“Who is it?”
Mia ran to the window and peered through the blinds, but she couldn’t see much in the dimly lit parking lot save for the vehicles of the customers from the pool hall below.
“The Wolf.” He spat out the name, and Mia’s blood ran cold. Her father’s consigliere was as cruel and brutal a man as her father, and he held as much power in the family as Dante. If Mia’s father hadn’t groomed Dante to take over from the day he was born, the Wolf would have assumed the role of acting boss while the don was in the hospital.
“The Wolf?” Her breath left her in a rush. “He never comes here. Are you sure?”
“My bodyguards know who he is.” Nico grabbed his shirt, shook it out. “Is there a reason he might be looking for you?”
“I don’t know. Dante left me a lot of messages that I haven’t answered. I think he needs some help with the business, but it’s not something I want to get involved in so I’ve been avoiding his calls. Maybe he sent the Wolf to track me down.” She straightened her clothing. “You have to get out. If you go down the back stairs—”
“I’m not leaving.” He checked the magazine in his gun, peered out the window.
“You can’t shoot him, Nico. He’s our consigliere.”
His gazed turned feral. “Then you’d better hope he’s unarmed and means you no harm.”
Her heart kicked up a notch. The Wolf couldn’t find Nico here. Their families were still at war, and she was alone with the enemy. Either the Wolf would think she was betraying her family or that Nico had forced her. Neither of which promised a happy ending.
“How about the window?” She yanked up the blinds. “You can get out here. There’s a fire ladder—”
“I am not running, bella.” He rocked his neck from side to side, each little crack ratcheting up her fear.
Desperate, she looked around the room. “How about the closet? You could hide there. Or in one of the empty offices—”
“I don’t hide.”
“Nico!” Her voice rose in pitch. “He can’t find you here. You know that. You know what it means.”
“If I wasn’t prepared to deal with the consequences,” he said evenly, “I would never have come.”
Caught in a maelstrom of emotion, anger, fear, and frustration, she grabbed a pen off her desk and threw it at him. “But I’m not prepared. I didn’t think it through. And now someone’s going to get hurt.”
His gaze pinned her, cold as ice. “You’re afraid of him.”
“I’m more afraid of losing my freedom and independence than I am of being hurt.” She was also afraid to open herself up, show any weaknesses of vulnerabilities, including her interest in a man she shouldn’t want. Her father would find a way to turn this fling with Nico against her. Whether through pain or humiliation, he would do her harm. And Nico … Her stomach knotted. She couldn’t go through the Danny situation all over again. She couldn’t watch another man she cared about die.
“So he has hurt you.”
She shivered at his lethal tone. He was right, but she would never admit it. Several times, her father had sent the Wolf to punish Mia for her disobedience when he couldn’t do it himself, and he had seemed to relish the task. The Wolf had no limits. There was no line he wouldn’t cross. He had been born into the mob, served as consigliere for her grandfather at the end of his rein and for all the years her father had been in power. Although he was in his early sixties, he kept himself in shape and could beat a man unconscious without breaking a sweat.
“All the more reason for me to stay,” he said into the silence. “I’m not afraid of any man. I’ll protect you.”
“Please,” she whispered. “Please go.”
“No.” He leaned against the window, facing the door. “I’ll wait here, and I make no promises if I hear anything that causes me concern.”
Stubborn ass. Well, she would just have to keep the Wolf in the main part of the office and get him to leave before Nico lost his patience. He had impressive self-control, but she’d seen what lay beneath the surface. If he would beat a man half-unconscious for looking at her, she could well imagine what he might do if the Wolf touched her.
Someone pounded on the door. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the office and unlocked it. The Wolf pushed his way past her, stalking into her office with one of her father’s enforcers behind him. Beyond the doorway, she saw Frankie and Big Joe coming quietly up the stairs.
“Can I help you?”
The Wolf scowled, his eyes darting around the office as if he’d expected to catch her doing something wrong. She shuddered, thinking just how much worse the situation could have been if Nico’s bodyguards had not been outside to warn them.
“Dante has been trying to get in touch with you all day.” His cold, black eyes hardened. “You show the capo bastone disrespect by not answering his calls.”