The rest of the week dragged by as my father slowly recovered in the hospital. The house was full of Franco’s loyal men, while the hospital was filled with my father’s faction. Franco held meetings in my father’s office every day, and Silvio grew more and more confident. It was obvious they were planning something, and I had no idea what to do. I was locked down in Casa Nera, not even allowed to go to the hospital to visit my father. My uncle told me it was too dangerous.
The house was in chaos. Franco had dismissed a few of the staff for unknown reasons, and now only Carmella held the line against the mess that the rabble of Franco and Silvio’s men left.
In every family, there were men inclined more toward one leader or another. While my father had been boss for a long time, there was a day when Franco and Antonio had both been contenders. Franco had never given up hope of one day taking the crown. He seemed to think that day was here.
I waited daily with bated breath to hear that my father had passed. If Franco wanted him dead, it seemed impossible that anyone could stop it, not when he held interim authority. My father had a blind spot for his own family. He didn’t know that his son hated him, his daughter wanted him dead, and his brother wanted his power.
Today was Sunday dinner. A full week had passed since my father had told me I was to get engaged again. A week since I’d crept downstairs and lost my virginity to the dangerous captive in the basement. I had exactly zero regrets about it.
I made my way downstairs, nervously smoothing my dress. It was knee-length, white, and lacy. Chiara would call it “church clothes.” I wished she were here.
Franco had held court all morning. He was like a general preparing for war. Nerves coiled in my gut as I entered the dining room and glimpsed a lot of faces in Casa Nera who weren’t my father’s regular attendees. It felt like Franco was asserting his power by inviting his cronies to lunch this week. His satisfied, benevolent smile followed me around the table. I didn’t think my uncle would enjoy handing power back to my father when he got out of the hospital. If he did.
The room was noisy. There was a chaotic air, like men celebrating the downfall of Caesar before sizing each other up and fighting for the crown. All this, and my father wasn’t even dead yet.
“Sofia, get me a drink.” Silvio’s voice cut through the haze of my bubbling hysteria.
I poured him a drink, wishing I had something I could spike it with. Cyanide would be ideal, but I’d settle for a laxative.
I passed him a glass of wine.
“I wanted scotch.”
My smile nearly slipped as I placed the glass of wine beside Silvio.
“Is that a problem?” His smirk burned my skin, and not in a good way.
“No problem.”
I turned back to the bar along one wall. Braying laughter and crude words flew around wildly. The men at dinner were getting drunk, more than they ever dared to when my father was sitting at the head of the table.
“What about you, Sofia? I heard Antonio found a new husband for you?” a loud voice cut through the din.
I turned back to the table, painfully aware of all the eyes trained on me in my bridelike dress. Why had I worn this? “Yes, apparently. But he has to focus on recovering and getting the house in order first.” My gaze raked over Franco in the boss’s seat.
He nodded, an indulgent smile playing on his lips. “Yes, carina, he will have to sort out the mess that his illness has caused if he comes home.” He crossed himself piously, praying for the health of his brother while he clearly couldn’t wait to take his place.
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be home soon. He’s strong. I hope he’ll like what he finds when he gets here.”
I put Silvio’s glass of scotch down a little too forcefully, and the liquid seeped through the Band-Aid on my palm. It burned a little, but not too badly. I liked the reminder of Nikolai’s initial there. It stiffened my spine and helped me to keep my head high.
The men around the table went back to talking while Silvio grabbed my wrist before I could escape to the kitchen. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I eat dinner in the kitchen on Sundays with Carmella.”
“How is the old witch? Recovering?” Silvio’s smirk grated on my nerves. He peered up at my face. “I have to say, it was satisfying seeing the mark of my hand on your face, Sofia. Why have you hidden it?”
The bruise from his hand had faded somewhat. With makeup on, it was unnoticeable.
“You want me to wash my face and tell Franco who did it?”
Silvio’s smile grew strained for a moment, and then he shrugged. “I don’t think he’d care. You might have to adjust your way of thinking quickly if you want to leave here in one piece.”
“No matter what, I’m still Franco’s niece.”
Silvio nodded. “Or you’re the daughter of a failed, overturned don. Quite the different perspective, isn’t it?”
