He snickered. “Okay, smart-ass. You think you’re so clever?”
I rubbed the gloss on my lips together, and his eyes lowered. “I like to think so. I’m the valedictorian of my class.”
Tugging my hand, he dragged me toward a high-rise apartment building on Broadway. On our way inside, I pulled my hand from his grasp, keeping my distance as we strolled past the lobby desk.
Women back home talked about Nico like he was a god. He reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio with his short blond hair and blue eyes. And that perfectly tanned skin that was smooth to the touch.
He didn’t feel like a man who killed people with his bare hands. But maybe he wasn’t as corrupt as the others. After all, he was a college graduate, a lawyer.
Maybe he wasn’tthatbad.
Though I figured he couldn’t have been all that good either.
My father had worked for his family for over two decades. Our parents were childhood friends. Salvatore Luciano paid for my dad to attend Columbia University to get a degree in finance, then an MBA. Dad didn’t come from money. So when his friend offered him a free ride, my dad jumped at it. But now, he was indebted to the Boardwalk Kings.
A lifetime of servitude.
Money laundering.
Wire fraud.
Bank fraud.
Racketeering.
Nico hit the button on the wall to call the elevator. I couldn’t believe I was hanging out with the devious son of a crime boss.
He could have been kidnapping me.
“We didn’t meet by accident,” I said on our way to the twelfth floor. “Did we?”
Nico leaned back against the mirrored wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re the one who’s been following me.”
Nico pushed off the wall, his gaze menacing. “And why do you think that?” He stroked my cheek with the pad of his thumb, an evil glint in his eyes. “Why would I want to follow you?”
I rolled my shoulders, unsure of the answer. “Who knows why anyone in your family does the things they do?”
A dark chuckle escaped his throat. “Oh, I can tell you why we do the shit we do.” His hand dropped from my face, and then the elevator doors opened. “But I think you already know the answer.”
ChapterFive
AVA
Nico didn’t elaborate on my question. Not like it mattered, anyway. Even if he didn’t look like a Luciano, he was dangerous.
Powerful.
Untouchable.
We stopped in front of an apartment at the end of the hallway on the twelfth floor. People tumbled out the front door, saying hello to Nico as he led me inside with his hand on my back.
People lowered their heads to Nico. Some waved or nodded, while women stared at him like he was at the center of their universe. Then, their gazes flicked to me, each with a nasty scowl, like I’d stolen their man.
They could have him.
I didn’t mix business with pleasure. So, after tonight, we would go our separate ways.