Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
I swallow. It’s clear that something’s wrong, but as usual, he’s dancing around it. He’s making me sweat. “You deserved the truth.”
“Did I?” he snaps.
“Yes,” I tell him. “I never wanted to deceive you.”
That part is true. I already knew Lucy because she moved in mob circles, promoting her art galleries. She was a fixture at parties and functions. When she learned Dominic had taken an obsessive interest in her, who did she immediately think to come to for help? The Nightmare. That was my nickname back then, not The Savior. Some people said it as a joke—others considered it deadly serious.
Lucy was in the serious group. She came to me and begged me for help. I was a sucker for a helpless woman or child, still am. I had to be honest with her from the start. It was either to leave the city and her life forever or build a lie from which we could never waver. Build a life to which we stubbornly had to adhere. Over the years, we have become friends, even best friends, but there’s been no romance. There’s never even been a hint, not that I ever hoped for anything; it just wasn’t on my radar.
“You never wanted to,” Dominic says. “That’s an interesting way to phrase it.”
“Is something wrong, Dominic?”
“Why would something be wrong?” he snaps.
“We haven’t spoken for a long time, that’s all.”
“I see nothing wrong with calling up an old friend. But, if you want to cut to the chase—”
“I’m happy to talk,” I say, in survival mode now.
“No, no, I won’t keep you.” His voice has an edge to it. “I wanted humbly to ask you if you’d join me for dinner the evening after tomorrow. At Lupa Osteria. We’ll have the entire place to ourselves, of course.”
Lupa Osteria’s slogan is ‘Rome Away From Home.’ The idea of going there doesn’t sit right with me. But I can’t turn down the Don of the Caruso Family.
“That would be my pleasure, Dominic. I look forward to it.”
“Excellent. I’ll see you at eight o’clock.”
“I look forward to it.”
“You already said that,” Dominic snaps, a flash of anger, then hangs up.
I rest my forehead on my hands, cursing myself. Fuck. This is bad. Enzo must’ve said something to him.
Later, at dinner, I tell Lucy what happened. She frowns at me. “Why would he suddenly want to meet with you?”
“It can’t be good,” I say, cutting into my steak. We sit in our large dining room, the walls covered with prints from her favorite artists, no family photos, no holidays. We may have to remedy that if Dominic peers closer into our lives. “He made a point of saying we’d have the restaurant to ourselves. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten involved in this. I’m not the goddamn Nightmare anymore. Have you and Giancarlo been careful?”
“Yes,” Lucy snaps.
“Nobody’s seen you together? You haven’t been kissing in public? Holding hands? Leaving the city for secret dates or anything like that?”
“We’ve kept our relationship secret for five years, Nico. Nothing’s changed there. I honestly can’t think how he’d know about us.”
“It might’ve been me, then,” I say.
“What do you mean?”
“Enzo might’ve… misinterpreted something.”
“Go on…”
“When I took Arria to apologize to him, he made a crude comment about her physical appearance. Called her fat, and that didn’t sit right with me. So I challenged him about it. I was so worried about what he’d do that I rushed her out of the place, which meant I had my hand on her back to guide her out, you know. But maybe he thought something else.”
“Arria,” Lucy mutters. “You called her Arria, not Arriana.”
“That’s what she told me to call her,” I snap. “You don’t need to read anything into it.”
Lucy narrows her eyes at me. I can read the shock in her expression. She’s not used to me showing so much emotion. “Tell me nothing is going on between you and my niece, Nico.”
“There isn’t,” I grit out. “I barely know her. We just met. I helped her, and that’s the end.”
“Then why do you sound so… affected?”
“Did you ever think it might be because of the mob boss who suddenly wants to meet me alone? Or the fact I might not live through tomorrow? Or because they’re pulling me back into a life I worked years to leave behind? All I want is to do some good in this city. Now, all of that’s at risk.”
“If Enzo has seen nothing concrete, Dominic can’t force you to say anything to implicate yourself. As long as he has seen nothing?”
“Like what, Lucy?” I say coldly.
“Like you kissing my niece. Holding her. Anything like that.”
“She’s half my age,” I snarl.
“So what? That doesn’t stop people. When you know, you know.”
“She’s technically family.”
“Technically,” Lucy says pointedly. “But you’re not blood-related.”
“Yeah, and I’m sure that makes it okay.”