I rolledmy eyes. Not one of these girls was going to pass this class. They’d cry to their daddies and have their bad grades swept under the rug.
Vincenzo and I were different. We had something to lose.
As if he heard my thoughts, Vincenzo looked over his shoulder. His gaze didn’t fall on me, but it brushed against my cheek. I felt it. The faintest of caresses.
I rose to the challenge. Eyes narrowed on the equation, I pushed the distractions out of my mind. I scribbled on my scratch paper, eager to race him.
I came to the answer at the same time he did, head shooting up to see him write the number.
“Yes, well, keep studying. We move on to the next chapter by Wednesday,” Severson grumped.
Vincenzo canted his head and turned to stride back to his seat. Except…he came down the wrong row. I dropped my gaze, not wanting to make contact. I didn’t need the vicious gossip. Didn’t need word of this interaction reaching New York.
Doesn’t he know what a risk he runs? Coming here?
It had to be a coincidence. Vincenzo won a scholarship, and now just so happened to be at the same school—in the same class—as me. There was nothing nefarious. No reason to make my father suspicious.
Something fluttered into my lap.
A sprig of green.
A whisper of white.
A touch of yellow.
I clutched the daisy in my fist, burying it under my skirt before anyone looked over and saw.
Behind me, Vincenzo scooted between the desks and into his seat. This felt like the beginning of trouble. Something I wasn’t going to be able to walk away from. I felt the petals crush against my tights, and I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that of all the fancy East Coast schools, he was here because of me.
Chapter 10 –Vincenzo
The only reason I was allowed to breathe in this godforsaken city was because I made a deal with the devil himself. Alexei Morozov owed me a life debt when I saved his younger brother, Andrei, by taking him under my wing in prison. I knew protecting him for five years, forging him into a killing machine with ruthless hours spent at the weights, would pay off. I even liked the kid—although that took a long time to realize.
Now, Manhattan was my playground. I wasn’t here as a Made Man, but a legitimate businessman with morally questionable business ethics. I enjoyed cultivating my empire, escaping the demands of the Morelli Mob. Maybe someday I could walk away from the street crews, but I would never stop using the lessons growing up a mobster taught me. They applied surprisingly well to the business world.
“V, you always look so angry,” Alexei rumbled.
I glared at him from across the VIP area. “Your point?”
He shrugged. “I never see you enjoying the finer things in life.” He held up his tumbler of vodka that cost high four-figures per bottle. “Why is that?”
“Did you come here to give me a philosophy lesson?” I leaned forward.
Alexei snorted. “I came to check on my business partner.”
And our investment.
But even his brutally blunt ass wouldn’t say that out loud. No, he might be crazy, but he knew better than to question my ethics. I opened Inferno eighteen months ago, and there were still lines that went around the building every damn night. Part of the draw was that it was only open Saturday nights. The entertainment was unpredictable, the experiences one of a kind. It fed the word-of-mouth, bringing people from far and wide to chase an evening of revelry.
“Did you bring the specs I asked for?” I gave my partner a hard look.
Alexei groaned. “Always working. You need to learn the word ‘fun.’ Fff. uu. Nnn,” he sounded it out as though teaching a child English. “It means stop whatever the fuck it is you’re doing.”
I held his stare, not giving him a flicker of amusement.
With a sigh, he waved his fingers. One of his guys stepped out of the shadows, bringing a briefcase and setting it on the table. The metal clasps clicked. But I pressed my fingers on the top of the case.
“Not here.” Cavolo, was he stupid?
