Be With Me: Chapter 8

That evening, I stepped through the doors of the speakeasy, ready to demand answers.

Potions and Co was an old pharmacy turned apothecary-themed drinking haunt. A wall of shelves lined with antique pill bottles and glass apothecary jars doubled as a hidden entrance. I rang the bell and waited until an attendant appeared and invited me inside.

The space beneath the shop felt more like an alchemist’s lab than a bar. A narrow staircase led down to a dimly lit room where candlelight flickered against stone walls. Behind the counter, flasks of green liquid bubbled over burners, while jars filled with dried herbs, mouse tails, and pickled eyeballs sat among the usual liquor bottles. I made a point not to look too closely at those. They made me queasy.

Sitting in the corner booth—the one Nina and I always got whenever we came here—were my friends.

“You made it,” Fabi said, sounding relieved, like she’d been worried I wouldn’t show.

“Of course I made it.” I slid in beside Zo, who’d dyed her hair purple since the last time I’d seen her, and handed Nina my tote so she could put it on the shelf behind her. “But the three of you better start talking.”

Zo reached for the cocktail menu. “Let’s get a round first⁠—”

I snatched it out of her hands. “No. Answers first. Alcohol later.”

She raised her palms. “Okay, okay. For the record, I told Fabi she needed to fess up to you a while back.”

“Oh yeah? Why’d you go along with it then?” I was coming in hotter than usual, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this angry with them.

Fabi reached across the table, fingers curling around my hand. “Mia, it’s not Zo’s fault. It wasn’t her secret to tell. I feel awful about how I’ve treated you these last few weeks.”

I pulled my hand away and crossed my arms over my chest.

“I didn’t know how to tell you,” Fabi pleaded. “Your dad was on TV talking about how he was going to take down the Ferraros and put them behind bars, and in the meantime, I was picking out the flower arrangements for my wedding to Cosimo. I was scared, Mia. Scared you wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me after you found out.”

“So instead, you made it seem like you didn’t want anything to do with me?” My voice rose, incredulous. “Make it make sense, Fabi.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t. I know. I was paralyzed, and I kept kicking the can down the road. I kept thinking, ‘I’ll talk to her next week. No, next week. No, next week.’ And then⁠—“

“I showed up and forced the conversation.”

Fabi nodded, her eyes glassy. “I’m glad you did. It killed me keeping this from you. I’m so sorry, Mia.”

I shook my head. She sounded genuinely remorseful, but I wasn’t ready to let it go just yet. “I don’t understand why you never told me who you were. We’ve known each other for over a decade. Far longer than my dad’s campaign.”

She grimaced. “It was supposed to be a secret. My brother gave Elena and I a different last name so that no one could trace us back to him. It was about safety, especially while we were living abroad.”

I picked at a cuticle. Okay, that kind of tracked, but it still hurt. Fabi should have known she could trust me.

I gestured at Nina and Zo. “You told them.”

Fabi shook her head. “I didn’t.”

“Then how did they find out?”

Zo shrugged. “You know me, I like to poke around.”

“Poke around where exactly?”

“The FBI database,” Zo said so casually you’d think she was talking about checking the weather. “I hacked into it about two years ago.”

“Zo! Jesus Christ. That’s the kind of thing that gets people arrested,” I said.

She waved a hand. “I was careful.”

I wasn’t comforted by that.

“Naturally,” she continued, “the first thing I did was look up all my friends. Imagine my surprise when I found out Fabi Castellano wasn’t a real person. I got curious. And you know how I get when I get curious.”

“You dig,” Nina said.

Zo flipped over a coaster. “I sure do. Found her and her sis’s birth certificates eventually.”

Unbelievable. “Wow. Easy.”

She cocked a brow. “Oh, it wasn’t easy. Took forever to hack into the FBI in the first place. Don’t downplay my brilliance.”

“God forbid,” I muttered. “So you knew all this time and told Nina, but not me?“

“It was her secret,” Zo said, nodding toward Fabi. “And Nina figured it out before me.”

“How?” I turned to Nina. She didn’t have Zo’s hacking skills. She must have pieced it together another way.

Nina fiddled with the small pendant she always wore around her neck. “I’m related to Cosimo Ferraro.”

My jaw hit the floor. “What? But your last name’s Liu. Your dad’s Chinese.”

“Yes, but my mom’s Italian-Albanian. And her sister is Vita Ferraro.”

The Ferraro matriarch was Nina’s aunt? According to my father, Vita was an important player in the criminal organization.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Nina was even more by the book than me. She was the last person I’d ever imagine having extended family involved in organized crime.

I sank back into my seat, trying to wrap my head around all of this. “So Cosimo is your⁠—”

“He’s my cousin.”

And so was Romolo.

Oh God.

“You must’ve known all along, then,” I said. She was part of the same world as Fabi.

