by L A Cotton
“How are you holding up?” Tristan asked me.
“Okay, I guess. I’d prefer to be back at MU though.”
“You and me both.” He grimaced. “Is Enzo always so—”
“So what?”
“Nothing, man.” Tristan slipped away with a sheepish expression.
“Where is everyone?” Enzo asked me, barely meeting my gaze.
“Gone to call dibs on their rooms.”
His eyes narrowed as he did the math. “Let me guess. Nicco plans on sharing with Arianne?”
“I think they’re already christening the bed.”
I’d seen Nicco pull her into the first bedroom down the hall.
“But there aren’t enough rooms.”
“You’re on the couch.” Matteo appeared.
“The fuck, man?” He gawked. “We always share.”
“You heard Uncle Toni, Tristan is our guest.” He smirked. “We can’t very well have him sleeping on the couch.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “You can take the other bed in my room.”
“Actually, you got the other king.”
“Oh.” My cheeks burned. “Well, I guess we can—”
“It’s fine,” Enzo gritted out, “I’ll take the couch.”
“Fine.” I grabbed my bag off the floor and stomped down the hall. I’d thought that maybe we could be adults and put whatever was or wasn’t between us aside, but I guess that was too much to ask. If Enzo wanted to sleep on the couch, then so be it.
Stubborn asshole.
The room was beautiful, just like the rest of the cabin. It was the perfect mix of rustic and modern. An ornately carved closet hugged the wall, beside it a matching dresser. The bed was the focal point on the opposite wall. I slung my bag down and perched on the edge of the bed.
A knock pulled me from my thoughts. “Come in,” I called.
“Hey.” Sia stuck her head around the door. “We wondered if you wanted to hang out?”
“Sure,” I said, tapping the bed. Alessia slipped into the room, Arabella following close behind.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Is it Enzo? I saw the way he was watching you. Did something happen between the two of you?” Alessia’s eyes were alight with anticipation.
I chuckled. “Take a breath there, Sia.”
“Sorry.” She blushed. “I just… Ugh, the two of you would be so good together.”
“Right,” Arabella agreed. “But Enzo is a total commitment-phobe.”
“People change, Bella. Look at Nicco.”
“Yeah, but what he and Ari have is rare. Like once in a lifetime.”
Ouch.
I knew the youngest Marchetti didn’t mean anything, but it didn’t stop her words from stinging.
There was another knock and we all looked up at the door.
“Dare I enter?” Matteo appeared around the door, grinning.
“Girls only, get out, scemo.” Bella grabbed a pillow and threw it at his head.
“Easy, Bel. I only wanted to let you know me and Enzo are heading out. We’ll be back soon.”
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Boys stuff.” He winked. “Nicco and Tristan will be here, and Luis and his guys are right outside.”
“Be safe,” Alessia said.
“Always.” Matteo left, closing the door behind him.
“Where do you think they’re going?” Bella frowned.
“Probably to check the perimeter.”
“Isn’t that what we have security for? So the guys don’t have to do it?”
“They’ll be okay.” I offered Bella a reassuring smile.
“Nora’s right. Enzo is a hard ass. He’ll look out for Matteo.”
“You seem awfully okay with all this,” I said, and Alessia shrugged.
“It’s all part and parcel of being a mafia princess.”
“Mafia princess, huh?” My lips curved. “That does have a certain ring to it.”
“God, Nora, don’t encourage her.” Bella rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a game, Sia. Besides, you do realize you’ll be a princess forever because Nicco and Uncle Antonio are never going to let you date?”
She flipped back against the cushions lined up on the bed. “Don’t remind me. Anthony Aielio asked me out last week.”
“He did? You never said anything.” Hurt flashed across Bella’s face.
“There wasn’t much point. You’re right, they’ll never let me date.”
“You have time,” I said. “I remember guys in high school and—”
“Oh, Anthony isn’t in high school. He graduated last year. His brother is in our class. Anthony helps their father run the family auto shop.
