“Thank fuck,” he breathed. “I’ve been so worried. Are you okay? Where are you? Is Luis there? Tell me everything.”
I smiled; I couldn’t help it. Nicco’s protectiveness was something I would never tire of.
“I’m at the apartment with Nora. Luis is right outside. He doesn’t let me out of his sight. Not that we’ve been far. We didn’t go to classes again today. Not after...”
“Perdonami, Bambolina. I didn’t want to leave like that. I didn’t want to run like a coward. But I knew if I didn’t… I knew if I stayed and tried to explain everything, then I wouldn’t be strong enough to leave you.”
“You hurt me, Nicco, you hurt me so much.” Pain coiled around my heart as I swallowed the tears threatening to fall. “My father betrayed me. He said he’d fix it, he said—”
“He betrayed us both.”
I gasped. “What do you mean?”
“He contacted me, before I came to the apartment. He said that there were things at play I didn’t understand and that he needed some time. He asked me to let him handle it and lie low.”
“He said that?” I can hardly believe what he’s telling me.
“My father had already ordered me to go to Boston and lie low. So I told your father I would disappear as long as he gave me his word you would be safe.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. When he summoned me to the house, Mike Fascini was there with...” I can’t say his name, but I know Nicco knows who I’m talking about from his sharp intake of breath.
Tears pooled in my eyes as I lost the fight to smother my heartache.
“Ssh, you don’t need to say the words, Bambolina. Luis told me everything.”
A garbled cry spilled from my lips. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t cry.” His voice wavered. “Please, don’t cry. Nothing can come between us, Arianne, I need you to know that. It doesn’t matter what your father says or what that piece of shit Fascini does... nothing can come between us. Not a damn thing. Il mio cuore è tuo.”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe him so badly. But Nicco wasn’t here. He wouldn’t be there tomorrow at school or tomorrow night when Scott came to pick me up for our date.
I flinched.
Just the very idea of Scott being anywhere near me made my skin crawl. But I could see no way out. Scott was out for blood—Nicco’s blood. There was no telling what lengths he would go to. I couldn’t risk that.
I wouldn’t.
“Bambolina, say something...”
“How’s Boston?”
Nicco’s chuckle filled the line. It was like a balm to my broken heart, filling some of the cracks. “Boston is okay. Although my cousin Dane took an ass-beating earlier.”
“You were fighting?”
“I do that sometimes...” he said warily. “It relaxes me.”
“Fighting relaxes you?” I blurted out, disbelief coating my words. “What else don’t I know about you, Niccolò Marchetti?”
It was a loaded question.
I’d fallen hard and fast where Nicco was concerned, which meant we were learning about each other as we went.
“Nothing important.” I heard the smile in his voice. “You know my heart, Bambolina. You know my soul.”
The honesty in his words twisted my insides. “I don’t know if I can do this,” I whispered.
There was a beat of silence, and then Nicco let out a strained breath. “You are so strong, Arianne. You can do this, I know you can.”
“But what if he expects...” The unspoken words hung between us like a glacier.
My father and Mike Fascini expected me to date Scott... they expected us to behave like a couple, despite the official engagement announcement being kept under wraps for now.
My father expected me to be alone with him after he’d.... I pushed the thoughts down, swallowing the bile clawing its way up my throat. I couldn’t go there. Whatever Scott had done to me in the past, I had to find a way to turn it into strength to help me survive this.
“Luis is working on it,” Nicco said.
“What does that mean? What’s going—”
“Bambolina, listen to me. You are not alone. I know it feels that way, but our friends, our allies, will do all they can to keep you safe. Just promise me you’ll stay strong...” He hesitated, his silence deafening. “Promise me you’ll fight.”
“I promise.” My voice trembled involuntarily. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to face the future with defiance in my heart and fury in my veins. But the truth was, I was scared.