Page 51 of Did My Heart Love Till Now?

Nick shook his head. “For this moment, I want peace.”

Joey arched his brow. “And in the future?”

Nick glanced at me, smirking. “I guess that depends on him and my sister.” He snorted, sneering at Joey. “They seem to be determined to make our lives hell, so I guess I have to embrace it for the sake of her. Sofia's safety and happiness are my only concern now.”

“Is she okay?” I had been terrified to ask.

Nick rolled his eyes, ignoring my question.

I chewed the inside of my cheek, searching for my words.

“That's good enough for me but I don't trust you at all.” Joey interrupted my thoughts.

I interjected. “Nick and I don't trust each other either but this is about Sofia.”

“Gav, I still have a horrible feeling.” Joey stared at the ceiling and took a deep breath, then darted his eyes back and forth between Nick and me. “But if this is what you want, I told you I got your back. Sofia is safe with us and if it comes down to it,” he rested his hands on his hips, “you have my word as his right-hand man, I will personally protect her like I protect him.”

The thing about the Mafia, though my family was shady and could not be trusted by the enemy, we are men of our word. In these instances, my family never said anything we did not mean. And now, that went for me too.

“However,” Joey shook his finger at Nick, “if she hurts him after we risked our lives to protect her, I will personally kill her.”

“Enough.” I growled. “Wait outside.”

I knew Joey would follow me to assure I was safe. He knew I needed to feel as if I had space, but also he was doing his job. He took a step back. “I’ll let you guys finish up.” He spun to exit the main entrance.

The moment he was out of sight, Nick pulled folded papers from his jacket pocket and handed them to me. He enveloped his arms over his chest.

“What are these?” I unfolded them, seeing the photo of a house on the first page.

“She’ll be there as of tomorrow afternoon.” He respired. “It’s a safe place no one in my family knows about. I own it.”

I creased my forehead, mildly suspicious. “Why are you telling me this?”

He held out his hand with something tucked in it. I opened my palm, and he dropped a key in the middle. I wrapped my fingers around it and stuck it in my pocket along with the papers.

“You make her happy and that's all that matters. Just keep her the fuck away from our father.”

14

I cracked my eyes open, groaning in pain. I was both looking forward to today and dreading it at the same time. It would have been better if I knew what Nick had up his sleeve, but I was just supposed to go along with whatever he had planned.

While I could not wait to be away from my father, I knew that it would not solve anything. In fact, it might make him angrier because he would likely assume Gavino had harmed me or was holding me hostage. I stretched my arms and legs, shaking off the weary feeling as I slipped off the bed.

Trudging into my closet, I grabbed a pair of medium-blue jeans, an olive-green t-shirt with a mauve sweater and slipped them on in a hurry before making my way downstairs. I purposely chose not to look at my face in any mirror, knowing my heart would break all over again. Before entering the kitchen, I took several deep breaths and tugged my hair up into a messy bun, trying to slow the heart palpation in my chest.

As I entered the archway, Nick and our father were having an intense conversation over a cup of coffee. My father turned to me and feigned a smile. I scuffed toward them, apprehensively.

“Oh, there she is now.” My dad grinned.

It was a malevolent smile and for the first time in my life, I was absolutely terrified of him. That was not the smile of my father. It was the smile of a stranger with intent to harm me. Nick stood behind him, studying my injuries in a better light. He offered me a small nod as he clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. It was showtime.

His expression relaxed and he cleared his throat. “So, like I was saying, dad.”

My dad grabbed a piece of toast sticking up from the toaster and turned to Nick.

“I think she would be much better locked up in the facility where she can't get to Gavino again.”

My eyes widened.

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