With Nevio, it always felt like I was taking one step forward, only for him to push me two steps back. I hadn’t talked to Carlotta about Nevio’s cryptic words after the fight. I wouldn’t have talked to anyone else either, but Diego had mentioned what he’d seen to my father. Of course, he had. He was always protective of Carlotta and seemed to think he could shove his nose into my business too.
Mom and Dad had both confronted me after we’d returned home from the fight.
“Diego shared something he witnessed tonight,” Dad had said gravely as if he were talking about an inexcusable crime.
I hadn’t processed my strange encounter with Nevio yet, so being confronted by my parents about it came as a shock.
“Sit,” Mom said, motioning to the kitchen chair across from them.
I sank down, trying to keep my face in check. It had been a near miracle that I was allowed to attend the fight. If I gave the wrong answers now, I’d never be allowed to go anywhere fun, and I definitely wanted to attend an upcoming party the Unholy Trinity had mentioned.
“Diego has an overactive imagination. I’m surprised he doesn’t force Carlotta to wear a chastity belt.” I felt a bit guilty for talking about him that way. He was an okay guy and was trying to raise Carlotta as well as he could with their parents dead.
Dad narrowed his eyes at me. “He caught you in the back alley with Nevio. And I quote, his lips almost touched hers when I walked in on them.”
“Almost,” I said with no little amount of scorn. For one, I was really mad. Mad at Nevio for this ridiculous kiss. After the one on my forehead from the wedding, I’d hoped next time would be a decent kiss—mouth on mouth. “Nevio kissed my cheek because I’d cleaned his face with a tissue. If his lips came close to mine, then it was because it was dark.”
Dad raised one eyebrow. “It wasn’t too dark for Diego to see it.”
“What do you want from me? Nothing happened between Nevio and me, and nothing will. He kissed my cheek. That’s it. You always think the worst of Nevio. You seem to know him better than I do, so do you really think he’d only kiss my cheek like a good boy if he were interested in me?” That last sentence hurt a little because I wondered the same.
“She has a point,” Mom said, and I could have hugged her.
“Maybe. But I still want you to be careful around him. If I think something is going on between you two, I’ll sell this damn place, and we’ll move to another city. I’ll ask Remo to let me work as enforcer in LA or San Francisco.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dad, please. Nothing will ever happen between Nevio and me.”
“Is this too much?” I asked as I turned around to show Carlotta every angle of my outfit for the party.
“I wouldn’t say there’s any part of this outfit that’s too much… of fabric,” Carlotta said, then giggled at her own joke.
I glanced down at myself. This outfit was the sexiest I’d ever been. I had opted for a white blouse that I’d tugged up with a knot so I showed my belly. The top buttons of the shirt were also open to show a little cleavage, and I wore a leather mini skirt that I’d found in the back of Mom’s dresser. I wished I could ask her when she’d worn it, but that would probably be too suspicious. Better wait until after the party.
“Is it too sexy?” I asked.
While Carlotta had chosen a short summer dress for the occasion that showed plenty of curves and leg, it looked cute on her and not too sexy. I was worried I would look like I was trying too hard.
She pursed her lips. “You should feel sexy in it. That’s the main objective.”
“The main objective? Massimo has rubbed off on you.”
She tugged a strand behind her ear. “He uses it on occasion when we discuss our different viewpoints.”
I rolled my eyes. Those two were flirting in the weirdest way. But who was I to judge?
“I feel sexy, but also a little like I’m not me. Which is good if I want to catch Nevio’s eyes since good ole me isn’t doing the trick.” If he kissed me on the forehead, cheek, or hand tonight, I’d seriously lose my shit around him for the first time. I was done with this.
“You shouldn’t have to be someone else to attract someone, Aurora.”
I shrugged. “Seems to be my only option right now.”
“No, it’s not. You could just show Nevio every version of you. In the past few years, you’ve become someone different around him. You don’t show any sass or answer back to him. You’re tongue-tied around him. That’s the problem.”
I sighed because I knew Carlotta had a point. I really wasn’t sure what to do about it, though, since my mind seemed to go blank with him around.
“I’ll start with this outfit, and maybe my brain and tongue will come around by tonight.”
