“Emilia,wake up.” A warm hand caresses my face. I startle awake and try to scramble back on the couch until I realize who’s crouching beside me.
“It’s you.” I throw my arms around his neck and pull him to me. His low chuckle sounded like music in my ears. “What the hell were you thinking, tossing me in this prison? Do you know there’s no food in here?” I let him go and punch his shoulder. He groans, and I look down to realize I’d punched the shoulder that received a bullet last night. “I’m sorry.” Closing my eyes, I scrunched up my face and waited for him to get mad.
“You’re sitting on the food, and I see you’ve found the weapons stash.” He pulled me off the couch, closed the decoy bookshelf, and then lifted the couch cushion. A stockpile of junk food and dehydrated packages sat under the couch in organized rows. He lowered the cushion and lifted the next one, which held water and juice.
“It’s all here. Put your hand on this.” He pointed to a spot on the bookshelf, and I did as he said. The wall opposite us opened, revealing a bathroom.
“Well, you’ve thought of everything, too bad you didn’t share that information. Can I leave now?” I cross my arms and wait. He stepped out of the way and motioned for me to leave the room. I wanted to apologize to him, I also want to hit him again for just tossing me aside.
“Fernando Ajello tried to avenge his son’s deaths.” Nico reached for my hand and laced his fingers with mine. We walked together to the stairs and took them slowly. “Last night, we took out most of his organization at the docks. He was traffickingwomen, and we caught wind of it. We might not be the most honest men in the world, but there’s one thing The Five won’t tolerate, and that’s trafficking.” We stopped outside our door, and Nico didn’t try to open it.
“One of his sons got away, and they decided they could take me out at the gala. The man who stopped us on the way out was one of his men. If you hadn’t seen him, there would have been a lot of innocent people hurt.” He took a step toward me and held my hand tighter. “I won’t ever doubt you again.”
I wanted to kiss him, I wanted him to take me to bed, but my brain was moving too fast. “What happened to Fernando?”
“We captured him and his only surviving son and took care of them; that’s what took me so long. I was hoping to get information from them, but they knew less than I’d imagined.” He sounded dejected, and like there was more going on that I didn’t know.
“Something else is wrong,” I said, narrowing my gaze and making him look at me.
“Your father’s trying to mount a fight. There’s been quiet chatter that he’s going to come after you for humiliating him.” My blood ran ice cold, and I took a step back. “I won’t let him close to you,amore, of that I will guarantee. We took out a large chunk of his allies in the Ajello’s, but I was hoping to find out who else he was trying to work with, but Fernando didn’t know.”
“You have to tell me everything as soon as you know it. I will not tolerate you keeping this from me. This isn’t the business anymore, this is my life.” My voice rose, and I was almost shouting now.
He put his hand on the back of my neck and crouched so he was looking me straight in the eyes. “I swear on my life, I’ll tell you everything as I find it out.” His eyes focused on mine, full of fire, and I knew he was telling me the truth.
Without another word, we climbed the stairs to our room. When Nico shut the door, I wanted to be out of this dress, in his arms. “Could you unzip me?” I turned and looked over my shoulder. Nico’s eyes were heavy with lust; hell, they always were when he looked at me. He let go of me and dragged his hands over my hips and up my back.
“You were magnificent tonight. I was so proud to look out in that crowd, and see you sitting there, knowing you’d be going home with me.” The sound of the zipper being lowered filled the room. “Then you threatened Lilly, and I wanted to take you right there.” He pushed the dress off my shoulders and ran his palms over my back.
“Well, I have to admit seeing you on that stage, under that spotlight, I looked around the room, and every woman wanted you. They saw your power, sexiness, and the slight terror of your reputation, but I was the only one you were leaving with, and you weren’t shy about it.” Turning, I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled.
CHAPTER 24
EMILIA
Christmas music radiatedthrough the halls of the house. Camilla had played them nonstop since she'd gotten to the house, the cheerful melodies a stark contrast to the tension simmering beneath the surface. "Well, Mrs. Venosa, what can I get you for breakfast today?" She grinned at me as I plopped down on the chair.
"Just coffee, please," I grumbled. The woman nodded, and a cup of steaming elixir was placed in front of me. The wafting scent was almost enough to wake me up, but today it needed to be coursing through my veins. My eyes felt like sandpaper, my body heavy with exhaustion.
"Late night?" She asked as she turned back to the massive stove.
"Yes, but not because of anything good," I answered as I lifted the cup to my mouth. The ceramic was warm against my palms.
"I'm aware. My Ronaldo was still sleeping when I left this morning. You were quick on your feet last night; things could have been very bad." She set a plate of eggs and fruit in front of me. Steam rose from the perfectly scrambled eggs.
"Ronaldo?" I asked, not sure who she was talking about. This was the first time I'd heard her speak of a man in her life.
"You'll know him as Walter."
"Walter is your husband? But he's young." The words were tumbling out of my mouth faster than I could stop them. Walter, the head of Nico's security, couldn't be more than forty-five.
Camilla's laughter overshadowed the music in the kitchen, rich and warm. "Well, he's a little younger than me, but only by three years. Damn, man doesn't age." She shook her head, affection clear in her voice.
"I'm sorry, Camilla, that was incredibly rude." Looking at the woman, she reached across the counter and patted my hand.
"Dear, you made my day." She grabbed her cup and took a seat across from me. "Are you ready for everyone to be here for Christmas?" She asked.
"Christmas hasn't been pleasant in my family for a long time, so I don't even know what to expect." I twirled my mug on the counter, watching the liquid swirl. The entire feel of the room plummeted into despair. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." I shook my head.
