A sharp gasp ruffles her hair as Shae flies next to her. The pink blanket from Evie’s bed drifting to the floor. All of her focus on the man who appears to be her husband.
“No. It can’t be him.” Shae stumbles back, one hand grasping the edge of the lace-lined cradle, the other digging in the diaper bag. Her arm lifts, taut and straight. The glare of the metal reflecting off the wall of electronics.
Holy fucking shit. “What are you doing?”
“Protecting you and Evie.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. They’ve finally done it. They’ve pushed her too fucking far. “You don’t have to do that. Max is coming. He’ll take care of us. Of Evie.”
Like she doesn’t even speak. Shae’s gaze and her aim lasered on the door. Her heart pounds in her chest. Nothing she can do to warn Max. To reach her friend. “Please Shae. It’s okay. Put the gun down.”
“No. I have to be strong.” Her head shakes furiously. Emphasizing each word as if to prove it to herself as much as Gina. “I have to take care of her. I won’t let anyone hurt us ever again.”
“I know you want to protect her. But, not like this. Not with a—”
The door creaks open, and Shae pushes her to the side. A move so like Max that Gina almost sobs, overwhelmed with her own emotion. If he really is Nick, he can’t die from Shae’s hands. “Shae don’t!”
“Sweetness?”
The familiar voice, raspy and strained, but still his. His eyes dark with worry, boring into the only thing he sees. The only thing he ever sees. Shae.
Fucking shit. Nick’s alive.
“They told me you were dead. That you were never coming back. And I needed to accept it.”
Nick shakes his head. His lips curl together, holding back the flurry of curses he probably berates himself with internally. Forced to face the heartbreak his wife endured. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m—”
“Then Blade…Blade said you were alive. I heard you. On the phone. I heard your voice, and I was so happy.” Her voice cracks, heaving sobs intermixing with her accusations. Oblivious to the tears flowing down her cheeks and dripping off her chin. “But Max said it was a lie. That you really were dead, and Blade was just tricking me. So I had to lose you all over again.”
“Shae, I—”
“I trusted you.” Anger seeps through Shae’s whisper. Fury Gina’s never seen before directed at her husband. “I trusted you, and you lied to me. You left me.”
Mesmerized by the drama unfolding in front of her, Gina forces herself to look away. Max has the same stunned look, but must feel her gaze on him, meeting her eyes. As if he senses her desire to do something. Tackle Shae. Push Nick out. Grab Evie.
Max frowns and shakes his head. Warning her against intervening. Damn it. Someone needs to do something.
Nick reaches for his wife. Ignoring the weapon in her shaking hands. “No, it wasn’t like that.”
“Don’t.” Shae halts his advance toward her. Lifting the Glock higher, she points the tip at his chest. “Because I can’t do this anymore.”
Fuck! Gina mouths to her fiancé, “Stop her.”
But Max ignores her request. Letting it play out. Believing that Shae won’t shoot the only man she’s ever loved. He better be fucking right.
“You don’t have to do anything.” How the fuck Nick keeps his tone so steady is beyond her. Yet somehow he sounds calm and soothing. Only the redness creeping up his face gives away his panic. “Just let me make sure you and Evie are okay. That’s all I want.”
“We're leaving. Y-you can't stop us.”
“I won't. Remember when I told you if I ever did anything to scare you, you should leave?”
"Yes." A slow nod, the memory flitting across her face. Her cries grow stronger, engulfing her trembling body. “The day you proposed to me.”
“You said you would be proud to be my wife. I never meant to disappoint you.” He flips up his palms, his head tilting in defeat. “I’ll let you go. I promise. I’ll do whatever you need me to do for you to be all right.”
“Just like you always do. You sacrifice yourself to make me happy.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t…” Her shoulders sink down, her body swaying with the emotion overwhelming her. “I don’t know what to do.”
He steps closer, the gun pushing into his stomach, and presses his hand against her heaving chest. “Do what your heart tells you.”
