Chapter 7 | Alexis
Alexis
Afew days later, I was finally able to video chat with Mom. Sitting on my bed, I opened my computer to start the video call. When her face appeared on my laptop screen, I gasped at the dark bruises under her eyes.
“Oh, Mom...” I said, covering my lips with my fingers. “You look terrible. Are you in a lot of pain?”
“Ah, my very honest daughter,” she teased, forming a weak smile. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Michael is taking good care of me.”
My breaths were shaky as I tried to keep it together. I wanted to be strong for her, but I felt terrible that she’d been hurt so badly.
“It’s my fault,” I said softly. “I just can’t stay out of my own way. I really thought I was helping by making the flash drive, but it just made everything worse.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said, her eyebrows drawing together. “Don’t be silly. John and Simon are determined to take over your father’s empire. Now that Simon’s dead, it’s going to make things worse, but Michael says the acceleration isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
“Nick said you killed Simon,” I almost whispered. “Am I a bitch for being happy about that?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. I’m quite torn about it myself. I acted in self-defense, but I never thought I’d kill a man in cold blood. It’s...disconcerting, to say the least. But I’m also glad he’s gone. One less person to impede Michael’s efforts.”
Biting my nail, I studied her. “The families know that you killed him, even though the police report states differently.”
Bianca nodded. “Yes.”
“Mom,” I said, shaking my head. “You have to stay safe. They’re going to put a hit out on you.”
“I know, sweetie. I trust Michael to protect me, and you need to trust Nick. Is he taking care of you?”
I bit my lip, wondering if I should tell her about crawling on Nick’s lap a few days ago and sucking the hell out of his tongue. Deciding to shelve that, I smiled. “He is. He’s not as bad as I thought.”
“Good.” She coughed weakly a few times. “You’re not being difficult, right?”
“Me? Never.” I gave a cheeky grin. We caught up for a few more minutes before her eyes began to droop. “Okay, you look like you need to rest so I’m going to let you go. What’s the prognosis?”
“I should be back to normal in a few weeks. I’ll call you tomorrow when I’m up and about.”
“Okay. Love you!”
The screen went dark and I closed the laptop, feeling my stomach grumble. It was three o’clock, and I hadn’t really eaten lunch, so I headed to the kitchen to make some food. As I passed Nick’s bedroom, I heard a low groan that stopped me in my tracks. Was he okay?
Leaning closer to the door, I heard another groan followed by a string of mumbled words. I couldn’t make out much, but managed to decipher a few...
His breathing was heavy as he uttered “princess...” and then “just like that...”
Gasping, I covered my lips. Was he jerking off...and thinking of me?
Feeling like a perv, I rushed to the kitchen, determined not to acknowledge I’d heard him. We hadn’t touched each other since our epic kiss, and I’d wondered over the past few days if he’d forgotten completely.
Opening the fridge, I gazed around as I muttered, “Guess he didn’t forget. Fuck, that’s hot.”
I made two sandwiches, thinking he might appear after he...er...finished, and sat on the couch to eat.
When he appeared a few minutes later, clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt, he noticed the sandwich on the counter.
“This for me?”
“Mmm hmm,” I said, chewing.
He strode over and sat beside me. Taking a bite, he smiled as he chewed. “It’s good,” he said after swallowing. “Thanks.”
“Sure. How was your workout?”
“Good.”
I nodded in acknowledgement, wondering if he noticed that my cheeks were inflamed with embarrassment.
“You okay?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “I was going to pull up the next episode of Heated Rivalry on my laptop. Want to watch with me?”
He glanced at his phone. “Sure. I’ve got to call Michael at four. He had a meeting with Sal DeLorenzo today and wants to brief me.”
We settled in, and I pulled up the episode, quietly marveling at my stoic Italian companion who was willing to watch gay male romance with me.
“You know, lots of straight men wouldn’t be comfortable with this,” I said, grinning.
“That’s their problem,” he said, shrugging. “Love is rare. Who cares how people find it?”
I inwardly swooned at what I considered the perfect answer. “That’s true. Plus, the dudes are hot.”
Laughing, he squinted one eye. “I think that’s your department, but whatever floats your boat.”
We fell into silence as the episode progressed, and my body hummed as the warmth from his strong frame seemed to permeate into mine.
Even though we weren’t touching, I felt an intense connection to him.
Marveling at it, I realized he was the first person, besides Mom, who I felt truly comfortable with.
I’d made it through high school and college making a few close friends, but never anything to this degree. For the first time in my life, I felt like someone got me.
Slipping my hand into his, I squeezed.
He smiled and squeezed back before releasing me. I understood why, knowing that he took his vow to protect me seriously. In his mind, crossing the romantic line would impede his ability to do his duty. But deep in my heart, I wondered if we could ever be something.
Perhaps one day, when we were free from the danger of our enemies and we returned to the real world, was there a reality where we could try to actually be something more?
It seemed impossible since he was embedded in the mafia, a world I wanted to be free of someday, but stranger things had happened.
After all, when you’d always felt alone, you understood the significance of finding someone who made you feel connected. Nick was the last person I’d expected to find that with, but against all odds, here we were, sitting in the comfortable silence I’d grown to treasure.
Lost in the possibility of something I knew was profound, I relaxed into the couch, allowing the small spark of hope to swell...