“Motherfucking bastard,” Matt says, and I see him rise from his chair as Reina tries to pull him back down. I’m sure Ellie’s shocked, and I can tell that everyone’s focus is on us, but I don’t care. I guess I did come here for a fight.
“I won’t apologize for loving you,” Dylan says, ignoring everyone but me.
“You didn’t love me.”
“I do.”
I shake my head. “If you loved me, you would’ve said something to Eric.”
“You can take care of yourself, Nev. You’re the strongest woman I know, outside of my mom and my sister.”
“It doesn’t matter if I can take care of myself. You promised to stand up for me.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t. Nothing else, though. I won’t apologize for anything else, even though some of the people here look like they want to kill me, and my sister looks like she wants to throw up. Thanks for that, by the way. No one needed to know the details.”
“Seriously? You’re going to apologize and then chastise me in the same breath? Well, fuck you Dylan Gallagher, fuck you. Oh wait, I already did that and gave you a notch on your basketball goal, didn’t I? Is there a t-shirt, too?”
“Jesus, Nev. I’m trying here, okay?”
“No. It’s not okay. Not even close.”
I need to get away. I just need to be alone so I can calm down and walk out of here. The pool house is behind Dylan, and I decide it’s my best bet. I dodge past him before he can react and push my way into the abandoned house.
Only it’s not abandoned, and as I hear Dylan shouting behind me, I see a piece of my past staring back at me. My father. No…no…NO! He’s dead. Matt killed him… we buried him. He reaches out for me, and all I can do is scream. Scream and run.
* * *
Dylan
I try to stop Nev from running into the pool house, but Aiden grabs me. “I have to get to her. Let me go!”
“Leave her alone, man. You seem to have done more than enough to her already,” he practically growls in my ear.
“You don’t understand,” I tell him as a scream rings out.
Nev stumbles backwards out of the pool house and turns her horrified gaze back to our group. “Matt. Oh my God, Matt.”
“What is it?” he asks.
“It’s me,” Sadiq answers, walking out of the house.
“You…you look like…,” Matt says, going to Nev and putting his arms around her.
“That’s because I am, Matthew.”
“That’s impossible. I saw…”
“You saw what your government and I needed you to see.”
“No. This is a trick. Some kind of crazy trick. I-I gave up my life for over a decade because I killed Neveah’s father. You’re an impostor. You have to be.”
Reina is standing next to Matt now, rubbing his arm and looking like she wants to kill Sadiq and make it real this time. Nev has been silent, but she finally speaks up. “How are you here? Why are you at Dylan’s home?”
She looks back to me, but it’s my sister who answers. “He was our neighbor. He moved in when Dylan was twelve. I had no idea he was your father.”
“Hello, Elletra. It’s lovely to see you again.”
“I’m sorry I can’t say the same right now, Sadiq.”
“Dylan?” Nev’s looking at me like I’m a stranger, and it’s killing me.
“Maybe we should all sit down, and Sadiq and I can explain,” I suggest.
“This is because of that stupid vow isn’t it?” Ellie asks.
“What vow?” Aiden asks, still holding onto me.
“As Dylan said, we should go inside and discuss this,” Sadiq says. He looks around the backyard. “Perhaps with less of an audience.”
“These are my friends. Whatever you have to say can be said in front of them,” Nev tells him, standing up straight again.
“I do not expect you to keep things from your friends, but it will be easier to explain things to a smaller group of people.”
“I agree,” Reina says. “Matt, Nev, Ellie, Aiden, Nate, Darcy, Dylan, Sadiq, and I will be going inside. Everyone else, try and enjoy yourselves out here.”
We walk inside and get settled on the couch. What happens next will either save us, or destroy us. I’m afraid destruction is the more likely outcome.
Chapter 11
Neveah
We’re in Dylan’s large family room, which is pretty fitting, since we’re all “family” in here. Reina is sitting on one side of Matt, while I’m on the other. Nate, Darcy, Aiden, and Ellie round out our side of the room while Dylan and…my father…sit on the couch across from us. No one says anything as we just stare across the open space between us. Matt squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back.
“Explain,” Reina finally says, and I hear the strain in her voice. She lost over a decade with Matt because he felt so much guilt over killing an innocent man, who is now not only alive, but also looking not so innocent at the moment.
“I saw some strange things happening at work. It took me a few months to realize what was going on, because I didn’t want anyone to realize that I was looking. Once I figured out that I was seeing money laundering transactions for a drug cartel, I didn’t know what to do.”
“Drug cartel?” I ask. I would’ve expected weapons, or something related to war. Not drugs.
“Yes. Many people take advantage of a war, and in this instance it was a drug cartel. My employer was getting rich while he cleaned up the money for a group that operates out of an island in the Caribbean.”
“Our government came to you,” Matt says in a monotone voice.
