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“She’s staying here?” he asks Matteo, but he’s staring at my sister, who is looking anywhere but at him.
“While we’re in the city. But yes, she stays where Mona is.”
“Fine,” Nikolai grunts.
“Go to my office.” Matteo drops his hand from off his shoulder. Nikolai looks like he wants to say more but turns and leaves.
“The fuck, boss?” Sal speaks first.
“I don’t know, but I’ll talk to him.”
“I’m sorry I pulled the fire alarm in your club,” Riley adds.
“No, you’re not.” Matteo responds to my sister. “You did what you thought you needed to in order to protect your sister. Never apologize for that.”
Riley gives him a soft smile. At least the two of them are coming around to each other. I have no clue what Nikolai’s deal is, but I’m guessing my sister might.
15
MATTEO
“Talk,” I order, walking into my office. Nikolai looks like shit. I feel partly responsible. In the last few weeks, all my attention has been on Mona. I’ve let Nikolai run loose. He’s gone out on some small jobs and collections. Nothing I didn’t think he couldn’t handle, but everyone has been staying close because of the O’Haires.
“Nothing, it’s just the girl from that night.”
“And what were you going to do?” I lean up against my desk, kicking my feet out.
“I don’t know.” Nikolai runs his hands through his hair. He does that when he’s unsure or frustrated.
“So she pulled the fucking fire alarm.” I watch him, but I am unable to get a read on him. “Are you sure you don’t need to tell me anything?” I ask again. “Look at me,” I bark, wanting his eyes to meet mine. I stare at him for a long moment.
“I don’t do drugs,” he bites out. I hadn’t said that, but I thought it might be a possibility. He’s edgy and unlike himself. He alsohasn’t been all over me about being more into jobs. Nikolai jumped at any opportunity to go to meet-ups with me. He was eager to prove himself.
“All right.” I believe him. I didn’t think he would, given his upbringing. But sometimes we do things we never thought we would. "Nikolai, if you so much as touch that girl—” His fingers tighten around the leather chair's arms. Interesting. "If you so much as hurt that girl," I rephrase, his fingers relaxing, “you will deal with me, and it won’t be like before. You’ll go to the basement like everyone else.”
“I won’t hurt her,” he grits out. His response lets me know exactly why he had the reaction he did to Riley. He’s smitten with her. Shit, what am I going to do with this?
“Is she why you’ve been at the club?” He leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees and lowering his head.
“I really don’t want to fucking talk about it.”
“She’s cute.” His head snaps up. “Don’t,” I order before he can say something that might get him backhanded. I know what I need to at this point. “Don’t toy with her. Mona is going to be my wife; that means she’ll be my sister-in-law.”
“So she’s not going anywhere,” Nikolai finishes for me.
I have never paid much attention to what kind of women caught Nikolai’s eye before. Given that he is a teenager, I assumed that he was attracted to most women. There’s no shortage of female attention when he is in one of the clubs, but he is usually working. Nikolai also doesn’t appear to be eighteen. But Riley isn't a woman. She's still a young girl. There might only be months between them, but in history, they are decades apart.
“She’s not going anywhere,” I confirm.
“Are we done?” Nikolai stands.
“For now.” He nods. “Are you going to the club tonight?”
“Think I’ll hang around.” Right. “Matteo.” He pauses at the door. “She’s not cute. She’s breathtaking.” I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing. It depends on how Nikolai handles it.
I go in search of Mona, finding her with her sister in one of the spare rooms. They’re sitting on the bed together, talking. Mona smiles when she notices me standing in the doorway.
“Come.” I extend my hand to her. She comes to me. “Nikolai?—”