Villain of Secrets

by L A Cotton

My shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “Don’t blame me tomorrow when you’ve got a hangover from hell.”

  “You’re such a fucking hypocrite,” she murmured, downing the drink in one.

  I flinched at her cold tone.

  “What, no comeback?”

  My chest heaved as I stalked across the room to go outside for a smoke. She was drunk, and the last thing I wanted to do was get into it with an emotional, drunk girl.

  But as I reached the door, she stood up and swayed on her feet.

  “Whoa,” she breathed.

  “You good?” I fought a smirk as I went to go to her.

  “I’m fine,” she snapped, warding me off with her hand.

  She wasn’t fine. She was ass over elbow drunk. But I gave her space to pass me. Except she tripped on the corner of the rug and stumbled forward.

  “Owwww,” she cried, right as I caught her. “I’ve got it. I’ve got it.” Nora glowered at me, her eyes cloudy and glittering with contempt.

  I steadied her and stepped back. “Sure about that?”

  She swayed gently on the spot. “I’m fine. At least, I will be when the room stops spinning.” Burying her hands in her face, Nora began to topple again.

  “Fuck,” I grunted as I scooped her up, much to her displeasure.

  “Put me down.” She batted my chest. “I swear to God, Lorenzo Marchetti, put me down right this—whoa!” Her head rolled back as I stalked down the hall toward her room. I could hear Matteo berating Bella for getting drunk and puking everywhere. Thankfully, all was quiet from Nicco and Ari’s room. Nobody needed to hear the two of them going at it.

  Kicking the door open, I went inside and dropped Nora on the bed.

  “Asshole,” she hissed.

  “I’ll get you some water.”

  “I don’t need any—” Her words rolled off my back as I left her to go and get her a glass of water and some Advil.

  When I got back to her room, she was curled up in a ball, clutching a pillow.

  “Nora?”

  No answer.

  I leaned over her and stroked the hair from her face. “Gattina?”

  She murmured softly, snuggling the pillow tighter.

  I lingered for a second, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest and then I walked out of there…

  Wishing I didn’t have to.

  Chapter 22

  Nora

  I woke with a brass band marching in my head.

  “Ugh.” Reaching out, I fumbled around to locate my cell phone and dragged it back to me.

  It was a little after nine and I felt deathly. My mind was a hazy amateur movie of poker, tequila, and… dancing?

  Huh?

  That seemed a little odd, but I definitely remembered dancing with the girls and Matteo. I’d really hit the tequila hard after beating Enzo and winning the poker game. But it hadn’t felt much like winning when he’d called me Gattina in front of everyone and then stormed from the cabin.

  Damn him. He was such a stubborn asshole. Everyone could feel the tension between us. They’d spent the entire game glancing from him to me and back again, and it had become so much more than just a friendly game of poker. But in the end, Enzo did what Enzo always did.

  He walked away.

  And I did something out of the ordinary, I grabbed the half empty bottle of tequila, turned up the music, and decided to make the most of the situation.

  Of course it had royally backfired.

  My eyes fluttered closed as I tried to remember how I’d gotten to bed. And then it hit.

  Enzo.

  He’d carried me to bed.

  Perfect.

  Just perfect.

  I clutched the pillow, groaning into the soft material. When I gingerly rolled onto my side, I frowned at the glass of water and box of pain pills. My lips curved a fraction. Maybe he wasn’t a cold-hearted bastard after all.

  I popped two tabs and swallowed them down. Tomorrow was Monday, and I wanted to go back to my life. To classes and some kind of normal. As far as I was aware, there had been no further attacks, so maybe whoever was targeting the Marchetti had given up. Or maybe they had it wrong. Maybe it wasn’t related to Vincenzo at all.

  A gentle knock at my door sounded like an explosion in my skull.

  “Hello?” I groaned.

  “It’s me.” Arianne slipped inside. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I drank my body weight in tequila.”

  “I hate to be the one to say it, but you did.” She smiled but I found no judgment there. “He’s really under your skin, isn’t he?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Honestly?” Her brow lifted. “I think you’re too good for him, Nora.”

  “It doesn’t matter now anyway. He made his choice.”

  And it wasn’t me.

  “Do you think we can go home soon?”

  I didn’t want to spend a second longer here than necessary.

  “Hopefully. Nicco is on the phone with his father right now.”

  “How are the girls?” I asked.

  “Bella looks as green as you.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Matteo is still railing at her.”

  “At least I don’t have to worry about Gio being around to lecture me.”

  Just then, my cell vibrated.

  “Let me guess,” Ari said as I checked it. “Luca?”

  “Maybe.” I smothered a smile as I read his text message.

  * * *

  When are you coming back? Turns out our other neighbors are awfully boring.

  * * *

  Hopefully later today.

  * * *

  Dinner at mine? I still owe you…

  * * *

  “What does he want?” Ari asked, trying to peer over my hands.

  “He invited me for dinner.”

  “Like a date?”

  “No, like two friends hanging out,” I corrected her.

  “Sounds like a date to me.”

  “He knows I’m not looking for anything serious right now.”

