Tasha
The door swings open. The same apartment that I have walked through a million times, that has always welcomed me, feels off. My eyes skim across the space and it’s obvious that it was left in a hurry. I suck in a shuddering breath as I rush in, my heels clicking on the floor. Thunder rattles the wall of windows as the rain hammers against the glass, blurring the lights of the city.
“What are we doing here, ?” Nate’s voice is low, filled with annoyance. “We should be at the fucking hospital.”
I give him a fleeting glance as I take a seat at Tony’s computer. “Go then. You don’t need to be here.” I keep my voice smooth, mirroring the one I use when I’m forced to talk to the same pieces of shit that I know did this. “This is something that I need to do.”
His eyes darken, giving me a look that I’ve seen from him, but never directed toward me. “There are other ways that we can help them besides snooping on Anthony’s computer.” He looks around the apartment, his eyes narrowing like a detective looking for clues.
“Or you could just board your private jet and fly somewhere safe since that’s where you prefer to spend your time.” His head whips toward me with such ferocity you would have thought I had punched him with my impressive right hook. But even as he opens his mouth to object, I push on. “Plus, I wouldn’t want your golden boy status to be tarnished. I can see the headlines now if you’re seen with me outside of these walls.”
His mouth hangs open as if the words that were on his tongue became too heavy and have fallen to the ground at his feet. His eyes widen before he snaps his lips shut. His fingers curl tightly around the phone, his large hands nearly crushing it to pieces. “, I—" he grits out before I raise my hand up to cut him off.
“I don’t have time for this discussion, Nate,” I say as I try to navigate Tony’s very cryptic computer. “Right now, this is more important.”
I click on the icon that Tony damn near burned into my memory, my heart thundering in my ears louder than the storm raging outside. I feel Nate close the space between us, heat radiating off him as he bends over, looking at the screen over my shoulder.
He watches quietly, even as the tension grows between us, as I go through each step just as Tony showed me all those years ago. His deep, gruff voice fills my head, giving me step by step instructions, the same instructions he made me repeat back to him until I could recite it in my sleep. It was one of the few times that he truly opened up to me, giving me a glimpse into his fucked up past and the steps he took to ensure that it didn’t catch up to him. A glimpse that neither one of us ever spoke of again.
The only person who knows more is Devin, and he will take those parts of Tony to his grave, never letting them see the light of day.
The keys click under my fingers as I type in the first of the security codes. It opens a new screen, and I just stare at the words in a foreign language that I haven’t seen written before, because Tony’s simulation was in English.
Is it fucking German? What the fuck is it?
“Swedish?” Nate’s breath is warm against the shell of my ear, sending goosebumps across my skin. He leans in closer, his chest pressing against me. “This is an offshore bank account.” He reaches for the mouse, but I lay my hand over it before he can touch it, stopping him in his tracks. His eyes cut to mine; his words borderline accusatory. “Why did he give you access to a bank account? What the fuck is this about, ? I want some fucking answers.”
Ignoring him, I put my focus back on the screen because I don’t really have an answer for him. I have a million questions that I could have asked, that I should have asked when Tony first sat me down and gave me this one thing to do in a situation like the one we’re currently in.
I can hear his voice and picture us in this exact spot as he said, “ If anything ever happens to me and Devin, this is what you need to do. Someone will come and help. ”
I feel the prickle of tears behind my eyes as I squeeze them shut. Stay the fuck together, Natasha. You can’t lose it now, not when the guys need you the most. When Lena needs you.
I suck in a deep breath, Nate’s presence suffocating me as I click the word ?verfora . It’s the only word on the page that I recognize from Tony’s instructions. It brings me to a page full of words that I don’t know and don’t have time to look up. However, I am extremely familiar with the little box in which you put your monetary amount. I type in the first set of numbers, 9204, and click the button next to it.
Given what the simulation said, the screen refreshes, the box now blank with the words ?verforingen slutford or transfer completed. I check my phone, but the only thing new on the screen is a few messages from my girls downstairs. I place the phone down face up in case a message comes from whoever is supposed to be on the other end. Tony’s tech intelligence makes the government's own defenses look weak, and he’s incredibly thorough. The way he has rooted himself in the darkest parts of the internet is terrifying, and the less I know about it, the better. I don’t know how long to wait until the next step, but I will give it a few minutes.
“What is the significance of 9204?” Nate’s voice has softened, but I can still hear the agitation in it as he breathes down my neck. Why did I fucking let him come with me?
“I-I don’t really know.” His eyes are still glued to the screen as I take him in. He really is a handsome man with his sharp jawline, dirty blond hair, and deep blue eyes. Not bright like Devin’s, but dark like the depths of the ocean. I look at his large hand that’s planted on the table, his fingers spread wide as he supports himself, leaning over me even more. I think about the way those hands have felt against my skin and fight the urge to lay mine across it, to soak up his warmth.
