Mafia Wife (Mafia Series Book #2)

Part 20

A/N: I'm back :)

Sorry, I had to go through a little editing, and planning the last chapters to make sure I was right on track.

This is chapter 20. The *last* chapter of Book 2 will be chapter 25, so... get ready? :)

***

"Another late night?"

Niccolo's head snapped up as he heard Lucas. Fuck. He thought everyone was asleep. The last thing he needed was to have an audience for this.

"Yeah."

He had meant to use Gabriella as a distraction, but it wasn't what happened. She hadn't seemed to remember most of their conversation the next morning, that or she was pretending. Not only that but, now that her problem with Vincent was fixed...

The only problem was to get out of there and kill the Devil.

And well, doing that...

Was impossible.

"You could rest. You're still busted up."

"No time."

"Niccolo."

No, he didn't want to stop. He didn't want to sit and do anything. Because the more he banged his head trying to find a solution, the more he realized how dangerous it would be if he stopped.

Because stopping would mean accepting the reality in front of him and he didn't want to do that. He didn't fucking want to do that. He couldn't do that.

"No."

"Look."

Had Lucas realized? Before him? Maybe. Possibly. Lucas hadn't been burying his head in the sand, so, he might have caught on a little sooner than Niccolo had. But he also didn't have his determination.

"I could find some allies."

"Vincent?"

"No, I can't trust that fucker."

"So who else?"

Someone. Anyone.

"I have a few men still."

"Is it enough?"

Of fucking course it wasn't enough. He didn't need Lucas to point that shit out. He knew it. He didn't want to have this conversation. He wanted to go back to the drawing board and find a fucking answer to all of his problems.

"There's her journal. The old man's blackmailing shit."

"But what's gonna stop 'em for raiding this place, following you, killing you for it? Is it gonna be scary enough?"

"They left him alone."

"Yeah, many decades ago, different world."

No, it had to be enough. Some of these fuckers didn't want to spend the rest of their lives in jail or worse. Be ruined.

"Nico, when he used that - it was to get out. Not to build himself back up. There are only two ways to use this journal. You can either use it to get out, or you use it to destroy families. You can't blackmail them. Then walk away without consequences. Eventually, it'll bite you in the ass."

Get out?

He couldn't get out.

Niccolo had spent his entire life working for this, to have it all. To be in a position where no one could deny him anything. A position where he could make the rules. Where he didn't have to worry about where his next meal was coming from.