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Nicoletta managed to match his rhythm only because she was so tuned to him, but it was a desperate tango, her mind telling her that she wasn’t going to survive the wash of this next orgasm. It was too strong. Too big. Too everything. She was terrified to let go. She’d gone too high with him and didn’t know how to come back from it.
“Look at me, Nicoletta.”
His voice. Soft. Firm. Always there. Always her safety net. Her eyes met his in the mirror. Those dark blue Ferraro eyes. So turbulent, like a dark summer storm. He was right about the mirror. About how sexy, how sensual, they were together.
“Let yourself fall. I’m right here. I’ll always catch you.”
He had. Her nightmares. In the shadows. Here. Where there was pleasure. Her gaze safe in his, she gave herself up to the beauty and love between them. Dio. Dio. It truly was a firestorm of perfection, flinging them both outward, sending them soaring. She felt the jerk of his cock, sending jet after jet of his hot semen deep, triggering more massive quakes. They just seemed to roll through her entire body, one after another.
Nicoletta pressed her face into the carpet, grateful it was so thick and comfortable. Taviano wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from totally collapsing forward. He rubbed his face on the small of her back.
“The mirror worked,” he whispered.
“The mirror totally worked,” she agreed and lay flat, closing her eyes. She intended to go back to sleep until they were absolutely forced to get up again and go out. Maybe, just maybe, they could someday make love in front of the mirror with Taviano on top of her, and she could stare at him the entire time, knowing she was safe. That would be heaven. Right now, she was happy, sated, and so in love she knew it would be all right if she never got there.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Taviano made certain he appeared calm and relaxed when he was anything but. Stefano had called a family meeting. He knew that prior to having dinner with Francesca and the rest of the family, the riders would be gathering to discuss whether or not Stefano felt that Nicoletta could officially train as a shadow rider and actually take rotations with Taviano on the roster. They would have no choice but to abide by his brother’s decision. Even if they tried to appeal his decision to the council, he knew the council would never go against Stefano’s judgment.
Nicoletta sent him several speculative glances, letting him know she knew he hadn’t told her everything, but she didn’t push him. They were already there. The moment they walked into the penthouse, Taviano’s stomach dropped; Eloisa was present. She was no longer a rider and she had no vote, no say in whether or not Nicoletta could be trained. That he could—and would—protest.
The room was full. Stefano had invited the cousins from New York, Geno, Lucca and Salvatore. That was unusual. Taviano took Nicoletta’s hand and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arm around her waist. He no longer had any idea what was going on. Whatever it was, this wasn’t about Nicoletta, unless Benito Valdez had been spotted. If he had, surely Stefano would have said something.
His brothers were all there. Ricco with Mariko. Giovanni had returned, and both Vittorio and Emmanuelle were present. Of his seven LA cousins, the four that had come earlier—Severino, Tore, Marzio, and Velia—were still present. They sat as if they’d been waiting for everyone, although he could see by Velia’s face that she wasn’t nearly as comfortable as she’d like everyone to think with Eloisa in the room.
“Now that Taviano and Nicoletta have arrived, we can get down to business,” Stefano said. “Before I go into the reason I’ve brought Eloisa here, I want to let all of you know that everyone did their job and the Demons heading this way were stopped. Unfortunately, Benito Valdez turned around before we could get a lock on his exact location, although our investigators have narrowed it down and I expect we’ll have that very soon.”
“He’s aware his army coming this way is dead?” Giovanni asked.
“It appears so,” Stefano said. “I doubt he would have turned around for any other reason. The cops were called to one of the locations. The bodies were discovered. It was bound to happen. We coordinated very well, but there were just too many of them.”
Eloisa stirred and looked pointedly at Nicoletta, as if she shouldn’t be there. “We are discussing rider business, aren’t we, Stefano? Technically, we shouldn’t be talking about anything that has to do with shadow riding if we aren’t all riders.” She sounded very stiff and annoyed.
