the sounds of it, he and daddy dearest were pretty tight.”
“But how—
“Your guess is as good as mine. He knew everything, Nicco. He knew about Nora, about me… what I did. It was all about revenge.”
“Fuck.” Nicco stalked over to Vinnie’s dead body and kicked his leg. “He tell you anything else?”
“Doesn’t matter. He’s gone now and I hope he rots in hell with our father.”
“There’s no sign of Bianco.”
Just then, a knocking sound filtered down the hall.
“What is that?” I said, drawing my pistol again as we moved through the abandoned building on the outskirts of La Riva. All this time, Vinnie was holed up right on our doorstep.
After Lucii had given us Nate’s number. He’d pointed us in the direction of Isaac’s apartment. We’d found a copy of a rental agreement for an industrial unit alongside the river. It was almost too easy. Now I was beginning to wonder if it wasn’t just another clue, all part of his game.
It didn’t matter now, he was gone. And Nora and I were still here.
Fuck. Nora.
“Hey.” Nicco gripped my shoulder and then moved ahead of me.
“H-help,” a voice said, and we followed the moans into a small room at the back of the building.
“Stay alert,” he ordered, and I raised my pistol into the air, taking aim should any more surprises jump out on us.
But when Nicco pushed the door open, I dropped my weapon, my mouth hanging wide open.
Because there in the corner of the room, half-conscious and bound was Luca.
It turned out Luca wasn’t an accomplice. Isaac had blackmailed him with threats of going after his ex in Pawtucket. Much like me and my family, he knew things about her. Her address, her place of work. It was enough to spook Luca into doing his bidding, and for as much as I wanted to put a bullet through his brains for ever putting Nora in danger, part of me got it. Because there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for the girl I loved either.
Fuck, it felt weird admitting that.
But it was the least of my problems as I pulled up outside Nicco and Arianne’s building.
Thanks to mine and Nicco’s handiwork, the emergency services were attending to an anonymously reported blaze on the outskirts of La Riva. Soon, there wouldn’t be anything left of Vinnie to find. We’d need to figure out a story to tell Lucii and Nate, but that could wait until morning.
Right now, there was only one place I needed to be.
Arianne greeted me at the door.
“Enzo, thank God.” She pulled me into her arms and hugged me tight. “I’ve been so worried.” Ari released me with an awkward smile.
“Thanks,” I clipped out. “How is she?”
Her expression fell. “She’s sleeping right now. Doc checked her over, took some blood, and gave her some pain pills.”
I sucked in a harsh breath. “Can I—”
“Of course. She was asking for you the whole time.”
My chest squeezed.
Nicco had gone to the hospital with Luca. We needed to get his story straight and he knew I wasn’t levelheaded enough to do it.
“Can I get you anything?” Ari asked me as I followed her into the apartment.
“No, I’m good.”
I wasn’t.
I felt like I’d woken from a nightmare, unsure of what was real and what wasn’t.
“I’ll give the two of you some space, but if you need anything…”
I nodded. It was all I could manage. As I walked the short distance to their guest bedroom, my heart was in my throat. I’d watched that fucker rape her. Heard his moans of pleasure, witnessed her tears as he broke her.
How the fuck was I supposed to go in there and hold her?
I didn’t know how to do this, to be the hero who comes to save the day.
“She’d want you to go to her,” Ari said, and I glanced back to find her watching me.
“This is all my fault.”
“You know she won’t blame you. Isaac… I mean Vinnie,” sympathy shone in her eyes, “made his choices. It’s the only thing we can control, Enzo. How we choose to respond to something. That’s what counts. So you can walk away and prove to her and everyone else that you don’t deserve her, or you can be the guy we know you can be, and go in there and just be with her.”
“You’re different, you know.”
“Love changes you,” she said with conviction. “I know you think it makes you weak, but it doesn’t. Love makes you strong, Enzo. It gives you something worth fighting for.”