“I’m not so sure about that anymore,” I admit. “You are right though, I am falling for him, but where you’re wrong—I’ll never forget about you. You guys are my home, my family. Just because I’m away from you right now, doesn’t mean that I’m not still here.”
Nic makes a soft sound, clearly not agreeing with what I’ve just said. “He’s going to take you away from me.”
I shake my head against his warm chest as I listen to the sound of his beating heart. “No,” I whisper. “He knows you guys make me happy, that’s why he sent me here. Don’t get me wrong, he hates you. He could kill you for the way you’ve treated me over the past few weeks but he’ll never hold me back from you because he knows how much I love you.”
He grumbles under his breath and I let out a sigh, more than ready to move along. “Why did you lie about my father for all those years?”
“It wasn’t my decision,” he tells me. “It was your father’s and I respected it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look,” he says, giving it to me straight. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Your dad wasn’t a great man. He was fucking sick and twisted in the head. He got off on killing people and that made him un-fucking-stoppable. He was the best at what he did and everyone knew it and because of that, everyone wanted him on their side and they would go to great lengths to make that happen. Why do you think my dad put us in your life? He wanted us close to you in case we needed to make a move. None of us expected that you would become the fucking world to us. It was supposed to be a business deal but you became family, and no, before you ask, I don’t regret it. I don’t regret lying to you, because in the end, it kept you hidden from that darkness and allowed you to live in a world where you thought everything was perfect. You had the sweet doting father and friends who would die to protect you. I was never going to take that away from you.”
“You’re making it really hard for me to hate you right now,” I warn him as my eyes begin filling with tears again.
“Good,” he says. “I don’t want you to hate me. I just want you to understand why. Surely you must know that none of us would ever hurt you purposely like that.”
“You could have told me that he sold me to Charles, or at least given me a bit of warning before letting me go there.”
“Believe me, Ocean. I did everything I could to keep you here with me. Fucking everything.”
“I know,” I murmur, recalling all the effort he put in to keep me at home, all the begging, the offers to move in, the desperation he felt. “Everything is so fucked up at the moment, but I feel like we’re finally coming out the other end. Charles and my dad are both gone, as well as Maryne, but the dust is finally starting to settle. I have Colton and some new friends while you have the opportunity to turn things around for the Widows, hell, maybe even do something good with it.”
Nic scoffs. “I don’t think my men are really going to get on board with suddenly being upstanding members of the community.”
I find myself laughing and while things are certainly still very strained between us, I feel that the broken pieces of our relationship have finally started to mend. Maybe there’s a chance for us to find that same incredible friendship that we had before all of this shit went down.
“Come on,” I tell him, getting up from the couch. “I’ll call the boys and tell them to come over while you go and burn your sheets. I know you’re technically allowed to sleep with whoever the fuck you want to sleep with, but if you bring that cow in here ever again, I’m going to castrate you.”
“Alright,” he laughs, while his eyes beam with relief. “You have yourself a deal.”
I make my way into his small kitchen and start working on coffee while he quickly strips his bed and throws the sheets in his washer. I’m busily reaching for the mugs while shoving my phone under my ear and squishing it there with my shoulder.
The phone starts ringing and as I wait for Eli to hurry up and answer, Nic steps in behind me, placing both hands down on the counter on either side of my hips. “You have to know how sorry I am, O,” he murmurs. I hear Eli answer the call but I don't respond, instead listening to what Nic has to say. “I’ve done a lot of shit that I’m not proud of. I’ve been jealous, ruthless, and downright cold. I saw you and Colton getting closer and …”
“Saw?” I grunt. “What do you mean saw?”
“I … fuck,” he curses, pulling away.
I spin around, ignoring Eli’s soft curse in my ear. “You have two fucking seconds to tell me what you did, and I swear to you, Nic, if you even attempt to lie to me again, I will spend every day of my life making you regret it.”
He lets out a heavy sigh and his eyes drop to his hands in shame. “You’re going to fucking hate me.”
“Two fucking seconds,” I warn.
“During Charles’ wake when Kai disappeared …”
“He was stealing Charles’ Rolex.”
Nic shakes his head. “No, well, maybe. Who fucking knows when it comes to Kairo, but the reason he disappeared … I had him install cameras so I could keep watch over you. You’d already been raped in that fucking mansion, I wasn’t going to take any chances.”
“You did what?” I demand.
“I …”
“No. You’ve been watching me. You saw me and Colton …”
He nods and the shame radiating off him is so fucking thick that I could choke on it. He glances back up at me and the look in his eyes is crippling. “I’m so fucking sorry, O. I was so mad. I’ve never felt anything like it. I saw you and him first get together and I just … I snapped.”
“Wait,” I whisper, taking a step back as I feel a cold shiver run down my spine. “What did you do?” He shakes his head, his heart on his sleeve once again but this time, it’s fucking deflated. He doesn’t say the words, but he doesn't have to.
There’s only one thing that happened after Colton and I were first together and it was a direct attack on him. “The DeCarlo brothers,” I whisper. “We thought it was Vincent who sent his sons, but it wasn’t, was it?”
Nic presses his lips into a tight line and I see the truth in his eyes, but he refuses to respond.
“FUCKING ANSWER ME,” I yell. “I was in that fucking mansion. My mother was nearly caught and Maryne was fucking shot. My friend, Nic. They killed my friend. What if that had been me? Do not fucking tell me that you sent that hell to attack us.”
His face goes white and he takes a hesitant step back from me. “I’m sorry, Ocean,” he says, looking sick with himself and knowing damn well that whatever progress we had just made is now shattered into a million pieces. “The brothers owed me a favor and they paid up.”
Chapter 11
I sit in the Audi in Colton’s dark garage, just sitting and staring at the wall in front. I can’t find it within me to step out of this car and face reality.
I left Nic’s place three long hours ago and have been sitting here an absolute mess since I got back. I don’t even remember the drive home, all I seem to know is that Nic was supposed to be the one who protected me but he sent the DeCarlo’s here. He put us in danger, he put my mom in danger, and his actions are what lead to Maryne’s death.