Ruthless Vow (Vegas Vicious #2)

21. Nicole

21

Nicole

A week passes. I fill my nights with Leo or rather, Leo fills me. Other than not getting very much restful sleep, I have no complaints, whatsoever.

During the days, I explore the massive interior and the equally massive exterior of Leo’s house. But I don’t venture any further than the electrified fence that surrounds the grounds. Until my aunt is located, I know there’s a target on my forehead. She wants me dead. And…I don’t want to die.

It’s frustrating and disappointing and, frankly, heartbreaking to know my aunt has now tried to kill me twice, but it is what it is. I’m nothing if not practical.

Sabina lives in the guest house but this week she’s been gone, visiting a friend in New York. So, it’s just been me and Leo. And a highly trained security team, armed to the teeth.

And Charlie. Leo had Luca bring him the first morning after my arrival. Luca arrived with the cat carrier, food, toys, litter boxes, three cat trees of varying heights that have been set up next to different windows, and a portable catio. Charlie has never been so happy.

I can’t go for my regular runs, so every day I do yoga and make use of Leo’s state-of-the-art home gym which is equipped with weights, kettle bells, a heavy bag, an elliptical, a stationary bike, and a rowing machine. Unfortunately, no treadmill. I’ve been doing laps in the pool. I’m not a great swimmer, but I can make it from one end to the other.

It’s a gorgeous pool with a sleek, infinity edge design. At the deep end is a waterfall. At the shallow end are four submerged loungers, so I can enjoy the sun while staying cool in the water. To one side is a large cabana draped in sheer white curtains. To the other side is a row of palm trees, separated by beds of desert flowers.

Leo finds me sitting on one of the submerged loungers reading a thick biography. Honestly, having so much leisure time doesn’t make me feel relaxed and luxurious. It makes me feel overly hedonistic and extremely anxious. I want to be doing something useful.

What I really want is my old job. I miss it. But that hasn’t exactly been offered up on a silver platter and I haven’t asked.

I may currently be sharing Leo’s bed, but sharing his private business files is another matter entirely. The most he’s let me do is check over Luca’s daily to-do list and make corrections to any glaring errors.

There are a lot of glaring errors.

I miss working with Leo. I miss the responsibility of making daily decisions that matter to the running of all the myriad arms of his businesses. I miss having him ask my opinion and then listen attentively to my reply. I miss the way he relied on me, trusted me.

And I feel sorry for Luca because he absolutely hates this job. At least he got a break today. Leo sent him to Reno to oversee…something. Something about a supply chain issue. I’m not exactly in the loop.

I look up as Leo exits the house and strides over to stand beside me, his tall form throwing a shadow across me. “Sabina returns today,” he says.

That’s terrifying.

I know that Leo’s brothers were part of the operation to locate me. They’d been integral in helping him find me before Danila could put a bullet in my head. They knew the basics about why I’d done what I’d done and, as far as I know, they haven’t asked for my head. Which, quite honestly, is as much as I can hope for at this point.

But Sabina is different.

She’s a Russo, of course, so she’s fully aware of what goes on in the shadows. But she’s largely not a part of it. She lives a relatively normal life, for an extremely rich girl only recently out of college. Someone with her affluence and influence might look down at someone on the payroll like me. But she’d always been kind to me. Friendly, even. She’d trusted me, accepted me at family functions, and even gone out of her way to make me feel welcome.

But that fateful day on the yacht…the way she looked at me—it was like she’d been faced with a demon straight out of hell itself. A demon sent to kill everyone she loved.

Just the thought of it, the guilt, makes hot tears prick at my eyes. I swallow them down and attempt to compose myself.

“Okay…” I say slowly, shading my eyes with my hand as I look up at him. “Thank you for letting me know. When she arrives, I…I want to talk to her privately. I don’t know what she knows about…” I wave my hand in a vague gesture. “About all of this, but I want to explain it all as best as I can.”

“We’re having a family dinner. Here.” Leo gestures toward the far side of the patio where several housekeepers have started to set up the table in the curtained cabana.

