Kon (Trassato Crime Family Book 2)(20)
“No, of course not. Forget I said anything. I don’t want to talk about them. Do you want some dessert or coffee?”
I surveyed our abandoned dinner. Nothing appealed to me anymore. I came here with good intentions. I wanted to see if Nico and I were compatible, and while I didn’t hate him, I wasn’t attracted to him either. Unlike Kon, he didn’t make my stomach flutter with a crooked smile or a brush of his hand. I needed to get over my fascination with Kon. It was stupid and dangerous.
“No. I’m pretty tired. Can we finish our discussion later? I don’t feel so great. I think I’m coming down with something.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie. I was coming down with something. It was called a guilty conscience from putting myself in this position. Cutting a deal with Alix and Kon Trincher was my first mistake. My second was being too weak to refuse my father’s dying request to marry Nico.
I skirted around him, heading to the door. Nico’s hand circled my forearm, applying enough pressure to get my attention. The muscle in his jaw twitched. His eyes bored into me, and my heart sped up, and not in a good way. For the first time in my life, Nico DeAngelo scared the crap out of me. I’d heard the rumors. He was ruthless. He had a trigger-happy finger. He never negotiated. I’d never seen this side of him, and it spooked me.
“This conversation is not over. We will get married. I gave your father my word. Dominick expects it to happen sooner rather than later. I don’t like to disappoint people.”
My mouth went dry and I licked my lips, searching for the right response. “Give me time.”
“I’m not a patient man, Carmela.”
I peeled his fingers from my arm. “And I don’t like to be pushed around.”
Our gazes locked in battle. Time slowed. Tension built, multiplying until I couldn’t breathe a single molecule of oxygen into my lungs. After what felt like hours, a smile spread across Nico’s face. “That’s why I like you.” He kissed the corner of my mouth. “We’re going to be good together. You’ll see.”
CHAPTER NINE
Konstantin
“I heard you took the Trassato chick to the club a couple of nights ago.”
My spine snapped to attention even though my dad’s comment didn’t surprise me. I expected him to hear every little detail about my guest, which would lead to him spending a good half hour analyzing the video from the night. At least he kept the recording devices out of the bathroom. I didn’t have any interest in explaining what happened with Carmela after the encounter with Renzo.
“Of course I did.” Running my index finger along the hood of a red Porsche 911, I lifted one shoulder like I didn’t have a care in the world, and continued analyzing the cars in the warehouse. “You’ve been begging me to make a move for months.”
His chocolate brown loafers clicked over the oil-stained concrete floor. “I thought I’d have to set up a date myself.”
“I told you I’d get the Trassatos to give us access to their territories, and that’s precisely what I’m doing.”
“So did you decide to go the engagement route?”
“I’m working a couple of different angles.” I climbed into the car. The new car odor clung to the leather. I checked the mileage. Four thousand. It would sell for good money in Russia. “You don’t need to worry about it. I’ll seal the deal within the next few months.”
“Good. Good.” He combed his fingers through his faded red hair, his eyes never breaking contact with mine. “By the way, a few guys from the DiTonno family will be here in the next fifteen minutes.”
“Why the fuck are they coming here?”
“I invited them. I think it’s time to renegotiate our business arrangement.”
I got out of the car and flung the door closed. It echoed loudly in the high-ceilinged building. “Why would they agree to that?”
“My daughter married Gian. You’re close with Carmela. An alliance would cut the DiTonnos off at the knees. I wouldn’t need them anymore, and they’d need me more than ever. They make nearly a quarter of a million dollars a month from our mutual business interests. More when we have a shipment of women.”
I gritted my teeth. I’d told my dad hundreds of times I didn’t want anything to do with human trafficking. It disgusted me. He didn’t give a shit thanks to it having a high profit margin. He recruited the majority of women from the Ukraine and Romania because those countries didn’t have many job prospects regardless of their education level.
He posted advertisements promising big money and free housing for nannies, dancers, or waitresses in the U.S. He paid for their transportation and provided the proper travel papers. When they arrived, he subdued them and forced them into a life of prostitution by stripping them of their identification and drugging them until they became addicts. In the meantime, they were stowed in a crap ass, shady hotel and raped ten times a day until they went crazy or overdosed.