when we arrived at the airport and boarded his private jet and to make matters worse, the don himself was accompanying us back to New York.
He seemed just as surprised as me, though.
“I didn’t know you were bringing a guest, Rocco,” Victor crooned, smiling at me.
“You said you didn’t give a shit, and this is all I could come up with,” Rocco replied. “You won’t even know she’s here, isn’t that right, Bug?”
That was the straw the broke the camel’s back.
First, my friends bail on me. Then I get stranded at the airport because my brother forgets to pick me up. But, wait, the birthday fun was just getting started! Rocco aimed a gun at my head, I got all dressed up for dinner and dancing—didn’t get dinner and forget the dancing. There was a shoot-out, a woman died, and Rocco treated me like his personal plaything.
I was done.
So fucking done.
Faking a smile, I elbowed Rocco in the gut. I would’ve kneed him in the balls, but he was standing beside me and Marlon Brando had his eyes on me.
“Fuck,” Rocco hissed. “What the hell was that for?”
“The list is long, take your pick,” I snapped.
Victor looked between us and barked out a laugh before extending his hand to me.
“We didn’t get a chance to be formally introduced.”
“Yeah, the gunfire kinda put a wrench in that,” I said, sarcasm dripping from every word. “I’m Violet.”
“I know who you are, sweetheart,” he replied, his eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief.
“Yeah, I know who you are too,” I mumbled.
Again, he laughed. I was so glad I could entertain him—not.
Once we were seated and the pilot prepared for takeoff, Victor tried to make small talk with me. He told me how fond he was of my brother and I had to bite my tongue or I would’ve told him his fondness for my brother ruined him. Then he mentioned my mom’s restaurant and how he loved her food. That surprised me because I’m almost certain if he ever walked into my mother’s restaurant, she’d refuse to serve him. But I didn’t say anything. I just nodded my head and smiled.
“So, you two are pretty chummy,” he said observantly, pointing a finger between me and Rocco.
If only he knew how chummy we were a couple of hours ago when we were in bed together.
“She was always hanging around the neighborhood, annoying me and Joaquin hence why I call her Bug,” Rocco supplied as he unscrewed a bottle of water. It looked as though it physically pained him to drink something other than liquor.
“Surely, you can come up with a better nickname for such a beautiful young lady,” Victor chastised.
“Or he can just call me Violet,” I said.
“He’s thickheaded, my nephew.”
“He’s an asshole is what he is.”
“No arguments here,” Victor agreed, a smirk on his face.
“And on that note, I’m going to take a fucking leak,” Rocco declared, ripping his seatbelt off.
“The pilot didn’t say we could get out of our seats,” I reminded him, cheekily.
“I’ll take my chances,” he grumbled and disappeared to the back of the luxury jet.
“You know, you remind me a lot of my Grace,” Victor said thoughtfully. That comment forced me to bring my eyes back to him. That’s quite the compliment and if I wasn’t scorned by this weekend’s events I’d be flattered. I mean, Grace Pastore is the epitome of class. She’s endearing, sweet, and kind. A queen in her own right.
I wanted to be Grace Pastore, but I was sure I had a lot of work to do.
“With all due respect, your wife and I are nothing alike. She’s much kinder and less outspoken.”
He smiled.
“Don’t be fooled by Grace’s manners. She may be soft spoken and kindhearted, but under all that silk, my Gracie is a force to be reckoned with. She keeps me in check and is the first to tell me when I’m wrong. She’s strong and opinionated and there is nothing she won’t do for her family.” He pauses and crosses his leg over his knee. “I’m sorry you had to see what you saw last night.”
Unable to stop the words from flying out of my mouth, I replied, “Are you sorry for what happened to that girl too?”
He cocked his head to the side and stared at me for a beat.
“What happened to that girl was unfortunate, but it was no fault of mine.”
He said I reminded him of his wife, that she was opinionated and there was nothing she wouldn’t do