“Family dinner,” I repeat, nodding. “So, sure. I’ll stay out of your hair. Upstairs, wherever. I understand that you want privacy when it comes to your—”

“You will join us,” he says. As casually as if he were commenting on the weather.

I blink. “I will?”

“Yes.”

I wait for him to elaborate. He doesn’t.

“Are they all okay with that?” I ask, hoping he says no so that I have an excuse to refuse. Sitting down for dinner with all the Russos after I tried to kill their brother is not really appealing.

“It’s been long enough. I won’t keep you a secret from my family. I won’t have you hiding yourself away. It’s bad enough that you’re stuck here for security reasons. I don’t want you isolated.” He stares down at me. “It will be a good dinner.”

Of course it will because Leo has decreed it so.

“I have no doubt it will be,” I mutter, frowning hard. “You didn’t answer my question, though. Are they okay with me joining you for a family dinner?”

“They will be.”

My heart skips a beat. “You mean, they don’t know?”

“My brothers do. My sister…hasn’t replied to my text quite yet. It doesn’t matter. Dinner is in one hour.”

One hour. A mere sixty minutes.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

“Oh. Okay.” My mouth is dry, so I take a quick gulp from my glass of ice water. My fingers find their way into the bird’s nest of hair currently residing on my scalp. When I chopped off my long hair, esthetics weren’t on my radar. My only goal was to look different enough that Leo’s people wouldn’t recognize me. My hair looks like I trimmed it with a blender. “I wish you’d given me a little more warning so I could pull myself together.”

“Your hair,” he notes.

“Among other things.”

The suggestion of a smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “I’ve made arrangements.”

“Meaning?”

“A stylist that Sabina uses has arrived. She’s waiting for you upstairs to help you get ready.”

My brows go up. “You’ve planned ahead.”

“I like to foresee any potential problems whenever I can.”

That’s Leo. Very practical. Very forthright. Very controlling.

I’ll allow it.

“Thank you,” I say. “But I still wish you’d given me more time.”

“More time for you to worry about the inevitable?” He draws me to my feet and pulls me close, brushing his lips against mine. “Tonight, I will let them know that you’re mine. That’s all. If they have a problem with that, then it’s their problem.”

I really do wish it was that simple.

I wish that Leo didn’t just see me as belonging to him. I wish he still trusted me. I wish—

Well, it doesn’t matter what I wish. If wishes were wings, we’d all fly.

In less than an hour, Sabina’s stylist single-handedly gets me ready for this impromptu family dinner. She trims and styles my hair and has magically made it look a thousand percent better. She’s made it so the ragged layers and choppy bits seem like they’re supposed to look that way. She skillfully applies makeup on me—eyeliner, shadow, mascara, highlight, bronzer, blush, lipstick— a skill I have never acquired. It’s not gaudy, not overdone. I still look like me. A me with an effortlessly polished appearance worthy of the best social media photo filter. And she helps me pick out an outfit from the wardrobe Leo acquired for me—a simple ivory silk sheath dress by The Row that fits like a dream. Add plain, low-heeled pumps, a gold chain necklace, and a thick gold bangle bracelet to finish the red-carpet worthy look, and…

I’m all ready for my execution.

Leo appears to escort me downstairs. He’s wearing a crisp charcoal dress shirt with the top button undone, baring a V of tattooed skin, the thorny vines caressing the base of his neck. His black, slim fit trousers hug his lean waist and muscled thighs. Black loafers. A matching belt. He is the perfect blend of sophistication and authority.

He pauses a moment, his dark eyes scanning me from head to foot.

“Beautiful,” he murmurs. “You’re beautiful, little wolf.”

The word isn’t one I’ve ever thought applies to me, but I choose not to argue with him. He’s entitled to his opinion.

My heart thunders in my chest as I take his arm. He leads me downstairs and outside to where his family are already seated at the dark walnut table that’s been set up in the curtain-draped cabana next to the shimmering pool. In the centre of the table is a long, low arrangement of succulents and desert flowers and tealights in small glass orbs. Lanterns hang from the overhead beams.

