives me a sly look as he uncorks the champagne. “Are you trying to change me, Sasha? Make me into a better man? First, you stop me from killing Giovanni and now you want me to get to know my housekeeper better.”
“Having a little bit of kindness in you would not be a bad thing. You can still be your ruthless mafia self. But it would be nice if you were someone I knew I could trust.”
He pours us each a glass and hands me one. Our fingers skim against each other for just a moment but I can feel goosebumps break out over my skin. That’s the effect Nico has on me.
“I’ll admit,” he says, “I do want you to trust me. But I’m not sure how nice I can be. Don’t try to change me into something I’m not, Sasha. I think you’ll find yourself regretting it if you do.”
I take a sip of my champagne to hide the shiver that goes through me. Nico is still Nico at the end of the day. I can’t pretend otherwise, even if I am starting to get closer to him.
I have to keep my head around him and I did want to come back to New York for one thing: to save my family. I was getting lost in Nico back in Rome and I’m hoping by coming back home, I can regain my sense of self.
I raise my glass. “To coming home.”
His dark eyes slide over me, sending a flutter to my stomach, before he clinks his glass with mine. “To coming home. May we have good times together.”
I pinch my lips to keep myself from saying something I’ll regret like how much I don’t like Nico.
Or how much I do like him.
Since I can’t get to Irina and Ana because of Denis, I need to try to contact Natalya again. Nico still hasn’t allowed me a phone and after checking the entire house, there’s no other phone I can use. Nico keeps his phone close to him so I can never get my hands on it.
Fine. I’ll just have to leave and go see Natalya without calling. I know where she lives.
When Nico leaves for work, I know that’s my moment to move. He has a large garage full of cars. I pick a sleek red one and drive down the driveway but the large gates stop me from getting any further.
The guard at the gate comes over to talk to me. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m Nico’s wife. I have the right to leave without being made a prisoner in this home.”
“If you want to leave, you can, but I have to call Nico first.”
I clench my hands on the steering wheel. “Fine. Call him.” If that’s what it takes. Maybe I can drive away fast enough before anyone catches me.
The guard calls Nico and speaks to him in a hushed tone. “She wants to leave. I’m not sure where. She hasn’t said.” He listens for a moment, then nods and hangs up. “Ok. You’re good to go. You can leave.”
My mouth drops open. I can’t believe this. “Nico is really letting me go?”
“He said you can go.” The guard enters the small guard house and pushes a button, which opens the large gates. The second they’re open, I speed away, not even caring why Nico gave his permission for me to leave.
But the longer I drive, the more I start to question it. Why did he let me go?
Is this another test? If it is, I can’t worry about that right now. I just need to see Natalya and let her know that I’m ok.
I decide to not drive to her house in case Nico is following me. I don’t want to lead him straight to her. So, instead, I find a café to park in front of and go inside and ask to borrow a phone.
“I’m in trouble,” I say to the barista behind the coffee bar. “I’m running from an abusive boyfriend and I need a phone.”
She gives me a sympathetic look. “Of course. Do you need me to call the police for you?”
“No. No police. Please. I need to call my sister.”
She hands over her phone and I quickly dial Natalya’s number. She answers on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Natalya, it’s Sasha.”
“Sasha? When our plan didn’t work, I was so worried that Nico had hurt you.”
“He didn’t hurt me.” I squeeze my eyes at the memory of Nico making me kill Alek. “I’m back in New York. I need to see you. Let’s me somewhere. I’m at a café.”
“Ok. I’ll come see you.”
About twenty minutes later, Natalya enters the café and rushes to my side, throwing her arms around me. Feeling my sister’s hug warms my heart. But I have to admit, Nico’s hug is a lot better.
“How have you been?” she asks as we take a seat at a nearby table.
“Ok, for the most part. Nico is… he’s a conundrum to say the least.”
Her eyes rake over me. “You look ok, all things considered.”
“How have you been? I feel like I don’t ask enough.”
“Oh. Well… I’ve returned to the stage. I’m not sure if you knew that. I’ve been dancing again. It’s been amazing.”
A sting of bitterness hits my chest. “I’m glad. Truly. I’m happy for you.”
“You don’t exactly sound happy. I know you, Sasha. I wish I could have saved you from Nico. I still can. You can come live with me and Mikhail.”
A surge of hope blooms through me but it quickly disappears. “Nico would just burn you house down to get to me. I’ve seen him kill people, Natalya. It’s… scary. He even made me… kill a man.”
Her eyes bug out of her head. “What?!”
“Alek. The one Mikhail sent to save me. He failed at killing Nico and so Nico made me kill him.”
“Oh my god, Sasha.” She places her hand on my wrist. “You’re coming with me right now. I don’t care if Nico tries to burn my house down. I will protect you.”
“I… will you hate me if I say that I don’t hate Nico as much as I should?”
She slowly lets me go. “You don’t hate him? Has he abused you so much he’s brainwashed you?”
“You love Mikhail and he’s not a good man.”
“Yes but Mikhail has never made me kill anyone. You’re not safe with him. Come on. Lets go. We can work together to save our sisters.”
“How? I called Denis to Italy and even that didn’t save them.”
“Denis was in Italy? I didn’t know. I’m not sure Mikhail knew either.”
I sigh. “I tried to call you to let you know but I didn’t get the chance. So my plan failed. Like all of our plans. We keep trying to save ourselves and our sisters but we keep failing. Maybe we should just… give up? Give in to the darkness.”
“I will not let you give in to Nico. He will hurt you if he hasn’t already. I mean, he made you kill for god sake. All I’ve wanted is to save you and our sisters. Don’t make me fail now. Let’s go.”
The fight in my sister’s voice revitalizes me, waking me up. I’m getting lost under Nico’s spell and I have to snap out of it.
“Ok, let’s go,” I tell her, taking her hand. We can fight this together.
Natalya drives us away from the café. I leave Nico’s car behind as I don’t need it anymore.
We’re on the road near her house when a car appears behind us. Natalya grips the steering wheel. “Someone is following us.”
When I look in the rearview mirror, I see that it’s Nico in the driver seat. “It’s my husband.”
“How did he find us?”
A weight drops right into my stomach. The car. It had to have been bugged. This was a test to see what I would do and I’ve failed. Once again.
“Stop the car,” I say.
Natalya gives me a wild look. “What? No. We’re almost to my house. You’ll be safe there.”
“Natalya, stop the car. Nico wants me and he will get me. I don’t want you to get hurt in the process.”
“I am not giving you back to him. I promised I would protect you and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to be a big sister you can be proud of.
She revs the gas pedal and speeds off down the street but one glance in the rearview mirror tells me that Nico is right behind us, picking up speed too. Before I know it, he slams into our car, making Natalya slam on her breaks.
Nico gets out of his car and reaches Natalya’s window, pointing a gun at her. “Get out of the car.”
“No,” I gasp. “Don’t hurt my sister.”
“Get out of the car,” he says to Natalya, ignoring me. My sister gives me a long, sad look before stepping out of the car. My hands struggle to unbuckle my seatbelt but the second I get it, I’m running out after her.
“Don’t,” I snap. “Don’t kill her.”
Nico raises his gun to point it at Natalya’s head.