Page 106 of Nico (Belles & Mobsters 2)

A silent acknowledgement by Alexei Nikolaev and I knew, no matter what, I’d never shy away from him again. Nico and Alexei saved my mother.

Nico came up to me and pressed a kiss on the crown of my head. I knew he didn’t want to leave, the sentiment was written all over his face. But I was glad he was leaving, because I couldn’t talk openly with my mother with witnesses around.

“Will you be okay taking care of your mom while I handle a few things?” Nico asked. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Bear knows to keep the kids busy and his wife came over with their kids so they’ll be wrapped up with them.”

“I- I can’t greet them right now.” My voice was coarse, full of emotions.

“Don’t worry about that. You stay with your mother. The twins are safe.”

“Okay,” I whispered, my eyes back on my mom’s frail form. Each time our eyes met, the same thought hit me straight to my chest.She’s dead inside.

Tears stung in the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

“You ready, Alexei?” Nico’s voice was still in the room, but I didn’t look behind me.

“I’m ready to break some assholes,” he retorted and I sensed his rage had something to do with my mother’s state. I wasn’t used to physical threats, but I’d be a liar if I said that right now, I hoped they were talking about hurting the man that hurt my mom. I wanted Benito King and his men to pay for the pain he caused.

“Call me if you need something, Cara Mia,” Nico’s voice was soft. “Gia will come and show you to your mother’s room. She takes care of the house and will get you whatever you need.”

He told me about Gia earlier. She basically ran this household for Nico.

“Thank you.” I looked over my shoulder, meeting his dark cloudy gaze.He saved my mom.

That single act made him my hero. All his other sins I could forgive because he saved my mom.

“Be safe,” I told him.And come back home safe.

Nico had crawled his way into my heart.

* * *

Gia was Godsent.She was somewhere between forty and fifty-something, I couldn’t quite decide. My mother’s age possibly, and I liked her. Her eyes were dark and kind, gentle smiles always shining through them, albeit I had a feeling she had experienced hardships. While we were helping my mother, she let it slip that her hair has been gray since her early twenties.

Hard life, she remarked.

She helped me carry Mom up to her room, then assisted with cleaning out her wounds. I had never done this before, but it was clear Gia had. Once we got my mom cleaned up, showered, and then bandaged her wounds, Gia handed me two painkillers to give to Mom. I had never been so grateful for another person in my life as Gia at that moment. A few times, she even went to check on the kids, snapped a few photos and came back to show me they were having fun.

As my mother dozed off, under the influence of painkillers, I looked at Gia who sat in the chair opposite of mine.

“You’ve done this before,” I claimed.

She nodded her response. “A few times.”

“On Nico?” I knew nothing about the man, his past.

She smiled. “That man is too stubborn to let someone else patch him up,” she replied with a small smile. “He usually gets himself cleaned up. Unless it is too bad that he needs a doctor.”

Something twinged inside me at the thought of Nico being hurt. I didn’t like it at all. I knew so little about him. For Pete’s sake, I didn’t even realize his parents were still living until they showed up at our wedding.

“Who did you patch up then?” I asked, trying to get the images of Nico hurt out of my head.

“His sister was the last one,” Gia’s voice was hoarse, making me seek out her eyes.

“Nicoletta?” Surprise flashed in her eyes, but she nodded her answer. Somehow despite the fact that Nico and I didn't have weeks to get to know each other, he knew how important my mother was to me. And I never said a word to him. I wanted to make this work if Mom was with us. Maybe we could help his mom too. We could be a family. We’d have to talk and get to know each other better, but maybe…

The hope bloomed in my chest. It felt like a good beginning to our marriage and future together. But Benito King had to be eliminated. He had to pay for all the hurt and death he caused - for Nico and his sister, for my mother and numerous other victims. Maybe Nico could help me?

“She died a little over three years ago.”

---