“A
deftly plotted page-turner that will leave readers panting for the next
installment”
–Publisher’s
Weekly
NICO
Sarah Castille
New York Times bestselling author
Sarah Castille is back with NICO, the first book in her Ruin
& Revenge series. With reminiscences of Romeo and Juliet, Castille
presents a modern twist and a powerful bad boy spin on the classic tale. RT Book Reviews raves about Castille’s
BEYOND THE CUT saying, “Castille continues to raise the stakes… giving readers
the compelling romance they crave,” and that continues brilliantly in this new
series.
In NICO, Las
Vegas Mafia boss Nico Toscani is used to getting what he wants, whether it’s
having the City of Sin under his rule or a beautiful woman in his bed. But when
he meets his match in the gorgeous, headstrong Mia Cordano, daughter of a rival
crime lord, all bets are off…
Sexy computer hacker Mia struggles to break free of her
ruthless father’s Mafia ties…but she can’t resist the powerful and seductive
Nico, who will stop at nothing to possess her. With their families locked in a
brutal war for control of the city, Mia and Nico enter into a forbidden game.
Will they surrender to the passion that burns between them—and risk tearing
apart their families? Or will Nico be forced to betray the only woman who sets
his blood on fire?
# # #
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, SARAH CASTILLE, worked and traveled
abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans
and a home near the Canadian Rockies. She writes sexy contemporary romance and
romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame
them. Her books include Beyond the Cut,
Chaos Bound and Rough Justice.
NICO BUY AND SOCIAL LINKS
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Excerpt
“Is this everything?”
Tony thumbed through the envelope. “This is half of what you brought us last
month.” He shared a glance with Charlie Nails and smirked. “I thought you
fancied yourself an old- style mobster. In the old days, the casinos were a
license to print money. This is hardly enough to pay our staff.”
Nico steeled
himself to show an outer calm as he raged inside. “That’s just the casino
money.” He reached into the pocket of his double- breasted suit jacket, and
pulled out a second envelope. “This is from the other businesses and the pay up
from my crew.”
Santo’s eyes
narrowed when Nico tossed the second envelope on the table. Although not a
clever man, like Nico’s father had been, Santo had a sixth sense for when he
was being ripped off. “Is that everything?”
No, of course it
wasn’t everything. Despite the risk, Nico had several businesses on the side,
including a nice little condo racket in which the main condo developers in the
city exclusively hired interior designers controlled by Nico’s associates,
giving Nico a share of every condo development. His connection with the
steelworkers’ union had also given him a line into the rapidly developing
construction of new casinos from a wave of foreign billionaires looking for a
place to park their money.
Unlike his
uncle, who had taken the family into the drug trade against Cosa Nostra rules, Nico was all about
real estate. The online scams and Internet fraud that many of his associates
claimed were the new wave of business were of no interest to him, nor were any
rackets where he had to enforce his will through vio lence. Although he would
mete out punishment if it was due, attracting the attention of the police and
FBI was not the way he wanted to do business. Nico liked to talk to the people
he did business with, he liked to make connections, and his casino was the
perfect place to wine and dine potential partners before comping them a few
evenings in the high- stakes room, and taking even more of their money.
“That’s it.”
Nico moved to leave and Santo held up a hand.
“Since you’re
here and you are family, I want you to be the first to know. Tony’s getting
married.”
Tony Crackers
married? What kind of woman would agree to marry a man with a reputation for
brutal violence?
“Congratulations,
cugino.” He shook his Tony’s hand.
“Who’s the lucky woman?”
“Mia Cordano.”
Tony gave him a sly smile. “I heard you were with her the other night. I didn’t
know you were so close to the Toscanis.”
