Chapter Two

~ Nico ~

I stared out the window of my father's limousine, not saying a word to anyone. There really was no one here that I wanted to talk to. They had nothing I wanted to hear.

My parents' opinion had been made very clear to me. They cared nothing for me, only for what they could get from me. I was a bargaining chip to them. A commodity to be used to pay for their cushy lifestyle.

That was probably why they had me in the first place. It wasn't like they had been any kind of parents to me since the day I was born. Even before I had come out as gay they had hated me.

I still didn't understand why they had me if they hated my very existence, so I could only assume it was so they had something to bargain with when they wanted something.

And, apparently, they had bargained me to one Genevieve Thomas, my soon to be spouse. I had literally met the woman like two times in my entire life. I knew nothing about her, and yet, I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with her.

I hoped my parents at least got a good deal from selling me, and I hoped they choked on it, every last cent.

"Nicolas!"

I jumped when my father shouted and turned to look at him.

"Pay attention, your mother is speaking to you."

Again, she didn't have anything to say that I wanted to hear. I sighed as I glanced at her.

"When we arrive," my mother started, "you will greet Genevieve and her father. You will be polite and respectful. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mother."

I knew she expected a verbal response. I couldn't well tell her to go fuck herself, not when we were all sitting in the back of the limousine. There wasn't enough room there for the fight that would ensue when she attacked me.

Her eyes narrowed. "If you don't want another one of those shots, you'll behave yourself."

I knew she meant it.

The shot of drugs she had given me had made my veins boil and I had a total loss of function. The one she had given me to counteract the paralyzing drug was just as bad.

I never wanted to feel either again.

I gave a swift nod and then waited to see if she had anything else to say. When she turned her attention to my father and started talking to him, I tuned them both out and glanced back out the window.

I wonder if I would die if I opened the door and jumped?

Knowing my luck, I wouldn't die like I wanted to. I'd probably just break something and my parents would still force me to attend whatever shit-show we were headed for, injury or no injury.

It wasn't like they cared for me or anything.

When we pulled up in front of a massive white stone mansion, I was in no way surprised. If my parents were going to sell me, they were going to get their money's worth.

Made me wonder how much they were getting for me.

I knew there was a business merger in there somewhere, even if I didn't know the details. My father's company hadn't been doing so well the last few months.

I suspected it was due to the fact that my father felt only those at the top were allowed to have opinions or thoughts or their own. Eventually, people didn't want to be around him or do business with his company.

I waited for my parents to climb out of the car before I joined them. For just a moment, I tensed, thinking about running. More like fantasizing.

Unfortunately, my parents had brought along Steve and that other guard. I didn't know his name. They would chase me down and my mother would drug me up again, giving Steve another opportunity to molest me.

I clasped my hands behind my back, knowing I'd wrinkle my suit jacket if I put them in my pockets, and that would never be allowed. I needed to not do anything to piss my parents off.

Didn't mean I wasn't going to look for the first escape route I could find. If an opportunity presented itself, I'd take it, even if I had to jump out of the limousine.

I followed my parents up the wide steps to the front door. I breathed in deeply and then slowly let it out as they knocked and the door was opened by an older man in a suit. My parents announced who we were and we were allowed inside.

It wasn't until we stepped into the entryway and I heard the noise level that I realized this wasn't a simple dinner with my fiancée and her parents. It was a full-on social event.

This was going to be a complete nightmare.

My mother shot me a glare before plastering a smile on her face and greeting our hosts. I barely kept from rolling my eyes. I was just so tired of all this shit. My life had been like this for so long, I barely remembered what freedom felt like.

"It's good to see you, Mr. Thomas," my father said as he shook the man's hand.

"Please, Victor, call me Andrew. We are about to be family, after all."

"Andrew." My father was practically beaming as he turned and gestured to my mother.

"Oh, you brought your younger sister," Andrew said.

"No, this is my wife."

"This young lady?" Andrew asked. "You're lying to me. There's no way this beautiful woman could be Nicolas's mother. She's too young."

I grit my teeth when my mother let out a flirty little giggle. That was the most horrendous sound I had ever heard. What was even worse was that my mother was buying the bullshit Andrew was feeding her.

I almost recoiled when Andrew's eyes lifted to me and hardened. "Nicolas."

I gave him a polite bow of my head. "Sir."

"Genevieve has been waiting for you."

A weak smile spread across my lips. Considering I don't really remember Genevieve, I couldn't say I was waiting to see her.

"She's in the other room," Andrew said. "You should go find her."

My mother twirled around, pure panic on her face. "Oh, but—"

"Not to worry, Isabella." Andrew grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle pat. "Genevieve will take him in hand."

Oh, goody.

