CHAPTER XL

F or the past week, I’d been relentlessly applying for every job I could find. It was maddening. I honestly thought Nico would be okay with me not working at the club after what happened, but now it felt like he’d put me in a cage. I couldn’t even get a single employer to look my way because he’d practically blacklisted me from every position. How could someone be so intimidating? The internet claimed he was a millionaire due to his vast property investments. While that was believable, the fear he instilled in people was just... bizarre.

Despite all that, he continued to shower me with candy and flowers, his way of trying to soothe my frustrations. It was sweet, but I was still furious. He kept insisting that I return to the club, that nothing would happen again. Finally, I decided to call him.

“Angel,” he answered on the second ring, his deep, rich voice like milk chocolate.

“I need you to stop telling other employers not to hire me,” I demanded.

“No,” he replied, so simply, so confidently.

“No? What do you mean no ?”

He sighed that infuriatingly calm sigh. “Just what it means. No.”

Frustration welled up inside me as I began to pace my cramped apartment, my fingers itching to pull my hair out. “Nico, I can’t keep staying home all day, moping around. I’m going crazy.”

I grit my teeth, fighting to keep my composure. “I need to pay bills, buy groceries, and... tampons.” Not to mention my chocolate bars.

“If you need money, I have plenty of it. I told you I would take care of you,” he reminded me with that familiar condescension.

“God, Nico, that is not the point,” I snapped. “I need to get out of my apartment.”

“Whatever you need, my men can get it for you if I am not able to.” he suggested, implying it was the only option.

“No.” I shook my head as if he could see me. “I want to leave the apartment. I need to get out and breathe fresh air.”

“Open a window,” he said.

“Seriously, Nico?” I said in annoyance. “That’s not?—”

“Angel, I have to go. Enzo will take you to my place, and I’ll fuck you all night when I get back. Would that make you feel better? To have that sass fucked out of you?” he jested.

“You ass?—”

“The answer is still no. That’s my final answer.”

I was ready to unleash the tirade brewing inside me when I heard the unmistakable sound of the line disconnecting.

“Did he just hang up on me?” I muttered, staring at my phone in disbelief.

I was about to call him back and tell him where he could stick his money when there was a sharp knock on my door. I tossed my phone onto the couch and looked through the peephole. Liam stood there, looking disheveled and on edge with his hair a mess and shadows under his eyes.

I opened the door and noticed he looked almost haunted, as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Liam, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Can we talk?” His words came out in a rush, almost jittery.

“Sure, come in.” I stepped aside, my heart pounding as he crossed the threshold.

“Thanks,” he murmured, his eyes darting around the room like a trapped animal’s. I shut the door, keeping my gaze fixed on him as I watched him pace back and forth. First to the window, then back to the couch, his movements frantic and erratic, as if he were trying to outrun whatever was haunting him.

Finally, he stopped. Liam ran a hand through his tousled hair, the agitation radiating off him. “I found out some things, Winter. Things you need to know. Nico... he’s not who you think he is.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s involved in something dangerous. Illegal business.”

“What are you talking about? He’s a businessman.”

“Yeah, a businessman with ties to the mafia!” Liam exclaimed, his voice rising slightly. “That nightclub? It’s a front to keep the Feds off his back. The liquor sales, the cover charges, they’re all a scheme to launder his money—all those undocumented cash deposits go straight into his pocket.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “No, that’s impossible. Nico can’t be...he’s good to me. He treats me right,” I insisted.

“Winter, I’m telling you, I can’t make this shit up. I’ve seen the shipments.” Liam’s voice was thick with frustration, as if he was trying to break through my defensive walls.

“What shipments? What are you talking about?”

He was not making any sense.

“Drugs. Heroin, to be exact.” Liam’s words hung in the air like a death sentence.

Drugs?

“He’s a murderer, Winter. If you aren’t careful, you’ll get caught in the crossfire.”

“Stop,” I whispered.

