Page 25 of Taming Nikki

“Need a ride?”

I elbowed him hard, stepping away from him. “Don’t fucking touch me. I’ll call my cousin. I’m not going anywhere else with you.”

Nino shook his head as he tossed me his keys. “Don’t crash it. I’ll see you later.”

I nodded once and headed outside, Piero hot on my heels. He groaned as I dropped into the driver’s seat of Nino’s car. “Please, don’t be an asshole. I just ate.”

For that, I was going to drive as wildly as I could.

* * *

Piero looked green by the time we pulled into the driveway. I ignored him and flew through the house and into the basement, where Marco waited for me. Marco and my older brothers. They looked pissed. I slowed as I regarded them.

“What the hell is going on?”

Gino sneered, and DiAngelo crossed his arms. “You tell us. What is this, Nikki?” He pointed to the computer that was still running the program. I kept my face blank.

“What’s it look like?” I had no idea how much they actually knew and I wasn’t going to share with them.

DiAngelo scowled. “It looks like you’re doing shady shit on the internet while under our roof. So I’ll ask again, what the hell is this, Nikki?”

I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t have to tell you shit.”

It happened fast. One minute, Gino was standing across the room, the next his meaty hands had me by the hair, and he landed a solid punch to my gut. I fell to my knees with a gasp, my head arched back because he still had a hold on my hair.

DiAngelo strode up to me, his glare downright terrifying. “Women don’t belong on the streets, Nikki. If I catch you doing shit like this again, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

He stepped over to the computer, ripping the power cord from the wall and the computer before walking away. Gino jerked my head until I looked at him.

“We’ve had enough of your shit, Nikki. You want to play the little soldier on the street? We’ll fucking treat you like one. Cross the line again, and you’ll get your ass kicked,” he snarled, throwing me to the ground. He drew back his fist like he was going to punch me again. I flinched and threw up my hands to block it. His dark chuckle was the only thing that brushed over me. When I opened my eyes, he was walking away.

Once the door to the basement slammed shut, I dragged myself into a sitting position and leaned against the edge of Piero’s bed. Marco still hovered by the computer, but he stayed silent.

“Did it finish?”

My eyes were closed while I focused on staying calm.

“Yeah. I got the ones we need for Wednesday. I was just starting the next batch when they showed up.”

I nodded and put my hand out. Wednesday was important. I needed them done. I would need to make sure my brothers didn’t fuck anything up with them before I handed them out, but I wasn’t going to do that here. I’d do it at Nino’s when I returned his car tomorrow. Marco dropped three little baggies into my hand and I shoved them into my purse. I finally opened my eyes and glanced at him. He had a black eye forming and looked a little worse for wear. No doubt, Gino got his hands on Marco, too. Asshole. Marco was way smaller than him.

“You alright?”

He nodded. “You?”

I huffed out a laugh and grabbed his hand as he helped me to my feet. “It’ll take a lot more than a run in with Gino to keep me down, you know that. Next time, fucking warn me, though. I could’ve armed myself.”

He grimaced. “They wouldn’t let me. They said if I deviated from what they wanted me to say, they’d shoot me. I wouldn’t put it past DiAngelo, he’s a dick.”

I sighed and gripped his shoulder. DiAngelo and Gino weren’t people to mess with. They dealt with family like they dealt with everyone else. Violence first, ask questions later. They didn’t care if you were related to them or not.

“Does Papa know?”

Marco shook his head. “Not yet, at least. While we waited for you, they were talking about how if your papa found out, they’d take the blame for not watching you better. I think they’ll keep it to themselves, at least for now.”

“Alright. I’m going to finish the next batch at Nino’s, then we should take a short break, make them feel like they won. We’ll pick things back up later.”

Marco nodded. In general, my cousins and I only dealt with each other in regard to business. Marco and Piero got tired of being pushed aside because they were younger, so when I offered them a job, they jumped at it. That didn’t mean I didn’t care if they got hurt. I’d take a small break just to get my brothers off their backs. It wasn’t like I was hurting for cash or anything, and Wednesday was the big one. I’d be set for a while after that.

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