Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 154525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
His shot hit its mark perfectly. Marco’s tattooed jaw tightened and flexed. “I see being taken on as Salvatore’s pet project has been working out for you, little brother.”
Nico stared Marco down, refusing to bite onto a chain he couldn’t properly deal with now. Actions had consequences, after all.
“Guests aren’t allowed past the ropes, Marco.”
“Oh, I know. And like the pets, I bet you get to go anywhere you want, right?”
His own jaw ached from clenching.
Marco flashed his white teeth in a sharp smile. “Her bedroom is cute.”
Nico jerked forward. His brother didn’t flinch.
“Shit, you got it that bad, Nicky? Anthony was really onto something when he said someone must have had you caught up, if you answered the door looking like you did. He heard her, too, you know.”
Nico wouldn’t bite onto any of that, either.
Marco just liked games.
“What the fuck do you want?” Nico demanded.
Marco wet his lips, rolling his eyes while he tilted his head sideways, toward the sound of the party. “Dad’s leaving. He wants to see you.”
“I’m sure he didn’t fucking send you to find me, either, did he?”
“No, I just had the time. Bored, and all. Happened to hear, and then just be in the neighborhood. Now, I’m passing along the message.”
“Watching me all fucking night, I bet. Just like the first time they found us in a bathroom, right?”
Marco looked so satisfied with himself that it made Nico sick to his stomach. That on top of knowing his brother had been outside the bathroom for God knew how long made him want to puke on the goddamn spot.
Or shove his fist down Marco’s throat. One or the other. He wasn’t picky.
“You gotta keep an eye on your problems,” Marco eventually replied, “or they tend to get away from you. Think about it.”
“I’m looking at my biggest one,” Nico returned.
“Same. So, Dad?”
At that, Marco looked straight ahead into the bathroom. That fox-like smile of his curved dangerously at his mouth again.
“After you clean up, I mean,” Marco added.
It didn’t matter that his brother had three or so inches of height and an added fifty pounds of muscle to broader shoulders than Nico’s—genetics the asshole took from their father—because he’d never been afraid to step up to him. Not after the first time he finally hit his brother back and learned why Marco did it to him at the same time.
That shit felt good.
Nico stepped up to him then, too, driving two fingers into Marco’s chest like the fucking gun he didn’t have on him. Probably a good thing, given his suddenly murderous mood. It didn’t matter. Those fists of his could still feel like fucking bullets if he wanted them to.
Marco hated that smoke.
“Do it,” Marco taunted.
He breathed deep, his mind racing.
“Do. It.”
Nico thought about Frankie, and how humiliated she would be if her lapse in judgement with him became public consumption because he punched this motherfucker’s face in. He considered Salvatore and the man’s rules that Nico did his best to follow because they had a purpose, too.
He didn’t want to let people down again. Especially those people.
Actions had consequences; he needed to accept them before he made the choice.
“Just fucking do it,” Marco urged stronger.
Nico exhaled harshly and drove his fingers into Marco one last time. “Fuck you.”
Marco blinked at that, and his sudden disorientation gave Nico the chance to spin on his heel. He slipped back into the bathroom, shut the door, and locked it. It took him less than a minute to wipe the floor, shove the small towel and Frankie’s thong into the laundry chute. He washed his hands, rolling down his sleeve and tossing on his suit jacket without buttoning it up.
Back in the hallway, Marco still waited.
Now, he didn’t smile, smirk, or grin.
Nico took some comfort in the sight.
“Best hurry up,” Marco murmured, “you know Dad hates to wait.”
“Get the fuck out of my way.”
He brushed past his brother, hating how Marco stayed on his heels because one shouldn’t put their back to an enemy. He also had far too much pride to let this asshole lead the way for him in any regard. Ever.
“Does Salvatore know you like to be wrist-deep in his daughter, or is that a secret I should keep?” Marco questioned like it was nothing.
Nico had been taking the steps to the downstairs two at a time, but his body turned before his mind had even fully processed the decision. Marco hadn’t been expecting it, nor the way Nico shoved him so hard that he tripped backwards and slammed down into the stairs.
Marco’s head snapped back hard, and he swore under his breath, reaching for his skull. His dark eyes blazed up at Nico in disbelief.
“Keep her name out of your mouth, that’s your last warning,” Nico said, pointing down at his brother.
He didn’t wait to see how Marco chose to deal with the threat. He turned back around and continued his jog down the steps. Taking a left at the bottom, he could see the people milling around the mouth of the corridor where a red satin rope hung across.