Chapter 13
NICOLAS’S POV
I went downstairs after grabbing a pair of sweatpants. Seeing the strange looks on my brothers‘ faces made me laugh quietly to myself.
I smiled at them. Liam shook his head but didn’t say anything. It was clear he wasn’t hiding how much he disliked me or how much he didn’t want to become a part of the Camorra. Damien stood up and said. “You shouldn’t have brought her here.”
I grabbed the pizza menu. “Luca, order pizza for us and make sure to get an extra one for Milene Damien walked over to me. I could see the tension in his body as he moved. “Nicolas, take her somewhere else.”
“No.” I said. “She’s staying here, under my roof, where I can keep an eye on her.”
Damien stopped in front of me, his face tight with a deep frown. For him, that was the same as shouting “This could cause one of Kiara’s episodes again.”
“Kiara is your wife, not mine. Make sure she doesn’t see anything she shouldn’t. Where is she anyway?”
“She’s in our room. As soon as Luca told me you were bringing Milene, I told her to stay there.”
“Seet Problem solved.” I went to to the bar and got myself a beer. Damien followed while Luca ordered pizza in the background.
“This is a b
a big problem. Your captive is upstairs, free to move
nove around the house. She could end up running into Kiara”
“I doubt Milene will do much right now. She’s still shaken up and probably sleeping it off. She can’t leave the property, and one of you will keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t try anything stupid.”
Damien studied me closely. “I really hope you know what you’re doing. This is supposed to weaken the Outfit. Don’t forget that, Nicolas.”
1 smiled wide. “It’ll crush them. They’ll fall apart slowly, painfully, and they won’t even see it coming. This will destroy them.” Damien gave a small nod. Even though emotions weren’t his strong point, he understood how mind games could win a war.
“You disgust me,” Liam said.
“Five days,” I reminded him.
Liam stood up straight, his chin held high. “What if I | say no!” Luca stepped in, pushing him. “Then you’d be a disgrace, a traitor. What would you even do? Where would you go?”
Liam pushed him back. “I don’t care. Anything is better than turning into you. I moved toward him. He didn’t back down, lifting his chin higher. “You’re only saying that because you’ve always been protected. You’ve never had to face real cruelty. You’re a Russo, Liam, and one day you’ll be proud of it
“I wish I wasn’t a Russo, I wish you weren’t my brother.”
“Liam,” Damien said, his voice low, his eyes on my face.
“Fuck you!” Liam shouted before running upstairs.
“He’ll come around eventually, Damien said with a calm voice.
“How long until the pizza gets here?” I asked Luca
y minutes”
Laica looked at Damien before answering. “Twenty
“That’s enough time for a call,” I said, nodding at Damien. He hesitated for a moment before pulling out his phone and scrolling through his
החנו”
Damien gave
me the phone, showing me a number I didn’t recognize. “This should still be Dante’s number, unless he changed it since we last
spoke years ago.”
“Perfect. Now, grab some of Kiara’s clothes. If she has a white nightgown, bring that too.”
Damien frowned but didn’t argue. He left the room and headed to his wing.
“How are you planning to stop her from running away or hunting herself!” Luca asked.
“She’s spent her whole life protected. She’s far from home and away from the men who kept her safe.
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Chapter 13
Luck laughed. “You sound very sure about that”
I grinned at him. Damien returned a moment later, looking as annoyed as he ever let himself look. He held out a bundle of clothes, including a silver satin nightgown. Perfect “Kiara knows something is going on,” he said.
I took the clothes without responding and headed to my wing. I entered into Milene’s room without knocking. My eyes scanned the space, landing on the empty bed before moving to the window, Milene was standing there, trying to open it, but the locks required a key.
She turned around quickly, holding the red sheets around her body. Her blond hair was wild, falling over her shoulders. Her pale skin seemed to glow against the red fabric. She wasn’t hiding in the bed like I’d expected, she was trying to escape.
Ө
