Page 41 of The Mafia's Property

She acknowledged my presence for the first time and turned her head in my direction. Her eyes narrowed and her upper lip curled. I would have enjoyed the envy in her eyes if I thought this was real, but I had to play my part. I extended my hand towards Nico and clasped his. “He wanted to show me his beloved place. I’m dying to go,” I said. I didn’t know if this island was truly his or if it was a place he went to. Whatever. She didn’t realize I was lying, and the ruse worked. Her face fell, and I felt a little sorry for her as her gaze went to where our hands touched. Nico seemed to enjoy this. I must have done a good job.

Maeve forced her lips into a smile and said, “Good for both of you. I hope you have fun.” I was sure her voice cracked at that last word and when she was gone, I immediately withdrew my hand.

“You shouldn’t have done that. She looked devastated. You’re killing her.”

“Nothing I said is a lie. I don’t want a party and I’m taking you to my island on my birthday.”

“Still, you love her and she clearly loves you.”

“I told you before. I don’t care about her anymore.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“When I was in Europe, I realized something. You know who I was thinking of the entire time I was there?”

I refused to answer. Part of me didn’t want to know the answer.

“You. You were the only person I could think of. The only person I missed.”

“You didn’t think of your brother?”

“I thought of him from time to time, but you? You were constantly on my mind twenty-four-seven. I couldn’t eat, breathe or function without wondering what you were up to. It was as if the distance between us made me realize something.”

“What?” I said with bated breath.

He saw my leaned in posture, heard my enraptured voice and decided not to say more. “I don’t know if I can tell you yet, but that’s why I wanted to take some time off with you. Just us alone. Not even Rico should be there.”

My heart lurched. I dared not hope. Or over analyze what he was saying. This is a job, I told myself. Remember why you are here. Remember Zoe. But the more I thought about her and her death, the less likely it seemed Nico would be responsible. He was kind and, dare I say, sweet. Yes, he was a gangster. He proudly defines himself as one, but there was that moral code within in him, that sweetness, that was telling me he wasn’t capable of harming my friend. And if he wasn’t the murderer, then who was? Rico? He hates my ilk. I could see him doing something like that.

“Sadly, Rico’s planning a surprise birthday party for you. He said you liked that sort of thing.”

“I do, but not this time around.”

I suppressed a bubbling sigh of relief. Rico’s plan of embarrassing me was thwarted once again by his much better brother. “I’m just glad I no longer have party planning on my list of things to do.”

“Rico gave you that task, didn’t he? God, he was setting you up. I’m gonna have to talk to him.”

“You don’t have to.”

“No. I do. He has bullied you long enough.”

The harshness in his voice warmed my heart. It also made my betrayal that much painful. I should tell him. I should tell him what I did. “Nico--”

Nico’s phone rang. He frowned when he saw the name. “I should take this,” he said, already getting up and leaving me alone at the table. The opportunity to do right by him had slipped. I turned my attention to my own phone. He hadn’t said anything for a while. While I had removed Nico on my suspect list, based on solely intuition, Rico was still very much on it.

My phone buzzed. It was my partner in crime. I glanced at Nico, who was now over at the bar. Whoever had called was someone serious. I was safe. The text read: meet me in the restroom.

He was here? I looked around at the patrons for a familiar face, but I couldn’t find any. Where are you? I typed. Restroom. Now. He responded. Nico was still on his phone. I tried to signal to him I’m going to the bathroom, but he couldn’t see me. I got up and strolled to the restroom as casually as I could. The sterile powder room was empty when I entered. I even checked the stalls to see if he wasn’t in any of them. I was about to call him when the doors were opened and he came in. “Derreck! How did you know I would be here?”

“I didn’t. I saw you coming in. Luck’s on our side.”

I watched as the door slowly went shut. It would be difficult to explain myself if Nico were to see us as he passed by.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to contact each other.”

“The plans have changed.” Derreck pulled out a brown vial the size of eye medication and placed it in my palm. I turned the bottle in my hands. There were no labels on it. The liquid inside it was of a light shade. Possibly clear, but I couldn’t tell from the color of the bottle.

“What is it?”

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