BLAKE
Nero doesn’t speak to me on the way home. He’s lost in thought as he drives us back to the penthouse.
Heavy rain pelts against the windshield. It’s just above zero tonight, warm for January in New York according to Alec. He complimented us when he saw us leaving earlier. Said we’re a beautiful couple.
Just like the Ferraros, you’d never know the truth about us based on how we look.
Their offer circles inside my head like an insistent fly. I have no desire to get more involved with Nero’s world than I already am, but there might be something here.
Something that could help both Nero and me.
Now that I finally understand what Nero’s given up for me and the part I had to play in our current situation, some of my anger at him has been replaced with a heavy dose of guilt.
He lost everything when he came to Darkwater Hollow, and now he’s lost everything again. It doesn’t seem like he’s even in contact with his old boss or any of his other friends anymore. Did they abandon him now that he’s working for the Ferraros?
Does he have anyone in this city besides me?
I’ve been feeling so alone since he brought me here, yet I never considered he might be feeling lonely too.
He doesn’t even have Sandro to confide in anymore. In the midst of all this chaos, has he had a chance to grieve him? Or did he push all of his emotions away?
“We’ll program your fingerprints into the security system tonight,” he says, surprising me. “Now that the Ferraros know you’re here, there’s no point in keeping you locked inside.”
My house arrest is over. “Thank you,” I say softly.
He just nods.
I study him for a few seconds as he navigates the busy streets of this city.
He’s still not fully healed from the boxing match with Alessio, but even with the cut on his lip and the fading bruise on his cheekbone, he’s painfully handsome.
I push down the sudden urge to lean over and press a kiss to his cheek.
What I learned today doesn’t change the fact that I can’t ever trust him again, or the fact that it’s over between us.
I still want to leave New York.
But I don’t want to leave Nero like this.
“What is a capo exactly?” I ask.
“The mob’s middle management. A capo has his own crew that he’s responsible for. They work for him and pay him a share of their profits. The capo then pays his own share to the boss.”
I arch a brow. “Sounds like an MLM. Do you sell Tupperware?”
A chuckle rumbles out of Nero. “Not quite. Unless it’s filled with cocaine.”
“So is that the core of the business? Drugs?”
He shoots me a sideways glance. “Why so curious all of a sudden?”
“You can’t expect me to not be curious after the evening we just had. If it weren’t for Cosimo’s attitude and Alessio showing up in all his ink, you could have said the family got rich from building an essential oils empire, and I would have believed you. They don’t look like gangsters.”
“The sooner you learn not to trust appearances, the better off you’ll be in the long run,” Nero says. “The Ferraros deal in weapons, drugs, and racketeering. They also have a large portfolio of legitimate businesses, some of which act as their fronts. Their empire is vast, and they’re well-known in political circles due to their generous donations to promising candidates.”
“Promising?”
“The ones whose priorities have nothing to do with going after organized crime.”
