Page 28 of Taming Nikki

What the hell was that?

Enzo appeared beside me, watching Leo’s car pulling away. “Want me to kill him?”

I curled my hands into fists. “No. I’ll do it myself.”

ChapterThirteen

LEO

I don’t knowwhy I did it. She looked so angry, so irritated, but I saw the truth underneath when I reached for her the first time. She was scared, even if she didn’t want to admit it, and it pissed me off. So I kissed her, relishing the noise that escaped her as I pulled her lip into my mouth. It wiped the fear away, and her brazen attitude came exploding back. I’d come to expect it and didn’t realize how much it would bother me when it was gone.

I could’ve dealt with her brothers without talking to her first, but after talking to Piero and Marco, I went into a blind rage. I needed to get in my car or I would’ve ripped the entire house apart looking for her brothers.

Nicole’s cousins weren’t very forthcoming when I saw them. I remembered her cousin calling her before she left and Piero went home with her, and I suspected she was with them when they got hurt. They wouldn’t say, their loyalty to her ran deep, probably deeper than she realized. They did let it slip that it was her brother Gino who hurt them. While I sped toward her uncle’s restaurant, I worried she’d have a black eye like them. I was relieved that she looked unharmed until she flinched away from me.

I didn’t even bother to knock when I pulled up in front of Morelli’s house. Rage still threatened to boil over. I had no patience when I threw the door to his office open. His head jerked up and irritation flashed over his face.

“Vitale, what the–”

“You need to keep your sons away from my fiancée.”

He frowned, his brow furrowing. “Did something happen?”

I sucked in a breath, searching for the patience I didn’t have. “I’m not asking, Morelli. Either you keep them away from her or the deal is off. And we both know you won’t be getting a better offer for her.”

I saw the fire behind his eyes. He didn’t like me pushing him around, but I liked his sons’ hands on Nicole even less. My trigger finger itched, and I looked for a reason to shoot someone.

He looked as though he was weighing his options. Giving in to my demands versus losing out on a deal we both knew would benefit us greatly. Finally, he nodded.

“Fine. I will tell them to stay away from her. You need to tell her to steer clear of them as well. She won’t listen to me and if she goes looking for trouble, I might not be around to stop it.”

We both knew telling Nicole what to do was useless. “For someone who’s supposed to have such great power, you don’t sound like you’ve a handle on your own children.”

He bared his teeth at me. “Don’t fucking challenge me, Vitale. I’ll do my part, you do yours. You are the one who said you could handle Nicole.” There was a gleam in his eyes that he wasn’t doing shit to hide. He knew I didn’t have Nicole where I wanted her yet. We both stared each other down until Morelli’s phone rang and the focus shifted back onto work.

I stepped outside for a cigarette to calm down before we got started and bumped into Nicole on my way out. She was smoking, her back leaning against the wall of the house.

“Pretty sure half the neighborhood could hear you two screaming.” She didn’t look at me as she blew smoke into the air above her.

“Now is really not the time to push me, Nicole.”

“Pick one.”

I frowned. “What?”

“Nicole or Nikki. Pick one. Or none. None works. You could just call the deal off like you threatened upstairs a minute ago. Maybe he’ll finally give up. You said it yourself. He won’t be getting a better offer.”

I stiffened. I never thought she’d hear me. I left her in the parking lot of the restaurant. She would’ve had to have been right behind me to catch all that.

“That wasn’t–”

“Save it.” She rolled her head against the wall and locked eyes with me. “We both know you didn’t make this deal because of some bullshit sentiment. When you realize it’s not worth the effort, let me know.”

She could act pissed all she wanted, but she was doing a shit job masking the hurt in her voice. Her face was a mask of indifference, but the edge to her voice lacked its usual venom. The mystery continued with her and I honestly didn’t know what to do about it. She finished her cigarette, stamping it out on the stairs before she moved to walk past me.

“Where are you going?”

She snorted but didn’t bother to reply as she pushed past me and disappeared inside, the door closing behind her quietly.

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