Mafia Queen

Chapter Forty Five

Charlotte

The second Luca walked through the door, I nearly fainted. This was definitely not part of the plan. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be in his cell so Angelo and Marco could go in and get him while I distracted Niko. I was happy to see him, but what the hell were we going to do now?

Everything seemed to stand still as I stared at him, and for a few moments, it was like we were alone in the room. I could see the despair on his face and knew these last few days had to have been hell on him. He was hurting so badly, probably thinking the worst after what happened the other night. His eyes were locked on mine, as if he was trying to read my mind and figure out what I was thinking. I wanted so badly to run to him and assure him how much I loved him, but I knew I couldn't. Hailey quietly put her hand on my knee, signaling me to get to together.

I did my best to focus, but it was nearly impossible. How was I going to get word to Angelo and Marco? How was I supposed to get Luca out of here now? He was chained to a chair just a few feet away from me and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.

After a few minutes, Niko approached, and I straightened in my seat, focusing all of my energy on the part I was supposed to play. I had to keep Niko interested, keep stringing him along, and I had to do it with my husband watching the entire thing. I felt ashamed and knew it was excruciating for him, but it had to be done.

"You look delicious tonight, kitten. Have you thought about our conversation yesterday?" He was close, but fortunately didn't reach for me or touch me in any way. Luca had a horrible jealous bone, and it wouldn't take much for him to blow the top right off of all of this.

"I have." A confident smile spread across my lips. "I haven't made my mind up yet, though. It's a lot to think about."

"It is." Niko nodded in agreement. "But tonight is supposed to be fun. Let's not weigh it down with those decisions. Just know that if you decide that you'd like to give it a shot, you could have your pick of my men."

I arched my eyebrow, trying to keep my cool. He was giving me an opening. "Any of your men?"

"Of course!" Niko let out a sharp laugh. "What's mine is yours, doll face. Now let's get this party started. Why don't you have your girls get drinks started?"

"They're not waitresses, Niko." I hissed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"It's no problem, Steph." Hailey appeared at my side, putting her hand on my forearm, taking control and turning to Niko. "Would you like us to take orders or just serving?"

"There is a full bar in the kitchenette." He instructed. "Why don't you guys make the rounds and see what everyone wants?"

"Sounds great." Hailey smiled and turned away, leading me with her. "Relax, I need a minute to send Angelo a text, anyway."

I nodded, sucking in a sharp breath.

"You're doing fine. We're going to pull this out, trust me. They're used to working on the fly. We've had to change plans like this a million times."

"Thank you." I smiled halfheartedly. Her reassurance was nice, but I wasn't convinced. I had to focus to slow my breathing, but eventually I settled in. That is, until Niko announced that all of his guests would essentially play for Luca tonight.

All the air drained out of my lungs. What if he was taken somewhere else? What if we had to start over from scratch? This couldn't be happening. I looked to Hailey for some kind of direction, but she had disappeared with Eden and Kat into the kitchenette. I had to do something, with only seconds to make the choice on my own.