Taviano tightened his arm around Nicoletta, drawing her beneath the protection of his shoulder. Damn his mother. He should have known she would continue her attack on Nicoletta, no matter how subtle or blatant. Given the opportunity, she was going to do it every time. His one consolation was that his older brother didn’t make mistakes. He had deliberately included Nicoletta in the circle of riders. Francesca, Grace and Sasha were in another room with Crispino. If Stefano hadn’t wanted Nicoletta there, she would have been asked to stay with the other family members in the sitting room or den, and she would have done so and probably been a hell of a lot more comfortable.
Nicoletta ran her hand up and down his thigh, and he realized she was attempting to comfort him. He was more upset by his mother’s statement than she was.
Stefano regarded Eloisa steadily with his dark blue eyes. “If you would feel more comfortable waiting somewhere else while we have this discussion, Eloisa, you’re welcome to wait in another room. I believe no one is using the den at the moment. I can check for you if this is too boring. I thought you would want to have this information, and I included you as a courtesy.”
There was silence following his comments. Eloisa looked shocked and then color swept into her face. She glanced toward Nicoletta again, opened her mouth and then pressed her lips tightly together as her gaze swept around the room. She clenched both hands into fists as she shook her head.
“I presume that means you wish to stay,” Stefano said, in the same low tone he used when discussing any business with the riders. It was a voice they were all very familiar with. He was in charge at all times, and he expected them to listen to what he was saying and remember it because it was important.
Eloisa nodded her head. This time she sent Nicoletta a poisonous glare.
Taviano threaded his fingers through his woman’s and brought her hand up to his mouth, deliberately kissing her knuckles while meeting his mother’s eyes. If she wanted a fight, he let her know it was with him or with both of them. If she came at Nicoletta, his woman wasn’t going to be alone. Not ever.
“Benito Valdez has four brothers. They aren’t as enamored with Benito as it first appeared. It seems as if he’s been bleeding them dry for some time. They make money, and he takes it away from them, claiming they have to pay their dues to him. A few times he’s gone in and taken some of their women, actual wives or partners to some of the men. That hasn’t gone over very well, especially when those women were later sold into a trafficking ring.”
Beside him, Nicoletta went very still. Taviano could feel her heartbeat hammering in her inner wrist. He rubbed very gently over that pulse, pounding so hard. Anything to do with Valdez was distressing. She’d witnessed firsthand how he’d treated the women.
Stefano noticed because nothing escaped his eyes. “Nicoletta, I’m sorry we have to talk about this man, but I feel it’s important for you to hear this. If it becomes too much for you, Taviano can fill you in later.”
She shook her head. “He’s vile, Stefano. Everything he does to women is vile.”
Taviano felt the shudder that ran through her, and he wanted to pick her up and carry her out of the room. He wished she didn’t ever have to think about Benito Valdez again.
“He has to be stopped. No one seems to be able to do it. He’s sold so many women and children into virtual slavery it’s unbelievable. Girls as young as eight or nine.” There were tears in Nicoletta’s voice. Her eyes swam with them, but she didn’t shed them. “If anything you say helps anyone in this room stop him, then I’ll sit thr
ough listening a thousand times.”
Emmanuelle looked up from where she was seated between Vittorio and Elie. She looked as if she might cry. “Well said, sorellina, we’ll get him. There is no way he’ll escape.”
Stefano nodded. “He can’t hide forever, Nicoletta. His brothers want him dead as well, he just is unaware of it. They sent the men they were certain were loyal to him and kept back the ones that are loyal to them. The brother that seems to be the appointed leader is in Los Angeles. His name is Tonio. His big dream is to have a reality television show and bring in all of his brothers from their locations. He thinks he can hobnob with the rich and famous and get a very wealthy celebrity to fall for him. He’s got his eyes on Velia.” He indicated his cousin.
Velia fanned herself. “I’m so flattered.”
“You should be. He thinks a lot of himself,” Marzio pointed out.
