by L A Cotton
“No, I don’t think you're stupid. He was changing.” We’d all seen it. Enzo cared about Nora. After the warehouse, it was like a switch had been flipped. But Enzo was in a dark place after finding out the truth about his father.
“I’m going to give him some space but then I’m going back over there.”
“I’m not sure that is a good idea, Nor.”
“He needs me, Ari. I know he does.”
“Just be careful, okay?”
“I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
“Don’t be silly, you can always call me, always.” I hung up and turned to Nicco.
“Let me guess, Enzo broke her heart?”
I pressed my lips together and he sat up. “Shit, Enzo did something? I was only joking.” He brushed the hair from my face. “What did she say?”
“She went over to his place to check on him and he kicked her out.”
“He’s not in a good place right now.”
“I know that, and you know that, but she doesn’t.” And we couldn’t tell her. “I know he’s hurting...” I said. It didn’t justify Enzo’s behavior, but Nora didn’t know everything. “Maybe we should have told her the truth.”
“It’s not our story to tell.” Nicco kissed my shoulder.
“I know but I don’t like the idea of them both hurting when they were just getting to a good place.”
“You can’t fix everyone, Bambolina. Sometimes people have to find their own way.”
“You’re right.” I dropped my head to his. “And look at us, we managed to figure it out despite the odds.”
“We did.” Nicco’s lips lingered on mine. “And I’ll be forever thankful you stumbled into my life that night.”
Our love was fated.
Written in the stars.
A love so powerful and consuming it should have burned us both into nothing but ash. But we’d defied the odds.
We’d survived to tell the tale.
And all that was left now, was to live our happily-ever-after.
Nora
I WANTED TO HEED ARI’S words, I did. But I couldn’t just sit in the apartment all day, festering on Enzo’s cruel words as he’d all but kicked me out of his place.
“You’re nothing to me,” he’d gritted out when I’d tried to comfort him.
I knew something bad had happened.
I knew it related to Enzo and Dominion. But no one would tell me. Not even Ari.
It stung.
Over the last few weeks, I’d felt like one of them. Part of the inner circle. But when it came down to it, I wasn’t.
Enzo had proved that this morning.
Just when he was finally opening up to me.
After the incident with Scott—and I called it an incident because calling it anything else still paralyzed me with fear—Enzo had been different. Maybe even before then.
We’d had such an amazing night together at the wedding, the sex had been rough and dirty, but the way he worshipped me was beyond my wildest dreams. And then he went and ruined everything.
I shook the thoughts from my head. I wouldn’t go there. Not now. Not ever. Scott was gone. Arianne had killed him with her own hand.
“Maurice,” I yelled. Despite Scott being gone and the threat of retaliation negligible thanks to Mike Fascini being behind bars, Nicco and Ari had insisted my bodyguard stay with me, for now.
“Yes, Miss Abato?” He rushed into the room, scanning for any sign of danger.
“I’m going out.”
“Out? But I thought—” He eyed the pile of candy on the kitchen counter. After leaving Enzo’s apartment, I may have gone a little overboard and purchased my body weight in sugar.
But screw that. I wasn’t going to sit here wallowing.
I was going to fight.
I knew Enzo was hurting. I knew it had something to do with whatever had happened. If only he’d open up and let me in, I could help him.
I wanted to.
“Change of plans,” I said, going over to the wall mirror and checking my reflection. “I’m going to need a ride to Enzo’s place.”
“Are you sure that’s—”
I shot him a terse look. “If I want your opinion, I’ll ask.”
“Very well.” He gave me a small nod. “I’ll fetch the car.”
“You do that. I’ll be five minutes.” That gave me enough time to add some gloss to my lips and blush to my cheeks. I didn’t bother to change out of my skinny jeans and hoodie. I’d never dressed to impress Enzo before, I wasn’t about to start now.
But I would make him hear me out.
Because Nora Hildi Abato didn’t take no for an answer.
There was something between us. Something undeniable, something I wasn’t about to ignore because he decided he couldn’t deal with his feelings.
With a new sense of resolve, I grabbed my purse and keys, and headed for Maurice.
ENZO LIVED IN A SMALL apartment building right where the edge of University Hill met Romany Square. I’d been here a few times before. It was a complete man cave, gray walls with dark gray and black accents. The kitchen was all black hi-gloss cabinets and polished chrome handles. It was sleek and edgy and reminded me of the dangerous guy that lived there.
Matteo stayed there too sometimes, but from what I gathered, he often stayed at home with his family. Not Enzo though. He liked his space.
Maurice let the SUV roll to a stop and climbed out, coming around to open my door. I beat him to it though, leaping out. “I’ll be okay, you can wait here.”