  “Just be careful, Nora. I know you probably want to get back at Enz—”

  “That’s not what this is, babe. Luca is a friend.” And friends could have dinner, couldn’t they?

  * * *

  Only if I can help cook?

  * * *

  I hit send, and his reply came straight back.

  * * *

  Deal. See you around five?

  * * *

  “Tell me you didn’t just do what I think you did.” Ari frowned, concern shining in her eyes.

  “What does it matter?”

  “Even if we get to go home, you’ll have round the clock security until Antonio is satisfied that the threat is gone.”

  “So?” I shrugged. “Maurice can protect me from outside Luca’s apartment.”

  “And if Enzo finds out?”

  “It’s not a secret, babe. It isn’t illegal to have dinner with a friend. Besides, he won’t care.”

  “Because Enzo not caring has worked out so well for you in the past.” She gave me a pointed look.

  “What happened to I’m too good for him?”

  “You are, but love doesn’t always follow the rules. All I’m saying is don’t push him too hard, because you might not like his response.”

  “There is nothing that guy can do to hurt me anymore than he already has,” I confessed. But the second I said the words, I felt the lie coil around my heart.

  There was another knock at the door, and Nicco stuck his head around it.

  “What did he say?” Ari got up and went to him.

  His eyes moved past her to mine, and just like that we were back to me being on the outside.

  I pulled the covers around me and let out a frustrated sigh. “Can we go home or not?”

  “Yeah, we’re going home. But security will be increased, until we have a handle on this.”

  “Great, I’d better get used to Maurice following every time I go fo
r a pee again then.” In the days after my kidnapping, I’d had someone with me at all times. I couldn’t move without Maurice or another security guy leaping into action. It was tiresome, not to mention suffocating. But that’s what happened when you were Arianne Capizola’s best friend and she was married to the Marchetti crime family’s heir.

  I didn’t get kidnapped because I was important, I got taken because I was important to her.

  It was the same now. No one wanted to hurt me directly, they wanted to hurt people close to the Family.

  “We’ll leave you to pack.” Arianne shot me a sympathetic smile. Life wouldn’t change for her. She’d stay at their well-guarded apartment in Romany Square with Nicco by her side. The girls would return home and be protected by their families, and me?

  I’d go home to my apartment alone with Maurice for company.

  Forty minutes later, after a quick breakfast, we were packed into the SUVs heading back to Verona. Only this time, Tristan was riding with us in place of Enzo. Matteo said it was because tensions were high and Nicco wanted to know Enzo was with his sister should anything happen. But I knew every guy here and they would all take a bullet for Alessia Marchetti. Even Tristan. I’d seen the way he’d watched her this weekend. You couldn’t help but be drawn to the Marchetti princess. She was kind and compassionate and she had this warmth that pulled you in whenever you were in her orbit. Tristan would never act on it; he was five years her senior and he knew Nicco would put a bullet through his skull if he so much as looked wrong at her. But I saw it. The longing in his eyes, the hunger. He was a hot-blooded male and in a couple of years she would be every guy’s wet dream.

  He caught my eye, frowning as if he could hear my thoughts. I smiled meekly and turned my attention to the tinted windows, watching the dense forest fade away in the distance.

  My insides still felt a little tender, so I closed my eyes and let the hypnotic whir of the engine lull me to sleep.

  It only felt like minutes later when Arianne gently shook my shoulder. “We’re here Nora.”

  “Huh, what?” I blinked, wiping the drool from my mouth.

  Tristan snorted and I flipped him off.

  “We’re at La Stella.”

  “We are?”

  She nodded. “Want me to come—”

  “No, Bambolina. Maurice and Alexi will stay with her.”

  “Fun,” I mumbled. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  Arianne pulled me into a tight hug. “Be safe, and please do what Maurice says.”

  “Relax, I know the drill.” I wasn’t about to take any unnecessary risks, no matter how much I hated the idea of being under protective custody again.

  The door opened and Maurice was there to guide me into the building. “It’s good to see you again Miss—Nora.” He gave me an apologetic smile.

  “I wish I could say the same thing, Maurice, I really do.” I trudged ahead of him, glancing around for the second SUV, but it was nowhere to be seen. They probably dropped the girls off at home first before doing whatever Matteo and Enzo planned on doing now they were back.

  “Nicco explained that I am to be your full-time security detail again?”

  “He did.”

  “They are happy for you to attend classes on Monday so long as I—”

  “Yup, I got it.” I waved him off, retrieving my key from my purse and unlocking my apartment. But at the last second, I stepped aside, letting him pass.

  He withdrew his pistol and slipped inside. A minute later, he called, “all clear,” and I went in.

  I was getting another headache, so I went straight to the kitchen cabinet and pulled out a box of Advil and poured myself a glass of water. Dinner with Luca was at five. I had a few hours to recover.

  “Maurice,” I yelled, and he appeared. “I’m going back to bed. Please don’t wake me unless absolutely necessary. This evening I’ll be going across the hall to have dinner with Luca.”