“Yes. I was approached by a woman who said she knew what I had found, and she could use my help. I didn’t hesitate to agree because our country was suffering enough from the war, and we didn’t need drugs coming in on top of that. I knew in my heart that it would come to it—these people would not stop at money laundering, but bring their drugs in as well.”
“Shit. They found out, didn’t they? You didn’t just walk into that plaza, did you?” Aiden asks.
“Yes, they found out. I thought I was being smart, but I wasn’t being careful enough. My handler let me know that my family was in danger, and there was only one way out. I had to ‘die’ to save them. I walked into that plaza, was shot with blanks by a sniper inside one of the buildings, puncturing the blood packets under my clothes,” he tells us, then looks at Matt. “You were in shock, so I don’t think you remember that no one was allowed near my body except for your Commanding Officer and the medics that appeared right away.”
“I remember trying to run to you, but I was held back,” Matt says, and I’m afraid he’s going into shock again right now. I squeeze his hand to bring him back, and he kisses the top of my head.
“I know you’ve suffered because of what you thought you’d done, but I want you to know you weren’t targeted, or chosen for this. You just happened to be there and facing my way. It could’ve been any of the other men there with you.”
“That makes me feel so much better,” Matt tells him, sarcastically. “My life was ruined because I happened to be shooting the wrong way.”
“Your life was not ruined. You are a successful CEO and you have a beautiful wife,” my father says, and I jump to my feet.
“Don’t you dare try and downplay what this did to Matt. He lost so much time with Reina because he thought he’d killed an innocent man. You didn’t see him…know him…all those years. You also didn’t see us. Your family. Mom and Sully and me. Her life has been over since the day Matt came to our door. Sully has hidden himself away from caring about anyone or making real friends, and I almost couldn’t do what I needed to do in order to have a job that makes me happy.”
“I sent you Dylan to help you, my beautiful girl. I could only choose one of you, and I knew I had chosen wisely when he told me you were overcoming your fears.”
“Sent him to me? Chose me? What the hell are you talking about?”
“The vow. He’
s talking about the vow Dylan made to him when he was just a boy,” Ellie says, looking like she’s going to be sick.
“What vow?” I ask her.
“That’s my story to tell,” Dylan says, speaking for the first time. “Please sit down, and I’ll tell you everything.”
* * *
Dylan
Nev sits down, and I run my hand over the top of my head, trying to give myself some extra courage before I bare most of my secrets to her, and everyone else in the room.
“I was a scrawny kid, and when I hit puberty, I became a chubby kid. I always loved basketball, but no one wanted to give me the chance to play because I didn’t look like what they thought a good player should look like. When my older brothers were at school with me, kids left me alone because they were good-looking and popular. Once they moved up to high school, and it was just Ellie and me, things started getting hard.”
“Those little bastards are probably crying in their pillows now,” Ellie tells me.
“Actually, they’re calling me like we were friends and asking me for autographs and tickets, but that’s not important.” I look at Sadiq before continuing. “One day when I was alone, some of them didn’t stop calling me names. Instead, they followed me home and attacked me. They threw things at me and started punching and kicking me. Sadiq had moved in a couple of months before, but no one had talked to him, or really seen him. That day, he made himself known. He came out waving a giant sword and scared them off.
“After they ran, he took me inside, cleaned me up, and said he would help me learn to fight if I wanted him to. I definitely wanted that, so I started going to his house every day. He got me into shape with weights, boxing, and martial arts. He never went easy on me, but his training made me stronger, both physically and mentally. I made the basketball team, and the bullies left me alone. When I was older, he taught me about swords, knives, and guns. But the most important things I got from him were reinforcements of what my parents had always taught me and my siblings—that loyalty, integrity, and compassion are more important than popularity or money.”
“Yet you had no problem lying to me,” Nev says with tears shimmering in her eyes.
“That’s not true. As Ellie said, I made a vow. One I didn’t think I’d ever break.”
“But you were prepared to,” Sadiq reminds me.
“Yes. I was.”
“You were going to break the vow?” Ellie asks, her eyes wide. “You’ve always been adamant that you’d never break it.”
“Yes. I know what I said, but things…changed.”
“You really do love her.”
“Yes.”
“I’m right here,” Nev says. “What is this damn vow about?”
“It’s about you. I vowed to one day help him re-connect with one of his family members. He knew reaching out to all of you would be dangerous, so when the time came, I would help him with whoever he chose.”
“You chose me?” she asks, glaring at her father. “Why not my mother? Or Sully? Why did you choose me?”
“I saw Matt start to train you. I didn’t know why at first, but then the women who had gotten me into all of this told me about the secret group of women who fought for the world. I watched you fear guns, but learn everything else you needed to know in order to join the Society. I knew the skills Matt taught you could help us stay hidden, and while I never wanted you to pick up a gun, I didn’t forbid Dylan from helping you with that. I dissuaded him, but I let him do it.”
“So, what, this was all a set-up? All of it? The gala?”
The answer to all of her questions is the same, but I can’t look at her when I answer. “Yes.”
