Page 34 of Mafia Men Need Love Too
There was a loaded pause on Nico’s end before he muttered, “And now I’m no longer in a good mood.”
Now, River didn’t know much about fights. She’d never been one to sit down and watch boxing or MMA matches. She didn’t even enjoy action movies that much. Rom coms and period dramas were her jam. She had enthusiastically watched John Wick (after the first fourteen minutes, because FUCK movies that kill off dogs), mostly because Keanu Reeves had held a special place in her heart since Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
But based on her admittedly tiny knowledge of such matters, she imagined what happened to their attempted robber (who she was going to refer to in her head from now on as Harvey Weinstein because he was just gross) next was fit for any top-tier action movie.
First, Nico’s fist shot out so fast it was nearly a blur and smashed into the Weinstein’s throat. As the guy gagged and stared at Nico with wide, stunned eyes, Nico neatly snatched the gun out of Weinstein’s hand and pistol-whipped him across the face with it.
Before he had time to recover from that assault, Nico kicked out, smashing his foot into Weinstein’s knee. There was a sound akin to a dry twig crackling in a fire about a second before he dropped to the ground, wailing, clutching his ruined knee.
Nico stared down at him for a moment before saying, “I gave you a chance to walk away,” he said dispassionately. “You brought this on yourself.” Then he pocketed the gun and glanced at her over his shoulder. “Are you alright?”
She didn’t answer immediately. She was too busy watching the gunman writhe in pain on the ground. “That was?—”
“Who gives a fuck about her?” the robber wailed. “You broke my fucking knee!”
Nico gave him a swift kick to the gut that was hard enough to lift him off the ground a half inch or so. “Stay quiet, and don’t even think about her.” He glanced back at her. “Fiorellino, answer me, please. Are you alright?”
River could only stare down at Weinstein and whisper, “Did you know everyone has unique kneecaps? They can be used as biometrics.”
Nico snorted. “Not his. Not anymore, anyway.”
“That’s not fucking funny, man,” the guy wailed. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Nico merely shrugged, completely unrepentant. “Consider yourself lucky I didn’t smash both your kneecaps. But keep talking and that might change.”
Wisely, he clamped his lips shut.
That’s when Enzo pulled up in the SUV. Hanging his head out the window, his gaze flicked down at the fallen robber, then back up to Nico. “One of Alexi’s guys?”
Nico rolled his eyes. “Doubt it. Pretty sure he’s just an idiot. But check his ID and have Ren run it just to be sure.”
Enzo made quick work of snagging Weinstein’s wallet and shooting off a text. “Want me to get rid of him now?”
Something told River that getting “rid” of him would not include taking him out for ice cream.
Nico looked like he wanted to say yes. But one look down into River’s still-wide eyes seemed to change his mind. He sighed. “Put him in the cargo area for now. I’ll decide what to do with him when we hear back from Ren. Tape his mouth, though. I don’t want to hear his whining.”
Based on her recent turn as a kidnapper, River knew how hard it was to deadlift a grown man off the ground. So, she was suitably impressed when Enzo did it without so much as a grimace or wince. He tossed Weinstein into the back of the SUV like he was a bag of mulch from the home improvement store.
She’d never seen such casual, effortless violence in her life. It made her feel…
She’d really rather not process those feelings right now, when her brain cells were marinating in expensive wine.
Nico reached for her elbow to guide her into the SUV. It was a move he’d done several times that night. Her brain knew it was a gentlemanly, protective gesture. But given what she was feeling right now—the feelings she would not be naming until she was sober—she flinched. Hard.
A thousand emotions flitted through his dark eyes as he pulled his hand back. But the one that really hit her like a dagger to the heart? Hurt. That flinch was a gut punch she couldn’t take back or pass off as anything other than what it was.
She was scared. And her fear hurt him.
River wanted to apologize. But if she opened her mouth now, if she let him in on everything she was feeling, their relationship would change in a big way. She needed to think this all through a little more before she acted on all that.
Nico took a step back and gestured to the SUV. “Get in. Let’s get you home.”
When they were on their way back to the mansion (River was still having a lot of trouble thinking of the place as “home”), she finally worked up the nerve to ask, “If I hadn’t been there tonight, would you have killed that man?”
He turned in his seat to face her fully, his gaze not betraying an ounce of shiftiness. “I wish I could tell you no, because I think that’s what you want to hear. But honestly? Yes. I’ve seen more than my fair share of bad men, and this man?” He shook his head. “The world would be better off without him. I’d bet my life on it.”
There was that trademark honesty of his again. “I think I just need…some sleep. Maybe we can talk about this again tomorrow?”
