back against the headrest, I let out a weary sigh. “I just needed some space.”
“That bad, huh?” Enzo backed out of the driveway and pulled onto the street.
“She came here to bargain with him.”
“She’s got balls, Cous, I’ll give her that. Let me guess, she asked Uncle Toni to spare that piece of shit?”
“Yeah, she wants to let the law handle it.”
Enzo scoffed. It wasn’t how we usually got shit done. We had our own code, our own justice system. If you betrayed or screwed over the Family, you were dealt with swiftly.
And Mike Fascini had attempted what no other person ever had.
“She’s not cut out for this life.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not asking her to initiate into the family then, isn’t it?” Sarcasm dripped from my words.
“Yeah, but you know what I mean. She’ll never understand this life, she’ll never understand what you do. What we do.”
“She’s agreed to marry me,” I confessed “that’s what they negotiated.”
“What the fuck?” The car swerved as Enzo’s eyes snapped to mine.
“Watch the road,” I hissed.
“You can’t just drop something like that on me and expect me to keep cool. Marriage... he wants you to marry her? Has he lost his fucking mind?”
“Nice, E. Real nice.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean... But you’re both young. Like really young. Marriage is a huge deal. It’s—”
“A life sentence?” I could see that's what he wanted to say. “I love her. I love her so fucking much.”
“I sense a 'but' in there...” He cast me a sideways glance.
“It shouldn’t be like this. I don’t want her to be obligated to marry me to save her father, to save that fucking monster.”
My pulse spiked again, but I forced myself to take a breath. I was supposed to be calming down, not getting even more worked up.
“What do you want, Nic?” There was no trace of mocking in his voice, just mild curiosity.
“Her, I just want her.”
“So maybe you have your answer. Maybe you just need to accept your fate and go with it.”
I glanced out of the window. It was dark, only the headlights of passing cars and streetlamps lighting the way. My mind drifted to Arianne. To how she made me feel every time she touched me, the way my heart galloped in my chest whenever her big brown eyes found mine across a room.
She was my anchor.
My North star in the endless night sky.
And although our time together had been relatively short, I couldn’t imagine life without her.
I didn’t want to.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Enzo’s voice penetrated my thoughts.
“I know what to do,” I rushed out, a sense of peace washing over me.
“So we’re not heading to my place?”
“Change of plan. Can we stop by Matteo’s?” Officially, he lived with Enzo in their apartment on the edge of Romany Square and University Hill. But more often than not, he stayed with his family at their house in La Riva.
I dug my cell out of my pocket.
“You’re calling him?”
“No. Luis.”
“Okay...” He frowned. “Going to share your plan with me?”
“I will, once we get to Matteo’s.”
“What are you up to, Nicco?”
A smile spread over my face. “You’ll see.”
Almost three hours later, Matteo looked up from his cell phone and said, “They’re on their way.”
My heart was beating so hard I felt a little lightheaded.
“You okay, Cous?” Enzo clapped me on the back. “You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine,” I mumbled, taking a long pull on my beer.
We were back at the cabin. I didn’t want to do this there. Not with my father, Alessia, and Genevieve hanging around.
Arianne and I needed to talk, and I wanted total privacy when we did.
“You sure you don’t want us to stay?” Enzo asked, and I shook my head.
“I’ve got this.”
“Yeah, you do.” Matteo grinned. He turned to the overhead cabinets and found three glasses, setting them down in front of us. “Is there any of the good stuff lying around here?” He went over to my father’s drinks cabinet. “Bingo.” Snatching up a bottle of scotch, he brought it over and poured us each a glass.
“I’m driving,” Enzo reminded him.
“One won’t hurt. This deserves a toast.”
He gave Matteo a sharp nod, accepting a glass. I took mine, swirling the amber liquid around the sides.
Maybe it would settle my nerves.
“To the best cousins, the best friends, a guy could ever have. I love you guys,” Matteo said clutching his own glass. “To friendship, family, and the future. Salute.”
“Salute.” We clinked our glasses with his, downing our drinks in