“The Ferraros have a network, and we can send someone to scout him out,” Stefano said. “That would turn their attention from Benito and anything that happens to him onto themselves and their future. We can drag out the production and decide later if we think it’s a good idea or not, but for now, it would deflect the rest of the Demons from continuing to come at Nicoletta.”
“I like it,” Vittorio said.
“Brilliant,” Giovanni agreed. “Turn the tables on them and have cameras on them twenty-four hours a day. I doubt they know what they’re going to be agreeing to.”
Taviano was watching Eloisa’s face. Even she was nodding as she considered what Stefano had said.
“Taviano?” Stefano asked. “Ricco?”
Both men added their assent. Emmanuelle and Mariko did as well.
“I don’t have a vote anymore, but I agree with Giovanni, Stefano,” Eloisa said. “You might make them famous, but on the other hand, if they are so stupid as to commit crimes on camera, they’re incriminating themselves to the cops and providing evidence. Just make certain in the contract with them it states that the film will be permissible to be evidence.”
Taviano was so shocked, he nearly fell off the couch. Looking at his brothers and Emmanuelle, he could see they were as astonished as he was. Their mother never praised them, least of all Stefano. No idea any of them had was a good one. Stefano, she seemed to want to crush every bit as much as Emmanuelle.
“Then I’ll make a few phone calls,” Stefano said, his expression exactly the same. There was no telling by his face or his inflection what he was thinking. “We all have to inform the families that we’ll most likely be under scrutiny again after so many Demons were found with their necks broken. We’re not tied to these deaths in any way, and there’s no way to connect us, but there are rumors that continually surface about our family, and that means an undercover will be looking to infiltrate and try to find a way to prove we’re somehow involved. Our greeters can’t in any way make mistakes. That’s more important than ever.”
Eloisa leaned forward just a little more intently. She was the greeter for the Chicago Ferraros. Since Phillip was gone, the family relied on her. “I need to talk to you about that, Stefano. We do need help. I’d like to put out the word to the family to bring in greeters to give me some time off, if you don’t mind. You’d have to interview them with me.”
Again, there was a shocked silence, although Taviano was looking at his older brother’s face and there was something in his eyes that told him maybe this revelation wasn’t altogether unexpected.
“Of course, Eloisa,” Stefano said smoothly. “I’ve wanted to get you help for some time. It’s too big of a responsibility for one person. Now, with the threat of more scrutiny, I think we should take a break for a short while and regroup. All of us should, but that has to go before the council. The world is a much smaller place than it once was. We all deliver the same signature kill. That has become noticeable to some law enforcement officials worldwide.”
“Even in our families, few know of the riders,” Eloisa pointed out. “Not even close family members. Only those with direct responsibilities, or spouses. Sometimes not even spouses. Once in a while someone in the family wants to go into law enforcement, and we are supportive of that decision, but we are extra careful around them. Riders are protected at all times. They serve on the boards of the banks and hotels and are given jobs that take them all over the country and out of it, so no one thinks anything about them traveling.”
“Or playing hard,” Giovanni added. “Our cover is solid, that isn’t what Stefano is saying. There isn’t a need to panic. He’s saying to be cautious, and he’s right.”
Elie nodded. “The council has to hear about what’s happening and the fact that law enforcement will be investigating us thoroughly.”
Eloisa sent him a sharp glance but refrained from saying anything. Technically, he wasn’t a Ferraro, although he spent all of his time with them now. He rotated in with them and worked under Stefano’s authority. When he wasn’t working as a rider, he took jobs as a bodyguard, which Stefano objected to. Often, on his days off, he and Emmanuelle went to dinner or clubbing. Both liked to dance, and they were seen together out for pizza or they came to Stefano’s on family night. Most importantly, he was a member of the famed Archambault family. Eloisa had a high respect for them as riders and held their bloodline in the highest esteem. More than anything, she wanted an alliance between the two families.
“Yes,” Stefano agreed. “I’ve already spoken to Alfieri, and he was arranging a conference call for later this evening so that all members of the council would be able to be on.”
