Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

NICO

A urora would be upset if she knew I just witnessed that. Which is why despite how much I want to reach for her and hold her to me and comfort her, I know I can't. Not yet.

At least I have answers. Asking her to come up here was a strategic move. I needed to see how she would react to being back in her art studio. I thought she would at least walk in, but it's clear the demons plaguing her couldn't even let her do that. I knew something was wrong. I just wasn't sure how to help her, and I'm still not sure I do.

I slip out of the alcove and head into the dimly lit cinema. Valerio certainly went all out when he built this place. There are rows of plush seats in the room. I take a seat in one of them, waiting for Aurora to appear.

She does a few minutes later. I turn to look at her at the sound of her footsteps walking down. There's no trace of the panic attack she nearly had in front of that door on her face. Instead, there's a smile playing on her lips as she looks at me.

"This place is insane!" she exclaims, entering the row of seats and taking the one right by my side.

"Yeah, I know. How did it go with your friend?"

"Pretty good." She nods. "I'll tell you all about it later. First, tell me what we're doing here. I've never seen you successfully finish a movie before, and I hate watching them at best."

Right, but I needed a good enough reason to bring her up here, and the opportunity presented itself.

"I figured we could spend some time here together. Plus, I won't be coming home tonight, so this is me trying to make up for that."

She tilts her head to the side. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Another meeting with the Bratva to try to work out favorable terms. And after that, I need to head to one of Camila's clubs. A capo trashed the place last night. We need to investigate which made man he works for, and then I need to deal with it. It'll take all night."

She frowns. "You know they're all just a bunch of sexist, insecure men who can't accept that a woman now holds a seat at the table over them. It's so annoying that they're fighting this so much."

I made the announcement introducing Camila as a member of the table two weeks ago. Surprisingly, the men who sit there didn't have too much of a problem with it. They all welcomed her, even Sebastian. But as expected, there's been an uproar from the rest of the made men in the outfit who are not happy with my decision.

"Yeah, but I expected it. Don't worry, sweetheart. I have it handled."

"I wonder if Camila's okay," she murmurs. "I should call her."

"No, you're going to sit there and then we're going to enjoy the movie I picked out."

"You already picked out a movie? Which one?"

My lips twitch. " The Notebook ."

Aurora groans, her head falling into her hands. "You're kidding," she says, looking up at me. "So not only do I have to suffer through a movie, I have to suffer through one of the most popular romance movies of all time?"

"We'll suffer through it together, mi vida . And what's wrong with romance movies?" I question, genuinely curious about what her beef is with them.

"They're unrealistic. In real life, love is never as easy as they portray it to be," she says, her eyes meeting mine at the end of that sentence.

I hold her stare for a second before looking away. I don't want to say something I'll regret.

"Aurora, it's a movie. They're actors, and none of it is real in the first place. Now shut up and watch it with me."

She slaps my arm for that, her eyes narrowed. Then her expression clears, and she gets that mysterious glint in her eyes that always worries me.

"Okay, fine. I'll watch your movie if you do something for me," she states.

"I wasn't aware this was a negotiation."

"Come on, Nicky. It's important."

I sigh. "What is it?"

"Sabrina has a new boyfriend, and I told her we'd go on a double date this weekend."

I scoff. "Please tell me that's a joke."

"Nope," she says, shaking her head. "I would have given you more time, but I'm really curious about this guy, and Sabrina wants to meet you too, so it works out."

"All right then," I say, nodding.

She brightens. "So you'll go?"

"Absolutely not."

"Come on, Nico, just do it for me. It'll be nice. I heard her boyfriend's a really nice guy."

My eyes narrow. "Will you still go on the date if I refuse?"

"Sure, but then I'd just be third wheeling, which will be a little awkward," she states.

"Not as awkward as it's going to be with four of us there," I mutter, already dreading it. I'm not the best at social interactions. It's why I don't have any friends, after all.

"So you'll go?" Aurora asks with a hopeful smile.

"Fine. What's the guy's name?' I question.

"Benjamin Leeds," she replies slowly. "Why are you asking?"

I shrug. "No reason. What time is the date on Saturday?"