“Miss Ab—”
“Nora. For the love of God, call me Nora,” I mumbled.
It had been weeks, but he still insisted on keeping things strictly professional.
“You can see the door from here. I’ll be going to Enzo’s apartment. He can protect me.”
The words did strange things to my stomach, not that I imagined he would be pleased to see me after this morning.
“I’ll see you inside.”
“Ugh, fine.” I took off toward the building, determination steeling my spine. But my plan was quickly thwarted when Enzo didn’t answer his buzzer.
Crap.
What the hell was I going to do now?
Then I spotted a guy coming toward the door. He frowned as he exited the building and I grabbed the door, slipping around him to go inside.
Thankfully, he didn’t try to stop me, and I climbed the two flights of stairs to Enzo’s apartment. Adrenaline coursed through me. I’d lost it. Completely and utterly lost it. Ari had told me to give him space. Hell, even Maurice tried to tell me not to come. But I never was one to listen. Besides, if you wanted something, you had to fight for it.
And I wanted Enzo in all his dark, brooding glory.
Coming to a stop, I lifted my hand to knock when I noticed the door was ajar.
“Miss Abato, maybe I should—” Maurice’s concern rolled off my shoulders as I stepped inside, assaulted with the scent of liquor and weed. The place was a mess, littered with empty bottles and glasses.
“Enzo?” I called, dread slithering through me. It had been a few hours since I last saw him, but still, it looked like he’d had a party.
My heart galloped in my chest as I moved deeper into the apartment, down the hall toward his room. I knew I should call someone. Nicco, maybe. But I didn’t want to leave without knowing he was okay.
“Enzo?” I called again, checking the bathroom. Then I heard it. A groan coming from his bedroom.
Relief flooded me. He was okay.
Enzo was okay.
Well he obviously wasn’t okay given whatever had gone down here in the middle of the day, but he was alive.
I pressed my palm against his bedroom door, taking a deep breath, and pushed it open. “Enzo? It’s me—”
The words died on my tongue.
“What the fuck?” He murmured, pushing up, fixing his bloodshot eyes on me. “Nora?” His brows drew together, his icy cold glare pinning me in place.
But I was too fixed on the person beside him.
The naked girl with her hair fanned out around her as she slept peacefully.
Bile clawed up my throat as realization crashed over me. “You bastard.” The words tore from my throat in a rush of air.
“Nora?” He rubbed his eyes as if he didn’t know if I was real or not.
“And to think I came here to make sure you were okay. Because I care. I fucking care about you...” Pain flooded me. “And this is the thanks I get. I guess they were right.” I laughed bitterly, unable to stop comparing myself to the girl at his side.
She was everything I wasn’t
Platinum blonde hair down to her tiny waist.
Big boobs.
Tanned skin.
Curves in all the right places.
I had always had a strong sense of self, but in that moment, I felt worthless.
Enzo finally snapped out of his trance, glancing from me to the girl at his side and back to me. “Fuck,” he ground out, pushing the covers off his legs. “Nora, I can explain—”
“Save it.” My voice cracked as I backed out of the room, crashing into Maurice.
“Miss Abato?” The pity in his eyes made my stomach sink.
“We’re leaving, now.” I barged past him and all but ran out of there.
I’d come to fight for Enzo, to show him I was there for him, and he’d betrayed me. He’d taken everything that existed between us and cast it aside like it was nothing.
Like I was nothing.
And as I fled from his building, tears streaming down my cheeks, I knew Arianne’s warnings about Enzo had all been right.
He wasn’t a good guy.
Not like Nicco. He was an anomaly. An outlier.
The hero of her unexpected fairytale.
And Enzo Marchetti...
He was the villain.
Thank you for reading Nicco and Arianne’s story.
Enzo and Nora’s story continues in Villian of Secrets, coming early 2020. Available to pre-order now.
Playlist
Don’t Let Me Down – Connor Maynard
Broken – Isak Danielson
Die for You – The Weeknd
Lovely – Billie Ellish, Khalid
No Time to Die – Billie Ellish
All Goes Wrong – Chase & Status, Tom Grennan
If the World Was Ending – JP Saxe, Julia Michaels
Light Me Up – Ingrid Michaelson
In Case You Don’t Live Forever – Ben Platt
No Goodbyes – LEON
Say Something – A Great Big World, Christina Aguilera
Ever – Tiny Deaths
Countdowns – Sleeping At Last
In the Dark – Bring Me The Horizon
Dangerously in Love – Beyoncé
Bad Things – Meiko
Nightcall – London Grammar
Adore You – Miley Cyrus
I Found – Amber Run
I Love You – Billie Ellish
Surrender – Natalie Taylor
Acknowledgements
I can’t believe Arianne and Nicco’s story is done. Most authors will tell you they love all their books, and it’s true. Each book I write is a part of me, the culmination of a lot of hard work and long days at the computer. But there are some stories that are so much more. Stories that become woven into the fabric of your soul.
