I lean back, my eyes barely staying open, watching him as the streetlights blur past his face in sharp flashes. He’s all hard edges and sharp focus now. I think that’s what makes me feel safe. Which is probably the most fucked-up part of all this.
And for a minute, everything in my head goes quiet.
It’s peaceful… but I know it won’t last.
Because when I wake up, we’re putting that bastard in the ground.
And this time, I’m not watching from the sidelines.
CHAPTER 17 – THE HIT
NICO
Inudge his shoulder when we pull up to the estate.
Julian stirs awake fast, his eyes sharpening the second he realizes where we are. Luca’s idling in the Benz up ahead, Enzo’s already on his bike, smoke curling from his lips like he’s been waiting.
Julian bolts upright like he’s been caught doing something dirty, which, to be fair, he was. He fumbles to zip up his pants and his shirt over his head.Cute.
“When the hell did we get here?” he mutters, checking his reflection like it’ll make a difference.
“Relax,” I say, tugging his arm gently, dragging him back into his seat as I help him with the buttons on his shirt. “Tinted windows, remember?”
His jaw unclenches, but not all the way.
“They’re not stupid, Nico,” he mutters. “They know.”
I smile, buttoning him up to his throat.
“That’s debatable. And do youwantthem to know,piccolino?”
That gets him. Color rises high in his cheeks, his neck flushing warm. He looks away, jaw ticking.
“Of course not,” he mutters. “Why the fuck would I want that? I just meant—” He glances toward the windshield. “Aren’t you… embarrassed?”
I tilt my head. “Embarrassed of what?” I ask. “Fucking my hostage?”
His gaze snaps to mine. “Fucking aman,”he says. “I was your first, wasn’t I?”
That stalls me for half a beat. I blink.He caught that?
I’d spent hours reading, watching, learning. Obsessing, really. Not because I was afraid I’d be bad at it, but because I needed to be good forhim. The way he gasped for me, clung to me, begged like I was the only one who’d ever touched him right… I thought I pulled it off.
But apparently I’d given something away.
Then he laughs. That dry, scratchy, way-too-rare laugh that cuts right under my ribs.Fuck.I thought I liked it best when he scowled… but now I’m not so sure.
“Calm down,” he says, smirking like he’s got the upper hand. “I didn’t say you were bad. Honestly, I’m a little impressed. Could’ve been worse.”
I narrow my eyes, leaning closer. “You’re not answering the question.”
He shrugs. “You were only with women before me. It’s pretty obvious.”
“Is it?” I murmur, watching him freeze. “Because if it’s not from firsthand experience, howexactlywould you know that?”
He hesitates.
“I just guessed,” he says quickly.
