NICK

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My soon to be wifedoesn't play nice. If she thinks her remark will upset me, it won't.

"She's cool. I like her." Nico rises from his chair.

"Don't flirt with my fiancée," I warn.

"I'll try not to." He winks before walking down the hallway toward my office.

Natalia sighs. "Looks like we're going to war."

It's long overdue.

My sister stares across the room. Guess she's not getting up from the table.

"I'll leave the war to you kids." Mom smiles.

"Nick, be a dear and walk your mother to the door."

"Sure thing, Mom."

I pick up Hershey. "Hey, boy, how are you doing?"

He responds with a lick on my cheek.

Mom grips my arm. "Your father isn't happy about your decision. He wants to see you."

Her tone is ominous.

"I bet he does," I mutter, halting at the door.

"Love you, Mom." I kiss her cheek before placing her beloved poodle in her arms.

"Ezra will see that you get home safely." I nod at my trusted bodyguard.

He smiles and escorts my mother out of the house.

With a swift turn on my heels, I stride towards my office. The sound of my expensive shoes clicking against the marble floor echoes through the hallway. As I enter and shut the door behind me with a forceful slam, my eyes immediately land on Nico lounging on the black velvet sofa, nursing a glass of Jack Daniels. His five-o"clock shadow is prominent, giving him a rugged appearance. Natalia is seated in an armchair, uncorking a fresh bottle of red wine.

"I thought you were crazy two days ago. It seems your fiancée does too." Natalia smirks.

Perched on the edge of my mahogany desk, I stare between my siblings. "What was I supposed to do? Her file was in front of my face," I snarl.

Nico's gaze meets mine. "Click the next button."

A sarcastic laugh rumbles in my chest. "One day you'll fall in love."

I wave my finger. "With a temper like yours, you'll sacrifice us all."

I point at the door. "For her, I was ready to give up my birthright back then. That's how much I love her."

"But she doesn't want this life," Natalia booms.

"She didn't then and doesn't now. My big brother is so delusional. Not to mention the Delaware Don wants someone's head on a stick for his dead daughter," my sister reminds me.

I glare at my sister. Because that's all I can do. She did what had to be done for the Pitucco family.

"Dad has been underground for eleven fucking years. Pretending to have poor health. For what? So we can go to war over a woman?" Nico spits out.

"Yes, yes," I roar at the top of my lungs.

"I will burn this world to the fucking ground to have her. I'm tired of being miserable. I've sacrificed for too long. It was fucking destiny that I came across her file. And yes, I'm aware she never wanted this mafia life. Now she's here and she'll have to live with it. She's here for good. Fuck that five-year shit."

"Careful brother, your crazy side is taking over," Nico warns.

"I don't care. I am the mafia boss of the Pitucco family. We are going to war. I want that motherfuckers head on a butcher block. He should've been put down then. So much shit happened during that time. It was safer to let her go. The other four mafia families were caught up in their own wars, and Catch and Ritchie were handling their own messes as well. We have an army of men on retainer, which is good because this war is next level. I'll have to speak to the other bosses."

"Of course, Dillon will help," Natalia offers. "He owes you for your help during the war that happened a few years back."

Dillon is the mafia boss of the Magarelli crime family. Luca and Marco are the bosses of the Esposito crime family, and Vino and Vincenzo are the bosses of the Romano crime family.

I've come to the realization that there will always be war in the mafia underworld.

I nod. "True."

"For what it's worth, brother, she still loves you." Natalia's smile rises and falls.

My heart squeezes in my chest.

"All you two did was put your love away in a box in your hearts." She walks toward me and pulls me into her embrace.

"We will fight with you, Nick. Just like we always do."

I squeeze her tightly. "Thank you."

How do I tell my soon to be wife that her life is in danger?

***P***

After a long shower, I wrap a plush black towel around my waist, then pick up the iPad. A smile curls my lips.

Kinsley is keeping busy in her new research lab like I knew she would. She glances at her phone screen then props it on one of the many phone stands throughout her lab.

I pinch the screen, making it bigger so I can get a better look at her phone. It's dirty and creepy of me to spy on Kinsley. I'm a little jealous. That's a fucking lie.

You want to murder every man that had the liberty of fucking your woman.

Which isn't fair. There are quite a few women who were more than happy to become my wife. But I didn't want them or any of the women I'd almost chosen two days ago. Now I have the only woman I ever loved. Let her go. Not a fucking chance.

The two ladies' eyes widen on the screen. Kinsley nods her head at something they say.

Abruptly, I click off the iPad and walk out of the bathroom.

After drying off, I slip into a pair of gray boxer briefs and toss a Penn State t-shirt onto Kinsley"s pillow for her to wear to bed. I already know which side of the bed she prefers, so I climb in on my own side and reach for the panties I demanded she leave on the nightstand. My fingers curl around the silky material as I bring them to my nose and breathe in deeply. God, I missed her scent.

It feels like forever since I"ve been able to do this. A yawn escapes me, reminding me that I haven"t slept in two days. As much as I want to start trying for a baby tonight, exhaustion overtakes me. I"ll just take a short nap before checking on my fiancée in the lab, where she"s probably still trying to hide from me. Slowly, my eyes close and think back to the last time I had her.

Around midnight, there was a knock on my dorm room door. I rarely stay on campus. Usually, I stay in my condo a short distance away.

I open the door and peer at Axe.

"You have a visitor, sir," he says.

"Sir," she repeats mockingly, like she still can't get over who I really am. "This was a bad idea."

I grip her wrist before she can flee. "Come in."

Nodding at my bodyguard, I pull Kinsley into the room and close the door.

"It's after midnight, Kinsley." My fingers caress her cheek. "You shouldn't walk on campus alone at this hour."

"This was stupid. She could've been here," Kinsley laughs sarcastically.

"She wouldn't be in my dorm room ever."

I didn't have the heart to tell her Norah, and I often ate dinner at her place. But I never slept over. No matter how many times she begged me to stay. I wasn't attracted to her. Her beauty wasn't skin deep. It was only on the surface. Once I saw her for the evil witch she was, I loathed her.

"I thought I could just move on. I've been lying to myself." Tears gather on Kinsley's lower lashes.

"We can't be together. I know that, but Nick, I crave you."

It breaks my heart because, of course, she only wants me. I took her virginity. We're connected.

"Since you won't run away with me, this will have to be the last time we make love," I say.

"This is why I kept my head down. I didn't want to see you. I didn't want to fall in love with a man I can't be with. You go against everything I believe in, Nick."

"What do you want me to say, Kinsley? I offered to give it all up for you."

She places a shaky finger against my lips. "I know. But my life is here."

"This is the last time we'll make love," I whisper.

And with that memory, I doze off to sleep.