Page 26 of The Rise of an Heiress

By Tuesday afternoon, I wasn’t any better. I tried taking care of myself, but that only left me feeling more unsatisfied. I can’t even pay attention during lecture. It doesn’t matter if I want him. I can’t have him, and if he did come back, it’d only be to kill me.

Shaking my thoughts out of my mind, I try to focus on my paper. School should be my focus, not some guy I met at a club who’s trying to kill me. As if my life weren’t complicated enough, I’m learning the truth about my parentage, and now having to make sure the TriadandCosa Nostra don’t get me. I cannot get involved in anything emotional.

Nico

“Have a good night.” Have a good night? You fucking prick.

Saturday night is still haunting me. I’m a fucking idiot. I should have stayed away. I don’t know what possessed me to get up to follow her. To talk to her. Kiss her. Fuck her. Actually, I did. It was me envisioning Dante talk to her, flirt with her. And the smile she gave him. I wanted that smile.

I knew I wasn’t prepared to grab her without any witnesses, and I definitely was not expecting to fuck her in the storage closet. It was her damn long dark hair, the matching dark eyes, those killer legs I had dreamed she’d wrap around me, and her scent. I don’t know why it turned me on to watch her kill our men. But she’d fit right into my world. I wouldn’t have to shield anything, like most of the men do with their wives. I’m a moth, and she’s the flame. I want her.Strictly physical, though, I try to tell myself.

What has gotten into me? Never had I imagined what kind of woman I wanted. I fucked them, and that was it. If I ever got married, it’d be for tactical reasons. I tried to stay away after Saturday night. That lasted about a day, which is why I’m on a rooftop across from her building, just like I have been every day since Sunday.

My phone rings, and I pull it out of my pocket. Dante.

“Tell me you got something.” I ask as I look into binoculars like a damn stalker.

“I might have something I’m not sure it’s worth looking into.”

“Did you find who has been sending her money?”

“That’s the thing. I’m pretty sure it’s the Violantes. It has to be, but I have no proof. They hid their tracks well, man. So, the question is—”

“Why are the Violantes so invested in this girl?”

“Exactly. She could be an assassin for them. She’s not Italian, so it wouldn’t draw any attention.”

“Maybe. She can’t be a love child. I imagine Cesare’s current offspring wouldn’t be so fond of her,” I say, taking a seat on the roof.

Not to mention she’s not half Italian, as far as I can tell. I pause for a moment.

“It’s worth looking into,” I say into the phone.

“You got it,” Dante replies.

Just as a hang up, my phone dings again. It’s a text from my brother, Bash. I don’t hear from him as much now that he’s taken over as capo. He needed me to finish a job for him on Saturday, the job that interrupted my storage closet hookup. He’s been so busy he hasn’t even followed up.

Bash: Is it taken care of?

Me: Can you be less vague? You talking about the girl or the Saturday night?

My phone lights up with Bash’s name. I answer.

“What are you doing texting that shit? It’s a simple yes or no,” Bash yells into the phone.

“Our jammers are impossible to get through, Bash. Calm down. No one can break through my security. And, the girl—well, I’m still working on it.” I omit some details for obvious reasons. “And as far as I’m concerned, Saturday night didn’t happen.”

I had to refer to the body I had to dump and not the deadly angel I was with.

Fuck. I couldn’t think about her without getting tied up in knots. Never thought I’d see the day. I’m not cocky—scratch that, IknowI am. But I’m only cocky about it if I know it’s the truth, and I’veneverhad a problem getting a woman off before.

Fucking Dante had to come knocking on the door right as I came and right as she was about to. I made a mental note to kick his ass during our next training session. I could tell by her face she didn’t finish. And like I goddamn sixteen-year-old, I got my fix and told her to “have a good night.” That’s how she’d remember me.

“Are you even listening, Nico?”

Shit, Bash is still on the line. This girl is a distraction, to say the least.

“Yeah, I’m listening. No one saw me. We’re good. Now I have to go.” I hang up.

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