by L A Cotton
It all seemed very dull; dinner followed dessert. I could just make out Arianne as she sat quietly wedged between Fascini and Nora’s date. There were security guys posted at every window, and the door was heavily guarded. But I wasn’t going inside. Watching was enough.
At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
A crunch sounded behind me and I shot up, glancing around. My eyes strained against the darkness, my heart thudding against my ribcage. If anyone caught me out here—
“Enzo?” I frowned.
“You couldn’t just do as you were fucking told, could you?”
“How did you...?”
“I know you, Nic. I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away. Just took me a while to find you.”
“I had to come.”
“You shouldn’t have.”
“I know.” I looked back at the hotel. People had begun moving around while the servers worked quickly to clear away empty plates and dirty glasses. Arianne and Nora were huddled close. God, she looked fucking amazing. The emerald green dress accentuated her soft curves to perfection.
A low growl formed in my throat as I watched Scott loop his arm around her waist and guide her toward a group of people as if he owned her.
“Easy, Cous.” Enzo’s hand clamped down on my shoulder. “You need to relax.”
“Relax?” I snapped. “She’s in there with another guy. The same guy who...” The words soured on my tongue as I swallowed them down.
“I know but you need to keep your head. You shouldn’t be here. If anyone were to see you that would be a shitshow of epic proportions. She’s okay. You can see that. It sucks, I know it does. But she’s okay.”
She looked okay, smiling to the group as Scott made introductions. His hand remained possessively on her waist. I wanted to tear it from his body and beat him with it.
I wanted to watch that fucker bleed out and beg for his life. The need to hurt him never went away, it lingered under the surface. A sleeping beast waiting for its moment to strike.
“You need to go.” His grip tightened, trying to guide me away from the cover of the large white oak tree. But I couldn’t look away. Mike Fascini and his wife joined them, laughing and joking like they were old friends.
Like they were family.
The thought gutted me.
“Nicco, you need to—”
“I need to see her,” I rushed out, slipping out of his hold, and taking a step forward. But Enzo grabbed me from behind and yanked me backward.
“What the fuck are you thinking?”
I spun around and met his thunderous expression. “I can’t just stand by. It’s killing me.”
“Now is not the time. You’re already risking everything by being here.”
“I need to see her.”
“Nicco, listen to me.” He gave me a pointed look. “You need to get on your bike and get the fuck back to Boston before Fascini realizes you’re here.”
“No, I need to see her.”
“Porca miseria!” he grumbled. “It’s not like I can walk in there and get her out here.”
“No, but Nora or Luis might be able to help.” I dug out my cell and thrust it at him.
“You’re serious?” His eyes bugged, glittering with disapproval.
“I just need five minutes.” It would never be enough, but it would settle my soul until the next time I saw her.
“You’ve fucking lost your mind.”
I didn’t deny it.
I felt unstable.
Lost.
Like I was drowning in dark angry waters, being pulled under by the riptide.
“Wait here.” Enzo glared at me. “I mean it, Nicco. You don’t move a fucking muscle. If Vitelli says it’s a no go, it’s a no go. Do you hear me?”
All I could manage was a tight nod. I was too busy overanalyzing Arianne’s every move. The way she stood close but not too close to Fascini. The smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Enzo gave me one last look before ducking out of the tree line. I wanted to go after him, to be the one calling Nora or Luis, and going to Arianne. But despite my evident lack of restraint, I didn’t have an immediate death wish.
The minutes ticked by painfully slowly as I waited. People had begun to sit again as the servers went from table to table refilling glasses. I’d lost sight of Arianne.
Nervous energy vibrated through me as I rocked on the balls of my feet, desperate to see any sign of her.
But she didn’t appear.
Enzo did.
“We need to move, now,” he barked, beckoning me from the shadows.
I jogged over to him, following him around the side of the building to a small terrace area.
“Five minutes,” he said. “I mean it, Nic. A second longer and I’ll personally drag you from this place and kick your ass all the way back to Boston.”
“You couldn’t take me,” I quipped back.
“Don’t push me,” he growled.
A door opened and Luis appeared. He shot me an irritated look. Apparently, Enzo wasn’t the only one pissed at me. But none of it mattered when Arianne appeared.
“Bambolina.” I rushed over to her, running my eyes over every inch of her body. “Thank fuck.”
“Nicco,” she sighed. “What are you doing here?”
“I had to see you. I had to know you’re okay.”
“You can’t be here.”
“Ssh.” I brushed the hair from her face, moving in closer until I could smell the sweet notes of her perfume.
“Nicco.” She fisted my jacket. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
My eyes snapped open, my brows pinched with confusion. “What do you—”
“It’s not safe. If anyone were to see you...”
“They won’t. After our conversation this morning... I couldn’t just leave things like that.” I ran my nose along Arianne’s cheek, breathing her in. She shivered at my touch and the possessive part of me rejoiced at knowing I still affected her so viscerally.
I wound one hand around her neck, holding her against me. “You look so beautiful, Bambolina. I saw you... with him. Talking to his parents.”
