“Look, I’ve tried being nice to you. But I’m not interested,” she snapped. “So, please. Just leave me alone.”
“What is the big deal? It’s just a name.”
“I’m not interested,” she growled. “Let’s just leave it at that.”
He chuckled. “I’m not leaving until you give me your name.”
“She said she’s not interested.”
River turned around to see Nico stepping out of the shadows. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes narrowed, laser-focused on Emiliano. He stepped past River, putting himself between her and the other man. She slipped closer to the wall, her eyes glued to the scene unfolding before her. River could feel the anger radiating off him. It wafted off him like heat from an oven and the air around them crackled with the whispered promise of violence.
“This doesn’t concern you, Santonelli,” Emiliano said.
“Let me repeat myself—she said she’s not interested,” Nico growled. “I suggest you turn around and take your ass the fuck out of here.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“I’m the man who’s not going to let you hassle this woman.”
“You fuckin’ Santonelli’s think you run the world, don’t you?”
Nico trembled with a barely controlled rage. “As long as the Santonelli family is in Venice, you fuckin’ Vittore’s will never run this city. Do you understand me?”
River watched the drama playing out between them. It was obvious that whatever was going on had nothing to do with her anymore but was part of some larger feud between their families. Her legs quaked and her heart raced. She was terrified. At the same time though, she was morbidly fascinated by what she was watching.
Emiliano flashed him a vicious grin. “Your father’s going to be dead soon. And what do you think is going to happen after that?” he sneered. “The Santonelli’s time is done, Nico. And because you’re so weak, your time will never begin—”
If there was more to that statement, Emiliano never got it out because Nico stepped forward and drove his fist into the man’s face. The sharp crack of flesh meeting flesh echoed up and down the narrow lane and drew the attention of the few people who happened to be walking by. Emiliano's head snapped back, and River watched blood spray into the air. He stumbled backward and pinwheeled his arms, trying to keep his balance. But his foot struck a loose stone in the road, and he fell flat onto his back, hitting the ground with a wet thud, and a loud grunt.
With a catlike quickness, Nico was on the man in the blink of an eye. He dropped to a knee and grabbed the front of Emiliano’s shirt, pulling him up, only to drive his fist into his face again. Blood flowed from Emiliano’s nose and mouth, and he had a stunned, dazed look on his face. Nico leaned down, putting his nose mere inches from the other man’s.
Nico’s body relaxed and he turned around, looking at River over his shoulder. A strange expression crossed his face. He lowered Emiliano back to the ground then stood up and dusted his hands off, but he continued to stare daggers through him.
“When a lady tells you to leave her alone, you leave her alone,” Nico snarled.
Emiliano’s face twisted in rage. “You don’t tell me—”
River flinched as Nico drove his foot into the prone man's stomach. Emiliano grunted as the air was driven from his lungs. He gasped and wheezed, his mouth opening and closing like a fish pulled out of the water and thrown onto a dock, as he fought for breath.
“Stay away from her,” Nico said, gesturing to River. “Don’t talk to her. Don’t look at her. Don’t even fucking think about her. You got me?”
“You’re going to pay for this,” Emiliano croaked. “You’re going to—”
Nico delivered another vicious kick, drawing a sharp yelp from Emiliano’s mouth. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, struggling to breathe. A cruel grin twisted Nico’s lips as he looked at the man.
“Let me reiterate,” Nico said. “Don’t talk to her. Don’t look at her. And don’t think about her. If you see her on the street, you turn around and walk the other way. Do you fucking understand me?”
Emiliano just laid there, wheezing and gasping for breath. He looked like he wanted to say something but the pain racking his body made him think twice. River recognized that it was a smart move.
Nico turned and took River by the hand. “Come,” he grumbled. “Let’s go.”
She let him lead her away and out of the narrow lane, too stunned by what had just happened to speak. River looked at Nico, trying to comprehend what was going on. It was clear what happened between Nico and Emiliano had nothing to do with her and everything to do with some drama between their two families. Some shared history.
While still terrified by the scene she’d just watched play out in front of her, River was still fascinated and wanted to know the story behind it. Because she knew there was a story there.
6
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice still gruff and his body taut with tension.