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Little star.
I smiled at his nickname for me.
When I was a kid, he said I had a bright future. That I was even more talented than my father and would become a star so bright I would light up the entire solar system. He was a better father to me than my dad.
“I’m okay,” I told him. “Just upset about dinner.”
“Nico Luciano is marrying Vittoria Vitale,” Angelina said, one eyebrow raised.
Enzo glanced down at me, saw the tears, then his gaze was back on Angelina. “Oh.” He sat on the stool beside me and rubbed his hand down my back. “You’re a sweet girl, Ava. Nico would have swallowed you whole and spit you out. Men like that don’t keep women around for long. Even his wife won’t be the only woman in his life.” His long fingers brushed through my hair. “They might be the boardwalk kings, but eventually, the Lucianos will end up behind bars.”
I sniffed back the tears and nodded. “I’m an idiot.”
“No, you’re not.” He gave me a one-arm hug. “You’re a smart girl. It’s easy to overlook things with the Lucianos. Your father has done it for a long time.”
I heard the front door slam. Dad walked into the kitchen, tugging at his tie. He looked like he had aged twenty years in the past few weeks. The stress of his sins weighed down on him.
My dad threw his keys onto the kitchen island, his jaw clenched. “Everyone out! I need to speak with my daughter. Alone.”
Angelina and Enzo left the room without a word.
“Dad, I know what you’re going to say—“
He pushed out his palm to silence me. “We don’t need the Vitales as enemies. I have enough shit to deal with right now.”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “It just happened with Nico. I didn’t mean to get caught up with him.”
“Excuses.” He rounded the island so we had some distance between us, his intimidating glare slicing through me. “Nicodemus is a made man. A captain. Do you have any idea what kind of enemies they have? Not to mention that you exposed your relationship in front of his fiancee.”
“I didn’t know Nico was engaged to Vittoria. He never mentioned it.”
He shook his head, scrubbing a hand across the dark stubble on his jaw. “And why would Nico mention his fiancee to hisputtana?”
“Don’t call me that!” I slid off the chair and approached him. “How dare you? I’m not a whore.”
“Did you think you would be anything else to a man like Nico? You are my daughter, and I will not let you ruin your life.” He opened the freezer, grabbed a vodka bottle, and drank from it. “I’m sending you away before they kill you.”
“No,” I fired back. “I’m staying here with Angelina and Enzo for the night.”
“I know you think of them as your parents, but I hate to break it to you, Ava. They are the staff.”
“I hate you.” My top lip quivered as I spoke. “You’re mad they were better parents than you and Mom.”
“Hate me all you want.” He downed half the bottle in one gulp. “It doesn’t change the fact I’m right.” He leaned his back against the counter, bottle clutched in his hand. “Salvatore didn’t invite us to his house to celebrate the engagement.”
“Then, why?”
“To see how we would act around him.” He pushed off the counter and put the almost empty bottle on the island. “He’s getting closer to uncovering my lies. I can feel it.”
“What’s going to happen to you?”
“I dug my grave.” He sighed. “You know how to access their accounts, right?”
I nodded to confirm.
“If anything happens to me, I want you to move all of it offshore. Use it as leverage to stay alive. Don’t let the Lucianos have power over you. Because once they get the money, they will kill you.”
“Dad, what am I supposed to do?”
