Page 31 of Her Dark Mafia Protector
“Nico, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you anytime soon,” Luciano’s voice says through the phone. “Is this a friendly call or a favor, or something more daunting?”
“A favor,” I say without needing to remind him that he, too,owes me. Practically everyone in Vegas owes me for something that I’ve done for them at one time or another. “Actually, I’m calling in a favor. I want you to ask your wife to do something for Elle Monroe.”
“That’s an unusual request,” he says.
“I know. But it’s an important one, and it’s not a large ask,” I explain. “I just want Valentina to initiate a call to Elle. I know that the two of them used to be friends, and well, Elle has just gone through a whole hell of a lot. She’s got blood on her hands, for good reason, and she could use a friend to talk to—afemale friend. If the call doesn’t go well, Valentina can end it. I just feel that if given the chance, perhaps the two women could put the past behind them and rekindle an old friendship that they could both benefit from.”
“That’s a very empathetic request coming from you,” Luc says. I can hear the curiosity in his voice. “And I’m happy to ask Valentina to do it. Whether she agrees to place the call is up to her. I promised her when I married her, I would never force her to do anything she didn’t want ever again. But I agree it would benefit them both. I have a feeling Valentina misses thefriendship she used to have with Elle, too. I picked up on it at the wedding.”
“Thank you,” I say, realizing as soon as I say it that I’ve never actually thanked anyone before.
“Can I ask you something before you hang up?” Luc asks.
“Sure.”
“I can tell, based on the fact that I’ve been right where you are myself, that you’ve grown feelings for this woman. And I can also let you know from personal experience that balancing mafia responsibilities along with a relationship is difficult. I can’t even imagine what it would be like for theGhostto get involved with a woman while also protecting her from all that you’re involved in, especially a woman who isn’t even from a mafia family. How do you intend to do it?”
I pause before answering because Luciano has given voice to the very question that has been rolling around in my head all day. And it isn’t until I open my mouth to answer him that I discover the answer for myself.
“I don’t,” I say, shedding the weight of my brother’s death and my lifelong pursuit of redemption and vengeance. “I was my brother’s ghost, but Elle has made me human. I think it’s time for me to step out of the shadows and put that life behind me now.”
CHAPTER 22
ELLE
When Nico returns to the apartment, it’s almost as if none of it ever happened. There’s no trace of either my mother’s gunman or my father, no blood on the floor, no regret. There is only Nico and me, and whatever we decide to do from here. I don’t even ask him where he dumped the body or where he sent my father. I don’t care to know about any of it. In fact, for the first time in my life, I actuallywantto forget about everything that’s happened, everything except Nico and me.
I stand at the window looking out at the city as he comes to stand beside me. I feel much better after my shower, cleaner, clearheaded, ready for a fresh start.
“I’ve never known any place other than Las Vegas,” I tell him. “I mean, I’ve traveled outside the state and the country before. But I’ve never lived anywhere other than Vegas. In that way, I envy you. You’ve lived in an entirely different country.”
Nico chuckles, but it’s more out of a bitter memory of his past than amusement.
“Trust me,” he says. “There’s nothing to envy about life in Moscow or life within the Bratva.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that it would be nice to start over somewhere, like you did when you left the Brava and came to Las Vegas.”
“Funny,” he says as he wraps his arm behind my back. “I was actually just thinking the same thing.”
“About Russia?”
“No, about starting over. You don’t need to leave the country to start over somewhere. It can be as easy as simply deciding to put the past behind you or something as complicated as stepping into a new identity.”
“Like you did when you became the Ghost,” I say.
“Yes. But I’m not so sure that being the Ghost suits me anymore.”
I look at him, surprised to hear him say such a thing. I know that he’s changed throughout these recent events, but the Ghost is such an integral part of who he is, who he’s become, and how he holds onto and honors his brother‘s memory.
“Are you saying that you don’t want to be the Ghost anymore?” I ask.
“Perhaps. I haven’t quite decided yet,” he says. “But I think I might just want to go back to being the man I was going to be before my brother died.”
“Does that mean you’re ready to put the past behind you?”
“Yes, I think it does,” Nico nods. “But more than that, I’d like to move toward a different andnewfuture, withyou.”
I feel as if my heart is about to burst through my chest. “I’d like that. And I would like to get to know more about the man you were before you became the Ghost.”
