Nico (Ruin & Revenge #1)(58)

Mia bit back a smile. Nico had meant what he said when he promised to keep her safe.

“Yes, thanks. I just … have to go home. There’s a … family emergency.”

Big Joe’s gaze flicked to Rev. His eyes widened for the briefest of seconds, and then his face smoothed to an expressionless mask.

“So what’s this?” Rev chuckled uneasily. “We got cops taking computer classes for little girls now?”

“Cops?” Mia looked from Big Joe to Rev and back to Big Joe. “He isn’t a cop. He’s…” She trailed off considering just how much worse the imminent beating would be if Rev told her father Nico had someone from his crew watching over her.

“A…” She frowned at Big Joe, willing him to fill in the blank.

“Dad looking to sign his girl up for the class,” Big Joe said quickly.

Okay. She could work with that, although the tension in the room was so thick she could cut it with a knife. Obviously they knew each other, but why did Rev think he was a cop?

“How old is your daughter?”

“Six.” Big Joe’s eyes didn’t leave Rev as he spoke, and she couldn’t decide if it was fear she saw in their blue depths or anger.

“This class is for girls nine to thirteen, but if you put your name down in reception, I’ll ask them to give you a call if I get enough interest in teaching something for younger kids.”

“Sure thing.” Big Joe jerked his chin at Rev. “So you know this guy?”

“He works for my father. He’s here to escort me home so I have to cancel today’s class, otherwise I would have signed you up myself.”

Big Joe frowned and she figured he was struggling to reconcile his instructions to keep her safe with the fact she’d pretty much told him she was being forced to leave.

“It’s okay,” she assured him, worried that Rev might start asking questions about their awkward conversation. “You can go … sign up your little girl.”

“Our little girl.” Rev smirked. “She’s got two daddies now.”

Mia could almost feel the waves of anger rolling off Big Joe. What the hell was going on? Rev clearly didn’t know Big Joe was on Nico’s crew because usually if two soldiers from feuding families bumped into each other, there would be some kind of fight. But they obviously had some kind of connection, and Rev’s cop comment niggled at her brain. Was Nico in danger?

“She’s got one daddy,” Big Joe spat out. “And he’s got a fucking bead on you.”

Rev laughed, tipped his head from side to side and cracked his neck, a habit that was really starting to annoy Mia. “You got nothing on me. And what the fuck would you do if you did? Write me a parking ticket?”

“Why do you think he’s a cop?” Although Mia hated Rev, and had no desire to enter into any form of conversation with him, she had to ask the question. If Big Joe wasn’t who Nico thought he was, or if he was some kind of undercover cop, she needed to know, not just for Nico’s sake, but also for her own. Knowledge was power, and that kind of information could buy her some very important favors.

Rev shrugged. “Because he is.”

Big Joe drew in a ragged breath and his eyes hardened, his entire body so tense Mia thought he might explode. She’d never seen this side of the usual affable and easy-going Big Joe. But then she was beginning to wonder if she knew him at all.

“Ma’am.” Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked down the hall.

Mia glanced over at Rev, his eyes distant in contemplation. “I just need to tell him something about the course. I’ll be right back.” She pushed past him, but before she reached the door, he snatched her purse from her hand.

“A little insurance policy.” He held the purse out of reach. “Not that I need it. I’ve got guys stationed at every exit. No way am I going back to Don Cordano empty-handed.”

With a huff of annoyance, Mia ran down the hall after Big Joe.

“Wait.” She caught up to him at the reception desk. “Why does he think you’re cop?’

Big Joe turned, quickly blanking his face. “I didn’t want my ex to know what I really did for a living.” He shrugged. “She’s not a discrete person, if you know what I mean. And I didn’t want this life to touch my little girl. So yeah, I made up a story about being a traffic cop. It was a good way to explain the odd hours and why I couldn’t always be around. Then my ex took up with that loser, and I didn’t see any point in changing the story. I figured, the less they knew about me, the better. Looks like that was a good choice ’cause I didn’t know he was a made guy or part of your father’s crew.”

Mia’s tension eased. “I was worried for a second there. I thought maybe you were an undercover cop and you were going to take Nico and his crew down.”

“No, ma’am. Nico and the crew don’t have anything to fear from me.”

Maybe not. But she hadn’t suffered through years of abuse without developing the ability to read the smallest nuances of expression as a matter of survival. Big Joe said all the right words, but the throb of the pulse in his neck, and the cold stare from a man she knew as a nice guy mobster told another story, one that she would unravel as soon as she got a chance.

*

“Nico, can you and your boys eat?” Nonna Maria greeted Nico, Luca, and Frankie at the door of her modest home. As always, her gray hair was tied back in a bun, and she wore her worn, red apron tightly wrapped around her doughy middle.