Page 37 of Violent Delights

“Don’t just say,okay,Lelia.” He’s been like a father to me when my own was busy working. I confided in Gillie about so much in my life that he knows me better than anyone. Even better than I know myself.

“Please, Lia,” Nico speaks up, and I love how he says my name when I don’t say anything. I’m sure he wants to pull me into his arms, but he doesn’t touch me. Not with Guillermo here.

“I had a visit from Ignacio,” I finally admit. I’m still shaken from the meeting.

Gillie leans in, just enough for me to hear him. “Did he hurt you?”

I nod once, then attempt to walk past him to get a breath, but both men crowd me. The danger radiating off them scorches me as Nico’s hand reaches for me. He stops me in my tracks, and his fingers ignite something deep within me. Like I’m not already burning for him.

“Midnight. Cellar.”

It’s only two words, but then they both walk away, leaving me wondering just what they have planned.

At midnight,I sneak into the cellar.

Nico’s already there, pacing. He stops when I walk in, and I take in the scene before me. There’s a map on the table. Notes. A photograph.

And a gun.

My stomach lurches.

“What is this?” I whisper to Nico, just as Gillie stalks in looking as if he’s ready for war. His expression is creased with rage.

He looks up at me, jaw tight. “The man will die. And I’ll walk beside Nico for whatever he needs.” I didn’t ever think I’d hear one of my father’s men agreeing to work with a Montesano. But there seems to be hope, at least for my bodyguard and the man who’s stolen my heart.

“What’s going on?” I ask, looking at Gillie this time for answers.

“Cassio is working with Ignacio,” Gillie says without hiding any secrets. He’s always been upfront with me. I didn’t think he would, but since I turned sixteen, he would give me the honesty about the world I came from. I respected him for it.

“He’s coming here,” I say as the realization hits me.

He nods and I know that my life is about to explode. If Cassio finds out about Nico, there will be a war, both here and in New York.

“We have to end the Mosca clan before that happens. If Cassio arrives here, he will learn very quickly about what is happening. He’s already suspicious, and he wants to see you. He will drag the truth from you, and you know he’s a violentbastard.” Gillie’s warning twists in my stomach. The lurching of fear hits me deep, and I want to cry.

“We can leave—but only if we make the first move,” Nico says as he steps forward and takes my hand. “We will be able to do this, but we have to move on this plan.”

He doesn’t beg.

He just looks at me like I’m the answer to a question he’s been too afraid to ask.

“What do you want to do, Lia?” Nico asks quietly.

And for once, I know.

I step back and he releases my hand. The fear in his gaze slices through my heart because I’m sure he thinks I’m walking away, but instead I make my way to the table.

I pick up the gun and turn to both men. I look them dead in the eyes, not flinching before I say, “I want to choose something that’s mine.”

Nico’s throat bobs.

I step closer, pressing the barrel into his chest—not to hurt him. Toprovesomething.

“That night in my room,” I say, voice steady, “you asked what I wanted and I told you nobody ever asked me that.” I am aware that Gillie is unsure of my next move. But he doesn’t stop me. If I were to kill a Montesano, I’d be a heroine in my family. So instead of my bodyguard taking the gun from me, he allows me to continue with what I want to do.

Nico nods once.

“I don’t want out.”

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