“So he’s older.”
“Only by a couple of years.” She shrugged again.
“Trust me when I say, don’t rush into something you might regret. Especially not with an older guy.”
“How old were you… you know, when you lost your virginity?”
They both stared at me like I held the answers to the universe.
“Oh no you don’t. I’m not going to give you sex advice, Nicco and Matteo will kill me.”
“We won’t tell them, promise.”
Bella nodded, agreeing with her cousin. “You can trust us.”
“Look, I get it. It’s a confusing, scary, exciting time. But if I have one piece of advice, it’s to wait and give yourself to someone who deserves you. You can’t ever get your first time back.”
“Penny Denver said it hurt her so bad she cried the entire time.”
“Then he wasn’t doing it right,” I murmured.
“Have you and Enzo—”
“Nice try,” my brow arched, “but I’m not doing this with the two of you. In fact, let’s go see if Arianne has managed to detach herself from your brother’s mouth. I don’t know about you guys but I’m hungry.”
I was halfway through making spaghetti when Enzo and Matteo returned.
“Thank God.” Bella shot up, making a beeline for her brother. My heart ached watching them. I knew that big brotherly affection firsthand, and although my brother Gio drove me up the wall, I missed him something fierce. But he was always destined for bigger things, for a life outside of Verona. Thanks to a full ride scholarship to UPenn, he was living his dream in Philadelphia, with hopes of going pro next year.
I discreetly glanced at Enzo. Hovering in the doorway, his big body ate up the space. His cheeks were flushed from the cold and it softened the sharp angles of his face. But when his icy gaze found mine, his expression darkened.
He was clearly as pleased to be stuck here as I was.
I turned around to tend to the spaghetti. It was my mom’s recipe; the aromatic scent of garlic and herbs filling me with a strange sense of melancholy. I didn’t want to worry my parents unnecessarily after what happened before, but the burning need to hear her voice coursed through me.
“Nor?” Arianne laid her hand on my arm, yanking me from my thoughts. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Find me some plates?”
“Of course.”
I was hardly surprised Arianne knew her way around the kitchen. She had stayed here with Nicco before. Between us, we served the spaghetti, covering it with generous lashings of sauce. I sprinkled each plate with basil before calling everyone to the table. Nicco invited Luis to join us, but he declined, staying outside with the other security men.
“This looks great, Nora,” Tristan said, helping me with the bread.
“I’m not just a pretty face, you know.”
He chuckled, but it quickly died when Enzo scowled in our direction. “Ignore him,” Matteo said. “He’s just grouchy because he’s gotta take the couch tonight.”
“Listen, man, why don’t you take my spot, and I can room with Nora. I’m sure she won’t—”
Enzo’s eyes narrowed to murderous slits as he glared at Tristan.
“I think th
at’s a no, Capizola.” Matteo snorted. “You’re stuck with me, man, and E is stuck with—”
“Matt.” Nicco shot him a hard look and tension rippled around through the air.
“Fuck this,” Enzo said, “I need a smoke.” He spun around and walked straight out of the cabin, letting the door slam shut behind him.
“Was it something I said?”
Bella grabbed her brother and yanked him down into the empty seat beside her. “You shouldn’t push him, you know how he gets.”
“He needs to—”
“Basta!” Nicco slammed his hand down on the table, making the silverware rattle. He let out an exasperated breath. “Can we just eat, please?”
“You don’t need to tell me twice.” Matteo began helping himself to bread and salad. But I wasn’t feeling very hungry all of a sudden.
“Matt, you eat like a pig.”
“But you love me, pulce.” He roped his arm around Bella’s neck and began to ruffle her hair.
“Get off of me, you big goofball.” She shirked him off. “You are such a dork.”
“I think it’s cute,” Ari said.
“You need me to come over there and ruffle your hair, cous?” Tristan asked her.