A few hours later, I was able to sneak out of dinner. I left the room as quickly as I could, a drowning feeling in my chest. Silvio was getting too confident. Franco was acting like it was already known that my father wouldn’t be coming home. I couldn’t call Renato. He was out of reach, just like he’d warned me. Men more loyal to my father were protecting him in the hospital. I was alone.
I headed downstairs and hurried along the hall to Nikolai’s cell. I found the door slightly ajar. The urgency mounting in me made me shake. I knew in my belly that Nikolai Chernov needed to get the fuck out of Casa Nera, and now. Shit was about to hit the fan. I could feel it.
I pushed open the door to Nikolai’s cell and practically fell inside. Then I pulled up short. Angelo was in there, crouched beside Nikolai. He stood when he saw me.
“Sofia, what’s wrong?”
I stared at my big, burly bodyguard for a long moment. “It’s okay. I know you’re the one who’s helping him.”
Angelo was quiet for a long moment. A muscle ticked in his powerful jaw before he nodded. “I can’t do nothing and let her be taken from me. I won’t.”
I nodded, my heart strangely too big and too painful at the same time. “You’re a good man, Angelo. I hope it works out for you.”
“You, too, Miss Sofia.”
“Don’t call me that. I’m just Sofia these days, and if Franco and Silvio have their way—” I shuddered, unwilling to speak the words aloud.
“What about them?” Nikolai demanded. He beckoned me over; his wrists were untied. “Come here and kiss me hello, prom queen.”
He was leaning against the wall, and as I got closer, he reached for me. He kissed me deeply, uncaring that Angelo was watching. It felt thrilling to be touched with such casual possessiveness. I clung to his chest as he pulled back.
“Don’t be scared of Franco and Silvio. You’re stronger than you know.”
How did this man have so much faith in me when I had none in myself? “I’m not. I’m crumbling into pieces. I don’t know what to do.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. I was getting desperate, like there was an elastic band inside me stretching to a breaking point or a clock over our heads ticking down. Something bad was going to happen.
“Yes, you do.” Nikolai’s hands came up and cupped my face. “You know what to do. Leave with me, Sofia. Angelo and I are ready. Tonight, the men are busy getting wrecked upstairs, aren’t they?”
I nodded. The air around the dining room had been reckless and celebratory. “They’re indulging a lot.”
“Good, that suits us fine. We want them to get drunk and fuck off. Your cousin and his father usually visit a whorehouse in town on a Sunday. Angelo told me.”
“They do?”
“They sure do. It looks like Silvio didn’t learn his lesson about how dangerous that was the first time. When they go out and hopefully black out there after getting off, we’re leaving. All three of us, and Carmella, too, if she wants to go.”
I jerked out his touch and stared at him. “You’d take Carmella with us?”
He grinned. Fuck, that wicked look would be the death of me. It was already too valuable to me.
“Hell, yes. She’s braver than the rest of us put together, and if she wants to go, I’ll take her. She deserves a fresh start, just like Angelo.”
“What about me? Don’t I deserve one?”
He laid an arm over my shoulders and pulled me into him, holding me close. His breath feathered across my cheek, and he pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You leaving is non-negotiable. I won’t leave you here with Silvio. You might call me a monster, but I’m the devil you know, and believe it or not, you are the only person in this world who makes me wish I was a better man.”
Nikolai stared at me, unrepentant, even after that confession that rent my heart in two. I couldn’t even begin to process his words. They were too terrifying. Too hopeful and too sad all at once.
He stroked his thumb across the apple of my cheek. “You belong with me, and that’s that, I’m afraid. I’m the man you’ll never get rid of. Tell me you’re coming willingly, but understand that I’ll take you anyway.”
Nikolai’s command was undeniable. How he managed the presence he had at such a young age, I had no idea. I simply flocked to his power. He made me feel safe with just a word.
“If I come with you, then what?” I stared up into his mercurial eyes.
“I don’t know. You’ll just have to trust me. Can you trust me, prom queen?”
I swallowed a knot in my throat. It felt like I was standing on a high cliff, and below was a gray sea. I wouldn’t know what would happen if I jumped, but I couldn’t stay where I was.
He brought a hand to my face, cupping it firmly with that magic touch of his that weakened my knees. Something about this man, right or wrong, fit all the broken parts of me, and made me feel whole, even if just for a second. After a day of terror, just being touched by this man soothed my fears and anxiety.
I took a deep, steadying breath and jumped.
“Okay. I’m coming with you.”
