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“I’m not following.”
I am following, but I’m praying I’m wrong, praying he’s wrong. Knowing that Nicholi is still out there is bad enough. Add Yanni into the mix, and everything becomes unbearable.
“Yanni is Marsha’s boss.”
Nico watches me carefully for my reaction. I don’t know if he expects me to flip out or crumble, but he gets neither because all I am is numb.
“That’s…” I shake my head. “No.”
Nico nods. “Yes. Story uncovered communication between Yanni and Nicholi. It seems Yanni has set up a new trafficking system near your mother chapter. Hegiftedthe Bend family to Nicholi as a way to entice my brother into the new business. I guess he thought if he helped Nicholi on his quest to destroy us, Nicholi would join him. With their combined experience, they could take over the skin trade.”
“This can’t be happening.” I stand but have to grip the edge of the table to steady myself. “Not now. Nicholi’s been quiet lately. I thought… I was hoping he’d just disappeared.”
“Ah, Pep, you know that wasn’t going to happen.”
Nico comes around the table and wraps his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“I’m so sorry,” he says. “I wish this wasn’t happening, but it is.” Nico buries his face in my neck. “We’ll get them, I promise you. This world will be free of them by the time our baby becomes a part of it.”
“You don’t know that. You can’t promise that,” I argue, pulling out of his hold. I turn to face him. “I, uh… I just need a little time to process this. You should go home.”
Hurt flashes in Nico’s eyes, but I don’t have it in me to soothe him right now. “If that’s what you want,” he says.
“I don’t want any of this, Nico. But the cards have been dealt, and I need to figure out how to play the hand.”
I walk away from him and up the stairs to my room. Locking the door behind me, I lean back and blow out a breath. I am no stranger to the fight or flight response, and I’ve spent years relying on fight, perfecting it. But right now, in this moment, all that I want is to flee. Fast and so fucking far.
I crawl under the blanket on my bed and curl up in the fetal position. It crosses my mind that shutting Nico out is going to come back and bite me in the ass, but I shove the thought aside. Morning is soon enough to deal with that.
* * *
Ping.
Ping.
I roll away from the insistent beeping of notifications on my cell.
Ping.
“Leave me alone,” I shout into the pillow.
Ping.
“Son of a…” I blindly reach behind me for the device. “Fine, you win.”
I lift the screen to my face and see several text notifications from Nico. I also see it’s only seven in the morning, which is too early to deal with anything without coffee.
“Shit,” I mutter when I remember I can’t have coffee. Not while I’m pregnant. I flatten my hand on my stomach. “I hope you appreciate how difficult this is for mommy, little nugget.”
Sitting up, I read the texts.
Nico: Good morning, cuore mio.
Nico: I miss you.
Nico: How’d you sleep?
Nico: How’s the tummy today?