“No.” Nina shook her head. “I put it together during the winter break just before we graduated Valais Academy. My parents have nothing to do with the Ferraro business, but we still get together now and then. The subject of the Messeros came up at a big family dinner, and when someone said Rafaele Messero’s sisters went to a private school in Switzerland, I had a feeling. When I got back to school, I asked Fabi straight up, and⁠—”

“She turned red,” I guessed.

“So red. Like, horrifically red.”

My head fell back against the booth. “Okay. I’m ready for a drink.”

Zo flagged a server down. As soon as he’d taken our orders and left, Fabi reached for my hand again. This time, I didn’t pull away.

“Will you forgive me?”

I wanted to. But I was still hurt. “You hid a big part of your life from me. For a long time.”

“It wasn’t really my life until the engagement,” she insisted. “My brother doesn’t talk to me about his business. I’m not involved in his companies. I was happy to live in Geneva, doing my own thing. Same with Elena.”

“Is she back in New York now too?” I asked.

Fabi shook her head. “She’s on a mission in Botswana. It’ll be over just in time for the wedding.”

“So what happened exactly? You fell for Cosimo and decided he’s worth leaving Switzerland for?”

Fabi’s hand clenched around mine, and her expression fell. “I…” Her voice wavered. “I didn’t fall for him. It’s an arranged marriage.”

My heart stopped. I felt the blood drain out of my face. “Come again?”

Fabi smiled, but it looked forced. “It’s okay. I always knew it would be this way. My brother picked Cosimo for me. It’s for the good of the family.”

That text she’d sent yesterday. I hadn’t thought much of her saying she needed emotional support—who didn’t at an event with your entire family present?—but now I suspected there was more to it.

“Fabi, do you like him?” I asked.

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

That was the least convincing answer I’d ever heard. All the secrecy about him—God, it was all starting to click.

I squinted at her. “Do you even know him?”

She nibbled on the corner of her mouth. “A bit. Yeah.”

The server returned with our drinks, but I barely registered him rattling off our order. My ears rang.

This wasn’t right. Fabi deserved better than having to marry some guy she hardly knew.

Correction—not just some guy. A dangerous, ruthless criminal like Cosimo Ferraro. How could her brother do this to her?

The anger I’d felt at her earlier was gone. Now I was just worried.

“Do you want to marry him?” I asked as soon as the server walked away.

She let out a breath. “I don’t have a choice. But honestly, it’s fine. That was the deal my brother made with Elena and I. We could live our lives in Switzerland, far from all of this, as long as when the time came, we’d return home and do our duty.”

Fine. It wasn’t fine.

If anything, it seemed cruel. Letting them taste freedom just to rip it away.

My gaze flicked to Nina and Zo. “This isn’t okay. Right?”

Nina didn’t look fazed. She sipped her drink, taking her time before answering. “I know it must seem strange, but this is how that world works.”

I stared at her. “Seriously? So you’re okay with Fabi being forced to marry a killer?” My voice sharpened. “Because he’s your cousin?”

Nina frowned. “Cosimo’s not going to hurt her, Mia. He’s not like that.”

“And how can you be so sure? Zo, back me up here.”

Zo tilted her martini glass between her fingers. “There are plenty of arranged marriages in the world. Not all of them are bad. My own parents’ marriage was set up by their families back in Serbia.”

The two of them were so casual about this. Probably because, unlike me, they’d had time to accept it. To rationalize it.

But had they forgotten about Fabi’s mom?

Her mother had been abused by Fabi’s dad. That alone was horrific. But knowing now that he was a mafia don made it worse. Going to the police? That probably wasn’t even an option for her.

And it wouldn’t be for Fabi, either.

If history repeated itself, she’d be trapped.

“Look, Cosimo wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me. My brother would kill him if he did.”

She sounded sure. I wasn’t. It seemed to me these men treated women like cattle, no better than property.

I met her gaze. Her expression was resigned.

But I was worried for her. So, so worried.

She’d been carrying a heavy weight these last few months. She hadn’t chosen this. Any of this. And knowing she thought she might lose me over something she had no control over? That had to have been unbearable.

I sighed. “Fabs, I forgive you. And I’m not going to ditch you as a friend. Come on. You really think I’m capable of that?”

Her eyes shimmered, and her grip on my hand tightened. “I’m sorry for being such a coward.”

“You’re not. But no more secrets, okay?”

She nodded. “No more.”

Zo lifted her martini. “Let’s toast and put this behind us. To us all being in the same city again.”

Yes, at least we had that. If Fabi needed anything, we’d be close to her. We could help her.

Nina set her glass down. “Your turn, Mia. What happened yesterday? With the broken lamp?”

The question wrenched me back into my own problems.

Romolo’s card was somewhere at the bottom of my purse. I should have tossed it into the bin, but something made me keep it.

“The lamp wasn’t like a…family heirloom, was it?”