“I want to, but I’m scared.” She nods, her whisper barely audible through her trembling lips. “Please help me.”
His hand curls around the Glock, slowly sliding the gun out of her clenched fingers and holding the barrel out to Max. Her body softens, eyes rolling up in her head, and he catches her before she collapses, dropping to his knees with her. His huge hand shaking as he cups the back of her head. “I’m sorry, sweetness. I’m so fucking sorry.”
Fuck! All the breath Gina was holding blows out. Her own body about to fall. She accepts Max’s hand and lets him lead her into the hallway. Too stunned to say or do anything but follow him.
20
Chapter TWENTY
Max paces in the office. Trying to calm his pulsing nerves. Forcing himself to give Nick some time with his wife. Because that’s what he’d want for himself if he’d been separated from Gina. To take the first steps in rebuilding their relationship. To start feeling whole again.
Yet neither the whiskey in his glass nor the motion of his legs ease his agitation. A ghost come back to life deserves a god damn good explanation. Because this time it’s not just Shae and her seemingly limitless ability to forgive. Nick’s recklessness jeopardized Gina, and there’s going to be hell to pay. Best friend or not.
For the second time in her life she’s lost her dreams. And that shit stops now.
“What the hell was that?”
His mood and his cock lift in response to her soft voice behind him. Curled in the chair, cupping her own tumbler. So fucking beautiful even as tired and bewildered as she is. They both are. Only a few hours more and he’ll make it up to her. Give her everything she needs to remind her she’s always first in his mind. “I have no idea. But I’m sure as hell going to find out.”
A relieved smile lights up her gorgeous face when he holds out his arms to her, accepting his embrace within her tight grip. Some of the strain gripping his muscles fades with her nestled against him, her spiky hair rustling from his deep exhale. Peace washing over both of them. “You okay?”
“I don’t know. I’m still waiting to wake up, I guess. Shae isn’t the only one to think this is some kind of trick.”
“I really thought he was dead. I never would have given up if I thought for even a second he was still alive.”
She leans back, searching his expression. “Don’t.”
“What?”
“Blame yourself. This whole thing is fucked up. You were trying to keep all of us alive. You did everything you could.”
“But it wasn’t enough—“
“I’m fucking serious.” Her tiny body stiffens in his arms, ready to fight him. This amazing woman who always defends him. Even when the only battle is against himself. “Nick fucked up, and I’m not going to stand here and let you beat yourself up over it.”
He can’t help but smile at the fury racing up her throat and cheeks. The red matching her flaming anger. “Okay, okay. Calm down. I’ll kick his ass enough for both of us.”
“Max?”
All his humor fades from Nick’s voice behind them. Nothing funny when his best friend owes him more than he ever has. “In the office.”
“I’d better let you guys talk.” Her soft lips brush his cheek and trail up his jaw, whispering in his ear. “Hurt him, but don’t kill him.”
Nick stands in the doorway. More exhausted than Max has ever seen him. The dark circles beneath his eyes match the bleakness of his expression. Almost looking through him and Gina. His mind somewhere else. No doubt all of his focus on Shae.
“I’ll stay with
her until you get back.”
“Thanks Gina.” Her mouth falls open at Nick’s rare demonstration of emotion when he engulfs her against his chest. “For everything. I know you guys took care of her. I don’t think she would have made it through this without you.”
After a few seconds her body softens and she hugs him back, her anger fading. Just like him – too damn hard to stay mad at Nick as fucked up as he is.
“You’re welcome. It's like I told her, we’re family and we take care of each other.”
Nick nods and releases her. Another quick scan of her features before she walks out of the room and he turns to Max. “Shae’s feeding Evie. I told her I’d be right back. I don’t want to be away from her.”
“Then why are you?”
Damn, he hates sounding so fucking pissed. But he can’t hide his aggravation. Much too furious to pretend otherwise.
“I...fuck…” Nick presses his balled fists against his eyes. “She’s so fucking fragile right now. I can’t push. But it’s fucking with my head to imagine what he did to her.”
