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I nod.
We both look over at Nino when we hear him laugh. His eyes are roving over Nova in a way that makes me want to remove his eyeballs and dunk them in acid.
“He doesn’t seem too cut up about his best friend being dead, does he?”
“No,” I say, gritting my teeth. “He’s too fucking busy looking at my wife’s tits.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll be dead soon. I have to say, I was wrong about her. I knew what she was hoping to get out of this bargain, but I couldn’t see what was in it for you other than a headache. I get it now. She’s fucking spectacular.”
“Careful, Isaac,” I warn him.
He shakes his head and grins. “Don’t worry, Vice. I value my life and our friendship too much to mess with your girl. And she is, you know. This might have started out as an agreement between you, but you’ve been protective of her from the beginning, to the point of obsession. At least now we know it’s not one-sided.”
I look at him and frown.
“We all could have killed Giovanni. We’re all armed. All ready to take a bullet for you. But while we were waiting for your order, your wife was protecting her husband.”
I look over at Nova, who is covered in blood, though you’d never know it from the expression on her face. Deep down, I know she’s praying for a shower, but her face shows nothing but polite interest in Nino and whatever he’s talking herear off about.
“Go rescue your girl, and we’ll take care of Nino. Does she know what you have planned for her father?”
“No. But fuck, Isaac, you should have seen his face today when he realized the bride was Gia and not Nova. I had to knock him out before he screamed down the whole house.”
“I guess it’s better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission anyway, right?” he jokes.
I frown at him.
“Right, I forgot who I was talking to for a second. You don’t seek permission or forgiveness.”
I walk over to Nova and hold out my hand for her to take, which she does without question. I tug her to me, wrapping my arm around her as she slides her hand up my chest.
“I’m taking Nova to get cleaned up, Nino. Stay with my men so you can corroborate your stories.”
“Of course, Vice. Can I just say I’m looking forward to working with you?”
I barely hold back my snort. “You were my father’s right-hand man for years. I respect that, Nino, but that just makes you the keeper of his secrets, not mine. Isaac will beconsigliere.”
Isaac looks shocked for a moment before shaking it off. Nino splutters in protest, but I ignore him and usher Nova out of the room.
“Do you think he knows he’s a dead man walking yet?”
I chuckle. “I think he would have pissed himself already if that were the case. He might have been my father’s confidant, but he was never a fighter.”
“It’s not usually a requirement for aconsigliere, but Alessio knew that not being able to fight would make him a weak link. So he trained with the best. It always made sense to me. Theconsigliereknows everything. And if the enemy wanted to know something, he’d be the one captured and tortured for information. I think they should all have some type of basic training, including how to withstand these techniques.”
“I never thought about it like that, but it makes sense,” I agree, walking her into the bedroom and through to the bathroom.
“Know much about torture techniques, do you?” I joke, but when she doesn’t answer, I look at her.
“I went through the same training Alessio did. The fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter which family you were born into, where in the world you live, or what fucking decade you were raised in. Women are always targets. If we have daughters, you better believe I’ll be teaching them how to defend themselves.”
I freeze at the thought of having a daughter who looks just like Nova. Then I picture her with a man like me or, worse, a man like Aldo, and know with absolute certainty that I would wipe out every male on this planet if it meant keeping her safe.
“You, okay? You have a weird look on your face. Is it because I shot your dad? He was going to?—”
I press my lips to hers in a soft kiss, something I don’t do very often. Thinking about the lengths I would go to protect my potential daughter made me realize how much worse Vigo’s betrayal is.
“We were never close,” I murmur against her lips.
