eyes to hers, she blushed. I was about two seconds away from telling everyone to get the hell out so I could make her blush all over, when Nicco’s cell rang.
“Hello?” The color drained from his face. “Yeah, okay…. No, I understand. I’ll be right there.”
“What is it?” I asked, the second he hung up.
“It’s my father,” he exhaled a thin breath, “he collapsed.”
Arianne rushed over to his side. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure yet. Genevieve said he was complaining all night of heartburn and this morning he just collapsed. They’re on the way to the ER.”
“Go,” I said without hesitation. “We can handle this.”
Nora ran her hand over my shoulder. “Enzo’s right. Go be with him.”
Before it’s too late. I would never say the words, but I knew what losing Antonio would mean to Nicco. What it would mean for him.
For all of us.
“Okay, yeah. Fuck.”
“Hey.” Arianne pulled him into her arms, whispering softly, “We’ll face it together. Always.”
Nicco nodded. “Don’t leave La Stella. Not until we know more. And be safe. All of you.”
“We’ve got this. Go. And tell Uncle T we expect to see him up and busting balls soon.” Matteo struggled to laugh, his face a picture of concern.
Arianne hugged Nora and we walked them to the door. Luis was waiting right outside with a somber expression on his face.
Fuck, this wasn’t good. I scrubbed a hand down my face. But then Nora was wrapping her arms around me and just for a second, everything felt okay again.
We spent the morning hanging out at Nora’s apartment. She did some studying while Matteo and I watched some gearhead show. It was an episode about restoring vintage Pontiacs, so I was pretty much in mindless TV heaven.
Nicco called to say Uncle Toni had suffered a heart attack, and he was in surgery. Not the phone call you wanted to ever get when the Family was being targeted by someone we couldn’t get a hold on.
To say everyone was on edge was an understatement. But Nora took it in stride.
After an hour of studying, she came and sat with us. “Any word?” she asked, sliding her arm around my shoulder.
“Nothing.” I planted a kiss on her cheek. “He’s still in surgery.”
“Surgery is good; it means they can fix him.” She gave me a warm smile. “I was thinking, why don’t we go out and get some fresh—”
“No.” I barked. “No fucking way.”
“Just hear me out.” Her eyes narrowed with defiance. “We can all go, Maurice too. It’s been a long morning and we’re all getting a little stir crazy. It’s the middle of the day, nothing is going to happen.”
“I don’t like it. Outside is an unknown factor. I can’t control the surroundings. But in here, I can. I know exactly who is coming through that door.” My eyes flicked over to the way in and out of her apartment.
“Okay,” she let out a soft sigh, “it was just an idea.”
I lifted her onto my lap and slid my arms around her waist. “I need to know you’re safe, Gattina.”
“I understand. But what if you don’t find whoever is doing this?” She traced the line of my jaw with her fingers. “You can’t keep me locked away in here forever. I have classes. I have a life, Enzo.”
Fuck, she was right. But the thought of her stepping foot out of that door terrified me in a way I hadn’t ever expected.
“Just give it some more time, please.” I couldn’t be worrying about her and Uncle Toni.
“Fine, a couple more days.” Nora lowered her face to mine, sliding her lips against my mouth. I groaned, pulling her tighter. Matteo grumbled something about needing to check in with Maurice and left us to it.
“Maybe we should stop.” She giggled, nudging her nose gently against mine.
I dived back in, kissing her hard. “He’ll live. Besides, I’ve forgotten how good your pussy feels choking my dick.”
“Enzo.” She batted my chest, my name a breathless sigh on her lips. “You can’t say stuff like that to me now I’m your—” Her eyes went wide with panic. “I didn’t mean—”
“You’re mine, Gattina. Label it, don’t label it,” I shrugged, “doesn’t matter. I own your ass now and there isn’t a single thing you can do about it.”
Chapter 26
Nora
“Any news?” I asked Enzo as I made us lunch.
“He’s out of surgery, thank fuck.” He got up and made his way over to me, snagging me around the waist and pulling me back against his chest.