“I’m playing a part, Nicco. That’s all this is.” She stepped back but I snagged her hand, noticing the glint of light hit her finger.
“Is that... Fuck.” I breathed through my nose, trying to rein in the tsunami of emotion crashing over me.
She was wearing a ring.
A huge diamond engagement ring.
His ring.
I was going to puke.
“Nicco, it’s just for show.” Arianne was the one clutching me now, her wild eyes pleading with me to calm down.
“He put his fucking ring on you?” A chill ran through me.
“Ssh,” she moved closer, crowding me against the wall. “Don’t do this, please. Not here, not now. It’s all for show. An act. You knew what tonight was about.”
“Did he get down on one knee and profess his love for you?” I sneered.
Arianne blanched, jerking back as if my words had slapped her in the face. “That isn’t fair, and you know it.”
“Shit, I’m sorry. I just... it blindsided me, okay. I hate knowing he’s in there with his hands all over you.”
“I don’t exactly enjoy it.” Tears pricked the corner of her eyes but my strong Bambolina forced them down.
“I know. Come here.” I looped my arms around her waist and dropped my chin on her head. “You really do look beautiful, Bambolina. And I’m sorry you’re having to do this. All of it.”
“All I keep thinking is he’s stolen another of my firsts... and I hate him so much for it.”
I eased back to look at her, my spine rigid.
“You should go.” She smiled weakly.
“How am I supposed to let you go back in there?”
“You just do.” Arianne gave me a small shrug. She took another step back, our hands lingering between us.
“He can have your firsts,” I sai
d quietly, “but your forever... that belongs to me.”
Arianne hesitated before throwing herself at me. I caught her and stumbled back with her in my arms.
“Kiss me,” she breathed. “Kiss me like it’s your ring I’m wearing.”
Our lips met in an urgent collision of tongues and teeth. Arianne poured all her pain and frustration into every stroke and I greedily welcomed it. Her body fit against mine and our hands roamed and explored as we fell headfirst into the kiss.
I wanted forever with her.
I wanted the fairytale.
I might have been a mafia king-in-waiting, but I was nothing without my queen. And I didn’t want to rule if I couldn’t have her by my side.
It was that simple.
By the time I pulled away, Arianne was flushed, and her lips were swollen. Desire shone in her eyes and she looked ravished. But I couldn’t find it in me to care. Because when she went back inside, when she went back to that fucker, she would be able to taste me.
And she would know exactly who she belonged to.
“HAPPY NOW?” ENZO GAVE me a hard shove toward my bike. “That was a close call.”
“Yeah, yeah, save it for somebody who cares.”
“That’s just it though, Cous. You should fucking care. And I’m not talking about just the Family. What do you think that would have done to Ari tonight if Fascini’s guys had found you? You’re not thinking straight.”
“She’s wearing his ring, E.” I scrubbed my jaw in frustration. “Am I supposed to just pretend this isn’t happening?”
“You’re supposed to trust your old man to get the job done.”
My lips thinned. He had a point, and I hated it.
“Look, it’s done.” He let out a heavy sigh. “You saw her. Now you need to leave and stay your ass in Boston.”
“Will you tell him?”
“What do you think?” He gave me a pointed look. “As long as you promise not to pull this shit again it stays between us, okay?”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“I know you think I don’t get it, and maybe I don’t, but I know you, Nicco. Nothing will ever change that.”
I climbed on my bike, pulling on my helmet.
“Go straight home.”
I nodded. I didn’t want to lie to him, but there was somewhere else I needed to go first, and I knew he wouldn’t agree.
“Did you get a glance of Nora tonight?” I asked, changing the subject. “She looked smokin’ hot.” I’d seen her through the window.
“Fuck you,” he gritted out.
Laughter rumbled in my chest as I kicked the starter and gave him a nod before pulling into the street. The ride to County Memorial was only ten minutes. It was exactly what I needed to clear my head after seeing the ring on Arianne’s finger.
I still couldn’t believe it. It made perfect sense, they were engaged after all, but my mind couldn’t make sense of it. Probably because my soul had already claimed her as his. So to see another guy lay claim to her went against everything I felt.
By the time I pulled into the hospital parking lot, the weight on my chest had eased a little. Arianne was mine. Something as materialistic as a ring didn’t change that. But she’d looked so right standing at that fuck’s side, his parents smiling at them like everything about the situation made sense.
I climbed off my bike and hung the helmet on the handlebars. This was another bad idea, but I needed to see Tristan.
Enzo was right, Arianne was changing me. Things that shouldn’t have mattered before, did now. Like looking into the eyes of a guy I almost killed and asking for forgiveness.
The parking lot was empty as I crossed over to the main entrance. County Memorial was lit up against the inky backdrop, a sign that hospitals never slept. But I found the place quiet inside. Still, they probably didn’t take too kindly to random people walking the halls at night.
Taking the stairwell to the second floor, I checked the hall before ducking out of the door. I knew Tristan was up there, but I didn’t know where. The nurses station loomed up ahead, manned by a lone woman. I waited a few minutes, hoping she would be called away.