“Take your goddamn blinders off, Winter! He’s the mafia don. The most powerful and influential boss in Chicago!” Liam yelled.

“Stop,” I repeated, my voice shaking.

“He owns all of Chicago. He has police chiefs, judges, lawyers, and politicians on his payroll. They do his bidding, cover for him when he needs it, and in return, Nico protects them. He’s playing you, and you’re too blind to see it!” Liam shouted, his anger a sharp blade cutting through my denial.

“Stop it!” I snapped, my heart racing, panic threatening to take over. “You’re being ridiculous.”

But then again, Nico admitted to killing his father and ex-girlfriend. And then there was Tabi’s ex, and Preston, who just vanished into thin air along with his friends. I could understand getting revenge against those who had wronged you. I’d felt that rage myself, but to murder someone just because you could? And ties to the mafia?

“Nico would never—” I struggled to finish my sentence, my voice choked with emotion, making the words difficult to get out.

“Would never what? Hurt you? Lie to you? You haven’t known him that long!” He’s obsessed with you and only wants to control you.”

Mya would’ve said something if all this was true, wouldn’t she? She had a little boy. She wouldn’t raise her son in that life. No, I refused to believe it.

Liam took a deep breath, trying to reign in his emotions. “Being with Nico is dangerous. He’s involved in things that will put you in harm’s way. I can’t just stand by and watch you get hurt.”

“This is insane,” I said shakily, running my fingers through my hair.

“Think about it, Winter,” Liam urged. “Have you noticed people are terrified when they hear Nico Moretti’s name? How they part like the Red Sea when he walks into a room? Or how certain people just… vanish? Especially the ones who tried to hurt you?”

I paused, memories rushing back of overheard bits of his conversations with the guys, but I’d never dwelled on it. I’d swept it under the rug.

“Didn’t you say no one would hire you because Nico told them not to?” Liam reminded me.

Tears pricked my eyes. I thought about my parents and the men who killed them. Those men had the same ruthless glint in their eyes as Nico, the same aura of danger, like someone in the mafia or a cartel.

Oh, my God.

“There has to be an explanation,” I tried to convince myself, desperation creeping into my voice.

Nico had always been attentive, bringing me flowers and my favorite treats like he was trying to sweeten my world. He stocked the closet in his home with my things and kept my favorite body wash and shampoo in stock, always making sure I was taken care of. Sure, he had his dark side, a possessiveness that sometimes bordered on suffocating, but didn’t that just prove how much he cared? His mother had said he was different with me. I had to believe that, didn’t I? Yet now Liam’s words echoed in my mind like a relentless siren. What if he was right? How could I be so stupid?

“Winter, just think about it,” Liam pressed. “All the late nights, the secretive phone calls. His life could destroy you.”

“Stop it!” I shouted. My hands clenched into fists at my sides. “You’re wrong about him.”

“I wish I were. I wish I could just let it go, but I can’t. I care about you too much to ignore the signs. You’ve become one of my best friends.”

I turned away, my heart pounding violently against my ribcage as if it were trying to escape the chaos swirling in my mind. The walls of my reality felt like they were closing in on me.

“Liam… I can’t... why are you trying to break my heart?” My voice cracked, his concern feeling like a double-edged sword.

“I’m trying to protect it,” he replied, his tone gentle yet persistent. “I’m asking you to ask the questions.”

Could it be true? That the man I had started to fall for could he be hiding a monstrous secret? What if he was the one who had been sent to hunt me down, just like whoever had come for my parents? The thought twisted my stomach, a visceral knot of fear and confusion.

“I... I need time to process all of this,” I finally whispered. “I think you should leave, Liam.”

“Just promise me you’ll keep your eyes open,” he said, his expression softening, but the urgency in his eyes remained. “I’ll never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

I nodded slowly, my heart torn between my feelings for Nico and the gnawing suspicion that now loomed over me like a dark cloud. The door clicked shut behind Liam.