Instead, I turn my attention back to the screen and type in the second set of numbers: 9003 , repeating the same process as before. The screen refreshes, and I sit back, letting it stay open for a few more minutes just in case.
Nate looks back at me. “What did this do?”
I can see the wariness in his eyes, and I already know he’s not going to like my answer. “I already told you that I don’t know.”
He leans in. “You mean to tell me that Anthony sat you down, told you to do this in an emergency, not letting you in on anything more, and you’re okay with that?” His eyes darken. “You have put too much trust into someone who keeps everyone at arm’s length and has next to no morals. This could be a part of some plan he’s had all along. We don’t know anything about his past or who he could have been involved with, and yet you just sent out some fucking beacon?”
Yes.
It’s the only word I can form, but I let it die on my tongue. I don’t have to answer him about anything, because while I am still in the dark about a lot of things with Tony, he also doesn’t know everything about me. Only Drew does, and those secrets died with him, the ones he promised to take with him to his grave, and unfortunately, he did too soon .
Nate’s eyes flash with the lightning before they darken again. He stands up quickly and spins the chair toward him, nearly giving me whiplash. His body cages me in as he leans back down, his nose grazing mine.
His breathing is deep and rabid, and his mouth is gritted, showing his teeth. His breath is hot on my face as if he’s breathing fire. “I want some fucking answers, . What is the fucking purpose of this? Who the fuck did you send out a message to?”
My spine is rod straight, and the tears that I fought back earlier are pushing against my eyes, burning them. I can feel my entire body vibrating as adrenaline and fear run through me. “I did exactly what he told me to do, Nate.” I push down the sob that’s trying to climb up my throat. “He told me that if anything happened to them, I was supposed to come here and do this. I don’t know who or what is on the other end, but I did what I was supposed to do.”
The arms of the chair creak in his grip. My heart roars loudly in my ears as I take Nate in. He looks angry and confused and is barely holding it together, but he doesn’t take his eyes off me. “What else has he told you to do? I didn’t think you listened to the commands of men anymore. Or have you fallen back into your old ways?”
His words are like arrows that were launched through his gritted teeth, and they snap me out of my panic-induced stupor. My hands fly up and shove at his chest, but his hands only tighten on the arms of the chair. He yanks it closer to him, making it impossible for me to escape him. “Did he tell you his little secrets before or after you fucked him, Natasha ?” he growls out.
His words awaken the cruel street rat that I have kept locked away, rattling in her cage until I let her out. It’s been years since I let a man corner me and then speak to me like this. My hand connects with his face, and the smack echoes up into the high ceiling. The impact causes his head to snap to the side, and his hair falls across his forehead.
He takes a few deep breaths before he pushes himself up, straightening himself to his full height. His fingers hover over the now red mark across his face, blood welling from the scratches of my nails. I push the chair back from him before standing on my own wobbling legs. The tension in the room is thick because I don’t know what to do right now even as his breathing slows. I fight against my flight response and stand my ground. He’s never spoken like this to me before, and I’ve only seen images of his father on the internet, but right now, he’s never looked more like him.
He finally looks at me, his eyes wide with shock as he takes me in. I swallow around the lump in my throat and let him be the first one to speak. “Tash, I—" He steps toward me, but I don’t allow him to close the distance between us, and I step back. I refuse to cower away, and instead, keep my head held high. “Tash, I’m sorry.” He runs a hand through his hair, pushing the strands out of his face before yanking on them. “I just…I don’t know what to do.”
I watch as his anger transforms into fear. He attempts to blink away tears, but one escapes, running down his cheek to his jaw. I understand his fear because I would be devastated if I were to lose anyone in our circle. I haven’t let it sink in that Devin and Tony are fighting for their lives while we’re here transferring money to an offshore bank account, hoping that whoever is on the other end answers the call. I can see why Nate would think that this is a waste of time, but Tony was adamant that this had to be done if anything happened to them and not to tell anyone about it.
It’s not lost on me that Devin is Nate’s best friend. They have leaned on each other well before I ever came around, and while I have never really let myself get too close to other people, I let these men in. Devin never treated me as the street rat I was but encouraged my deviant ways and helped me become the powerful woman I am now. They both showed me that I am more than just a few holes to be fucked by slimy men, but that I’m an intelligent woman whose opinions matter.
I see the pain in Nate’s eyes as his shoulders silently slump, his hand coming up to wipe away another tear that mixes with the blood welling on his face. I feel a tug in my heart, and I take a step toward him. He doesn’t move as I close the distance. I let my hand float up to his chest, his heart thundering under my palm. “He’s going to be okay,” I whisper. “He has to be. They both have to be.”