A knock sounded, and Gemma poked her head in. My heart almost jumped out of my chest, thinking it was Mom. If she saw me in this outfit, she’d probably not allow me to attend the party. I’d fought too hard for my parents’ permission to lose it now. She slipped in, and her eyes widened. “No way can you go out like that.”
“Are you channeling your inner Diego?” Carlotta asked pointedly.
Gemma gave her an annoyed look. “I’m just being realistic. If Fabiano sees Aurora like that, he won’t let her go. Should I be worried about who you want to impress?” Gemma narrowed her eyes at me.
“In this day and age, girls can dress sexy for themselves, Gemma. We don’t need or want to impress boys anymore,” Carlotta said.
“You act like I’m sixty,” Gemma said, then raised her eyebrows. “Since when is she so argumentative?”
“Since she argues with Massimo on a daily basis.”
Gemma tilted her head in curiosity, and Carlotta sent me a shut-up look. She usually shared everything with Gemma, so I was surprised she hadn’t mentioned her endless arguments with him to her sister.
“His viewpoints are impossible. I have to argue with him,” she said with a shrug. She was good at making this seem like nothing. Her nonchalance was impressive, and I needed to learn from it.
“All right,” Gemma said slowly. “Do what you want, but you better put one of your overalls on as cover before you leave this room.”
My overall. Everyone always pretended I wore them all the time. I had plenty of different clothes in my wardrobe. And I definitely wouldn’t go to a party in them! I grabbed one of my overall dresses, put it over my party clothes, and tugged my blouse down to cover my midriff.
“If I’m supposed to do your makeup and hair, we need to hurry,” Gemma reminded us.
Fifteen minutes later, we left my room. Dad wasn’t home yet, which was good because I still expected him to retract his permission at any moment. Mom only briefly checked my outfit and told me to be careful. Carlotta and I followed Gemma to her and Savio’s wing of the mansion. Gemma had set up a table with plenty of makeup and a chair in front of it. There were also snacks. I half wished we’d actually stay for a girls’ night. I wasn’t really a party girl, which was probably why I’d never been to one. I liked dancing, but I preferred doing it in a different atmosphere. The relaxed parties at the race track, when I’d babysat Roman for Adamo and Dinara, were nice and chill, but I wouldn’t back out now and risk looking like the biggest Goody Two-shoes in front of Nevio and the other guys.
Carlotta popped a few chips into her mouth while Gemma began to do my makeup.
“Do you want fake lashes?” Gemma asked eventually, holding up an assortment of lashes.
I quickly shook my head. I’d once worn fake lashes, and they’d driven me completely crazy.
When Gemma finished our makeup, it was already time to leave.
“Be careful, okay?” she said firmly.
“Massimo, Nevio, and Alessio will keep an eye on us. Nobody will bother us with them as our bodyguards.”
“Pardon me when I’m not convinced these three will keep you out of trouble.”
“You’re breaking my heart, Gemma,” Nevio said from his spot in the doorway to the patio.
We all jumped, not having heard him approach.
“Turn down the creep factor, will you?” Gemma muttered, causing Nevio’s grin to widen. “And you don’t have a heart I could break.”
Nevio looked from Gemma to Carlotta to me. “How come Gemma looks like she’s about to go to a party, and one of you looks like she’s attending a picnic in a park, and the other looks like she’s hitting the half-pipe?”
I flushed immediately. Then kicked myself in the butt because I wanted to follow Carlotta’s advice and not be a goddamn punching bag around Nevio. “What’s your fashion style called? Out of the morgue?”
Nevio cocked an eyebrow, his answering grin giving me heart palpitations. He let his gaze move down his body, and my eyes followed as if drawn by an invisible force. He was in a tight black tee with a black leather jacket and black cargo pants that fit enough to show off his trained body, especially his booty. I knew because he’d worn these pants around me before. Black boots rounded the outfit off.
Nevio motioned at his watch, which also had black carbon on a red face. “Time to leave. Come on, girls.”
Carlotta and I followed him down into the basement. He led us through the corridors until I lost my bearings. I rarely went down here anyway, but I had a feeling most people would have lost their orientation by now. “Why are we down here?”
“Because we want to get you to your first party in style!”
