Page 42 of The Mafia's Property

“Hold it. I will tell you what to do with it next.”

“Is this,” the word caught in my throat, “poison?”

“No.” he folded the vial in my palm. “But it can be.”

“Derreck!”

“Like I said, the plan’s changed. We’re no longer working the jewel angle. That fell through. And frankly, it wasn’t punishment enough. This. This will be much better. You have so much better access to them than I thought before.”

“Derreck. You’re not making sense. We had a simple plan. Find where the jewel is and get—”

“And then what? They lose some money? It’s not enough for what they’ve done! This, however,” he pointed to my hand, I still had the bottle squeezed in-between my hands afraid to look at it. “This is blood for blood.”

“Do you want me to kill them? Is that the change of the plans? I can’t do that!” My voice was so loud he glanced around and admonished me to lower my voice. “I can’t do it,” I whispered.

“You need to find out who killed Zoe, and I will tell you what to do next. Remember what they did, Freya. You’d be saving the world.”

The door to the powder room opened and two women stumbled in. Derreck backed away as they came in. “Sorry, wrong bathroom,” he said and left me alone. I had little time for thought. I threw the vial in my purse and went back to the table. My hands trembled as adrenaline rushed down my spine. My gaze darted around the restaurant like a criminal. It was full. Everyone was minding their own business, including Maeve, who was now joined by her friends. Derreck was nowhere to be found and Nico was no longer at the bar. Where was he?

“Looking for me?” I jumped when I heard the voice behind me. And if that wasn’t nerve-wrecking enough, Nico kissed my nape, sending shockwaves all over my body. “You disappeared on me.” He strolled over to his chair and sat down. I followed suit.

“I went to the restroom.” It was not a lie, so it was easy to say without sounding like I was hiding something from him, but his sudden question rattled me all the same. Nico didn’t seem phased. “Everything okay?” I was desperate to take attention away from myself.

Nico nodded. “It was Dante. He wanted something sorted.” Nico called the waiter, who came scrambling with the check. “Let’s get out of here,” he said after the waiter was gone. I followed his lead and tried to steel myself as I got back up on legs of noodles. The dangerous energy of the vial made my purse heavy as I swung the bag under my arm.

The night was cool and calmed me down a little. Under the cool breeze, I could think clearly about what had just happened. Derreck wanted me to kill them. One of them. All of them. I wasn’t sure yet, but definitely whoever was responsible for Zoe’s death. I’m not a killer. I’ve never harmed a bird. The thought of pouring whatever was in the bottle into someone’s drink was stomach churning. Think of Zoe. Her lifeless remains came to mind. She would never walk this earth again. She will never smile, laugh or do any of the things she wanted to do. And they took that away from her.

The valet brought the car around and I Nico helped me in feeling a little less nervous than before. He got around to the driver’s side and got in. “Where do you want to go next?” he asked. There was nowhere else I would rather be than at the apartment, so I could stash the vial somewhere safe where he would not see me creeping around.

“I would rather go to the apartment.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to blow money on some arbitrary number? I have entrance to any casino in town. We could go there.”

“No.”

“Your loss.” He said before driving off. The apartment was still empty when we got there. Rico hadn’t come back yet. I went to my room and rushed straight to the bathroom. There were no cameras in here. I could stash it in between medication and vitamin supplements in the medicine cabinet.

I felt a lot calmer after that and went back to the living room. Music filled the air. Sensual music. There was no denying the mood he wanted to set. It occurred to me we only went to dinner and back. He asked me if there was something I wanted to do, but he didn’t have anything else planned. His mission had been to put food in my belly. Like his other missions.

“Why are you obsessed with feeding me?” I asked, more out of curiosity. Nico waltzed over to where I was standing in time with the music. He snaked a hand around my waist and drew me to him. I swayed to the music and followed his lead as he moved us around the room.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I like feeding you.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

We swayed to the music in silence. Our bodies moved as one. It put the already existing feelings I had for him at the forefront. Instead of worrying about killing him or his brother, or worrying about his odd behaviors, my mind kept wondering to the way his muscles felt under my hands. The strength within them and the likelihood he could carry me with one hand if he tried. I was thinking of his kiss and how much I wanted to feel those lips against mine again.

“When I was young and in an orphanage, food was a little scarce. It’s not like we didn’t have anything or that I grew up an Oliver Twist life. But when we had no food, it meant we had nothing. I vowed to never feel that kind of hunger ever again and to never let those close to me feel the same.”

That was a sad story. How could I kill him after he told me such a story? “No wonder you became so loyal to the Morellis,” I said.

He pulled me out of his embrace and held me at arm’s length. “I love the Morellis unconditionally. They’re my family.”

The conviction in his words was hard to misinterpret. “I get it,” I said.

Satisfied with my response, he drew me back into his arms and we continued the dance. It was more torturous now than before. His hands would ever so softly caress my skin like it was the most precious thing he had ever touched. The reverence made me feel special. Like a precious toy he brought out to play? I dismissed the rogue thought. Like a lover.

The music only added to the sensuality. His hips brushed against mine and at times would hike up my skirt. Yet, throughout all this, Nico never strayed his hand beyond the waist. It was becoming frustrating. I wanted to feel his hands between my center where I was aching for him. I wanted to be touched there and not at my waist. I wanted to feel his lips on mine as he touched me.

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