  “Uh, Miss Abato… Nora,” he corrected himself, “I’m not sure Mr. Marchetti would allow that.”

  “Nicco can go fuck himself.”

  “That’s not—”

  “Look, Luca was vetted. He’s good people. He wouldn’t live in the building if he wasn’t. You can stand guard right outside or come in for all I care. But Maurice, I am going.”

  I stormed into my bedroom and slammed the door. I was being petulant, I knew that. But I was so annoyed. Annoyed that I was here alone, annoyed that Enzo lived up to his reputation as a cold-hearted bastard with no remorse, and most of all, I was annoyed at myself for being annoyed when he’d been through so much recently. Gah. My head was a jumble of thoughts and feelings and emotions I couldn’t contain. I yanked off my sweater and shimmied out of my jeans, climbing into bed in just my tank top and panties, pulled the cover over my head and closed my eyes.

  Maybe when I woke up this time, everything would be a damn sight better.

  A girl could dream.

  Someone was in the room with me. I felt them watching me, a trickle of awareness making my hair stand on end. But when I finally opened my eyes, it was empty. I sat up and combed my fingers through my unruly curls.

  “Maurice?” I called.

  Nothing.

  Odd.

  I’d woken to the strangest sensation of being watched.

  “Maurice?” I pushed off the covers and clambered out of bed and went into the living room.

  “Nora?” He looked up from his newspaper. “What is it?”

  “Were you just in my room?”

  “No, why?”

  “Huh.” My finger found my lips and prodded. “I had the strangest dream. What time is it?”

  “A little after three-thirty.”

  “I slept all day?”

  “Hangovers will do that to you.” He smirked and I rolled my eyes.

  “I’m going to shower and get ready. Make yourself at home.” Sarcasm laced my words, and his amused laughter followed me into the bathroom.

  I took my time in the shower, washing away the last couple of days. There was no point in dwelling on what would never be. Arianne was right, Enzo was too lost to his demons to pull his head out of his ass long enough to see what was staring him in the face.

  We were doomed from the start, and I had to accept it.

  No matter how hard it was.

  After finishing in the bathroom, I made my way back into my bedroom and checked my cell phone.

  * * *

  I hope you’re hungry.

  * * *

  I smiled at Luca’s text, my stomach grumbling in appreciation. Now the nausea had passed, I could eat a small cow.

  The black turtleneck sweater dress I picked molded to my shapely curves, but I didn’t bother with shoes, choosing to go barefoot across the hall. This wasn’t a date. It was two friends sharing a good meal and easy conversation. At least, as I knocked on Luca’s door, my Maurice-shaped shadow behind me, that’s what I hoped it would be.

  The door swung open and Luca beamed. “You came.”

  “I said I would.”

  “Touché.” He motioned for me to enter, but abruptly paused. “Is he joining us or—”

  I glanced back at Maurice. “What’ll it be, big guy?”

  “I’ll wait outside.”

  I nodded, shooting him an appreciative smile. I was safe with Luca. There was one door in and out, so unless the threat was going to scale the building and climb through Luca’s balcony door, it was just the two of us.

  “I hope everything was okay with your family?”

  “It was fine, thank you. Crisis averted.” I forced a smile, following him into the living room. The smell of garlic, parsley, and rich tomato sauce hit me, making my stomach growl.

  “You’re hungry?” An uncertain smirk played on his lips, to which I replied, “ravenous.”

  “And the bodyguard?”

  “Just a precaution.”

  “Am I a threat now?”

  “It isn’t you they’re worried about,” I sai
d, perching on a stool as he tended to the pan of pasta.

  “Let me guess, you can’t tell me.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know much either.” It was a white lie, but it was easier than the truth. “Being best friend’s with Arianne Capizola comes with a certain set of complications.”

  “Is Enzo Marchetti one of them?”

  My heart lurched into my throat. “You’ve been doing your research.”

  “I wanted to know who I’m up against, yeah.”

  “Luca, that’s not—”

  “Yeah, I know.” He exhaled out a steady breath. “I was worried, so I did some Googling.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that. If you want to know things about me, you should have asked.”

  “Would you have told me?” My lips pressed into a thin line and he added, “That’s what I thought.”’

  “I came over here to get away from all that.” I sighed.

  “You can’t blame me for being worried. There’s something between us, Nora.” His eyes bore into mine with so much intensity, I had to break the connection.

  “Luca, don’t do this, please. We agreed, friends only.”

  Silence ticked by, turning the air thick and suffocating. When he didn’t answer, I got up. “Maybe this was a mistake.”

  “Wait,” he rushed out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t plan to make this awkward, I swear. I was going to play it cool, but then I saw you and everything got messed up in my head.”

  “Well, can you un-mess it so we can eat, because that smells so good and I’m really hungry.” My stomach growled on cue.

  “Deal. We eat, we talk, and we leave everything else at the door.”

  “That sounds perfect,” I said. Because it did. Even if it was a temporary truce before Luca started fighting for me again. I knew he would. I saw the fierce determination in his eyes. But what I still didn’t know…

  Was, did I want him to?

  Chapter 23

  Enzo