Chapter Six
Nico's stare lingered, taking in Olivia's features as if memorizing each one. For what purpose? She didn't know, and that was the scariest part of all. His gaze clashed with hers, and with eyes such a dark shade of brown it was hard to differentiate between his pupil and iris, it seemed to penetrate straight to her soul. Olivia closed her eyes wanting to block the ferocious intensity of the man standing before her.
"Look at me."
Her eyes snapped back open at the gruff harshness of his tone. Feeling braver than she probably should, she asked, "And what do you want from me in exchange for your help?"
His fingers, no longer fondling her hair, were now caressing the skin of her upper arm. Goose bumps sprouted under his feather-light touch and a tingle spread through her limbs. "Nothing more than a bit of your time."
She wasn't stupid. He was aware of the kind of an establishment he'd taken her from, and she could read between the lines. Dinner and a movie were not what he had in mind. Could she do it? Barter herself and ignore the sacrifices her mom had made to keep her from that life to save that same person?
Absolutely. Her mother had given her life and kept her safe from a world that was anything but. It was now her turn to do the same in return. With a small nod, she swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Deal."
His fingers stopped mid-stroke before continuing their leisurely glide along her skin. "Then you need to answer my questions, and this time, I want honesty."
She nodded, willing to answer anything he wanted to know.
"What's so important you needed to go back to Scott?"
Olivia took a deep breath and let it out slowly, pain squeezing her heart. "My mom. She's sick. She needs medicine and no one there will care enough to make sure she gets it."
The room was so silent, she heard the intake and exhale of his breath. "And Carmine?"
That was a trickier question. She'd caught Carmine's eye by accident about six months ago. She'd been coming home from her shift at the diner, and she'd literally run into him as he was exiting the building. Handsome, classy, and suave, she'd never met anyone like him before, and she'd been instantly flattered by the attention he'd paid her.
Her life had been sheltered, but she wasn't naive. It was impossible to grow up in a whorehouse and not learn a few things about the physical act between a man and a woman. The women talked—bragging and gossiping, many times complaining—and while her mother had tried to shield her, it had been difficult to protect her from everything. She'd witnessed all manner of copulations and had even had a few mistaken close encounters herself.
Carmine had been different from any of the other men that had visited. He'd never availed himself of the women or even seemed to want to, and she'd soon learned why. He was the boss. The big boss. Travis's boss. Then she'd started hearing the whispers. Words like mob, gangster, and criminal had been bandied about.
At first, Olivia hadn't known what to make of the attention Carmine had paid her. He would come to see her every couple weeks, bringing her flowers or candy. She'd been told to look pretty, wear makeup, and her clothes had been selected for her.
Travis had also started treating her differently. He'd never paid her much attention—her mother having worked out some kind of deal with him early on that Olivia had never been privy to—but had soon found herself spending her free time in his office. At first, her mother had objected, but when Olivia had assured her that nothing untoward was happening, that in fact, it was all very boring, her protests had quickly died.
And then her mother had gotten sick. It had started as a lingering cough after a bout of flu that wouldn't go away and had soon turned into wracking spasms that had left her weak and coughing up blood. The few clinic visits she'd been allowed to take her mom to had treated her symptoms but hadn't bothered to check for the source of the problem.
After a month of no improvement, she'd dared to mention it to Carmine. She'd been grateful he'd seemed so concerned, sending her mother to a specialist, after which, she did seem to improve. But she'd learned the disease infecting her lungs, would eventually be fatal and only medicine and ongoing medical care would prolong her life. With her mom unable to work, she'd had to drop the few classes she'd been taking in order to work extra shifts, but even still, she couldn't afford all the medicine her mom needed. Without Carmine's continued support, her mother would die. Thankfully, he'd agreed to maintain her care without batting an eye.
But all good things come with a price, and he'd made it clear what his would be.
She must have waited too long to answer because the soft caress of Nico's fingers along her skin turned into a grip around her arm. Not strong enough to hurt, but enough to gain her attention and give her warning. Not really sure how to answer, she replied with the basic facts. "He comes to see me, helps me with my mom. Without him, she would be dead."
The hand gripping her arm squeezed tighter, this time enough to cause pain, but she hardly noticed, enthralled by the words Nico spoke. "I'll protect you and your mother while you're under my care, but you need to promise you won't try to escape again."
"But why?" At his narrowed eyes, she shook her head. "I don't mean I won't promise. Of course, I won't try to escape if you're serious about helping me. I meant why would you bother. Why not just send me back? Why did you even take me in the first place?"
"Don't mistake my generosity for anything more than what it really is. You're collateral. You're also very beautiful. Two reasons enough for what I did." He stared at her a bit longer before giving her a small nod as if coming to a decision. "I'll go collect your mother this afternoon then collect your gratitude tonight."
He didn't stick around after making that announcement. Olivia watched as his purposeful strides took him swiftly from the room. The closing door and fateful click of the lock reminded her she was just a pawn. As if the word collateral hadn't been enough of a reminder.
Hours passed and all Olivia could do was wait. The one brief visit from Maria to drop off some food netted her no answers. In fact, Maria knew even less than she did at that point. She paced, she sat, she stared out the window. Time had never ticked by so slow.
Finally, just as the sun was starting to set, Maria returned. "Signorina? Please, come with me."
