Page 18 of Texting My Mafia Savior

My phone vibrates. It’s him. I don’t even bother to question the way my heartbeat picks up speed this time. It’s expected.

Nico:I need to ask you a favor, Arria. It’s related to the case. This is going to seem strange. It’ll make you suspicious, but I need you to trust me and do what I say.

Me:Okay…

Nico:Does that mean you agree?

Me:How can I agree when I don’t even know what you’re talking about?

Nico:That’s the whole point.You need to trust, not understand. I will not hurt you. I’d never do that.

I stare at the word ‘never.’ It produces those same tempting tingles that ended up with me touching myself in bed, alone, dreaming of him. I should tell him I won’t agree to anything without more details. That he’s freaking me out. He’s my uncle, and this is getting intimate and way too private.

Me:I trust you.

Nico:This evening, there’s a photography seminar downtown. Attend it. Stay until the very end. Then, walk two blocks to the park. I’ll be waiting on the corner in a sedan with tinted windows. Climb into the back seat.

Me:Are you serious?

My heart is almost jumping out of my chest. Okay, that’s more melodrama. But that’s what it feels like. My mouth is dry. I lick my lips, which makes me think of what it’d be like to kiss him, taste him. Something is wrong with me.

Nico:Can you do it, please?

Me:You need to prove that this is really Nico. You’re freaking me out.

Nico:During the meeting, Enzo called you ‘chubby’. I defended you. He hit a bullseye on his dartboard when we entered the room.

Me:Well, you could be Enzo, then.

A moment later, a photo arrives. It shows Nico sitting at his desk, holding up a small piece of paper with today’s date on it. He looks serious, beyond serious. He looks murderous, almost. Violent. Steamy and scary—a combination of things that should make me run, or at least tell Mom and Dad what’s going on. Deep down, I wonder, maybe even wish, if he wants to meet because he feels the same way I do.

But we can’tcheaton Aunt Lucy, even if she’s doing the same.

Nico:I’ll see you tonight, Arria.

I put my phone down and take a few slow breaths, trying to steady myself. My head feels light. This is way more excitement than I ever had in California. It feels like I’m suddenly inside a thriller. I remember the nicknames Enzo threw at Nico. Nightmare. Barbarian. I remember the tough-looking guys in the club staring at us.

Something weird is happening here. I just don’t know what. Yet. I know one thing, though. I’m going to do what Nico says. Even if it’s nuts—even ifI’mcrazy—I trust him more than I should.

The seminar is probably super interesting, but I’m too distracted to pay attention. It’s dark by the time I leave. I wrap my scarf tightly around myself and walk toward the park. The streets are quiet. The car is sitting right where he said it’d be, but it’s different from the car he picked me up in before the meeting with Enzo. Why all the secrecy?

I climb into the backseat, almost expecting somebody else to be sitting in the front. But it’s Nico who looks at me in the rearview mirror, his green eyes looking grim. He pulls away without even saying hello.

“What’s going on?” I ask. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere,” he replies.

“Nowhere?”

“We’re going to drive around the city as we talk,” he says. “And then I’m going to drop you someplace away from here, wait for you to call a cab, and make sure you get home safely.”

“You’re acting weird, Nico,” I tell him.

He sighs. “I know. But I had to explain something to you, which isn’t entirely true because I can’t fully explain it. You’re going to be confused and frustrated.”

Ha, what a joke. As if I haven’t been confused and frustrated ever since I first laid eyes on him. Well, notfirst, because that technically would’ve been years ago. But after returning to New York.

“Try me,” I say.

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