We moved through a hidden door behind a shelf and eventually arrived at a steel door. Nevio entered a code into the keypad, and it opened with a groan. Behind it was a tunnel. The steel door closed behind us the moment we stepped through. A massive steel gate was in front of us, separating us from the rest of the tunnel. It smelled dank and as if someone had emptied their bladder close by. A motorcycle leaned against the wall inside the gate.
“What is this place?” Carlotta asked with a wrinkled nose.
Graffiti covered the walls, and puddles littered the ground. The tunnel had a sort of oval shape, and it wasn’t very high in this part. There were maybe three hand-width between Nevio’s head and the ceiling.
“There’s a labyrinth of tunnels beneath Las Vegas. More than a thousand homeless live there. It’s also a hub for criminal activity of course.”
“Camorra operated?” I asked.
“Nah. This part of the underworld is not directly controlled by us, which is why some individuals come here hoping to keep their profits to themselves.”
“So your dad doesn’t care?”
“As long as it’s not a big part of business, he thinks people who live like rats should be treated like one. The only time the Camorra intervened was when your grandma tried to purchase drugs down here away from your dad’s watchful eyes.”
I swallowed hard. Dad and Mom had never mentioned anything. It was disconcerting that Nevio knew more about my family than I did.
“Is it dangerous down here?” Carlotta asked, rubbing her arms.
“Definitely. During flash floods, you need to seek a high spot or drown. If you’re referring to the people living down here, they won’t bother us.”
Nevio grabbed the motorcycle and entered a number into another keypad, so the gates in front of us swung open.
“Girls, choose your spot,” he said, motioning at the bike. He sat as close to the handlebars as possible, leaving little room for us. We’d really have to press together.
Carlotta looked horrified.
“I know you’ve ridden on a bike with Massimo before, but I suppose you have a lower tolerance for feeling up my six-pack than his,” Nevio mused, then jabbed a thumb to the spot right behind him. “That’s your place, then.” He flashed his teeth at me. “You can hug Rory.”
I wasn’t sure if he was insinuating that I didn’t mind touching his six-pack. If so, he was right, though this wasn’t how I envisioned it. I perched on the bike behind him. “What am I supposed to do with my legs?”
“Keep them off the ground,” Nevio said.
I had to press my crotch against Nevio’s ass and press my front against his back so Carlotta had enough room to sit. I wrapped my arms around Nevio and pressed my palms flat against his stomach. My cheeks burned, and heat flushed the rest of my body at our closeness. I could feel the hard ridges of his six-pack through his thin tee. Every part of Nevio was hard. Well, almost every part of him. The thought made my cheeks heat furiously. I’d often dreamed about running my fingertips over his abs and down to the delicious V I often saw when he trained or when we were at the pool together.
Carlotta slung her arms tighter around my waist when Nevio started the engine. The sound carried in the tunnel and amplified until my ears rang from the roar.
Carlotta let out a little screech when we jerked forward, and then I heard nothing but the wind rushing in my ears and the angry roar of the motorcycle as Nevio weaved past dirty puddles at a maddening pace. I wasn’t sure how he even knew where to go or how he could see anything ahead of us in the unsettling darkness of the tunnels, which the small headlights could hardly penetrate. I supposed he and the rest of the Unholy Trinity had spent plenty of time down here over the years, which was easily as unsettling as the tunnels themselves.
On occasion, I caught a glimpse of life in one of the tunnel branches, flashlights or fires, tents and moving shadows. Headlights in the distance made me tense. But I realized they weren’t directly pointing at us and not moving. A car waited at the opening of the tunnel. We drove up a slope and finally hit open air. Nevio hit the brakes and brought us to a standstill beside the car: his Dodge Ram.
Carlotta still clung to me even when Nevio turned off the engine.
Massimo hopped out of the car. Alessio remained seated in the back with his arm propped up on the open window.
“Fuck him playing the gent,” Nevio said in a low voice to me when Massimo helped a shaking Carlotta off the bike. “Damsel in distress never worked on him before.”
I laughed. “I think Lotta doesn’t have the stomach for rides like these. It was intense.”
“But you do, skater girl,” Nevio said. Did he sound impressed?
Carlotta stumbled toward the car, and for a moment, I was sure she’d throw up, but then she squared her shoulders and climbed into the back seat with Massimo.
“You have to ride in the front with me. It seems Massimo has to play doctor.”