Olivia didn't ask any questions, just quickly followed Maria down the hall to a set of stairs that led up to the next level. Mid way down another long hall, they stopped at a closed door. Words of explanation weren't needed once Maria opened the door and Olivia crossed its threshold.
Her mom, awake but pale, lounged back against several pillows in the center of a king-sized bed. Olivia rushed to her side, gingerly climbing on beside her and taking her hand. "Mom, are you okay?"
"I was so worried about you, Livvy, when you didn't return and no one could tell me what happened to you."
"I'm fine. More than fine now that you're here." Olivia lightly squeezed her mom's hand and tried not to feel distressed by the frailty of the squeeze she received in return. "Now tell me how you're feeling. Have you been taking your medicine?"
Her mother let out a labored sigh. Olivia was concerned how frail her mom looked from just a few short days ago. Her mother had been so beautiful before she'd gotten sick, the men always flocking to her, and Olivia had always suspected that had been Travis's draw. But although her mother would always be beautiful in her eyes, it was hard not to notice her sickness was taking its toll on her body and spirit.
"I'm fine. Stop worrying about me, my sweet girl, and tell me what's going on."
Olivia recapped for her mom the events that had taken place only leaving out one small bit. The terms she'd negotiated in return for Nico's help.
"You stole his car?"
There was a sparkle in her mom's eye she hadn't seen in a while, and she couldn't help but laugh while nodding. "Put a huge scratch in the passenger side door, too."
"But I still don't understand. Why would he help us after all that?"
And now came the tricky part. The little white lie she would need to tell to keep the peace. "I promised I wouldn't try to escape again, and he could keep me for as long as he needed so long as he brought you to me. He agreed with the added promise that I not damage anymore of his belongings."
As she'd hoped, that last bit made her mom laugh. She hated lying to her mom. She'd never done it before and it left a bad taste in her mouth. But she knew if she told her the truth it would do nothing but hurt her, especially knowing there was nothing she could do to change the situation.
"I've heard of Nico Conti. Heard he's not a nice man. But maybe what I've heard was wrong."
Olivia leaned over, brushing a kiss along her cheek. "Everything will be just fine, I promise."
She hoped she hadn't just lied to her mom again.
* * * * *
Nico's gaze traveled the expanse of his back yard as he sat, lounging by the pool. His suit jacket off and shirt sleeves rolled up were his only concession to the heat that still permeated the concrete and floated on the breeze, though the sun had set more than two hours ago. He raised his glass to his lips, relishing the slight burn as the bourbon slid down his throat.
He heard footsteps approach from behind, but he didn't turn, knowing the cadence of the steps. Instead, he set his glass down on the side table and reached for his smokes sitting on its surface. "What can I do for you, Marco?" he asked, putting the cigarette to his lips, his lighter flaring to life as he flicked the switch.
"Maria and Al escorted the girl back to her room a half hour ago."
Nico blew a cloud of smoke into the air, his eyes focused on the pool not bothering to look over at Marco as he came to stand at the side of his chair. He had wondered if Olivia was still visiting with her mother, but that was information Marco didn't need to know. He'd ask questions. Questions Nico wasn't sure he knew the answers to. "And you're telling me this why? She's no longer a prisoner. I highly doubt she'll try to sneak away while her invalid mother is sequestered in one of the bedrooms."
"Speaking of which," Marco started and Nico internally groaned. He was going to ask questions anyway. "Why did we bring the mother here?"
Nico flicked the ash of his cigarette in the ashtray before bringing it back to his lips for another drag. He held the smoke in his lungs a few seconds longer than usual, stalling. "She's sick, possibly dying. The girl was worried. I'm not a complete monster, Marco. I do have the capacity for sympathy and compassion."
Marco held up his hands taking a step back from Nico's chair. "I never said you were or that you didn't."
Fuck. Did he come off too strong? The last thing he wanted was for Marco to put two and two together and discover the strange fascination he had with the girl. He stubbed out his cigarette and picked up his drink, swigging the last of its contents. He stood and faced Marco before saying in a voice he made sure was devoid of emotion, "I don't know how much longer we'll need to keep the girl. It seemed silly to waste so much extra manpower watching her twenty-four/seven when the solution to the problem was so easy to obtain." And it had been. Scott practically let them waltz in and out with Olivia's mother.
Marco grunted, clearly agreeing, and Nico felt relieved he could end the conversation. He stepped around his friend and said over his shoulder as he headed for the patio doors, "Go to bed Marco and try to get some sleep. Stop worrying so much." He chuckled when he heard his answering grunt.
His bedroom was dark, but Nico didn't bother turning on any lights as he made his way to the bathroom to shower. Standing under the heated spray, he, once again, wondered what the hell he was doing. He knew Carmine wouldn't be happy if he ever discovered he'd dabbled with his current obsession. Tension between the two families should be reason enough for him to steer clear.
He turned off the water, and opened the glass door, stepping from the shower. He grabbed a towel from the shelf and ran it over his body, drying off. He knew it wasn't too late. He could leave Olivia untouched and spare himself the hassle of repercussions down the line. But then long silky hair and golden eyes flashed through his mind.
And he knew he wouldn't.
There was something about Olivia that called to him, and he had to have her. Needed to possess her. At least for a little while. He slipped on a pair of sweats then headed to the connecting door and the object of his fixation.