Ruthless Games

I soften. “Be safe, OK?” I say, swallowing hard.

He nods. “You too.”

Back at the hotel,I wait, my nerves growing more anxious with every passing minute. I try to distract myself, ordering room service, and watching TV on the expensive flatscreen, but nothing can distract me from the danger Nero might be in, right at this second.

As my anger has cooled, I’m left feeling hurt and worried, running over worst-case scenarios in my mind.

What if Nero is wrong about this meeting? Everyone says, the Kovaks are a ruthless, brutal gang. If these are his enemies, this could be an ambush. They could take the chance to cut the head off the entire Barretti operation in one fell swoop.

I pace the length of our hotel suite, full of restless energy. I hate that Nero is doing this, that he tricked me into coming here for his mafia ploy, but I’m also terrified that he won’t return.

I should’ve stopped him from going. I was so upset, that I wasn’t thinking clearly.

I didn’t even tell him that I love him.

And now it might be too late.

I want to see where this marriage is going, but that’ll never happen if he doesn’t return.

When the lock on the hotel room door clicks and it starts to open, I rush over with my heart in my throat. I put the chain on for safety, so the door only opens a few inches before stopping, but I can see Nero through the gap.

I’ve never been so happy to see his gorgeous, brooding face.

“It’s me,” he says, and I can’t tell from his voice whether the meeting was a success.

“Oh, thank God.” I let him in, grabbing him in a big hug. I hold him close, feeling his heart beating, and his arms going around me, safe and secure. “I was so worried. What happened?”

I finally pull back so I can look at him again. “How did it go? What did they say?”

Nero crosses to the room bar and pours himself a drink. He knocks it back in one, and then pours again, while I wait, anxious.

“I think… I think they’ll take the deal,” he says, and I exhale in relief.

“You mean, a truce?”

“More than that.” Nero nods, swirling the booze around his glass. “A buyout. The plan is, to hand over territory, cede our control over certain parts of the operation to the Kovaks.”

My eyes go wide. I wasn’t expecting that.

“I don’t understand.” I say. “Why would you do that?”

“Because this has been my plan all along.” Nero announces with a twisted smile. “Get out of this fucked up game and take the Barretti organization legit. The drugs, the protection rackets, it’s petty shit. Old news. Nothing compared with the money we could be making through legal channels now.”

“The real estate development,” I say, realization finally dawning. It’s been Nero’s number one priority since I arrived. Hell, it’s the reason he cut a deal to protect me in the first place: Get him McKenna’s vote and get him the zoning approval for his project.

I thought it was just about the money, but now I see, it’s more than that.

It’s his big play for the future. Our future.

“You really want to quit that stuff?” I ask, half-disbelieving. “The Barretti empire is built on it.”

He nods. “And the fucking foundations are crumbling more every year. It’s not like when my father was coming up. Shit’s gone high-tech. Not just our side, but the Feds, too. They have computer surveillance, AI, all the banks running scared. And meanwhile, we’re all still stuck playing by the old rules, spilling blood on street corners, and for what? It’s not worth it,” he says, with a frustrated shrug. “Not when the real money is right there for the taking, and we don’t have to break a single law.”

“Well, almost,” I give him a knowing grin. “Blackmail and extortion aren’t exactly legal.”

He chuckles. “Old habits die hard.”

I take it all in. It must have taken years of planning, and I look at Nero with a new admiration, seeing how he’s waited patiently, step by step, lining up every part of this to make the pieces fit.