Page 80 of Taming Nikki

Nino looked like he might balk, but I cast him a soft smile and he finally backed down, his arms crossed over his chest. He nodded, his eyes only on me.

“Then go. Handle business. But if I don’t hear from you by morning, I’m coming for you. I don’t give a shit if he’s a don or not.”

I smirked, shaking my head. “You’re going to get yourself killed one of these days, and then I’m going to have to set the world on fire. See you later, Nino. Don’t touch my program. I’ll be back to check on it tomorrow.”

With that, I turned and headed out the door. Leo followed, with Mikey and Gio at his back to protect him. Leo didn’t put his weapon away until we were loaded into the two cars and pulling away.

The drive was silent the entire way back to Leo’s place. It suited me just fine. I wasn’t going to speak to him anyway. I had four days left in this deal and they would be spent in silence. The deal never said I had to speak to him.

We parked, and Leo held out his hand, giving me an expectant look. I scowled, handing him the gun. I could’ve argued, but then I’d have to speak to him. I shoved the door open, slamming it behind me. When Leo came up behind me to follow me, I side stepped him and refused to go any further until he stepped away from me. The muscle in his jaw twitched again, but I crossed my arms and waited and he eventually went inside without me. I waited a second to follow, contemplating stealing his car again, but I told Nino tonight that I never went back on my word. I wasn’t going to make a liar out of myself that quickly.

When I slammed the door behind me, Leo bared his teeth, losing his patience. Glass crunched under my shoes and I frowned, taking in the stain on the wall and the shattered glass. Looks like someone had a temper tantrum. I smirked as I walked away, ignoring his glare as he tracked me across the room. I made my way upstairs and into the guest room, locking the door behind me. This was going to be a long four days.

* * *

Leo did not appreciate the silent treatment. In punishment, he refused to let me leave his house, so I spent the next few days in my room. I sent Piero to deal with the program, talking him through it step by step so he wouldn’t fuck it up, and he and Marco made the drops themselves the following night. I only came out of my room to eat and only when Leo wasn’t in the kitchen. He would watch me from the living room, his face hard, as I poured myself another bowl of cereal, ignoring the food he made time and time again.

On the third day when Leo went into work, he left me with Frankie, but I still refused to come out of my room. No point in making friends when I was in the wind in a few days. Once I was released from this deal, I was moving out of my papa’s house. It was time and if he had a problem with it, he could talk to Nino, who was already preparing for my arrival. I’d stay on his couch until I could find a place of my own.

Someone knocked on my door, but I ignored it. I had gotten bored playing on my phone by last night and now I could only stare at the ceiling and count down the minutes until I was free from this place.

“Nikki? It’s almost lunch time. Wanna order pizza?”

Frankie’s pleading voice made me waver a bit. I clenched my fists, reminding myself that I needed to stick to the plan and not get drawn in by Vitale’s crew of misfits.

“Come on, Nikki. You gotta eat.” He paused, waiting for a reply before calling out again. “If you don’t come out and eat, I’ll call Amara and tell her you’re starving yourself. You’ll make her cry.”

I launched off the bed, throwing the door open as I reached for him. He yelped, ducking and flying down the stairs. I went after him only because he was trying to use my sister against me and I was in no mood for games. I froze at the bottom of the stairs. It wasn’t just Frankie here anymore. Mikey, Dante, Gio, the two idiots who Leo tried to have tail me, they all sat in the living room or the kitchen, watching me.

“What the fuck is this?”

“This is an intervention,” Mikey joked, chuckling. “It’s just lunch, Nikki. Come on, sit down. Yankees game comes on in a bit.”

I hesitated, considering heading back upstairs, but Frankie held up his phone and Amara’s number sat on the screen. I stormed toward him, but Gio blocked me with a smirk and Dante blocked the other end of the island, effectively surrounding Frankie. I’d have to leap over the counter to get to him, and it wasn’t worth it. I scowled, spinning on my heel and marching to the couch. Dropping into a seat, my arms crossed and legs stretched out, I kept my focus on the screen, trying to tune them out.

“Who they playing?”

“Twins. It’s an easy day for them.”

“Minnesota? Shit, this’ll be boring then. Those northern hicks don’t stand a chance.”

They continued to banter with each other, keeping the conversation light.

“What do you think, Nikki? Twins got a shot?”

I scoffed. “Not a chance. They should stick to hockey.”

I cringed inwardly. That’s the second time now that I’d broken my no speaking rule. It was harder to ignore them when I was in the same room as them. Thank god Leo wasn’t here. He’d probably take me talking as a sign of progress and think he was winning.

I spoke too fucking soon. The pizza arrived shortly after the game began, and the guys started talking around large mouthfuls of food. I did my best to ignore them, but eventually they drew me into the conversation. I was even enjoying myself until the side door opened and Leo walked in. I stood immediately, aiming for the stairs, but someone yanked me backwards and I toppled back onto the couch. I growled, jerking away, but they all had smug grins on their faces. I couldn’t argue or I’d end up speaking around Leo and I couldn’t escape because they all moved to block my path.

“Hey, boss. Just having some lunch. Hungry?”

I could feel his gaze on me, but I refused to turn to face him. I watched the game like it was the most interesting thing on the planet.

“Here boss, you can have my seat.”

Mikey shoved off the couch with a smirk, giving up his spot to Leo. It hit me like a ton of bricks. They were setting me up! I jerked around and sure enough, they all had shit-eating grins across their faces. Those motherfuckers!

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