When she finally got up and disappeared down the hall, I took my chance, jogging up to the station and checking the huge whiteboard.
“Gotcha,” l whispered, making a mental note of Tristan’s room number. It was only a couple of doors behind me.
I’d half-expected there to be security, but the hall was empty. Pressing my face against the glass, I glanced inside, and sure enough, Tristan lay sleeping soundly.
Guilt flashed through me. I’d done this. I’d put him here. But he was okay.
He was going to be okay.
I grabbed the handle and gently opened the door. It barely made a sound as I slipped inside. Moonlight streamed through the blinds, casting shadows off the walls, illuminating Tristan’s profile. I stuck to the corner of the room, hiding in the darkness.
I wasn’t supposed to be here. But I needed to fix things.
I needed him to know I never meant to hurt him that night when I’d snapped. Now I was standing here though, I didn’t know what the fuck to say.
So I started with the truth.
“I didn’t mean to fall in love with her,” I said to the silence. “It just happened. It wasn’t some grand plan to mess with your family. She wasn’t a game, never to me. I just took one look at her that night and something snapped into place.”
I let my head fall back against the wall as I inhaled a ragged breath. It was late. Mike Fascini had probably made the announcement. The engagement was probably official.
Pain squeezed my heart like a vise.
“She wouldn’t want me to tell you this, but you should know. As the person who is like a brother to her, you should know that he raped her. The night of the Centenary Gala, he slipped something in her drink and raped her.” Tears burned the backs of my eyes. “And now she’s there, at the party with him. Your uncle and his father are parading them around like a happy couple... it’s messed up. This whole fucking thing is messed up.
“We weren’t ever supposed to be enemies, you know.” I let out a long breath. “We were supposed to be family. If history had played out the way it was supposed to, we wouldn’t even be here.”
Tristan shifted in his sleep, the rustle of stiff linen piercing the silence. I froze, holding my breath until he settled.
“I shouldn’t be here. I don’t know why I came... but everything is different now. All I want is to protect her. To put an end to all of this. But I don’t know how. I don’t know how to save her.”
I inched closer, staring down at him. “I never meant to hurt you that night. I didn’t even realize it was you until it was too late. If Arianne is going to survive this thing with Fascini she’s going to need all the allies she can get. So I guess I’m not only here to apologize, I’m here to beg you to do right by her. To step up and be the cousin she needs you to be. And to promise me that if something happens to me, you’ll be there to look out for her.”
I was met with nothing but silence.
This was stupid.
Tristan was out cold, and I might as well have been talking to a corpse. But it wasn’t like I could wake him. He’d take one look at me standing in his hospital room and call for security.
Defeated, I headed for the door. My fingers wrapped around the handle and pulled gently just as a whisper carried in the air.
“You have my word.”
I glanced back, expecting to find Tristan glaring at me. But he wasn’t.
And maybe I really was losing my mind.
Chapter 18
Arianne
“So... what did he say?” Nora whispered as we made our way back to our seats.
“Not here.” I smiled, trying to give the illusion of everything being fine.
Everything was not fine.
Nicco was here.
Or, at least, he had been.
I hoped he was far away now, out of the
reach of my father’s and Mike Fascini’s men.
He shouldn’t have come.
Yet my heart was so relieved to see him standing there on that terrace.
“There you are.” Scott rose from his chair and pulled mine back slightly. “You almost missed the most important part of the night.” He smirked.
It was late and I was tired.
Tired of keeping up pretenses and putting on a smile.
All I wanted was to retire to my room, lock the door, and wash the games and fakeness off my skin. But first, Mike had to make his grand speech.
He was already on the stage, microphone in hand, a glass of champagne on the shaker table beside him. The servers were busy moving from table to table, replacing wine glasses with flutes, filling them with Dom Perignon for the toast.
Once we were all in our seats, Mike gave our table a nod and the room ushered into thick silence. “Some of you may be unaware but I have roots in Verona County. My family was here in the beginning and they will be here as we move into a new future. A prosperous future full of opportunity and growth. Together, with Capizola Holdings, Fascini and Associates will become a household name in the redevelopment of our great county. Get up here, Roberto.” He beckoned for my father to join him.
He kissed my mother on the cheek, the two of them sharing a long, lingering look.
What was I missing?
The pieces of the puzzle were right there in front of me, but I still couldn’t see them all.
My father climbed the steps to the stage and shook Mike’s hand.
“I invited you all here tonight,” he went on, “to celebrate the partnership between our two great families. But some of you may have noticed by now, that it isn’t the only thing we’re celebrating.” His eyes found mine, dark and full of wicked intent. “My son, Scott, has asked Arianne Capizola for her hand in marriage and she said yes.”
A low rumble of whispers trickled around the room. “This union will not only cement our business relationship, but it will unite our families. So I’d like you all to raise your glasses and toast the happy couple with me. To Scott and Arianne.”
The words reverberated through my skull as Scott slipped his arm around me and pulled me close. “You’re mine now, Principessa,” he breathed, his words sending a violent shiver skittering up my spine.
