SWNOVELS When He Takes: Chapter 10
“Blake, why don’t you tell us how you and Nero met?”
My gaze jumps to our hostess—Vita Ferraro—who’s giving me a smile from the other side of the oak dining table. I gulp down my wine. To say I’m feeling disoriented would be an understatement.
If someone asked me what I imagined the wife of a big mob boss to look like, Vita wouldn’t be it. She’s slim and lively, and she has an air of sophisticated elegance that’s both captivating and disarming. I had expected her to be cold and aloof. Instead, she radiates a warmth that makes me feel surprisingly at ease.
It’s confusing.
When my dad brought Maxton and me to the trailer park where he and many members of the Iron Raptors lived, there was no mistaking the fact that the people there were criminals. The place reeked of crime. In every corner, there seemed to be whispered secrets of illicit deals and violent confrontations. Conversations grew hushed as Maxton and I walked by—we were outsiders and thus not to be trusted. It was a place where the rule of law had long been forgotten and replaced by a code of survival written in blood.
But it seems the Ferraros operate differently.
Their home—a penthouse even grander than Nero’s—is a tranquil setting.
There are no stray dogs with ribs showing, no broken windows patched with duct tape, and definitely no garbage littering the floors.
Instead, subtle notes of pine and lavender waft through the air. The sound of trickling water permeates the space like a gentle lullaby. Everywhere you look, there’s something beautiful. Whether it’s a piece of art on the wall, an ancient-looking vase on top of a dresser, or the glittering jewelry strung around Vita’s neck.
If I didn’t know who this family was, I never would have guessed that everything in here was paid for with blood money.
After I got over the initial shock of being invited here, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to get smart. I’ll need help if I want to extricate myself from Nero’s iron grasp. I’ll need a damned passport, but I have no clue who to ask for that help.
First, I need to understand the rules of the game and the pieces on the chessboard. Tonight is my chance to do that.
Nero squeezes my hand lightly under the table, reminding me Vita’s waiting for an answer.
I take another sip of wine before answering. “He moved in next door to me, and then he set my house on fire so that I’d date him.”
Nero coughs, nearly choking on his wine, and I can’t help but feel a bit of satisfaction at his reaction. Did he want me to make up some story? He should have given me an indication of that if that was the case. Instead, he did his best to avoid answering most of my questions about the Ferraros on the drive over.
It’s like he wants to keep me in the dark.
“Well, that’s certainly one way to make an impression,” Gino Ferraro says with a chuckle, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
Cosimo Ferraro, the only sibling who’s joined us for this dinner, regards Nero with a scowl. “So that’s what you have to resort to in order to get a woman within five feet of you?”
“At least I didn’t need my daddy to arrange my marriage for me,” Nero responds without missing a beat.
Cosimo’s eyes narrow.
Vita’s smile doesn’t waver, but there’s a slight tightening around her eyes. “Boys, let’s not forget we’re here to enjoy a pleasant evening.”
Nero gives a curt nod and slightly loosens his grip on my hand.
“I have a hard time imagining you in a small town, Nero,” Gino says. “You must have been very bored.”
“At first, but Darkwater Hollow grew on me. Especially after I met Blake.”
A traitorous flutter appears low inside my belly.
God, what’s wrong with me? This man forced me to marry him, and here I am fluttering.
This is exactly why I have to find my way out of New York, and I have to do it quickly, before I become even more confused about my feelings.
“I wonder how Blake feels about everything,” Cosimo says as he cuts into his veal. “Sounds like you brought her nothing but trouble. Blake, I assume you had no idea who Nero was at first.”
Beside me, Nero stills. My gaze drops to the tight grip he’s got on his steak knife.
“No, I didn’t. I only found out recently.”
“You must love him a lot to stay by his side.” Cosimo’s lips curve into a mocking smile.
I can tell Cosimo doesn’t like Nero, and for a second, I wonder if he might be able to help me.
But the idea makes my stomach churn. Cosimo would never let Nero forget it, and Nero would be so furious he might just try to kill Cosimo.
I bite down on my lip. No. I don’t need that on my conscience. There has to be a way for me to slip away without causing anyone to be hurt.
“Oh, there he is,” Vita says suddenly, her gaze shifting to the doorway.
I follow her line of sight and see Alessio Ferraro entering the room.
Nero told me that Alessio is the head enforcer of the Ferraro family. He didn’t need to give me more details. I know what being an enforcer means.
No wonder Nero seemed so stunned when I yelled at the dark-haired man. I’m guessing most people don’t do that sort of thing. But I really wasn’t thinking rationally at the time or paying too much attention to anything but my bruised and beaten husband.
