Page 27 of Texting My Mafia Savior

“Relax—I said nothing about you. All I said was that I’d heard about some muggings, mob-related, and Mom gave Dad a really weird look. I’m not an idiot, Nico. They’re keeping something from me, I suspect. I think you know it, too.”

I say nothing. She turns to me. I can see her out of the corner of my eye, but I keep stubbornly facing forward. I’ve already overstepped the mark by sharing what I did to keep her safe.

“You should forget everything I said. I only told you because of the remote possibility that something might happen. So far, it looks like I overreacted. But better safe than sorry.”

“Yeah,” she murmurs. “But I can’t just let this go. Did you tell the truth about Aunt Lucy, at least?”

At a red light, I turn and stare at Arria. She’s looking at me with wide, gorgeous eyes. There’s a hint of desperation in her expression. She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if we’d betrayed her aunt. It’s another reason she’s so captivating to me.

“Yes. We’re not a real marriage.”

“You had to fake it for the mob, right?” she presses.

“Who told you that?”

“I already told you—I’m not an idiot. It’s the only reason you’d have this elaborate scheme.”

“I don’t want to get you involved more than I have to,” I mutter.

“I’malreadyinvolved. I was involved the second I assaulted a mob boss!” she exclaims.

“He’s not the boss. He’s the boss’s son, a little prick, and I’m proud of you for standing up to him.”

She smiles. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Even if it’s caused all this mess?”

“Yes, Arria.”

“I thought it wasArriana, now?”

A car behind us honks its horn. The light has changed, and I hadn’t even noticed; all my attention focused on her. “Don’t be such a smartass.”

I pull away from the light. Arria goes one, “Destiny really respects you. She was singing your praises. Apparently, everybody in her neighborhood respects you. You’ve done a lot of good, Nico.”

“I’d better have. I’ve got a lot of making up to do.”

“That stuff you told me… your old life.” She audibly swallows. “What did you do?”

“We don’t need to talk about this.”

“But maybe I want to know.”

“You want me to give you reasons to hate me?”

She snaps, “Even if that was true, wouldn’t that be a good thing? Us hating each other? It’s better than the alternative.”

I sigh heavily. “Fine, if you want to know. Dominic used me as a battering ram against other crime families and, a few times, the Cartel. Ialwaysrefused to hurt women or children or civilians—men who weren’t involved in the criminal underworld. When you enter this life, you sign a metaphorical waiver. I agreed to do violence. Anyone who used violence against me. Those were the men I killed.”

My tone has become harsher. Dark. Maybe I’m trying to scare her. Hell, maybe I agree with her. It’d be better if she despised me.

“Kuh-killed,” she says.

I can’t even look at her. She probably imagined that the Savior never got his hands dirty or that this all fit into a neat box of civilization. We’re from different worlds. More specifically, I’m from hell. And she’s too damn heavenly for me.

“Killed,” I growl. “Don’t you see, Arria? That’s just another reason this could never work. We’re not built from the same stuff. We’re not from the same place. I did what I did for my parents—and it didn’t end up mattering, anyway. Sometimes, I try to tell myself it’s all okay because the men I killed were bad, bad people. They’d done terrible things. They didn’t live by the same rules as I did with women and kids. But blood is blood.”

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