“Please don’t.” Nicco glowered.
“Relax, Marchetti. I’m only busting your balls. This is good, Nor. Just like my Nona used to make it.”
“You’re not hungry?” Ari caught my eye, and I shook my head, my gaze flicking to the door.
Tempers were bound to be frayed given the circumstances, but Enzo was so volatile, so angry all of the damn time. The fixer in me wanted to excuse myself and go check on him, but I knew he wouldn’t thank me for it, so I forced myself to stay put.
“Can someone pass me the cheese, please?” Tristan asked, and in their haste to help, Bella and Alessia knocked over the jug of water.
“Oops.” Bella grimaced. “I’ll grab some towels.”
“Relax,” Tristan said. “I’ve got it.”
I wasn’t the only one who noticed the girls track his every move as he went and fetched some paper towel.
“What the fuck is happening right now?” Matteo grumbled beneath his breath.
“I think Tristan has a fan club.” I fought a smile, but Matteo looked anything but amused.
“Oh hell no.” His hand flattened against the table.
“Relax, Matt,” Ari said, “you can trust Tristan.”
“It’s not him I’m worried about.” His eyes went to his sister and their cousin. “Don’t get any silly ideas.”
“God, Matteo, you’re so freakin’ embarrassing. He’s like twenty.”
“Twenty-two.” Tristan corrected, rejoining us, clearly unaffected by his little fan club. “And Matteo is right. Don’t get any ideas. I don’t date high schoolers.”
“Of course you fucking don’t.”
“Jesus,” Nicco hissed. “Is it too much to ask to have a simple meal?”
“I know Uncle T thought it would be safer to bring the girls out to the cabin, but I’m thinking he didn’t consider our safety.” Matteo smirked, and Alessia and Bella both grabbed a handful of bread and threw it at him.
Tristan exploded with laughter while me and Ari tried our best not to join him. And Nicco…
Well, he looked like a guy with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Chapter 19
Enzo
I walked the perimeter of the cabin again. We’d been careful, covering our tracks once we left the highway, but it was better than standing still. Because when things were still, I was overcome with so much guilt and anger, I could barely breathe.
Nora made everything quiet. She made everything stop. Losing myself in her last night had been both a blessing and a curse. Every time she let me back in, another piece of me became hers. She’d never own my whole heart—that wasn’t possible for something carved out of stone—but she owned enough jagged pieces of my soul for me to notice.
I never wanted this. I never wanted to tie myself to someone knowing that I couldn’t ever be who they needed me to be. The Family came first, it would always come first. My loyalty, my life… my love, was reserved for Dominion, and Dominion alone.
But there was no denying that Nora Abato had buried herself under my skin. Like a slow acting poison, she was inside me. I cared whether she was safe. I cared who she was seeing and who she was spending time with. And I fucking cared that she was here.
Because of me.
Because this fucker somehow has ties to my old man. There were too many things that didn’t quite add up yet, like why he’d started his campaign of destruction in Providence and not Verona. But the end game was the same. And the end game was all that mattered.
As my boots crunched against the ground, made hard from a cold winter, I pulled out my cell and dialed Uncle Michele.
“Enzo, son, what is it?”
“Any more news?” I asked, coming to a stop by a bench on the periphery of the woods.
“All leads ran dry. No prints, no address, no witnesses. This guy is a fucking ghost.”
“Ghosts don’t weigh two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, and I felt that fucker on top of me.” Watched as he sank his blade into Gino’s jugular.
Fuck.
He died… because of me.
And now this motherfucker was in Verona County. It was too close… too close to the people I cared about.
Too close to Nora.
Just the thought of him getting anywhere near her had me seething with anger.
“We’ll get him, son. You took the girls to the cabin, right? They’re safe.”
“Yeah, they’re here.”
“So, let us focus on finding this asshole.”
“I can’t just sit here, doing nothing.” It was fucking killing me.
