Page 23

Rocco
“It’s been days. When the hell are you gonna fill me in?”
“Soon.” Nico’s gaze darts left and right while we stand at the bar of Culaccino II, the sister nightclub Max runs for Nico. He’s clearly looking for any excuse to get away from me. He’s been avoiding my calls and texts, and I’d just like to know why.
Why, goddammit?
Maybe it means that the Cinques are about to put the drop on me, and he’s given up trying to save my ass.
That’s a pleasant thought.
“Listen,” I say, my voice dropping. “You know something is up. I can tell. I don’t know what the fuck horses have to do with the Cinques, but there’s obviously some connection. How much longer are you gonna make me wait?”
“I’m still working on it.”
“Nico, the Cinques just tried to take down our family in a pretty big way. They spent a lot of money and put a lot of trust in those idiot Bonnaro brothers to get the job done. It was an epic fucking fail. You think they’re gonna just sit back and sun their asses in California while snacking on wheatgrass or avocado toast or whatever the fuck else shit they eat out there? Hell no! They’re coming, Nico. They’re coming for me. And if Kat finds out—”
His eyes narrow, his mouth stretching into a tight line. “But she won’t, right, Rocco? She won’t find out because that was part of the deal.”
I grit my teeth. “I’m not saying she’d find out from me.”
“Then what are you saying? That she’d somehow miraculously find evidence of what really happened the day her family was butchered and connect all the dots?”
“It could happen.”
“No, actually, it couldn’t. Not unless someone connects them for her.” He pokes me in the chest. “And that would be deadly. For both of you.”
She doesn’t know what I know. Hell, she’s never told me a damn thing about her past. But I’ve heard it all and seen plenty.
They told me they’d kill me if I breathed a word of it to her.
Which was fine, until I started to like her. Like her in a way that would put me six feet under if her father ever read my mind and saw her in some pretty damn compromising positions.
The woman with ice for blood and a body that can shame a porn star.
Fuck, yeah, I liked her.
But after today at the animal shelter?
I realized that ‘like’ had taken a different turn, a very unexpected one.
‘Like’ had turned into something else, something deeper, something that scares the crap out of me.
And now all I want to do is protect her.
It’s bad enough knowing that I have to cover my own ass. But Kat…who the fuck is covering hers? Because these people…they don’t stop. They sit back, take deep breaths, sometimes very fucking long ones…eight years long…but they always jump back into the flames. The hell they created.
Sometimes I think death is more rewarding to the Cinque family than money.
I saw that firsthand when I became one of them…under false pretenses.
“Hey! Where the hell have you assholes been?” Max swoops in, clapping both of us on the backs. “It’s opening night! You should have been here with a bottle of champagne hours ago to help me celebrate!”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got plenty of time for that.” Nico smirks, looking everywhere but in my direction. “Place looks good. Nice work.”
“Thanks.” Max nudges me. “Hey, I left you a bunch of messages. What the hell?”
I rub the stress knot in the back of my skull. “Sorry, I’ve been busy.”