She tells me the details, and I can't help the warmth that spreads through my chest as I watch her. There's a huge smile on her face, and her brown eyes are bright. It takes very little effort on my part to make her happy, although in this case, the effort might be a little gargantuan.

"All right, we'll go together."

"Thank you," she says softly.

"Now, can we watch the movie? I have to leave in an hour."

I send a text to Vlad asking him to turn on the projector.

Aurora glares at me. "You leaving in an hour means you never had any plans to complete the movie in the first place. I thought we were doing this together."

I smile, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "We are, baby. We're starting together."

She's about to protest, but the movie starts rolling, and with a huff, she falls silent. I'm bored in thirty minutes but Aurora's into it. She doesn't protest when I leave less than an hour later, waving me off after I press a kiss to her forehead.

On the way to the Bratva meeting, I call for Vlad's attention from the front seat.

"Look into someone for me," I tell him.

"Who?" he asks simply.

"His name is Benjamin Leeds. He's acquainted with Sabrina Miller, Aurora's friend. Find out if there's any red flags around the guy. Or any information at all."

"You got it, boss."

It might not be my business, but if Aurora and I are going to be meeting this man tomorrow, then it would be better to at least ensure he's not a threat to us in any way.

Aurora and I arrive at the restaurant for the date five minutes earlier than the stipulated time. I guide her toward our reserved seat, keeping my hand on her naked back. She looks resplendent in the black dress she has on. And I haven't been able to stop touching her since I picked her up.

The feisty redhead shows up at exactly six p.m., strutting inside the restaurant with an air of confidence. She smiles when she spots us, heading over and sliding into one of the two seats on the other side of the table in front of us.

"Hi, Rory," she greets her friend before her eyes meet mine. "Nicolas Ramirez."

The short nod that accompanies my name draws a smile to my lips. I offer her a nod of my own.

"Sabrina Miller. It's nice to officially meet you. You can call me Nico."

"Okay, Nico," she says. "I hope you make my best friend happy."

"I plan to," I assure her.

"Sorry. Ben isn't here yet. He said he'd be a few minutes late."

Aurora speaks up then. "It's fine. We can wait, and you can tell me where you got that dress. You look amazing."

They start talking and planning a future shopping trip. I mostly stay silent until my phone lights up with a text from Vlad. He still hasn't gotten back to me with information on Leeds. We've been pretty busy all week, taking care of the issue with Camila's club, and other stuff as well.

I looked into him, and something's not right about this guy, boss. I asked two of our guys to pick him up on his way here. They're taking him to a warehouse close by for questioning. I already sent Danny.

My jaw clenches. Great. Aurora's going to flip out when she finds out I kidnapped her friend's boyfriend.

Don't hurt him. I only want answers.

We'll get them to you in a couple of minutes, boss.

I turn off my phone before looking up to find both women staring at me.

"Who were you texting?" Aurora asks curiously.

"Vlad," I reply.

"Who's Vlad?" Sabrina questions.

Aurora grins as she answers, "Officially, his guard. Unofficially his best friend."

"I don't have friends, mi vida . We've talked about this," I say gruffly.

"Oh really? I thought you and Rory started off as friends."

I smirk. "Sure, but considering she's in my bed every night, friendship is kinda off the table."

Aurora groans, placing a hand over her face. Her friend laughs, though.

"Okay, I think I like him," she announces like I'm not there.

Good. If she likes me, I just might be able to smooth out the tiny issue of kidnapping her boyfriend. Both women start talking to each other for a couple more minutes, which is good, because Vlad sends me a voice recording with a text attached to it.

You might want to give this a listen, boss. Leeds is bad news.

"Excuse me, ladies," I say, getting to my feet.

Aurora's eyes narrow like she can tell I'm up to something. I offer her a small smile as I walk out of the restaurant to listen to what was sent. I'm angry by the time the twenty-second recording finishes playing. I consider not saying anything, but both women are going to find out eventually. I'm just not sure how to break the news.

Aurora helps me out by coming outside the restaurant.

"What are you up to, Nico? You've been acting suspicious all evening," she says accusingly.

"Don't get mad," I start.

"I'm already mad."

Great . I blow out a breath before telling her what my men did to Leeds.

"You kidnapped my best friend's boyfriend?" she screeches.