Why did I get the feeling that Genevieve was just like my mother? My soon-to-be married life was looking even more dismal than it had before.

I didn't think that was possible.

I don't know what fantasies I had harbored, but I at least thought me and Genevieve could be friends. We certainly weren't going to be lovers.

Guess I was wrong there, too.

Still, getting away from mother sounded far better than dealing with a woman I barely knew.

I kept my hands clasped behind my back as I made my way to the other room. I paused in the entryway, looking around. There were a lot of people here. I counted no less than twenty people around the room in various little groups, chatting away with drinks in their hands and little plates of finger foods.

I should have eaten before we came here.

"Nicolas, darling."

I visibly cringed when a buxom blonde walked up to me and wrapped her arms around me. Not only did I not like being touched by people I didn't know, but, after what happened in the shower, I didn't want to be touched by anyone.

"Genevieve." I placed a light kiss on her cheek and then got a firm hold of her shoulders and pushed her back a little. "You look beautiful tonight."

It was the polite thing to say and people were watching, especially my parents. If I said one wrong word to her, my mother would be livid. If I could just keep her from touching me, I'd be fine.

Genevieve wrapped her hands around my arm. "I have some people I'd like you to meet."

Whatever.

She led me over to a small group of men standing off to one side of the room. I swallowed when I got a good look at the dark haired man staring so intently at me. There was something in his eyes that made me incredibly wary.

"Nicolas, this is Vinnie Borelli and his husband Nicky."

I clenched my hand to keep it from trembling and then reached out to shake the man's hand. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

"I've heard a lot about you, Nicolas," Vinnie stated.

Yeah, I had nothing to say to that.

"Gena's best friend Marisa is married to my cousin Vito," Vinnie said. "Do you know Marisa?"

I shook my head. It wasn't like I got out that often anyway. I knew very few people.

Vinnie lifted a dark eyebrow. "You might know her better as Mari Sabatino."

I gasped as that name slammed through me like a tidal wave, sucking all the air out of my lungs. "Sabatino?"

"I see you do remember her."

I swallowed tightly, glancing at Gena. She was just smiling up at me, her hand still wrapped around my arm. "Mari is your best friend?"

"Yep," Gena replied. "We've been best friends since we were teenagers. We went to the same boarding school together."

I wanted to ask so many questions, but not a single word came to my lips. I could barely think of his name, let alone speak it.

"Vinnie is an old family friend," Gena explained. "When Marisa married into the Borelli family, we met and got to talking. After Marisa explained a few things, Vinnie agreed to help us."

"Help you with what?" I asked, feeling totally lost.

Gena just grinned before nodding at Vinnie. "There are a few other people I want to introduce my fiancé to. We'll see you later, huh?"

Vinnie glanced at his watch. "About twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes for what?" I asked as Gena lead me away. I was still feeling very confused. I also wanted to go back to Vinnie and ask him to get me in touch with Marisa. I had to know how her brother was doing.

It was vital.

I could barely hold the smile on my face as Gena introduced me to person after person. I had no idea who these people were, and I didn't really care. I did know that if I didn't make nice, my mother would be pissed. I could feel her watching me from across the room, dissecting my every move.

"I need to visit the little lady's room," Gena stated. "Nicolas, would you be a dear and escort me?"

"Yes, of course," I replied automatically.

When she led me across the room to where her father was standing with my parents, I rethought that automatic statement. I wasn't happy being shown off as a shiny puppy to all of Gena's friends and associates, but it was better than facing my parents.

"Dinner is almost ready, Daddy. You might want to get everyone started for the dining room," Gena said when we reached them. "Nicolas is going to escort me to the little lady's room and then we'll join you."

"I'm sure Nicolas would prefer to stay with us," my mother replied. "He's shy."

I wasn't shy. I was terrified.

"Oh, it's okay," Andrew stated. "He'll be fine with Genevieve."

"But—"

"Your man there can go with them if you think it will make Nicolas feel better," Andrew suggested.

I wanted to shake my head. I didn't want Steve to go anywhere with me. I was afraid of what the man might do if he got me alone, and if Gena was inside the bathroom, that would leave me alone in the hallway with Steve.

I had no choice when Gena yanked on my arm and started leading me away from the crowd of partygoers and toward a hallway at the back of the room.

I started to wonder where we were going when we continued through the hallway to the very back of the house.

Where in the hell was this bathroom?

The moon?

When she finally stopped in front of one of the doors, I tried to take a step back so she could enter, but she refused to let go of my arm. Instead, Gena leaned up on her heels and pressed her cheek against mine.

"Close your eyes," she whispered.

What?

"Close your eyes, Nico."

I reared back until I could see her face. No one called me Nico. Well, no one had called me Nico since I had been sixteen years old, not since that horrible day when I lost the only man I had ever loved.