Nicco didn’t like this. He didn’t like lying to my father or the Family. But if anyone hated this kind of thing more than me, it was Nicco.
“If DiMarco finds out we have her—”
“Don’t. I’ll handle it. For now, we keep this between us. We’ll take her out to the cabin tomorrow. She’ll be safe there until we can figure out what to do about DiMarco.”
“Thank you,” I dipped my head, forcing myself to take a breath. Nicco wasn’t the enemy here.
“Matt,” Nicco pinned me with a hard look, glancing down the hall. He and Ari had the penthouse suite, so access was only via the elevator, but I understood his wariness. You never knew who was around, listening to things they shouldn’t be listening to.
One of his security guys gave us a sharp nod.
“Yeah, okay.” I relented. “I’m going.”
Nicco grabbed my shoulder before I could walk away. “We’ll deal with DiMarco, you have my word. But we have to do it the right way.”
The way that didn’t have any backlash for the Family.
“Okay. Just do me a favor, yeah?”
“Anything.”
“Text me later and let me know how she is.” I pulled out of his hold and started down the hall.
“She’s really under your skin, isn’t she?” he called, and I glanced over my shoulder nodding.
He had no idea.
“If this is Nicco’s attempt at babysitting me, you’re excused,” I mumbled to Enzo and Nora as they joined me at my booth in L’Anello’s.
“Brooding suits you.” Enzo smirked, and I flipped him off.
“E,” Nora chided. “Don’t be mean. Hey, Matt, how’s it going?”
“Oh, you know, the woman I’ve spent the last eight months trying to forget shows up out of the blue looking like she got into a fist fight with Deontay Wilder and is acting like I’m the bad guy.”
She shot Enzo a concerned look before sliding into the booth beside me. “Sounds like you need a strong drink.”
“Babe, if the state of him is anything to go by, he already had enough to drink.”
“I’m fine,” I protested, nursing my empty glass. “But I am out of liquor.”
“Get the guy another drink, boyfriend,” Nora sassed. “Me and Matt need a little talk.”
Oh God.
I loved Nora like a sister, but I didn’t want one of her motivational speeches right now.
Enzo’s brow quirked and she waved him off with a chuckle.
“The two of you seem happy,” I said.
“We are. Blissfully. But I don’t want to talk about me and Enzo, I want to talk about you. How are you holding up, really?” She pinned me with her big, brown eyes, and I felt stripped bare. But that was Nora, always seeing right through people’s bullshit. It was one of the reasons I’d known from the beginning that she would be good for Enzo. He needed someone with an inner strength and confidence. And Nora Abato had that in spades.
Enzo never stood a chance.
I smiled to myself, and she asked me, “What?”
“Nothing,” I replied. “Just thinking how much fun it’s going to be watching you domesticate E.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that.” We shared a conspiratorial smile. “Now, back to my question. How are you?”
“I’m… messed up, Nor. Really fucking messed up.”
“Oh, Matt. Come here.” She slipped her arms around me and hugged me tight. “It must have been a shock seeing her… like that.” Nora eased away, offering me a sympathetic smile. “Enzo said it’s bad.”
“I barely recognized her.” But I would’ve noticed those green eyes and red hair anywhere.
“I can’t imagine…” She shuddered.
“She wouldn’t even talk to me, Nor.”
“Caitlin has been through something traumatic. Her response wasn’t about you, Matt, it was about the situation. Trust me, I know.”
“I know. Shit, I know.” Enzo had said the same thing. But it didn’t stop the gnawing pit of despair I felt every time I pictured the horrified look in Cait’s eyes when she’d noticed me.
“Tell me about her. About how you two met.”
“You mean E didn’t give you the CliffsNotes version already?”
“I don’t care about his version; I want your version.”
I let out a deep sigh, my eyes flicking to where Enzo was chatting with Billy at the bar. He was obviously giving me and Nora a minute.
“It was last summer before the semester started. We were in Providence on… a job.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know what you guys do, Matt.”
“After we left DiMarco’s, I was headed for my truck when I heard a scream. I went to check it out and found some asshole trying to mug Caitlin.”
“Holy crap. What did you do?”
“Told him to beat it and offered her a ride home.”
“I’m guessing you gave her more than a ride home.” Her eyes twinkled.
“Ha-ha, very funny. But yeah, I stayed the night with her. The storm was wild, and she seemed shook up. We played poker and things escalated.”
“Then what happened?”
“The next morning, I practically begged for her number, but she wouldn’t give it to me.”
“You never saw her again?”
“No. I checked out her place once, but she was gone.” I’d never told anyone I’d been back to find her. In fact, I’d downright lied when I’d talked to Nicco about her. Told him that she’d blocked my number… when really, she’d up and disappeared as if she had never existed.
“What do you mean gone?”
“She didn’t live there anymore.”
“That’s… weird.”
“Right?”
“And she didn’t say anything about DiMarco that night?”
“Nope.” But I hadn’t exactly been upfront about who I was either. “Told me she worked at a diner called Stella’s,” I added.
“You don’t think there’s a diner called Stella’s?”
“There might be a diner, but I’d put a hundred bucks on her not working there.”
“So she lied.”
“It would seem so.” My jaw clenched.
I still didn’t know the truth… because Caitlin wouldn’t fucking talk to me.
She didn’t owe me anything, I knew that. But damn, I’d thought we’d shared something special that night. Maybe it was one-sided though. Maybe she hadn’t felt the connection burning between us.
Maybe I’d spent the last eight months spinning it into something it wasn’t. A fantasy.
A dream.
“So what are you going to do?”
“Do?” I blinked at Nora, and she chuckled.
“Don’t seriously tell me you’re going to stand by and let her slip through your fingers again?”
“You heard the part where she doesn’t want to talk to me, right?”
“Yeah, but come on, Matt, this is you.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”