Page 78 of Darkest Desire

“Well, some things can change. Change isn’t always bad.”

“For the first time, I’d say we’re on the same page.”

He brings me into the large, pristine kitchen, which smells faintly of sugar. “I had Maria go on ahead and come here to make some dessert for dinner later tonight.”

“Maria works here too? Does she not have a family in Rome?”

Nico grabs a champagne bottle sitting on the counter, then pauses. “I guess I’ve never thought to ask her that.”

“You don’t even know your own staff?”

“Do you?”

I shrug. “My family never had much staff. My mom did most of the cooking. We had a maid come in once a week to clean but other than that, we never had a home chef or housekeeper.”

“Well, I guess I should ask her then.”

“I think that would be a nice thing to do.”

Nico gives me a sly look as he uncorks the champagne. “Are you trying to change me, Sasha? Make me into a better man? First, you stop me from killing Giovanni and now you want me to get to know my housekeeper better.”

“Having a little bit of kindness in you would not be a bad thing. You can still be your ruthless mafia self. But it would be nice if you were someone I knew I could trust.”

He pours us each a glass and hands me one. Our fingers skim against each other for just a moment but I can feel goosebumps break out over my skin. That’s the effect Nico has on me.

“I’ll admit,” he says, “I do want you to trust me. But I’m not sure how nice I can be. Don’t try to change me into something I’m not, Sasha. I think you’ll find yourself regretting it if you do.”

I take a sip of my champagne to hide the shiver that goes through me. Nico is still Nico at the end of the day. I can’t pretend otherwise, even if I am starting to get closer to him.

I have to keep my head around him and I did want to come back to New York for one thing: to save my family. I was getting lost in Nico back in Rome and I’m hoping by coming back home, I can regain my sense of self.

I raise my glass. “To coming home.”

His dark eyes slide over me, sending a flutter to my stomach, before he clinks his glass with mine. “To coming home. May we have good times together.”

I pinch my lips to keep myself from saying something I’ll regret like how much I don’t like Nico.

Or how much I do like him.

Since I can’t get to Irina and Ana because of Denis, I need to try to contact Natalya again. Nico still hasn’t allowed me a phone and after checking the entire house, there’s no other phone I can use. Nico keeps his phone close to him so I can never get my hands on it.

Fine. I’ll just have to leave and go see Natalya without calling. I know where she lives.

When Nico leaves for work, I know that’s my moment to move. He has a large garage full of cars. I pick a sleek red one and drive down the driveway but the large gates stop me from getting any further.

The guard at the gate comes over to talk to me. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m Nico’s wife. I have the right to leave without being made a prisoner in this home.”

“If you want to leave, you can, but I have to call Nico first.”

I clench my hands on the steering wheel. “Fine. Call him.” If that’s what it takes. Maybe I can drive away fast enough before anyone catches me.

The guard calls Nico and speaks to him in a hushed tone. “She wants to leave. I’m not sure where. She hasn’t said.” He listens for a moment, then nods and hangs up. “Ok. You’re good to go. You can leave.”

My mouth drops open. I can’t believe this. “Nico is really letting me go?”

“He said you can go.” The guard enters the small guard house and pushes a button, which opens the large gates. The second they’re open, I speed away, not even caring why Nico gave his permission for me to leave.