Mafia Queen

Chapter Thirty Six

Charlotte

"Should I go talk to him?" I whispered, keeping my eyes locked on Niko. I was desperately fighting the urge to run to him and beg him to tell me where Luca was.

"Relax, Principesa." Axel put his hand on top of mine. "They can smell fear."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, but my anxiety was mounting. He was the only thing standing in the way of getting my husband back.

"We need to be patient, lay the groundwork." Axel continued. He kept his voice low and leaned in close. Anyone watching would assume we were a pair of lovers sharing a private moment.

I did as best I could, watching nearly every move Niko made. A few times, I caught him glancing over at me and I diverted my eyes. Everything about him disgusted me. Even his body language was arrogant and the way he was interacting with the other men made me aware of the fact that he thought he was better than 90% of the people here. He held my gaze in a way that suggested he was still appraising me, and I had to use that to my advantage.

Just before the auction started, Niko sauntered over to the bar for a drink. Axel got up to follow him, and I nearly leapt out of my seat. He held a finger up to me, silently signaling me to wait here.

I held my breath nearly the entire time, waiting in anticipation.

Axel

When Niko got up from his table, I took that as my cue. We had met on several occasions, and I wanted to talk to him before sending Charlotte in. She was doing spectacularly so far, but she was exactly like Luca. The second it became personal, her emotions went haywire. I wanted to test the waters first. I had already caught him eyeing her several times, so this might be easier than I expected.

I approached the opposite side of the bar as him. "Can I have a whiskey on the rocks and a champagne please?"

The bartender nodded and got to work.

"Jax? Is that you?" Niko let out a sharp laugh. "It's been a long time, man."

"Niko." I grinned in satisfaction. "I had no idea you were going to be here. Good to see you!" We shook hands. "I thought you were still in Miami."

He shook his head, sipping on his drink. "I'm actually living up here now. A little outside of the city."

Bingo. "Really? I had no idea."

"It's new. We were looking to expand, and what better place than New York City?"

I arched my eyebrows. "I won't argue with you there, but isn't the market on illegal activity kind of crowded up here?"

"Nothing I can't handle." He smirked arrogantly. "What about you? Who's the girl?"

I started chuckling. Char had already made a strong impression on him. "That ain't no girl, Chico. That's a woman."

"She single?" Niko's eyes settled on Charlotte, who was looking as disinterested as humanly possible.

"She is." I nodded. "But if Serena knew you were running around with a woman like Steph, you probably wouldn't live to tell about it."

Niko's face hardened. "Serena isn't around anymore. Tell me about your Steph." His eyes traced every curve of her body, drinking in every inch. He wasn't just biting on our bait, he was damn near swallowing it.

"An old friend of mine. Stephanie Bianchi."

"She's Italian." Niko observed, even more intrigued.

"I wouldn't let her hear you say that." I chuckled. "She's Sicilian. Some of the craziest bitches you'll ever meet." I shook my head. "She used to run girls for her husband's ring. Slit his throat when she caught him sampling the merchandise and kept the operation for herself. Steph is definitely a person you want on your side."