“See you soon,” I echoed softly, watching him walk away.
My heart felt heavy on the ride to the compound. To distract myself, I pulled out my phone and turned it on, letting my parents know I’d made it to New York safely. Then I pulled up my social media and saw that I had a message. Discreetly, I checked to make sure Pietro wasn’t watching me before I opened it.
Fuck.
* * *
I’d barely walked through the door of the Vitucci mansion when I was being engulfed in welcoming hugs. Ciana was the first to come running, followed by Anya and then Vito and Bennie.
As Bennie placed me on my feet, Anya frowned at the still-open door. “Where is Ryan?”
“He had a work emergency,” I explained. “We dropped him off on the way. Don’t worry, though. As soon as Pietro and the others brought me home, they rushed back to the office.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t comment on it further, instead motioning for the housekeeper to take my things up to my room. “Are you hungry, l’vitsa? You look as if you could use something to eat.”
I was starving, but food was the last thing I could think about right then. “Ciana and the twins are taking me shopping,” I told her.
“We are?” Vito asked with a grunt. “I thought that shit wouldn’t happen for at least a week. Figured it would take that long for you and Ryan to release each other to resume regular daily activities.”
So had I, but I wasn’t completely disappointed in that disruption to my normal routine. Not after the message I’d gotten earlier. “Well, it looks like it’s your lucky day,” I told him with a smirk. “You and Bennie get to do all the things Ryan normally would have done with me.”
“Shopping?” Ciana was already moving toward the stairs. “Give me ten minutes to change. I need a few things for the summer.”
“I’ll get the car ready and let security know.” Vito gave in gracefully, knowing he couldn’t get out of taking us shopping, especially if Ciana was on board with the idea.
“Do I really have to go too?” Bennie complained. “I was going to check out how things are progressing on Zariah’s house out by the east side of the compound.”
“Zariah’s house is coming along just fine,” Anya told him. “Now, hurry up. If Samara comes home before you are out the door, she will want to go with you. And we both know you don’t want to try to keep up with her.”
“You’re right, Tetka,” he grumbled. “Nova, do you need to freshen up before we go?” I shook my head, my mind on everything I needed to do rather than the shopping they all assumed I would be doing. “All right, then. Let’s get going. If Ciana takes longer than ten minutes, we’re going to leave without her.”
I snickered as I followed him outside, where Vito’s driver was already pulling up in one of the limos. I waved at the security detail that followed the twins everywhere and climbed into the back of the car, already pulling out my phone so I could check the message again.
In the past few years, ever since I’d originally messaged Calista Ramirez, we’d started a virtual friendship. It had been a little tense in the beginning, but eventually, we had grown closer. Especially after Cali had opened up to me about her homelife one night after things had gotten to be too much for her.
What the influencer allowed the outside world to see with her posts and pictures every day was definitely not the reality Cali lived. Anyone who didn’t know her would assume she lived in a fairy tale, but the truth was it was nothing but a nightmare.
Matias, her stepfather, had been sick for the past five years. Something that his son, Manuel, didn’t want anyone to know. As long as Matias was assumed to be in good health, their enemies would be hesitant to do anything to their empire. Until Manuel made his move and showed how much power he could wield, he figured he had the upper hand.
Cali had confessed to me that it was Manuel and not Matias who had ordered his men to attack me. Of course, the confession had come after he’d beaten her into a bloody mess, but by then, I’d already trusted her. I hadn’t told Ryan it was the Ramirez successor who had been trying to start a war with the Vitucci family back then. I knew I should have, but for some reason, I’d kept that detail to myself.
Maybe it was because I felt like I owed Cali some sort of loyalty. Something that, at the time, hadn’t fully made sense to me. But as time had passed, it had become more and more apparent to me that Cali needed someone in her corner because too many other people had already let her down in the worst possible ways.
And now she needed me more than ever.
Bennie climbed in beside me, draping an arm along the back of the seat and slouching down. “Shopping is boring,” he complained.
“You’ll survive,” I assured him, putting my phone away before he got nosy and tried to read over my shoulder.
Ciana slid along the bench seat across from me, out of breath and clutching at her huge purse. Vito followed her, shutting the door behind himself, laughing hard. “I’ve never seen you move so fast as when you think you’re going to get left behind from a shopping trip, Ciana.”
“Didn’t you just go shopping last week with Tavia?” Bennie commented.
“Yes,” she said, opening her mirror to fix her hair. “But I haven’t seen Nova in forever. I’m just excited to get to spend some time with her.”
“And get a new pair of shoes,” her youngest brother said with a roll of his blue eyes.
“What’s wrong with getting new shoes?” she asked, narrowing her eyes on Bennie. “I spend my own money, that I work hard for. Is it taking anything away from you?”
He grunted but didn’t have a ready comeback for her, which made the rest of us laugh as he crossed his arms over his chest with a dramatic huff. The limo started moving, but I opened the divider and told the driver which mall I wanted to go to.
“Sure thing, Miss Nova,” he called back.
“What’s so special about that mall?” Bennie demanded.
“There’s an outfit I’m looking for, and the online store said it was in stock,” I told him with a shrug.
But really, that particular mall was connected to the hotel where Cali was currently staying.
Matias Ramirez was having surgery at the hospital a few blocks away, which meant that Cali’s stepbrother would be there and not at the hotel with her. At least, that was what Cali had said in her message. I didn’t know how much longer she would be alone—or as alone as a person could be with a small army of guards keeping her under lock and key.
14
Nova
As soon as we walked into the store, I started grabbing things in my size that I just had to try on. Back at home with my parents, I was a simple jeans and T-shirt type of girl—give me a pair of Converse or boots, and I was ready for the day. But when I was in Ryan’s world, I knew I couldn’t be that girl all the time. I had to play the part, show everyone that I belonged beside a Vitucci.
I piled everything into Bennie’s arms, making him follow me around until the stack was almost over his face.
Figuring that would be enough to make him think I was busy for as long as I needed, I followed the associate back to the huge changing rooms. “I think I can take it from here,” I told her with a cheerful smile. “But could you make sure my cousin doesn’t get bored?”