“No, Nino!” Instinctively, I lurch toward him. The chains yank me back to the bed.
Probably a stroke of luck. Look what happened the last time I tried to approach him.
I don’t recognize this person. This man…this stranger…isn’t my baby brother, and I have no idea what to expect from him. All I can hope to do is calm him down.
But how?
Nino starts pacing. “You’re fucking everything up, you know that?”
I struggle to sit up. “I’m sorry.”
“And you’re making me look like a jackass in front of Oleg and the capos.”
“No, I didn’t mean to do that.” My hair flies when I shake my head. “No one thinks?—”
He rushes to the bed and grabs my jaw. “I haven’t worked this hard to gain control of this family just to lose it all to you!”
My heart plummets into my stomach.
No, no, no, no, no…
“What are you saying?”
Please, Nino. Just go.
With my eyes, I attempt to will him into keeping quiet and leaving the room.
He rolls off the bed. For a split-second, I believe my silent request worked and that my thoughts must be just that powerful.
Then he starts muttering as he shuffles over to my desk. “He was dying anyway.”
Ice jolts down my spine.
No. Please, no.
“He was getting better, and you know it!” Tears stream down my cheeks. “Nino. Please.” I’m hyperventilating, but I can’t seem to stop. “We can deal with this. We can fix it, just you and me, like after Mother died. I’m on your side?—”
“I’ve been taking orders from you my whole life, and I’m tired of your shit. Tired of you thinking you’re smarter than me.” He crawls back onto the bed, reeking of garlic and vodka. “This ismyorganization now, and the only things standing between me and that reality are you and the Mick.”
“No, Connor’s just a fling! I love you, Nino. You’re the only family I have left. We need each other.”
I’m in love with Connor and terrified of my brother and praying my face isn’t revealing too much because I’m terrible at deceiving people. Always have been. But if ever a time existed when I needed to lie convincingly, that time is now.
Nino’s unreadable. I’m peering into his eyes, maintaining contact, searching for the little brother I used to know, the one I shared sundaes and secrets with.
We got our first tattoos together, the honeysuckle in honor of our late mother. Where did that little boy go?
“Nino.” I rattle the chain over my wrist to remind him of our tattoo. “Please, you’ve got to believe me. I love you. You’re all that matters to me. It’s always been us, and it always will be.”
He responds with a harsh, raw laugh. “What do you know about love and loyalty? You screwed Connor Gallagher!”
My brother returns to the desk, gathers up the will, and marches to the door.
“I’m going to miss you, sis.” He sighs. “Poor Caterina Ricci. No mother…no father…no will to live.”
In Nino’s black eyes, I glimpse a path leading straight to hell.
Too late, I understand everything Connor tried to tell me. Reason isn’t always the answer. Some people are just evil to the core.