Around the table, his siblings are laughing and joking, relaxed.

My gaze moves across each person in turn.

Damian. Dark hair. Straight slashes of brows over dark eyes. Three-day scruff that’s artfully maintained. Tattoos peek out from the open collar of his white shirt and decorate the backs of his hands.

Next to him is Alina, Damian’s girlfriend. Long, pale-gold hair. Blue eyes. Gorgeous features. A figure that’s all stunning curves and endless legs.

Next to Alina is Cassio. Thick, wavy blond hair. Light blue eyes. A natural curl to the corners of his mouth that makes him look like he’s always smiling. But despite his fair coloring and easy-going aura, the slash of his cheekbones and the hard line of his jaw mark him as a Russo.

Across from Alina is Dante. Light brown hair. Green eyes. His nose is straight and a little narrow, his features a masterpiece of symmetry. The best way to describe him is too perfect to be real.

Next to him is Sabina. Beautiful, icy Sabina. A powerhouse in a small package. Dark brown hair. Pale blue eyes. Like a lake in winter.

For a moment, they don’t notice our approach. And then they do. Conversation comes to a halt. Any laughter, any smiles, fade away to nothing.

I focus on Sabina. For a moment, there is no discernible disdain in her gaze. Perhaps I look so different in my unfamiliar polished state that she doesn’t recognize me at first glance.

But then the warmth leaves her eyes in an instant, replaced by ice.

“And there she is,” she says aloud, ever word razor-sharp.

“Here I am,” I agree softly. Leo’s seat is at the head of the table. He pulls out the chair to the right of it—the one across from Damian and next to Dante—and holds the back while I sit.

There is silence for several long, uncomfortable moments. We’re in Las Vegas, and I know logically that it’s hot outside. But it feels like we’re having a picnic in the center of Antarctica.

Leo remains standing directly behind me. He places his hands on my shoulders.

“I’ve given you all intel on the situation here,” he says. “What we’re doing to find Bianca Moretti and bring her down. Our search for Nicole’s sister, Sofia.” Then his tone hardens and his fingers tighten a little on my shoulders. “Nicole is now under my protection. She is here. With me. This is not up for debate. This is a fact. And it’s one you will all need to accept.”

Again, silence.

And then…

Damian raises his glass of red wine. “Let’s put the past behind us.”

“Start fresh,” Alina says, with a slight nod in my direction, her expression kind. I remember the night I first met her on the yacht. She’d been wary, uncomfortable, Leo doing everything he could to terrify her because he thought she was a spy. I’d squeezed her hand in reassurance. I feel like her nod is a little reassurance in return.

“Start fresh,” Cassio agrees, raising his glass.

“Fine with me,” Dante says. There’s wine in front of him, but it appears to be untouched. He raises his ice water instead. “If Leo’s cool, I’m cool.”

They collectively glance at their sister, who hasn’t budged an inch or shifted her death glare away from me. Her arms are crossed over her chest, her expression sour.

“Leo explained it to me literally while I was in the car on my way here,” she says. “About your sister. About your aunt. About the lies she told you. How you nearly died in the desert.”

I wait.

“And I get it,” she allows. “I do. I know that if someone held one of my brothers prisoner, I would do anything to save his life. Oh, wait… Someone did hold my brothers prisoner, held guns on Damian and Leo. Drugged Luca and Vito and Joe. Someone threatened and hurt people I love—”

“Sabina,” Leo says, a warning edge to his voice.

“No,” I say. “Let her say what she needs to say to me.”

“Gee, thanks,” Sabina says, her tone overflowing with sarcasm. “I would have anyway, but I’m thrilled I have your permission.”

I shift in my seat. “I’m sure you hate me.”

“Hate is such a small word for what I feel for you, Nicole. Here’s a couple more… betrayed. Disappointed. Outraged. And, scared shitless. Yeah…you sure succeeded that day. I’ve never felt so petrified in my whole fucking life than watching you hold a gun to my brother’s head. Thinking I was seconds away from watching you blow his brains out, all because we trusted you. So, yeah. I hate you for that and I think I always will. And suddenly Leo’s okay with it all, he wants us to put it behind us and fucking have dinner with you like nothing happened.”

