NICO POV
Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn't help but think of my brother. It was kind of impossible not to since it was his damn face staring back at me. I couldn't stop wondering what his motive was for dating lila and not telling me about it, not telling anyone for that matter. Was she just a fuck twice a week, someone to entertain between his sheets? Or did he actually have feelings for her?
Christ. If he had feelings for her, what the hell would he have said and done if he found out what I was doing to her, what kind of plans I had in store for her and her family?
"I'm sorry, brother," I whispered as I hung my head, my hands gripping the sides of the bathroom sink.
There was a knock on the door, and I turned my head toward it. "Yeah?"
"I'm all set up, Nico."
"I'll be right there."
I gave my reflection one final glance before straightening up and squaring my shoulders. I was doing what needed to be done, whether Nikolai would have approved or not. Whether he loved her or not, her family killed him, and it was my duty to avenge his death.
Grabbing a towel on my way out of the bathroom, I tossed it around the back of my neck. When I walked into my bedroom, Matteo was standing next to the table where he had all his magical art supplies, as he called it, stacked out.
Matteo was a local New Yorker, but the best at what he did. With piercings all over his face, tattoos covering almost every inch of his body, Matteo showed an extreme commitment to his art.
He eyed me carefully. "You sure you wanna do this? I mean, don't get me wrong, as it is now, it's probably my best work yet. But are you sure you want to, you know...add to it?"
I pulled the chair closer, turned it around before taking a backward seat on it. With my back toward him I answered, "Just do it."
"You sure? It's kinda permanent, ya know?"
I gave him a sideway glance over my shoulder. "Would you just shut up and do it?"
"Motherfucker," he muttered behind me before I heard him shuffling around with the tools he had on the table.
I made up my mind about this the day they lowered my brother and father into the ground. This was something I wanted to do for months, and no one would be able to persuade me otherwise.
Matteo settled behind me. "There's no going back when it's done, my man. Once it's on there, it's on there...like forever."
My silence gave him his reply, and then the buzzing sound filled the room. With the first touch of the needle against my skin, I flinched, but after that...nothing. I was numb to pain, never allowing myself to acknowledge it. In fact, I embraced it, letting my body seep up every last bite, soaking in the tiniest sting on my flesh.
For two hours Matteo and I sat in silence, the only sound that of the machine forcing the ink under my skin. Matteo knew I wasn't the talking type. Discussing everyday mundane issues wasn't something I took part in. As a matter of fact, talking would be too distracting, taking my focus away from the hundred thousand times that needle pierced my skin. I didn't want to miss a fucking moment of it as I engraved my skin with my grief.
"And we're done."
Matteo moved back, and I rolled my shoulders, easing my stiff muscles.
"You wanna see it before I wrap it?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"Yes, I'm fucking sure."
My skin was warm with a prickly burn, which was soothed when Matteo smoothed over the ointment before placing the plastic wrap on my scolded skin.
"Thanks, Matteo."
I got up, and just as I reached for my shirt I heard the creak of my bedroom door opening. This could only mean one person since everyone else in this goddamn house had the decency to knock-except her.
"Mother." I said without turning toward her.
"Nico, when will you stop desecrating your body with the ink of the devil?"
I pulled my shirt over my shoulders. "It's my body, Mother."
"That's where you're wrong, son, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and you're ruining it."
I sighed, and then nodded toward Matteo, dismissing him. Within five minutes he had his shit packed up and his tail out of my bedroom.
I turned to face her, and stepped closer to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. "You look good, Mother."
"Thank you, Nico. My health has improved much, and that's all thanks to you."
I pulled on my suit jacket. "To me?"
"Yes. You are finally giving me-our family what we need to heal. Soon that little pet will pay for what she has done to us. She brought this pain upon us by seducing your brother, leading him down the path of temptation. And when Nikolai finally realized how wicked she really is, she and her family decided he was no good for her, a low-life who deserved to be buried."
I fastened the buttons of my jacket. "Mother, what do we really know about Nikolai and lila? All we know is that the Falcone had him murdered, but we do not know their motive behind it. I thought that lila would fill the gaps for us, but according to her she didn't even know Nikolai was dead."
She scoffed. "Not only is she a whore, but a liar, too."
"We don't know why the Falcone had Nikolai murdered."
"Does it matter?" Her eyes flashed with anger. "They killed my son, your brother, and caused your father's death as well. No matter what kind of motive they had, they deserve to be punished."
I stared at my mother, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and my heart ached for her. I placed my hands on her shoulders. "Do not worry, Mother. I will do what needs to be done, and I will get to the truth." I gave her another kiss on the cheek.
"The truth will make no difference now, Nico. What's done is done. All that matters is that all of this will be over soon."
"Yes, Mother, soon this will all be behind us." I sighed, my mind not the least bit satisfied with not knowing what the hell really happened.
She stepped forward, straightening the handkerchief peeking out from my suit jacket. "I knew I could count on you, Nico. I knew you would be strong enough to do what needs to be done. All these years I tried to convince your father that you were the better son, the son who should follow in his footsteps rather than your brother."
With that I stepped back, out of her reach. "Mother, please."
"It's the truth, Nico. You were always the stronger one, the focused one. I don't know why your father insisted on making Nikolai his second. Look at what happened. He got himself killed, all because of some spoiled rich girl. You"-she came closer placing her palm on my cheek-"you would never do something as foolish as that. I have faith in you, Nico, faith in your loyalty to our family."
I placed my hand over hers and slowly pulled it away from my face. "I won't fail you, Mother."
"Oh, I have no doubt about that, my son."
I squeezed her hand one final time, and kissed her on the cheek before attempting to walk out of the room.
"Nico?"
I stopped. "Yes, Mother."
"I trust everything is in place for tonight's event."
I turned to face her. "Everything is in place, yes."
"Good. Everyone is anxious, and excited, to see you step into your father's shoes. Tonight will be your chance to prove yourself to the rest."
I nodded, and turned before walking out of the room.
She was right. For the first time since taking my father's place, I would be under the scrutinizing eyes of every Moretti man and their associates. Tonight will be the night I show everyone I am worthy of being the family's leader.
Tonight...her penance begins.