Alessio takes a seat beside his brother and gives Nero and me a curt nod. His hair is tied back from his face with an elastic band, but a few strands have escaped, casting shadows over his cheekbones.
Vita smiles. “Blake, Alessio tells me the two of you already met?”
“Briefly.”
“It’s a shame Rom couldn’t be here,” she says, referring to the youngest Ferraro brother. “I would have loved for you to meet him too.”
My curiosity gets the best of me. “Why?”
This whole evening has just been…entirely too pleasant. It’s like they’re trying to butter us up for something.
Vita doesn’t seem offended by the question. “We think it’s important that whenever anyone new joins our family, they feel welcomed.”
I glance at Nero. He’s cutting his baked potato into neat pieces, wearing a neutral expression on his face, but something’s just not adding up.
Nero said Gino Ferraro planned to kill him the day we returned. How the hell does someone go from that to this in the span of less than a week?
“Nero, tell me about this company you ran in Missouri,” Gino prompts.
The conversation steers toward Handy Heroes for the rest of the dinner. Cosimo and Alessio stay mostly silent, as do I, but Gino and Vita seem engaged in the discussion, asking questions and nodding along to Nero’s stories as if they’re old friends.
It’s only when the staff come around to take away our empty plates that something in the atmosphere shifts.
Gino folds his napkin into a rectangle and places it on the table. “There’s a bit of business I’d like for us to discuss. Would you two join Vita and me in the office?”
“The two of us?” Nero asks, tossing me a look.
“That would be great.”
Nero frowns. “Blake doesn’t need to be there if we’re talking business.”
I feel a prickle of agitation at his dismissive tone, but then I remember I genuinely have no reason to be present for a conversation between him and his boss. Why would Gino even want me there?
Gino links his fingers on the table in front of him. “This is something that concerns the two of you.”
Nero’s profile hardens. He reaches for my hand again and interlaces our fingers, as if trying to reassure me.
Or himself.
“I’ll join you too,” Cosimo says.
“That won’t be necessary, son,” Gino says as he gets to his feet. “You and Alessio can get started on dessert. We won’t be long.”
The dismissal clearly ticks off Cosimo, and he narrows his eyes in displeasure as Vita, Nero, and I rise. Alessio doesn’t seem to care, though. He’s playing some game on his phone.
Nero tugs me closer to him as we make our way to Gino’s office. He leans in and whispers, “Don’t be afraid. Whatever this is, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I blink at him. I’m not getting a threatening vibe from Gino, but it’s clear Nero’s worried about something. What is it?
In the office, Nero and I take a seat on one of the cream sofas in the sitting area, while Gino and Vita settle in across from us.
Vita pours us some white wine. When I catch her eye as she sets the bottle down, there’s something there that I didn’t notice before. Something cunning.
There’s far more to this woman than just being the don’s hospitable wife.
Nero places a palm on my lower back. “Let’s cut to the chase, Gino. What is this about?”
The silver-haired man smiles as his wife takes a seat beside him. “Do you remember the last time you were here, Nero?”
“Of course,” Nero says roughly.
“You were right there—” Gino points to a spot in front of the desk “—on your knees before me.”
Ice slides down my veins. What?
“Do know why I didn’t pull the trigger that day?”
My eyes dart toward Nero. Ferraro came that close to killing him?
It was true. It was all true.
Nero nearly died for me.
The hand on my lower back curls into the fabric of my dress. “No. But I’m guessing you’re finally gonna tell me.”
“Rafaele’s exact words were that you’re an asset. And he was right. There’s a job that you’re uniquely positioned to do for me.”
“It sure as fuck isn’t what you have me doing now,” Nero says.
“No, it’s not,” Gino agrees.
“What is it then?” A note of impatience slips into Nero’s tone.
I force myself to focus on what Gino’s saying despite my racing thoughts and the rapid beating of my heart.
Gino smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “We want you to infiltrate the Bratva and help us find the pakhan.”
Infiltrate the who and find the what?
Nero seems to know exactly what Gino’s talking about. “How do you expect me to do that?”
“Before you left, you were a loyal consigliere. You were the one who killed Michael, but the blame lies with Rafaele. We both know he should have warned you my men would be there. A man in your position would have been rightfully upset about having to give up…” Gino swirls his wine around. “Well, everything.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is that it wouldn’t be so difficult to believe that you want to get even with your old boss. Especially after he threw you to the wolves when you came back.”
“The wolves being you and your sons?”
“Indeed. From the outside, it looks like you got quite the demotion. You went from leading scores of men and holding critical negotiations in gilded meeting rooms to cleaning blood and guts off cement floors after Alessio’s interrogations.”
Shock crackles through me.
That’s…what they’re making him do?
Nero’s uneasy gaze snaps my way. One look into his eyes tells me he didn’t want me to know that.