“She told Gina he didn’t rape her.” His chest burns from the relief softening Nick’s expression. The rest of the truth won’t be so gratefully accepted. “I believe it from what he said to her before he beat her up again.”
“What?” Rage shakes Nick’s taut body, his chest heaving, the vein in his forehead pounding. From the thought of Shae being abused. But even more from him letting it happen. For not protecting her the way he swore he would.
Yet Nick failed her too. They’ve both failed everyone they claim to love. “You know her she’ll say it was fine. Or not that bad. But I saw him.” He’s a motherfucking ass for egging Nick on. For forcing his best friend to experience what he witnessed. “I saw his fist punch her so hard she flew across the room and cracked the drywall. I saw him pick her off the floor by her hair."
“Shut up.”
“The marks across her back from his belt. The bruises on her cheek. His fingerprints around her throat.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“The broken ribs that made it difficult for her to breathe or pick up Evie.”
Torture radiates down his torso as his back slams against the wall. Nick’s forearm drives into his throat, spittle smacking his face from the spew of curses spewing from his best friend’s mouth. “I will fucking kill you if you don’t shut the fuck up.”
His own outrage takes over, and he rams his fist into Nick’s gut. Surprise, more than pain, widens Nick’s eyes. This motherfucker can’t think he’ll let him get away with attacking him. When they both deserve a pounding.
Nick gets in a hit to his mouth, the black band on his ring finger dragging across his lip, ripping the skin open. He returns the favor with a right hook to Nick’s good cheek. Now he’ll have a matching pair of black eyes.
“You have to fucking hear this. You have to know what this life means to them. Those two have gone through hell because of you.” He shoves Nick backward, his body flailing against the desk, knocking down the trio of picture frames nestled in the corner. “So I need to know what the fuck was so god damn fucking important that you left her. That you put all three of them in danger.”
His friend slides down, dropping to slump on the wooden surface with his head in his hands. Seconds drag like centuries before he looks up. “They were going to shoot her.”
All the anger gone. Too much sorrow to keep fighting. Son of a fucking bitch.
“Bruno called me as we were walking out. Motherfucker said, ‘Look up Nick.’ Five fucking snipers were trained on her.”
Son of a bitch. Shae was right. And Gina’s going to freak the fuck out.
Nick finally shoves himself off the desk and stalks to the wet bar. His fingers curl around a bottle and he downs a long drink. Not bothering with a glass. He slams the decanter down and grips the edge, his fingertips white against the dark walnut, his head falling forward.
“He asked if I wanted my beautiful wife’s brains sprayed all over the sidewalk.”
Now it’s Max’s turn to understand. No choice in that fucked up situation. His own shoulders droop as he massages his tender neck. “So you got in the car.”
“What else the fuck was I going to do? Because when I look over for Blade’s help, I see it. The truth. The smirk as his hand slides around her waist and he pulls her against his chest. Not protecting her. Fucking claiming her.” Nick spins around, all the fury targeted at Max’s accusations. “And I’m a fucking pussy who can’t do a god damn thing about it. I’ve got nobody, nothing to help me. Dom and Leo are nowhere around. So I make the worst fucking decision I’ve ever had to make. I gave my wife to that bastard to keep her alive.”
“Damn, Nick.”
“As soon as my ass hits the seat, they jerk me out the other side and hustle me into another car. Just in time for me to watch her see the car explode and that motherfucker’s hands all over her.” Nick stabs his finger in the air, so thick with tension Max can barely breathe. “Then I got fucking Bruno working me over, fucking threatening her and Evie. I only escaped when Pedro found me once that motherfucker was dead. He and Leticia got me here.”
His head spins from the avalanche of information. So fucking certain he failed his friends, but killing Bruno to protect Gina actually saved Nick. Fucking hell.
“So don’t fucking stand there and act so fucking righteous. You know you’d do the same damn thing for Gina.”
Of course he fucking would. “I know.”
