Page 38 of Captivated

“How do you know you can trust me?” I choose to ask carefully. I don’t think I’ve given him much reason to.

Nico’s eyes remain trained on mine, never wavering in their intensity and sincerity when he says, “I know I can trust you.”

“How?” It comes out as a whisper through my tight throat that’s clogged with unknown feelings.

He tilts his head and his eyes narrow just the slightest. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t trust you?”

I swallow hard, pushing the lump in my throat down. I shake my head and whisper, “No.”

He gives me a small nod, but I see the flash of what I think is disappointment in his eyes. He casts them downward before I can get a good read.

I taste a piece of chicken to make sure it’s hot enough, and then turn the stove off and dish out a portion on a plate for him before reheating mine in the microwave.

I can feel his eyes on me the entire time, and they’re making me nervous. Like I’m in a fishbowl and everything is magnified rather than perfectly clear when we’re so close.

“Thank you,” he says graciously when we’re both seated with plates in front of us.

“You’re welcome.” I push my food around my plate like I did before he showed up and flick my eyes between my plate and him as he takes a bite.

“Mmm,” he hums, closing his eyes. “It’s fucking good, Cassie.”

My smile is instant. “You think so?”

“Yeah, I do.” He smiles back, and I can relax as the tension wracking my body melts. He eats another forkful and washes it down with wine before his intense gaze is back on me. “The Carfano name comes with a heavy weight we all carry. Leo, Alec, and Luca – my cousins – are the sons of my uncle, Michael, who was the head of the family before Leo took over after Michael and my father were killed almost six ago.”

“Oh, Nico, I’m so sorry.” I swallow every unfelt feeling about my dad I’ve kept buried deep inside me that threatens to escape the locked part of me I caged them in when I was twelve.

“Thank you.” He nods, his eyes becoming distant for a moment. “After that, the next generation stepped up so the family would have a fresh turnover and not have the older generation reporting to men half their age. It was a matter of respect, and they were willing to take a backseat to the day-to-day operations and decision making.”

“What’s your position?” I ask tentatively, not knowing what to expect him to say.

“I’m Leo’s consultant of sorts. His right-hand man who gives him the advice he needs to hear even when he doesn’t want to. The third in command you could say, with Luca being his second.”

“That’s an important job.”

“It is,” he says seriously. “We all take our jobs seriously, but we’re a family first, and job titles second. Family always comes before business.”

I blink away from his penetrating gaze. “That’s good. Family should come first.”

“Vinny lives and works here with Alec, running The Aces and our other various businesses here.”

“Various businesses? That’s an interesting way to allude to what you don’t want to admit to.”

“I can’t reveal every family secret to you just yet. That would be cheating.”

“Cheating?”

“You’d know everything about my family before I know anything about yours.”

“Oh, right.” I clear my throat. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I want to tell him. I want to share something with him. But I don’t know if I can. I’ve kept my mouth shut like I was supposed to. Even if that world was taken from me, I still resort to the scared twelve-year-old I was who didn’t know where or what my life was going to be after that day.

“We have time, Cassandra. You can tell me or not. But I’m here. I’ll be here to listen.”

I stare at him blankly. “You will?”

“Yes.”

“But you have a life. You have a home. You have a job and responsibilities. None of which are here in Atlantic City.”

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