And that’s when something inside me shifts. It’s like a lamp’s been turned on inside a dark room, casting everything in a new light.
The events of the last few months whirl through my mind.
Nero had to leave New York because of someone else’s mistake. He tried to start over. He had a business, a real, honest business that he was running with his partner.
And he was doing fine.
Right up until he moved in next door to me. Right up until getting involved with me put him in the crosshairs of my ex and my godfather. The two men whose actions caused Nero’s fake identity to be revealed.
The world tilts.
How did I not see it earlier?
I put all the blame on Nero, but I’m just as guilty we’re in this mess.
What would have happened if he’d never met me?
He would have been fine. Sandro would still be alive.
They would still be working in Darkwater Hollow and living their new lives.
Instead, Sandro’s gone, and Nero’s been forced back here. He’s working for a man who nearly killed him. A man who sees him as nothing more than a pawn on a chessboard.
Nero knew exactly what might happen to him upon his return to New York, and he came back here anyway.
For me.
“You wanted that vor to see me today,” Nero murmurs. “Alessio didn’t kill him because you wanted him to run back to the Russians and tell them what you’re having me do.”
Gino nods. “Seeing you at that coffee shop also helped paint a picture. It’s a laundering front for the Bratva.”
Nero’s laugh is humorless. “You’ve really thought this through.”
“We wanted the pakhan to realize there’s someone in the family who might be willing to turn. Someone who knows a lot of secrets that would be valuable to him and the Bratva.”
Even without understanding the terms Gino’s using, I’m starting to piece together what he’s getting at. He wants Nero to help them take down a rival by pretending to switch sides.
Nero places his wineglass on the coffee table. “The pakhan would be happy to get whatever information he can from me. But what are you hoping to get out of this?”
“His location,” Vita answers.
Is this plan her idea?
“No one but those in his inner circle know where he is,” she continues. “If we find him and take care of him, the rest of the organization will crumble.”
Nero rubs his chin. “How am I supposed to convince anyone to give me his location? Even if he believes I’m willing to betray you, he’s not about to invite me over for coffee.”
Gino’s eyes flash. “That’s where your cleverness comes in. Rafe did mention you possess this quality. I have faith you’ll find a way in.”
“Is this an order?” Nero asks, his voice low.
“It would have been, but unfortunately—” Gino’s gaze slides over to me “—we also need Blake’s cooperation.”
Nero stands up abruptly, his hand lifting from my back. “No.”
“We won’t involve her if she doesn’t want to get involved,” Gino says calmly to a man who’s definitely not calm.
“She’s not getting involved,” Nero growls.
Vita catches my gaze. This is why they invited me here—to try and build a relationship. To make me want to help them.
“What role would I have to play?” I ask.
“As Nero’s wife, you will be subjected to scrutiny,” Vita says. “To pull this off, you and Nero will have to work in tandem. You will have to convince the other side that you’re so angry about what happened to Nero that you’re willing to risk it all to get your revenge.”
My God. It’s so crazy, I almost laugh. Me? How am I supposed to manage something like that? I don’t belong in this world. I don’t know how to exist in it, let alone be an active participant. I’d mess it up on day one.
Nero extends his hand to me. As soon as I take it, he tugs me to my feet. “We’re leaving.”
Vita’s gaze bores into me. “Blake, we’d do everything we can to ensure your success. I would personally prepare you.”
“I said no,” Nero snaps. “She is under Rafe’s protection. You have no domain over her.”
“We’re aware,” Gino drawls. “Which is why we’re asking, not ordering.”
“This conversation is over.” Nero pulls me toward the door.
“Nero, don’t you want to hear what’s in it for you?” Gino calls out.
“I don’t care. The answer is still no. I will not involve Blake in our business, no matter what.”
“If you help us end this war, I will make you capo. I will give you a position of power in my organization despite what happened with my nephew. You won’t be an errand boy for my son anymore, and you will have the respect you deserve.”
Nero’s jaw clenches. Silence wraps around the room.
“Blake,” Vita says after a few seconds. “What do you think?”
The grip Nero has on my hand tightens. I almost expect him to lead me out without letting me answer, but he stays still, waiting for me to say my piece.
My heartbeat pounds in my ears. I don’t know how to do this. I’m just a girl from a town no one’s ever heard of. How am I supposed to pull something like this off?
It’s impossible.
“I can’t help you,” I say quietly.
Disappointment flashes inside Vita’s eyes, but she quickly collects herself. “I understand.”
The evening is over. Gino and Vita walk us to the door, the mood decidedly tense and uneasy.
Vita pulls me into a hug as she says her goodbye. I feel her slip something into my purse. “A burner phone,” she whispers into my ear. “Call me if you change your mind.”