“I’d rather see her fuck someone else than be dead.”
“I wouldn’t.” They both spin around from Shae’s strangled voice in the doorway. Shaking fingers grasp the ruffle crossing the neckline of her silver dress, while her other hand grips Gina’s. His amazing woman providing tender comfort to their friend, who demonstrates once again her unwavering strength after the hell she withstood. “I would never be unfaithful to you. No matter what he did to me, I couldn’t cheat on you.”
He knew since the fight at the studio the choice Blade forced her to make, but hearing her adamancy rolls his stomach. Destroying him that his best friend strains so hard to prove her fidelity. Yet she continues to impress him with how resilient she remains despite how much she’s tested.
“I know.” Nick closes the space between them, cupping her flushed cheeks. “That’s why he was hitting you.”
“I’d rather be beaten than let him—”
No way in hell Nick will let her say the words. Her husband scoops her up and carries her past Gina. Who’s owed so fucking much too.
Her head tilts in commiseration as she glides toward him. Delicate fingers brush blood off his lip. “So I guess you two made up?”
The smile contrasts with the apprehension in her eyes. She’s lived this life too long not to know how much anger boils between them and within themselves from questions they can’t seem to answer. “Why do you two always have to suffer?”
“Nothing worse than I when I was a kid. My Dad was just as dangerous.”
“You deserve better.” He tucks his head into her neck, reveling in the peace from her touch. Desperate to offer her the same. “You shouldn’t have to fucking live like this.”
Her soft hand strokes his hair. Fingernails grazing his scalp, making him press deeper into her fingers. Chasing the tranquility she gives him. “Neither should you. We can’t escape this world. But I can survive anything as long as I’m with you.”
“Is it really that simple?”
“Yes.” A soft laugh tickles his ear. Genuine without a hint of bitterness or bravado. “Shae will forgive Nick like always. He’ll be an asshole to everyone except her and Evie. You’ll keep worrying and protect all of us. And Carrie and I will get drunk and threaten to strip. Nothing’s ever going to change. And I’m okay with that.”
God, she’s so fucking incredible. “Me too.”
Except that he’s not when it comes to her. She deserves so much more, and he’s going to make damn fucking sure her life will
be more than just a drunken party. Her dreams will come true too.
21
Chapter TWENTY-ONE
Max takes one last puff of his cigar and tosses the stub into the fire pit. A few sparks float out of the flames, swirling in the breeze before drifting back into the flickering blaze. The heat no match to the inferno growing inside him from watching Gina dance with their friends. Unable to deny his wife is sexy as hell.
Wife.
A once foreign concept, the idea that this could ever be his. Now he has it all. Because of her.
As if she knows he’s thinking about her, a lustful gaze meets his. Ready, maybe even more than he is, to leave everything behind. At least for a few months. With Nick's reinstatement as boss, Andy running security and a tale of explosion-induced amnesia endorsed, of course, by the expert doctors on their payroll. Eagerly lapped up by the hungry media, always searching for their next salacious story.
Now they can be free. No phones. No bodyguards. No itinerary. Just the two of them. Traveling the world and doing whatever the hell they want. Fucking paradise.
Nick flicks his Cuban into the ashes as well. “We’re lucky bastards, my friend.”
“Yeah, way more than we deserve.”
Nick nods, slow and deep. A rare smile lifts his cheeks with his own marriage rock solid again. Thanks to Shae's forgiving nature and endless patience.
"My baby girl's tucked safely in her bed and my wife's more content than I've ever seen her. If you'd told me a few years ago I'd be married and have a kid, I probably would have killed your crazy ass."
"Same here." Max laughs at Gabby running onto the girls' makeshift dance floor. Opening up their circle and letting his niece twirl in the middle, a blur in pink chiffon as she beams with delight. A tiny princess amidst her doting admirers. "Thanks again for all of this. It just seemed right to have the ceremony here."
Truth About Tequila: Believe in Me (Surviving Absolution #4) Page 16
