Chapter 2
1292 Words
"Yes, Boss."
The two enforcers lowered their guns, seized me by the arms, and dragged me toward the rear exit.
A blast of icy wind swept through the half-open door, making me shiver violently.
This lunatic wasn't even going to question me. He was going to have me cut into pieces and dumped in the river.
The advance payment hadn't even reached my account yet. If I died tonight, my brother would be dead by tomorrow.
For my brother and that fifty-million-dollar reward, I couldn't afford to be afraid.
I fought with everything I had.
"Let go of me, you bastards!"
Catching one of them off guard, I drove the heel of my stiletto into the top of his foot.
He cried out and loosened his grip. I slammed my shoulder into the other enforcer, tore myself free, and sprinted back toward the casino floor.
Before anyone could react, I stumbled forward and threw myself in front of Nero's sofa.
A split second before a bodyguard pressed a gun to the back of my head, I dropped to my knees and wrapped both arms around Nero's leg.
Pressing my cheek against his tailored slacks, I blurted out the lines I had rehearsed countless times.
"I don't want your money, Mr. Vitale. I've admired you for so long. Please, just let me stay by your side. I don't care if all you let me do is clean your room."
The entire casino went silent.
Every eye in the room turned toward me.
Everyone knew the boss couldn't tolerate a woman's touch.
The last woman who had dared to touch him had vanished into the river.
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the gunshot.
It never came.
Instead, the leg in my arms went rigid, every muscle hard as steel.
Nero sucked in a sharp breath.
A fine sheen of sweat broke across his forehead, and his jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle began to twitch.
Normally, the slightest touch from a woman sent him into violent bouts of nausea. Sometimes, he even lost consciousness.
But this time, there was no nausea.
Only a strange, electric sensation spreading beneath his skin.
His icy blue eyes locked onto mine, blazing with fury and something else he couldn't hide.
Disbelief.
"Take your hands off me."
His voice was lower now, almost hoarse.
I flinched and released him at once, collapsing onto the carpet.
Nero rose to his feet and stared at me for five long seconds before tilting his head toward his guards.
"Take her to the secured suite in the penthouse. No one enters without my permission."
His gaze never left mine.
"And bring the interrogation kit."
Ten minutes later, I was thrown into a luxurious suite on the top floor.
The reinforced steel door locked behind me with a heavy click.
A single wall lamp cast a dim glow across the room.
Nero had already removed his suit jacket. Dressed in nothing but a black shirt and tailored slacks, he approached me slowly, lazily flipping a butterfly knife between his fingers.
He slid the flat of the blade beneath my chin and forced my head up.
Then the sharpened edge traced lightly across my throat.
"Talk. Did Lorenzo send you, or was it the Colombo family?"
His gaze swept over me.
"Your perfume makes me sick, but I'll give you this. You've got nerve."
Tears welled in my eyes.
I forced myself to stare at him with every ounce of fake devotion I could summon.
"I don't know anyone named Lorenzo. I'm Chloe Hayes. I sell burgers from a street cart."
My voice trembled convincingly.
"I swear, I've admired you for years. All I've ever wanted was to be yours."
Nero gave a cold laugh.
The blade drifted slowly along my collarbone.
"So you worship a monster who can't even stand being touched by a woman?"
His eyes narrowed.
"You're a terrible liar."
He was about to press the knife harder when an argument erupted outside the suite.
The door burst open.
A man in a garish floral shirt and gold-rimmed glasses swaggered inside with two bodyguards behind him.
Lorenzo, the Vitale family's second-in-command.
He had coveted Nero's position for years, and with several veteran capos supporting him, even Nero's guards couldn't openly turn him away.
Lorenzo's gaze crawled shamelessly over my body before he deliberately raised his voice.
"Well, well. Look who finally has a woman hidden in his room."
A mocking grin spread across his face.
"Nero, your standards sink lower every day. You actually sleep with trash like this now?"
He paused, savoring every word.
"Or is it because of your little problem? The socialites won't touch you anymore, so you have to pay cheap women to pretend you're still a real man?"
The air in the room turned razor-sharp.
Nero's expression darkened.
He didn't even look at Lorenzo.
Instead, his gaze settled on me.
Without warning, he seized my waist and yanked me against his chest.
One large hand closed over my breast, gripping hard enough to make me gasp.
My body was pinned tightly against his.
Every muscle beneath his shirt was locked rigid, yet a mocking smile slowly curved across his face.
Keeping one arm around me, Nero finally turned his gaze toward Lorenzo.
"What kind of woman I keep is none of your concern."
His voice was quiet and lethal.
"You're not worth the dirt beneath my shoes. What makes you think you have the right to judge anything that belongs to me?"
The smile vanished from Lorenzo's face.
His eyes remained fixed on Nero's hand.
Everyone knew Nero lost control whenever he touched a woman.
Yet now, he was holding one against his body.
Realizing the situation had turned against him, Lorenzo clenched his jaw and stormed out with his men.
The door had barely closed before Nero shoved me away as though my skin had burned him.
I crashed onto the hardwood floor, my knees striking it with a painful thud.
He staggered backward, breathing heavily.
The veins at his temples stood out, and his face had turned an alarming shade of red.
Without a word, he rushed into the bathroom and shoved the hand that had touched me beneath freezing water.
He scrubbed it again and again, as though trying to wash away every trace of me.
I had barely pushed myself upright when a thick bundle of cash struck me squarely in the face.
Nero stood in the bathroom doorway, staring at me with open disgust.
"One hundred thousand dollars."
His voice was ice-cold.
"I don't care what Lorenzo paid you. I'll double it."
He gestured toward the money scattered across the floor.
"Take it and get out of my sight. If you're still here by tonight, you won't leave alive."
I looked down at the cash.
Once, I couldn't have imagined seeing that much money in one place.
Then I remembered Carmela's promise.
50 million dollars.
And my brother, who was still waiting for me to save him.
Drawing a slow breath, I knelt and gathered every bill.
Then I walked over to Nero and calmly stuffed the entire bundle into his shirt pocket.
His eyes widened slightly.
I held his stunned gaze and spoke slowly, emphasizing every word.
"Mr. Vitale, I already told you. I'm not here for your money."
I placed a hand over his chest.
"I'm here for you."
My voice softened.
"And no matter how many times you push me away, I'm not giving up."
Nero went still.
He looked down at the cash protruding from his pocket, then back at the hopelessly lovestruck expression on my face.
For the first time, something other than anger flickered in those ice-blue eyes.
Confusion, disbelief, and curiosity.
- Writer