"Yeah. I only asked Vlad to look into him for security purposes. But in the process, he found something suspicious."

"So you kidnapped him," she mutters, running a hand through her hair. "What did you find out?"

"The guy's an investigative journalist. Apparently, he was looking into Sabrina's family when he figured out who she was. Then he hatched a plan to con Sabrina out of her family's fortune. Did you know she's an heiress?"

Aurora nods, her expression growing a little concerned. "Yeah, she's told me. Wait, did Benjamin confess to that? What have you done to him?"

"Nothing. Yet," I add meaningfully. "Vlad sent me a voice recording of him talking about how he wanted to use her for money. So, we have two choices. We can play it for your friend right now, or you can take her home and tell her there."

Aurora sighs. "I can't believe this. She seemed so happy. She said he was a great guy."

"Well, he's not, baby."

She looks up at me, annoyed. "I still can't believe you did this."

"If I hadn't, she would have remained in a relationship that was never going to work out."

"Fuck. She's not going to take this well. Come on, you're going to help me explain all of this to her," she says, intertwining our hands as she leads me back into the restaurant.

Once we're there, I retake my former position, while Aurora sits next to her friend.

"Hey, guys. I'm sorry, but I don't know what's going on. Ben isn't answering my calls," Sabrina states once we're seated.

Aurora swallows softly. "Actually, Sab, he can't pick up the phone right now. I have something to tell you."

Surprisingly, Sabrina actually does take the news well. Stoically and with barely any surprise. It's almost like she was expecting it.

"I am so sorry, darling," Aurora says, pulling her into a hug. "He's an awful person."

"I guess I really do have a type," Sabrina replies with a soft, sad smile.

"What do you want me to do with him?" I ask once the two women separate. "I could have the guys rough him up a bit—make him regret ever trying to do that to you."

Sabrina's eyes widen. I watch as she slowly looks toward her friend in disbelief. Aurora sighs softly.

"He's being serious," she tells her friend.

The redhead nods several times before looking back at me.

"No, it's fine. Let him go. I just never want to see him again," she informs me.

"Are you sure?" I question, a little upset that the fucker's going to go scot-free.

Aurora shoots me a disbelieving look. "Yes, she's sure, Nicolas. Call them off."

"Fine," I mutter, going outside to call Vlad.

I tell him to let Leeds go after sufficiently threatening him and ensuring that he swears never to bother Sabrina again. When I return to the table, Sabrina's head is lying on her Aurora's shoulder. Aurora rubs comforting circles on her back. They're a great team and it's clear they care about each other a lot.

"I didn't mean to ruin the dinner," I say to the two women.

Sabrina shakes her head. "No, I'm grateful, Nico. Thanks for what you did. If it wasn't for you, who knows how bad it could have gotten. I just can't believe I was so stupid."

"It's not your fault, Sab, "Aurora says gently.

Sabrina exhales softly before suddenly looking at me. "Enough with my sob story. Let's talk about you, Nico. Where are you from?"

"My parents are Mexican. They met in Cancun and fell in love. After they had me, they moved here to the States," I answer easily.

"Rory told me they passed away. I'm sorry for your loss."

Now that is a topic that's not as easy for me.

"It was a long time ago," I say uncomfortably.

Twenty years later, and I still have no idea how to talk about my parents without feeling this hole in my chest. It never gets easier. Grief is an emotion that sticks with you no matter what you do.

Aurora and Sabrina share a look right before the latter clears her throat. She shoots me a small smile.

"Well, this has been the most awkward dinner ever," she states.

"Tell me about it," I mutter.

"I think I'm just going to go home. It was really nice to meet you, Nico. And thanks again for tonight."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Aurora questions as the redhead stands up from her chair, grabbing her purse.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm fine. Enjoy the rest of the night with your fake-husband-slash-boyfriend."

My lips twitch at that.

"See you later, Nico."

"Goodbye, Sabrina."

Aurora and I watch her walk away and there's no mistaking the worry in Aurora's brown eyes.

"You think she'll be okay?" I question.

She lets out a soft breath. "Yeah, she will be. It's not the first time this has happened to her. I'm really worried. There's only so many times a person can go through the same exact thing before they give up."

"People are more resilient than you think, mi vida . I'm sure she'll be okay."