I look into Nate’s eyes, the emotions swirling through them, nearly drowning both of us. His hand slips to my waist, gently pulling me toward him. He presses his forehead to mine as his other hand tucks loose strands of my hair behind my ear, his touch burning my skin.
I close my eyes as our hearts thunder in time with each other. “What do we do now?” he asks, his deep voice going rough and breaking the silence.
I pull back. “Well, as their emergency contact, I should probably head to the hospital just in case Devin tries to torch the place to the ground. Apparently, he’s already tried to escape, and they had to sedate him again.”
The corner of his mouth twitches. “Of fucking course he would need to be sedated.” His gaze flicks to the computer. “What about Anthony?”
I pull in a deep breath, letting my hand fall from his chest as I run it through my hair. “He’s, uh, still in surgery.” I stare at his desk, my heart sinking in my chest. “He lost a lot of blood and he’s fighting for his life right now.”
“And what of Lena?” he asks, barely above a whisper.
I gulp as bile rises up my throat. “I have our best people looking for her.” I press my hand to my chest, trying to ease the knot that’s tightening, threatening to steal my breath. “But they’ve hidden their tracks, and they’re blindly looking everywhere within a fifty-mile radius.” And the one who could uncover them is just doing what he can to stay alive.
A hole rips open in my chest as the reality of the situation finally hits me. Her piece of shit ex-fiancé stopped at nothing to get her, and I know that the guys will stop at nothing to get her back if they make it out of the hospital alive.
Nate’s fingers brush my jaw before he lifts my chin to look up at him, sending a jolt through me. His eyes are burning bright, and I can feel the heat burning through me. “We need to go,” he rasps, his emotions almost choking him. Dropping his hand, he pulls out his phone and begins sending messages as he moves toward the door.
He’s nearly in the hallway before my legs start moving as I work around the apartment, prepping it to be empty for a while. The knot in my chest tightens, stealing my breath as I turn off the lights. I don’t know when or if my friends will be back in the apartment, but after all they’ve done for me, I will do everything I can for them. They deserve to come out on the other side, let the world see them for who they are, and let them be happy.
All three of them.
It’s not a conventional love, not even close, but seeing them open up over the last few weeks has been like watching the first flower of spring rise from the snow. I’ve watched the shadows around Tony lighten, his eyes brighten. Lena has started to accept her dark desires, while both have accepted Devin and his demons. They don’t shy away when they step out into the light, showing off the darkest parts of him. It’s the way that Lena reaches out a hand and walks side by side with them that squeezes my heart and lets me know that true love does exist in this god forsaken world.
I only hope that someday, someone will do the same for me.
Leaning against the open door, Nate waits for me. His brow is furrowed as he stares down at his phone, his fingers flying across the screen. I imagine that he’s working to pull favors with his string of contacts, both in and out of the city .
He’s just as stressed as I am and wants to find whoever did this. He might not be one to get his hands dirty, but I am. I will have no problem strapping every single motherfucker involved to the table and slicing their balls from their bodies. I will make them pay for the damage that they’ve caused in my fucking home. To my family.
My phone rings and I’m met with the hospital’s number as it moves across my screen. As I answer it, my heart leaps into my throat, jamming the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Natasha?” The nurse’s tone is clipped. “We need you to come down here. It’s urgent.”
My stomach drops and nausea rolls through me. “Is-is everything okay?” I can feel Nate’s eyes on me as my body starts to tremble.
“There have been some major changes to Mr. Fox’s status, and unfortunately, we have had to put Mr. Green in a medically induced coma. Please come as soon as you can to get their affairs in order.”
I press my hand to my mouth to stifle a sob. My vision begins to tunnel as my knees wobble, threatening to go out from under me. The nurse’s voice fades as a high-pitched whistle fills my ears. If Tony doesn’t make it, Devin will run down the path of destruction to find Lena and will sooner give up his own life than be without them.
He’s made that point very clear on more than one occasion.
A large, warm hand grips my shoulder, and I can hear my name cut through the noise. “?” My phone is pulled from my grip as I fight to get myself out of my head. I’m met with deep blue eyes as my vision clears onto Nate’s handsome face. “, we need to go.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders and moves us toward the door.
My heart thunders in my chest, making my ribs vibrate with every beat. I can hear the murmur of Nate’s voice as we pass the threshold, my feet carrying me toward the elevator as his arm slips from my shoulders. He pauses behind me, giving the apartment a once-over before gripping the door handle. The elevator doors whoosh open, and my legs are still unsteady as I step in.
Nate’s eyes are down on his phone, his attention caught between whoever he’s messaging and me as he pulls the door behind him. The roaring in my ears has softened, and just as the door is about to shut, a ding sounds from inside the apartment.