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Why didn’t he just kill me as he promised? He doesn’t feel bad for me. I know he doesn’t because he hates me. Because I was there that day. Because I stood in for Angela when I should have stayed out of things.
Because I hurt him.
Seeing him now, it seems impossible anything could hurt Nico Attolini. He’s a force of violence and control, a brutal undertaker, just like they call him. But I saw his face that day when we arrived at the crime scene. I was there to see his heart go cold. I think I witnessed the birth of a monster there on the spot, and I’m still not sure why he let me run back then.
I guess my monster is back to take his time with revenge. Which isn’t fair because I didn’t know what I was doing that day. It’s not like I knew I was an accessory to murder.
Or maybe I did suspect it. I just didn’t want to admit that to myself then, or any time since.
I curl up on the bed, plucking at the wilted, thin blanket. This place isn’t homey, but at least it’s not really dirty. They could have kept me in a far worse place until they knew what to do with me.
The furious glimmer in his eyes comes back to me.I still might.Let’s take a rain check.
What an ass. Letting me wait in suspense, uncertain of my fate. He should just tell me if he’s going to kill me or let me go. If he wanted something else…
No. He doesn’t want anything else from me. Whatever we had that day, whatever fairy tale naive little Sybil had been living in that made her fall for the gentleman mafioso, was long dead. I can’t afford to let myself believe anything else—because he’s different now, and so am I. We’re both worse versions of ourselves, and he will probably kill me.
So instead of thinking about the past and those beautiful eyes and those dimples that swept me away four years ago, I brainstorm my next move. I’m not going down without a fight.
Chapter 4
Nico
"Got anything on you?"
I glance at Ryan, raising a brow. He's been in this same position in the Attolini crime family for over a decade. He should know by now how this is going to go.
Evidently, he does, because he sighs and folds his arms, stepping in front of the mahogany door. "Come on, Nico. Just hand them over. I really don't want to pat you down."
"That makes two of us," I relent with a sigh, and I begrudgingly hand him my gun and the knife I usually carry.
"Anything else? I have to make sure you're unarmed. You know how it is."
I fix him with a look. "And you know it doesn't apply to me. I kill plenty, armed or not. Ask him to sit in on the meeting if you want to be a protective little lapdog."
Ryan scowls but lets me pass, opening the door without another word. My smirk drops away when I glance over the room. It hasn't changed much over the years, not that it's always in use. The office space is neat as a pin, the indoor waterfall in the corner the only noise besides the ticking of a large clock over the desk.
Rising from that desk is the man I came to see. I may be a boss, aCapo Bastoneseen as the leader by my men, but he's thePadrino. The real boss pulling all the strings. His position at the head of the Attolini family affords him an invincibility I crave. He only meets face-to-face with others a handful of times each year. He keeps a watchful eye on his empire but refuses to retire fully.
Which is why he asked me here. I'd be willing to put money on it.
“Ah,” he says, a rare ghostly smile on his lips.“Il mio bellissimo pericoloso erede.”
“Il mio vecchio padre pericoloso.You look well." I let him clap me on the shoulder before taking a seat. I eye the documents on the desk. "What is it this time? Insider trading? Racketeering?"
"Purchasing a sizeable lake house." I raise a brow. He shrugs one shoulder. I've seen him this casual about planning murders and defrauding dozens of powerful people, but I never expected it to be applied to something so…ordinary. "City life grows old the older you get."
"We're not in the city right now."
"Still too close for my liking. I get tired of moving around constantly."
"You do it for your protection," I point out, not letting him see that this conversation is moving in the direction I had hoped.
That light smile nearly touches his face again as he leans back in his seat. I get my eyes from him but little else. My brother was the one who looked like our father—his namesake, Johnny "Big Man."
“No more pretending,mio figlio.You know why I asked you here. I've done well for our family, and so have you. I'll have their protection wherever I go, but I can't run things forever. I no longer want to. Your time is coming, Dominick."
He's the only one who calls me by my full name. I lean back in my chair, too, regarding him. His hair has gone white, and he sounds tired, but it doesn't fool me. He could step out of hiding and run the family single-handedly if he wanted. He did it for years. Even I don't know everything he's done, and I likely never will.