Fabi waved a hand. “Not at all.”

“Good.” I sighed. “Here’s what happened.”

I told them everything.

Every ridiculous, mortifying detail. Romolo Ferraro and that woman barging into the bedroom. Me throwing the lamp at him. My business problems. Him showing up at my studio today.

And his offer.

His damned offer.

“I told him there was no way I’d ever dress him,” I said. “I mean, I can’t believe he thought I might agree to something like that.”

“He’s out of his mind,” Nina said without hesitation.

Zo, meanwhile, pulled out her phone. “I’m sorry, I’m still stuck on the fact that you two basically cuddled last night.” She started typing. “I need to see what this guy looks like.”

“We did not cuddle,” I muttered, remembering his hard body pressing down on mine. I could still remember the feel of his six-pack against my palms.

My fists curled. Ugh. Stop.

Fabi looked concerned. “I hate that you’re on his radar. Who knows what he’s really after?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious what he wants,” Nina said. “He’s trying to get something from Mia to use against her father.”

A knot formed in my stomach. “Yeah. Probably.”

“This is who we’re talking about?” Zo slid her phone in the center of the table so we could all see the screen.

It was a photo of Romolo at some high-society event. A stunning woman was draped on his arm. He had a drink in his hand, and that signature smirk curved his lips. The kind that didn’t hold an ounce of humor and was impossible to look away from.

“That’s him,” I said weakly.

“He’s hot,” Zo declared. “Now I’m even more upset I didn’t come back from my business trip a day early. No one told me there’d be eye candy at the party last night.” She grinned. “I think it’s a brilliant idea for you to dress him.”

“How’s that?” Nina arched a brow.

“C’mon.” Zo slid her phone back in her bag. “Mia’s business is struggling, and he’s offering her a solution. All she has to do is dress him for one party, and he’ll get her in front of the crème de la crème of New York society. This could be huge for her!”

“I’d never do anything to put my dad’s campaign at risk,” I said.

“What’s the risk?” Zo flicked her hand. “He looks too pretty to be clever. You can win against him at his own game.”

I sighed. “I wish I had your confidence.”

“Don’t we all,” Nina muttered. “Zo, I can promise you Romolo Ferraro isn’t some idiot. He is clever. And ruthless. When it comes to women, he ensnares, conquers, and discards. Romolo isn’t someone I’d want any friend of mine spending time with. He’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants, and he doesn’t care who he hurts in the process.”

A chill slid down my spine.

That was a damning description of Romolo, but what about Cosimo?

They were brothers, raised under the same roof by the same parents.

If Romolo was this dangerous, how much better could his brother be?

Even though I was finally in on the secret, I still felt like an outsider at this table. How could they all be so okay with what was happening to Fabi? It was like they were in denial—telling themselves everything would be fine because they saw no way out.

But what if it wasn’t all fine?

What if Cosimo was actually horrible? What if he was an abuser? Nina said they weren’t close. Just because she was family didn’t mean she knew how he treated women.

But there was one person who would.

His brother.

And if I agreed to dress Romolo, maybe I could find out.

I traced my finger around the rim of my glass.

Could I?

Despite Nina’s and Zo’s drastically different outlooks—one the voice of reason, the other a devil on your shoulder—they were both logical and unflinching. Meanwhile, Fabi and I led with our hearts. Calculated masterminds, we were not.

But if this was my one opportunity to figure out what would await Fabi after she’d walked down the aisle…wasn’t it worth the risk?

“How many times would you even need to meet him in person to do the job?” Zo asked, flipping through the cocktail menu again.

I thought about it. “Two or three times? The party’s in two weeks, so there’s not much time for back-and-forth. We’d have one meeting to agree on the look, and then a fitting or two.”

“Three meetings. Three measly meetings where you just have to stay sharp,” Zo said before her gaze darted to Nina. “You think she can’t handle that? Have some faith. This could change everything for her.”

Nina frowned. “Romolo might not even hold up his end of the bargain. Especially if he manages to get what he wants from Mia. You can’t trust him.”

I flattened my palms against the table. “Does he really think I’m stupid enough to hand him information about my dad?”

And what information would that even be? My dad wasn’t hiding skeletons in his closet. He was an honest man trying to fix this city.

The Ferraros must be nervous about being in his crosshairs.

What was their plan?

I rolled my lips, thoughts tangling. Maybe that was another thing I could try to figure out.

“The men in our world always underestimate women,” Fabi said. “Just forget about him, Mia. If he comes to see you again, tell me, and I’ll talk to Cosimo. Romolo has no right to bother you.”

“You think your fiancé would do something about it?”

Fabi’s cheeks reddened. “I-I don’t know.”

And that was the problem.

She had no idea who she was marrying.

Dressing Romolo for this event could give me a chance to find out.

But according to Nina, he was dangerous and smart.

Could I really hold my own against him?

Could I afford not to?