Page 68 of Single Malt Drama
He barked out a humorless laugh. “Gabe was against Enzo marrying Nico from the beginning, remember? And he’s not going to tell you like it is. Marrying Maggie has made him sentimental.”
True, but there had to be a way to make this work. “I’ll talk to my father-in-law. Lick his boots, whatever I need to do to make this right.”
“There is no making it right. If you love her half as much as you say you do, you’ll destroy the marriage certificate and walk away.”
I disconnected the call and rested my forehead on the steering wheel. While his delivery sucked, Leo was right. Marrying Nico had been reckless, but I couldn’t stand the thought of her being forced to marry someone else. Selfishly, I wanted her for myself, but more than that, I wanted her to have the freedom to build the life she wanted on her terms.
The trip back to the marina went by in a blur. As I navigated the boat through the unmarked waterways, I couldn’t get Leo’s words out of my head. More so, I couldn’t stop thinking about the sacrifices he’d made to protect Dahlia.
And his kid.
Could I do that? Now that I realized how much I loved Nico, could I pretend we were just friends? Could I watch her raise our future children alone? And for what? To keep the peace between the families?
This is different. Dahlia’s the governor’s daughter, for Christ’s sake. Nico is a mob princess. She knows how things work better than I do. Lazio might be willing to sell her hand in exchange for power, but he’d never physically hurt her. Would he?
Still lost in a personal thought bubble, I secured the john boat to the dock and grabbed the shopping bags. I couldn’t decide what, if anything, I should tell Nico about Leo’s call. My head told me to lay it all out for her. My heart said the news would hurt her, and my dick reminded me of the box of condoms I’d purchased.
He didn’t get a vote.
I turned for the stairs and spotted a snake. A cold shot of adrenaline coursed through me.
Not two feet from me sat a water moccasin sunning itself on the dock.
“Son of a bitch.” Common sense told me to slowly move away, but I had a problem. Backing up meant stepping down into the boat—blind. Because there was no way in hell, I was going to take my eyes off the snake.
“You’re back!” Nico started down the stairs toward me.
Staring down the three feet long death machine, I said, “Stop! Don’t come closer. Snake.”
“Stay still.” She went back inside the cabin.
It wasn’t like she could do much to help, but damn it, I hadn’t expected her to leave me to die alone.
A gunshot tore through the bayou, and pain bloomed in my leg. For one terrifying second, I thought Lazio’s men had found us, and I’d been hit.
Then it dawned on me, not only had we been found, but… “It bit me!”
Another shot tore through the air as I dove for the boat.
“Oh my God.” Nico hurried down the stairs, stepped over the groceries and supplies littering the dock, and climbed into the boat.
“Stay down. Someone’s shooting at us.” I pressed my hand to the source of the pain, and swooned when my fingers came away slick with blood.
She eased me back. “Marco, it’s okay. I fired the gun.”
“You?” My leg throbbed in time with my heart. “Hospital… You have to drive.”
As if confused, she glanced from me to the dock and back. “I need to see your leg.”
Spots danced before my eyes. It’s the neurotoxins hitting my bloodstream. “Babe, there’s no time. I need you to start the engine and get me to the marina.”
Nico huffed and did something to my calf that sent a shock of pain from my toes to my groin.
“Ow, cut it out.” My heart raced, not a good thing considering the faster it beat, the faster the venom would spread. “Call 911. Tell them to send an air ambulance to the marina.”
“Marco, look.” She waved a bloody piece of wood in front of my face.
“What the hell is that?”