This is one of mine.
When I had the idea to write a Romeo and Juliet inspired mafia story, I didn’t realize how deeply the story would affect me. I know a lot of readers who picked up Prince of Hearts wanted it to be darker. Mafia books hold a certain set of expectations that, it could be argued, I didn’t quite hit. But I’m okay with that because this wasn’t my story—it was Arianne and Nicco’s, and I let them tell it as they intended. And I hope you enjoyed their journey as much as I enjoyed writing it!
It goes without saying, there is a long list of people I need to thank for always being in my corner. My alpha reader and friend, Nina. Thank you for always being there! Andrea, for checking those pesky Italian translations (one day, I’ll get them right). My translator, Chiara, over at Queen Edizioni, for also helping fix the nuances of the Italian dialogue. Andrea, my editor and friend and all-round legend. Ginelle, my proofreader extraordinaire, thank you for always accommodating my crazy schedule! My awesome promo team who continue to support me and my books. And finally, Give Me Books for handling the promotion side of things. I am grateful to all of you.
And to you: the readers, bloggers, and bookstagrammers. Without you, my books would just be stories lost in an ocean of other stories. Your support and enthusiasm for my characters makes it all worthwhile, and I hope I continue to write the kinds of stories you love...
Until next time,
L A xo
About the Author
Angsty. Edgy. Addictive Romance
Author of mature young adult and new adult novels, L A is happiest writing the kind of books she loves to read: addictive stories full of teenage angst, tension, twists and turns.
Home is a small town in the middle of England where she currently juggles being a full-time writer with being a mother/referee to two little people. In her spare time (and when she’s not camped out in front of the laptop) you’ll most likely find L A immersed in a book, escaping the chaos that is life.
L A loves connecting with readers. The best places to find her are
Website
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Did you love King of Souls: Nicco & Ari Duet #2? Then you should read The Trouble With You by L. A. Cotton!
From the author of the Wicked Bay series, comes an angsty YA/NA enemies-to-lovers romance. Cocky football players, school rivalry, and the girls who get in their way. Get ready … The Raiders are coming!
Hailee Raine only has to survive one more year.
One year of life in her football obsessed town.One year of nauseating school spirit.Just one more year of her cruel step-brother Jason; and his cocky, arrogant, football-playing friends.She hates them. Especially, Cameron Chase, the guy she thought was different.
Cameron Chase has the world at his feet.
He has it all; good looks, talent, and the charm to go with it.He has colleges lined up at the door, all wanting a piece of Rixon Raiders star wide receiver.Until something threatens everything he's ever worked for, and only one person can quiet the war raging inside him.But he's supposed to hate her; his best friend's sister.
She's off-limits.Untouchable.She's trouble with a capital T.
Then Hailee finds herself in the middle of a football prank gone wrong...
And suddenly hating each other never felt so good.
The Trouble With You is the first book in The Rixon Raiders series. All books in this series can be read as standalones!
The Trouble With YouThe Game You Play (coming soon)The Harder You Fall (coming soon)
Read more at L. A. Cotton’s site.
Also by L. A. Cotton
Black Hearts Still Beat
Rush: The Beginning
Rise: The Interlude
Rule: The Finale
Ruin: Levi Hunter's Story
Chastity Falls
Loyalty and Lies
Salvation and Secrets
Tribulation and Truths
Affliction
Redemption and Regrets
Penance and Promises
Absolution
Fate's Love
Fate's Love
Love's Spark
Love Collides
Liar Liar
Liar Liar
Truth or Dare
Rixon
High
Off-Limits (Coming Soon)
Rixon Raiders
The Trouble With You
The Game You Play
The Harder You Fall
The Endgame Is You
Steinbeck University
Trick or Treat
The Maverick Defense Series
Deliverance
The Wicked Bay Series
Wicked Bay: Part 1
Wicked Bay: Part 2
Verona Legacy
Prince of Hearts: Nicco & Ari Duet #1
King of Souls: Nicco & Ari Duet #2
Villain of Secrets
Savior of Regrets (Coming Soon)
Wicked Bay
Wicked Beginnings
Wicked Rules
Wicked Lies
Wicked Games
Wicked Needs
Wicked Surprise
Wicked Hearts
Wicked Promises
Wicked Truths
Wicked Forever
Standalone
Lucky Penny
Chastity Falls: Box Set
Rixon Raiders (The Collection)
Black Hearts Still Beat: Eva and Rafe's Trilogy
On The Rebound
Rock
Watch for more at L. A. Cotton’s site.