Nico understood
the implied threat, but he didn’t address it because he was still trying to
process the information. Political marriages were very common in the upper
level of the Mafi a, but usually the women involved in the arranged marriages
were of a type— docile, submissive, fully indoctrinated in the Cosa Nostra culture, and willing to help
the family through an alliance that would benefit both sides. He couldn’t see
an assertive, intelligent, sophisticated businesswoman like Mia Cordano
marrying a violent, uneducated criminal like Tony Crackers unless she was
forced to do it— and although some women were pressured by the families into
marriages, how did one force a woman who so expertly wielded a knife?
“Vito hired her
to do cyber- security work for the casino.”
Santo sucked on
his cigar, blew a ring of smoke. “You should keep better track of what your
employees are doing, especially when we are involved in a faida with her family of your making.”
“You don’t
support the faida?” Nico scowled.
“What man of honor would not want to avenge his brother after he was shot in
the back by a coward who didn’t even have permission from the New York bosses
for the hit?”
“Don’t
disrespect your uncle,” Charlie Nails warned. “He has his reasons for doing
what he does and they are not your concern.”
Nico shot him a
scathing look. Aside from some minor gambling and loan sharking, Charlie Nails,
a lawyer, ran a legitimate law firm and helped the family out with legal issues
as well as liaising with important “bought” figures such as politicians or
judges. He had been a trusted and close friend of Nico’s father, but Nico had
no tolerance for a man who would sell his loyalty to the highest bidder.
Santo raised a
hand to silence Charlie Nails. “He should know that his actions have led to
this marriage. Don Cordano has eyes on his daughter. When he found out she had
been seen with you, Nico, he called me with concerns about her safety. He
accused us of disregarding the rules regarding the sanctity of women and
children in the faida.”
“That’s bullshit
and you know it. She was there for business. Her safety was never in question.”
Santo waved a
dismissive hand. “Both sides have lost many soldiers in this senseless war. Don
Cordano fears for the life of his son, Dante, as I fear for the life of my
Tony. We shared our concerns and discussed a truce. As a show of good faith, he
offered one of his daughters in marriage to the Toscani family. It was not an
opportunity I was prepared to pass up. The Cordanos have a solid foothold in
the drug trade. Marriage will bring us together. Don Cordano thinks to gain
strength through the union, but Dante is weak, not worthy to lead. Once Dante
and the don are out of the way, Tony will have a claim to lead by marriage and
he will take over as boss. Together, he and I will push aside the other Cosa Nostra families and take control of
the city.”
Nico pulled his
pen from his pocket and spun it around his thumb as he struggled to hide his
anger. His father had intended to pass the pen down to Nico when he became a
made man, just as his father had done for him.
But he hadn’t
lived to see the day. Nico had only started carrying the pen after he was made,
and he intended to pass it on to his son.
“My father has
not yet been avenged,” he spat out. “And what of all the soldiers and capos who
will lose their lives? You dragged this family into the drug trade against Cosa Nostra rules. Everything my father
tried to do for the family, you have undone. But this . . . betrayal of the
other Cosa Nostra families, a full- out war for control of the city . . . How
many will be left standing at the end?”
Charlie Nails,
quiet until that moment, ran a hand through his silvery hair. “I have to agree,
Santo. Not just because of Nico’s father, Maximo, but because our involvement
with the drug trade has already brought us to the attention of the FBI. When
Maximo was boss, we were able to fly under the radar. If we expand our drug
operation, and the bodies start to pile up, they are going to come down hard on
us. Even if our men don’t get whacked in the civil war you propose, they’ll
wind up in jail.”
“Cazzo!” Even more volatile than usual,
Tony reached for the weapon holstered at his side, and Santo held up a hand.
“Stand down.
Charlie Nails is old and slow, and Nico is maybe upset that you have stolen his
woman. But he understands that this is a sacrifice that must be made for la famiglia.”
Nico’s stomach
tightened at the thought of his crazy cousin married to Mia, the girl he’d once
held, trembling in his arms, who had become a beautiful woman who stirred a
longing in him he had long thought dead. Did her father, Don Cordano,
understand the risk? The danger she was in? “Did she agree to this?”
Copyright © 2016
by Sarah Castille and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Paperbacks.