“I don’t expect forgiveness,” I tell her. “I wouldn’t forgive me if I were you.”

“Good.” Sabina lets out a shuddery breath and finally takes a shaky sip from her glass of wine. “Here’s something else I know. Leo is an unforgiving asshole who would rather cut someone’s throat than accept an apology if he’s been wronged.”

“Sabina, enough,” Leo begins.

Cassio lets out a bark of laughter. “It’s true, brother.”

“He might cut off their fingers,” Alina mutters into her wine glass. “Or maybe strangle them. Threaten their life for being a spy even though they aren’t one.”

Damian emits a cough that sounds suspiciously like a laugh. Then he twines his fingers with Alina’s and gives her a quelling look.

“Like I was saying,” Sabina continues, her pale blue eyes locked on me, colder than chips of ice. “He doesn’t forgive. Anyone. At least, not anyone who isn’t family. And there you were, a valued part of the organization, privy to all sorts of shit, suddenly betraying years of trust, ready to fuck up our lives in a matter of minutes. I don’t really care what the motivation was, you were there, gun in hand, ready to end his life. You didn’t, but clearly that was the plan. Right?”

“Yes. That was the plan.”

“And now you’re sleeping with him.”

I taste lipstick as I bite my bottom lip and say nothing to confirm or deny this. I don’t think I need to.

“Leo’s the one who nearly died that day. By your hand. And now he’s fucking you.” She shakes her head. “It’s like bizarro-world here.”

“You’ve had your say, Sabina,” Leo says, the warning in his tone unmistakeable.

His sister ignores the warning and turns her laser gaze on him.

“She nearly killed you. You were seconds away from having your brains blown all over the deck.” She narrows her eyes at him, then her brows shoot up. She rears back with a look of horror and throws up her hands. “That gets you off, doesn’t it? Does she hold a gun to your head while you’re…in bed? Ugh, I’m going to be sick.”

Every person at the table other than me, Sabina, and Leo lets out some version of a choked and horrified laugh.

“Oh my god,” Alina whispers.

“Jesus,” Dante mutters.

Sabina waves one hand as if she hasn’t just commented on her brother’s sex life.

“I know it’s Leo’s choice. And I’m going to have to accept that. One day. Not today or tomorrow. But one day.”

And then she picks up her glass of Chianti and drains it.

It’s as close as I’m going to come to being forgiven: Sabina’s rocky acknowledgement that I’m with Leo—for now, anyway. What the future holds in store, I honestly have no damn idea.

“Fair enough. This topic is now closed,” Leo says as he moves to his chair and sits. “Let’s eat.”

And so, the courses begin to come out. I pick at my food, trying to stay quiet. Trying to remain as invisible as I can, while the siblings speak about many topics—from important ones, including the search for my aunt. Apparently, she’s been spotted in Chicago—to less important ones. Leo reveals he hired an extra cleaner to keep up with the cat hair. Everyone laughs. Except for Sabina. She glares.

Then Sabina recounts the details of her recent trip to New York to visit with her friend, who is going to be the maid of honor at her wedding.

“I need to plan the engagement party,” Sabina says. “Immediately. I know I shouldn’t have waited this long. I need the invites out, like, literally yesterday.”

“Nicole can help you,” Leo says. “If—”

“No,” Sabina cuts him off, without sparing me a look. “I’ve already hired an event planner.”

And with that, the topic shifts to something else.

It stings, this loss of trust with the Russo family. But I remind myself that it could sting much, much worse.

For now, I choose to be grateful as I watch Sabina slowly ease into the evening, enjoying herself with her brothers, despite my unwelcome presence only five feet away from her. I’m doubly grateful that Dante sits between us as a buffer.

She’s a good sister, one who loves her brothers with all her heart and soul.

It only makes me miss Sofia even more.