* * *
Neveah
I’m going to be sick. I hold my stomach and run for the bathroom. I hear Dylan yelling and then a crash, but I keep going. Once I get inside the room, I fall to my knees and dry heave. I hadn’t eaten today because I was so nervous to see him, but my body seems to know that I need the action of purging.
A minute later, arms are around me. Familiar arms. I turn to him, intent on making him leave, but what I see stops the words from coming. Dylan is bleeding from his forehead, cheek, and mouth, but he seems oblivious to all of that. His eyes search my face, and he looks worried.
“What happened?” I ask, reaching out to touch his face.
“Your friends didn’t want me to come after you. Ellie and your dad stepped in, and I was able to get away. They’re going to come for me any minute now.”
“They shouldn’t have done this,” I say, even though I wanted to do it a few minutes ago. I still want to hit him, but no one else should’ve done it for me. I get up and close the door, locking it before I sit in front of him on the floor.
He shrugs. “I’ll take a beating any day for you.”
“Because of your vow?”
“Didn’t you hear what I said in there? I was going to break my vow. I love you, Nev. I couldn’t convince you to leave after I fell in love with you.”
“Tell me the rest of it. I know there’s more. Please tell me—just me.”
He nods, and then reaches out to take my hand in his. I let him because while I feel like my heart is shredded, the pieces still beat for him. I can’t stop loving him just because I want to. And believe me, I really want to right now.
“Your dad contacted me once the season was over, and told me it was time for me to fulfill my vow. He said he had definitely chosen you, and I needed to get to Vegas because you were working with my sister. I didn’t know about the Society yet, because I guess Ellie chose our mom as her one person to tell. I couldn’t believe the things your dad told me, but then again, I could. A lot of things made sense once I knew what was going on.”
“What exactly were you supposed to do?”
He clenches his jaw, and looks away for a moment before looking me in the eye once again. “I was supposed to get you to trust me, pretend to help you get over your fear of guns, convince you to marry me, and then take you to your dad. Once you saw him, he was sure you’d run away with him. He doesn’t want you in the Society.”
“But you did help me with the guns.”
“I couldn’t not help you once I got to know you. Even that first night at the gala…you had so much fire, and…yeah, I was slowly rebelling against that vow, hating myself for going against the man who saved me, but loving you too much to stick to his plan.”
“You really need to stop saying that.”
“Saying what?”
“That you love me. We both know it’s not true, and it’s starting to feel like an insult.”
“An insult? You think me being in love with you is an insult? What the fuck, Nev?”
“It’s an insult because you don’t mean it. You’re hiding behind those words, using them to make you do something your conscience told you was wrong. You thought you were too honorable to break your vow, but you knew my father’s plan wouldn’t ever work. You convinced yourself that you fell in love with me, but when things got hard, the truth came out.”
“What are you even talking about?”
Is he serious? “You sat by and let your friend insult me, call me a terrorist bitch. You can spout off all your bullshit about me being strong, but that’s what it is—bullshit. You sat in this same house and told me you wanted to hurt other men for treating me differently because of my religion. You said you’d stand up for me. And then you didn’t.”
“I couldn’t, Nev. I wanted to, but I couldn’t.”
“If you wanted to, you could’ve.”
“It’s complicated…Eric…he’s not my friend…it’s just complicated.”
“Un-complicate it for me then. Tell me why you just sat there while everyone else stood for me—with me.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t, couldn’t…is there nothing else you have to say to me?”
“I love you. I. Love. You.”
“Stop throwing those words around. You met me because of a vow, you fucked me becaus
e…I don’t know why…and you let me get hurt because ‘it’s complicated.’ I can’t do this with you Dylan. I’m barely processing the fact that my father is alive. I don’t know how I’m going to tell my mom and brother, because I am going to tell them no matter what he says. I should be out there talking to Matt, because he’s going to be more messed up than my family is over dear old dad rising from the dead. I have all that to deal with, and honestly, I’ve got nothing left for this,” I say, motioning between us.
“You don’t want us?”
“Not the way things are right now. You don’t trust me with your secrets, and really, right now I don’t trust you at all.”
“I trust you, Nev. It’s not that, damn it!”
“Well, whatever it is, when you’re ready to talk to me, I promise to listen. Until then, I have other things to deal with.”
“You mean that?”
“Yes, but I won’t listen to more half-truths and excuses. I want to know the truth—all of it—and nothing less.”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“I embarrassed myself in front of you more than once. Because I love you. Loving someone means showing them all of you, even the parts you wish you could hide.”
“You didn’t tell me about the Society.”
“I would have when I could have. Telling you was out of my control right now.”
“I know. I shouldn’t have thrown that at you. I just don’t know what to do.”
“Take some time to think about what you want, and if you decide I’m part of that, just tell me the truth. That’s all I need. I know I should demand more from you after all of this, but I also know I can’t just stop loving you. There’s no on and off switch for love.”
Neveah (Society Girls #2) Page 9