“Shit, I know, kid. I know. But we’d all feel a helluva lot better knowing our girls have you around.”
“Twenty-four hours. I’ll stay twenty-four hours, but then I’m joining the hunt.”
“You’ll have to clear that with Toni, Lorenzo. You know the deal.”
“Yeah.” The boss’s word was final. But I couldn’t just stay here doing nothing. It was going to drive me in-fucking-sane.
The girls were inside, acting like this was a girl’s weekend away. Not to mention the fact Nora was in there, and she was pissed. At me. At the fact I’d dragged her away from her life… from Luca.
Jesus, the guy was worse than a dog with a bone. Did she really like that good guy routine he had working for him?
“Fuck,” I hissed, kicking the hard ground with my boot.
“You need to burn off some steam.”
For a second I’d forgotten Uncle Michele was still on the line.
“Go for a run or something,” he added.
Or something. I internally grumbled.
My eyes flickered back to the cabin.
“I’ll call if there’s any news,” Uncle Michele said. “Keep our girls safe, Enzo. That’s what we need you to do right now,” he said. “Your pound of flesh will come.”
We said goodbye and hung up.
My uncle was right, of course he was right. But I was never very good at sitting around and waiting for the fight to come to us.
Eventually, I went back inside. I was fucking freezing, not to mention hungry.
“I left you a plate,” Nora said. She was curled in one of the chairs, scrolling on her phone.
“Thanks.”
Matteo caught my eye and silently asked if I was okay. I nodded, shucking out of my jacket and slinging it over the back of the couch.
“Watch it, asshole,” Tristan said.
“Oops, my bad. I didn’t see you there.” My lips curved with smug satisfaction as I grabbed the plate Nora had left me and put it in the microwave.
“You okay?” Matteo joined me, perching at the breakfast counter.
“I’d rather not be here.”
His expression fell and I sucked in a harsh breath. Of course N
ora had chosen that exact moment to go to her room, walking straight past the kitchen area.
“Did she—”
“If the look on her face is anything to go by, then yeah, she did.”
“Fuck.” I scrubbed a hand over my jaw.
“What’s happening with you two? I figured after last night you were working out your differences, but then today it’s like you can’t stand to be around one another?”
“We fucked,” I said, checking the spaghetti. It was done, so I sat down opposite him and began digging in.
“Yeah, I kinda got that part, asshole. But what I don’t understand is, how you even ended up there?”
“Welcome to my world. One minute I was chasing this fucker, the next I was outside her apartment covered in Gino’s blood.”
“Shit, man. I’m sorry.” His teasing expression fell. “That had to be rough.”
“It was fucked up, Matt. He just killed him… without a second thought.”
“Who is this punk?”
“Whoever he is, we need to find him, and fast.” Because my gut told me it was only the beginning.
“Where’s Nic?” I shifted the subject to safer shores.
“Where do you think?” Matteo’s eyes rolled. “They’re still in the honeymoon phase.”
“Lucky for him.” My eyes flicked down the hall once more. “I met him,” I added.
“Met who?”
“Who do you think? Luca.” His name soured on my tongue.
“Oooh. And?”
“He’s not the right guy for her.”
“Is anyone?” His brow arched with amusement.
“Nora deserves…” I swallowed the words. What was I saying? She deserved a lot of things. Things I couldn’t give her. So who was I to stand in her way and ruin her shot at happiness?
“Jesus, cous.” Matteo got up. “You’re a real fucking idiot sometimes.” His hand landed on my shoulder as he passed me. “Enjoy the couch.”
Matteo disappeared down the hall leaving me with… Tristan.
“What?” I barked at him as he peered over.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” He got up and took off down the hall too, leaving me all alone.
It was barely even nine-thirty, and everyone had fucked off to bed. I grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and finished up the meal Nora had made for everyone. Trust her to play mother hen. I didn’t know why she had to do that, be so fucking good all of the time. My fist clenched around the fork.
