Page 5 of Taming Nikki

“If you touch her, I’ll be sending you home without hands. Understood?” I hissed at him. I stood and situated myself between the two little ones and put my hands on the back of their seats. I lifted my chin, daring him to argue.

He jerked his gaze to my papa, but I didn’t bother to follow his gaze. My eyes were glued to the pervert trying to flirt with a fourteen-year-old. He finally got to his feet, but he didn’t come back to the table. He shot another look at my papa before he hustled away.

I felt Amara melt into her seat as she leaned her head on my hand, tipping her face back to look up at me, unshed tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

I caressed her hair lightly. “I will always be there when you need me.”

My little sisters were my favorite people. When I showed up, Amara was only four and didn’t care about bloodlines or parentage. They told her I was her sister and she loved me unconditionally. When Gemma came along, I watched over her whenever my parents needed to go out. They made the rough days just a little brighter, and I would never let them be shuffled off to a pervert over twice their age. I’d kill him first.

Papa grabbed my elbow, yanking me back a few feet. “What the hell was that?”

I jerked my arm out of his grasp, glaring at him. “That was me doing your job. You should be more careful who you invite to your parties. Men like that, who don’t care about their age, rarely care about consent either.”

Papa backed down pretty quickly, his focus shifting to Amara, who was watching him with big tear-filled eyes. He’d have to admit he didn’t care if they were assaulted if he argued with me. He scowled at me before storming away.

There were very few times where my step mother and I got along, but when I stepped up behind my sisters again, she caught my eye, dipping her chin once. It was the closest thing to ‘thank you’ I’d ever get, so I returned the gesture.

The line thinned considerably, focusing more on Bianca and Valeria. Only a couple remained at the end of the table, including the boy I saw earlier by the bar. He looked nervous, shuffling closer at his mother’s encouragement. Him, I didn’t mind so much. Arranged marriages between kids under age were basically placeholders. They wouldn’t go anywhere near each other until they were old enough.

I nudged Amara, thrusting my chin towards the boy, trying to get her to speak to him. Neither of them said anything. The man he came with stroked his jaw, trying to hide his amusement.

Finally, I spoke up. “You guys are so cute. It’s a little gross.”

Amara’s jaw dropped, and she whipped her head around to face me. The boy grimaced, his face bright red again. Stepping closer behind him, the man nudged the boy. “Introduce yourself.”

“Hello, I’m Francesco Vitale, but everyone calls me Frankie.” He spat it out as quickly as he could and flinched when the man dropped his hand on Frankie’s shoulder. When he squeezed it, Frankie shot him a grateful grin before swinging his gaze back to Amara.

She hesitated before responding. “I’m Amara Morelli. Nice to meet you.” She shot me a helpless look, and I pursed my lips against a laugh.

“Go ahead, talk to him. Ask him where he goes to school.”

It took some coaxing to get them talking. Only after I tipped my head at Gemma did they relax. She’s a social butterfly, unlike Amara, who has always been shy. She burst into chatter about school and drew them both into the conversation like an expert. I stepped away, dropping back into my seat. I wasn’t going to stray from them in case the creepy guy came back, but I didn’t need to hover.

The man who had been encouraging Frankie stepped up to me, raising an eyebrow at the knife still stuck in the table. I shrugged.

“Remind me never to piss you off.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “Don’t piss me off.”

He chuckled before offering me his hand. “Leo Vitale. I’m Frankie’s cousin.”

I shook it, pleasantly surprised he gave me a real handshake instead of that stupid hand kissing thing the Cosa Nostra men liked to do. His grip was firm and steady, and I appreciated it.

“Nicole. Or Nikki. Whatever floats your boat.”

Most men were put off by my cavalier responses, but this guy just seemed mildly amused. I regarded him. I’d heard of Leo Vitale before, a hot shot from the south side who didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger given the chance. He was either being modest or trying to hide his reputation by introducing himself only as Frankie’s cousin.

When I heard about him, I imagined someone a little more… terrifying. This guy was good looking to a fault. I could see my older sisters sneaking glances at him. Thick inky black hair falling onto his forehead, flawless tan skin, sharp brown eyes. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him that I could see. His black suit and shirt suited his reputation, making him look intimidating. He was fit, that was easy to tell even with the suit, but it was the power radiating off him that made me pause. He looked like prince charming, but it was obvious this man was dangerous and shouldn’t be underestimated.

He raised an eyebrow at my obvious perusal. I didn’t do subtle, it wasn’t my style. And attractive or not, he was still Cosa Nostra.

“So, Frankie’s cousin, what deal are you hoping to make with my papa?”

I didn’t expect him to answer. I liked to push people’s buttons, see how far I could go before I pissed them off, and for some reason, I wanted to see if I could piss off Leo Vitale.

“He’s got control of the ports. I need access and he needs some place to sell his product.”

Product meaning drugs, probably. I was no stranger to the ins and outs of the Cosa Nostra. My cousins weren’t very good at keeping secrets, at least not from me. I frowned at him.

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