Page 49 of Corrupted Bride

That night, Bass comes to bed late, which is a minor blessing; I’m barely aware of him until it’s morning and he’s already gone. Lia’s heading back to school which means I get to lounge, truly lounge, to the point that I find myself getting bored.

I wander downstairs sometime after noon and find a young man in the kitchen with his feet up on the table typing on his phone. He perks up when he spots me and I recognize him from the wedding. “You’re Nico,” I say politely. “It’s nice to meet you officially.”

“Same to you.” He gets to his feet, ignores my outstretched hand, and gives me a tight hug. “God, you poor, poor, pathetic fucking thing, stuck with Bastiano and living in this fucking ranch⁠—”

“Can you please—I can’t breathe⁠—”

He releases me with a wild laugh and strolls over to the refrigerator. “Whoops, sorry, I don’t know my own strength.”

I grunt and rub my ribs. “No, that’s okay. Your sister already worked me to death yesterday.”

“That’s Lia. She took to the whole rancher thing more than the rest of it. I’m pretty sure Vince only ever sets foot on the property when he absolutely has to.”

“He’s your older brother?”

“The next in line. Lia’s the baby. I’m the middle child, I guess.” He offers me a beer, which I decline. “Where is the Don right now, anyway?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping you might.”

“No clue. Bass does what Bass does and he rarely checks in with the rest of us. Perks of being in charge, I guess.” Nico takes a long swig and sighs. “You sure you don’t want one?”

“Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow a car.”

He pauses, surprised, and takes another longer drink. “You want a car,” he repeats as if I asked him to do a backflip while on fire. “Huh.”

“I figured I’d go visit my brother,” I explain, not sure why this is a big deal. Bass never said I was confined to the property. “Since I have nothing going on today.”

“Right. And you want to drive there.”

“That’s… how it usually works?”

Nico grins like he came to a decision. “There’s a garage with a couple spare trucks. I’ll take you.”

“Oh, that’s amazing, thank you so much.”

“Follow me.” He stalks off, forcing me to hurry to keep up.

“Um, so, are you and your brothers close?” I ask, trying to make small talk, but also seeing what I can learn about my new family.

“Depends on what you mean by close. Bass isn’t the close type. Vincent’s about as cuddly as a frozen brick.”

“You seem nice though?”

“Me? I’m a fucking freak.” He cackles and spills some of his beer. “Kidding, don’t worry.”

“Hilarious,” I say, not sure what to make of this guy. He seems friendly but chaotic.

At least the garage isn’t far. Nico gives me the rundown on his brothers as we go. Vincent’s the straight man, the boring one, the suit-and-tie. Bastiano’s all about honor and protectiveness and that sort of shit. Nico describes himself as the most down to earth and sophisticated of the three, which I extremely doubt. I let him fill the silence until he shows me to a small pickup and gives me the keys.

“Have fun back home,” he says, patting the bed as I climb in. “And don’t worry, this one’s Lia’s. She won’t mind one bit.”

“Uh, thanks, I appreciate it.”

He waves as I start the engine and pull out.

That was… weird. And easy. A part of me expected some kind of fight, but the tension in my shoulders eases as I head down the driveway toward the long gravel path that leads to the front entrance. Nico keeps waving until he disappears into my rearview mirror. He’s hard to read, but he seemed funny and outgoing, and I figure there will be time to get to know each other for real soon enough.

Five years is a while.