“Alfieri is our uncle and a member of the international council,” Taviano whispered to Nicoletta.
Stefano sank back in the chair. “That brings us to Nicoletta. She accompanied Taviano and me to the Chicago Demons who were coming to aid Valdez, or rather attempting to. I wanted to observe her. Already, just working with her, training her over the last couple of years, each of us had, including Elie, written reports on her. All of us had come to the same conclusions. No one had ever seen anyone like her. Reflexes were faster, learning curve, hand-eye coordination, the way her body reacted to the shadows, it was all very similar to Elie’s.” He indicated Elie.
Taviano smiled down at Nicoletta. He couldn’t help the surge of pride in her. Faint color swept up her neck to stain her cheeks. She didn’t look at any of his brothers or cousins. He tightened his grip on her hand and glanced at his mother to see how she was taking the news. The look on her face was priceless. She’d gone very still. Almost frozen. She stared at Stefano as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“We asked Elie to train with her because he’s incredibly fast, and she actually kept up with him when they were kickboxing. We filmed her so we could send the live feeds to the head of the Archambault family. We know that her father was a member of the family, but not a rider. Nicoletta had never trained as a child, yet she not only didn’t lose the ability to ride the shadows, but the compulsion, the need, grew in her to the point that she was doing it on her own.” Stefano gestured to Taviano to take up the narrative.
Taviano pressed Nicoletta’s palm into his thigh. “When she was attacked at the concert, she texted me immediately as she fought off her attacker and got her three friends to run. Her friends scattered, but she did exactly what I said and met me where I told her to. Unfortunately, I was shot.”
He heard Eloisa gasp and realized she hadn’t been told. Before, when they came off missions, they always reported injuries to her, but since her ugliness to Francesca, none of them did. He hadn’t realized that until just that moment.
“I had Nicoletta strip and put my shirt on. She did so without hesitation, and she went with me, taking the shadows to the first aid station. She did get sick that first time, but she helped me with my wound, and she stayed alert and ready for action. From there, we took the shadow to the hotel. It was a long and very fast ride, with sharp turns and curves.”
“Dangerous,” Severino murmured. “So dangerous for anyone new to ridin
g, let alone untrained. It was a terrible risk.”
Taviano nodded. “We had to get there before the Demons did. She was very sick, and this time I could see there was bleeding. It alarmed me, but I consoled myself with the fact that all of us had some bleeding from the nose when we first rode the shadows as kids.”
That was true enough, but he saw Stefano and Severino exchange a worried look, and there was no doubt in Taviano’s mind that that exchange was one of concern. He found himself pressing Nicoletta’s hand deeper into his thigh, more for his own reassurance than hers.
“The cousins took her two friends to a safe house, but Nicoletta was worried that Clariss, her friend still unaccounted for, had been taken by the Demons. When we discovered that was so, she didn’t want to return to the plane. She knew what they did to women, and she wanted to be there for Clariss in case the men had raped her. She felt it was necessary to be there for her friend under those circumstances.”
“That would be three jumps on an unskilled rider. Her body …” Severino trailed off. He looked at Nicoletta with respect. “That’s unheard-of. We work up to that. We train from the time we’re children. Shadows can tear apart a body.”
“The third time was actually better in terms of her controlling the ride,” Taviano explained. “She began to anticipate the curves and turns. She kept her head down, and her arms around me tight, but her body moved with mine, and she relaxed into the ride rather than fought it.” Which was one of the hardest things to do. He knew that, as did every rider in the room.
“From the warehouse, we went to the plane, so all in all, Nicoletta rode the shadows four times in one day. She had the headache from hell and was exhausted, but there didn’t seem to be any repercussions on her body, such as soreness with aches and pains, and she didn’t get sick after riding to the plane. I watched her carefully. She didn’t limp. She wasn’t wincing. I had her meditating and doing breathing exercises, sitting with me on the floor, and we trained in my gym for a short period of time. She didn’t so much as grimace. She never once has protested when asked to work out. All of us have had to stop her from pushing too hard.”