I got off the bike, trying not to show that my legs felt like rubber too. I had actually enjoyed the ride more than I’d thought, but I wasn’t used to the speed in combination with the stench of sewerage.
Nevio opened the door for me in a rare act of chivalry and held out his hand, palm upward in a mocking gentleman’s gesture. I stifled a grin and took his hand, then climbed into the passenger seat.
I turned around to Carlotta. She still looked pale, and suddenly, I worried about her heart. “You okay?”
She gave me a small smile. “Yeah. Just a bit squeamish.”
I nodded then turned back and tugged down the suspenders of my overall dress before I shoved it down my body. Luckily, the RAM was a beast of a vehicle, so I had enough room to move. Eventually, I kicked it off and knotted my blouse over my rip cage, then popped open the three top buttons.
“What’s going on here?” Nevio asked, and I noticed his intent gaze on me. He still hadn’t started the engine.
“This is my party outfit. The overalls were just my disguise.”
“Makes you wonder what else you’re hiding beneath the sweet tomboy attitude,” Nevio mused.
“Is this ride going to take off any time soon?” Alessio asked impatiently.
Nevio tore his eyes away from me with an air of annoyance and started the car. As with the bike before, he raced again. “Provisions are in the center console.”
I opened the console and found an array of tiny bottles inside. Everything from vodka over Jim Beam to Jaegermeister. The only non-alcoholic option was Red Bull.
“Jaegerbomb for me to get my blood pumping,” Nevio said.
“And for me,” Alessio said.
“Jim Beam,” Massimo said.
“You’re driving, Nevio,” Carlotta said. “What if you cause an accident?”
Nevio motioned at Massimo. “I forward this question to my legal defendant.” He glanced at me. “Jaeger Bomb.”
Massimo turned to Lotta. “Considering Nevio’s high tolerance for alcohol due to years of consumption, it’s highly unlikely that a drink, especially mixed with an energy drink, will influence his driving skills negatively. His style of driving is a danger under any circumstances.”
“Thanks,” Nevio said dryly. I opened the tiny bottle of Jaegermeister and the can of Red Bull for him.
“Take a gulp from the can,” Nevio said.
I did without thinking about it even though I hated energy drinks. I frowned.
“Now, there should be room for the Jaegermeister.” I poured the alcohol into the drink, then handed it to Nevio.
In the back seat, Massimo and Carlotta were caught up in an argument about the dangers of drunk driving. “Now to the second part of your statement. Consequences of a car crash would be minor for us. Our car is massive, and legal consequences are unlikely.”
“But other people could be hurt.”
Massimo’s expression made it clear that wasn’t his concern. “At this time of night, it’s unlikely we’d crash into a family.”
Carlotta shook her head, hopefully realizing the futility of arguing about conscience with Massimo. “It’s still irresponsible.”
“You know what? Make that a double Jaegermeister without the bomb. I need to get drunk ASAP,” Alessio drawled. I bit back a laugh. Listening to Massimo and Carlotta could be tiring. I handed him two bottles, then picked one for myself. I’d never tried Jaegermeister. I rarely drank alcohol at all.
“Don’t get drunk on my watch,” Nevio warned. “I have every intention of not remembering a single thing tomorrow morning, so you need to keep your wits about you.”
“I’m not here to babysit you,” I said indignantly, congratulating myself inwardly for the hint of sass in my voice.
“You’re supposed to keep us safe,” Carlotta added.
Nevio snorted. “Lotta, everyone knows you’re here with us. You’ll be safe, even if all three of us lie passed out in our own vomit by the end of the evening.”
Carlotta sent Massimo a critical look. “That won’t happen,” he said. “I don’t make a habit out of getting drunk or stoned. That’s Nevio’s job.”
“Alessio gets drunk too,” Nevio said as he parked on the lawn in front of a massive mansion. I didn’t even know whose party this was. A rich kid from Las Vegas who was probably buying drugs from the Camorra.
Everyone got out of the car, but Nevio stopped me when I wanted to climb out too.
“If I see you drinking too much, I’ll have Massimo drive you and Carlotta home. End of story.”
My eyes grew wide with surprise. “What?”
He opened his door and jumped out before he faced me again. “You heard me, and I’m being serious, so be a good girl, Rory.”
