Chapter 23
Niko sat outside the real estate office and pulled up the county government homepage, zeroed in on the Pine Ridge courthouse address, and thumbed it directly into his GPS.
As the mechanical voice began dictating his route, he was already reversing, barely clearing the curb.
He merged onto Main Street and then out of Hope Falls entirely.
As the small town receded in the rearview, his anger and anxiety ballooned to fill every inch of the dashboard and windshield.
He wanted to kill Bartlett.
The drive was less than thirty minutes. Niko drove it with single-minded focus, an unbroken line of thought, chewing up miles of mountain road unspooled like an obsidian-black ribbon, passing every semi or minivan that so much as hinted at slowing him down.
The sun was moving higher, and the light streaming over the switchbacks and pines was so clean it appeared fake, like the airbrushed glow on a fitness magazine cover.
But even the beauty of the morning dew still clinging to the needles and brush, and the sky so blue it bordered on ridiculous, couldn’t reach him through the bristling hedge of his own worry and anger.
Fury and fear jostled for pole position in his mind, both were running hard, driven by the same thing, the image of Tiana, his Tiana, forced to answer to that asshole for rent payments, lease terms, and every repair or building issue.
It wasn’t just about Bartlett winning. It was about Tiana losing.
About her being reduced to a pawn in some sick, ego-driven game.
Because that’s what this was to Bartlett.
It was a game. Niko couldn’t live with that.
He wouldn’t. And as the mountain road leveled out and the cookie-cutter government buildings of Pine Ridge came into view, his resolve only hardened.
He parked fast, even by his standards, and hustled up the steps of the courthouse, barely taking in the heavy grey stone columns and the sharply clipped lawns.
The air inside was antiseptic, a mix of ancient paper and lemony cleaning fluid.
The lobby hummed with the quiet, high-stress energy of a DMV on the first day of the month.
Niko took one look at the directory and strode for the County Clerk’s office, past bored bailiffs and a couple of retirees waiting for their turn in probate.
There was a short line, so he queued up, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, glancing at his phone every ten seconds.
The counter was manned by a woman in her fifties with aggressive reading glasses and layered pastel cardigans.
When it was finally his turn, he leaned on the ledge and flashed his most harmless, “I’m just a regular citizen, definitely not here to start a war” smile.
“Hi—” he scanned the badge “—Barbara. I need to do a property records search?”
She didn’t look up. “Address or parcel number?”
He gave her the address, carefully reciting the street down to the zip.
She typed at a glacial pace, each key a metronomic tick, and Niko had to swallow a primal urge to reach over and do it himself.
He waited, pressed against the boundary of the counter like a child at a bakery window, until, after an eternity, she looked up.
“Do you want current owner, or deed history?”
“Both would be great, thanks.”
She printed out two sheets, stapled them, and slid them across the counter. “That’ll be four dollars.”
Niko paid by debit and snatched up the documents. He stepped aside, scanning the records. The owner’s name jumped out at him: Richard B. Reddick. Not because he recognized it, just because it would have been tough to have at school.
Wow. Dick Red Dick.
No LLC, no trust, just a regular guy. The name didn’t mean anything to Niko.
Neither did the address, other than that he knew the street.
1480 Silver Brook, Hope Falls, which meant he could go speak to him.
Niko’s mind was already strategizing his next step: try and get his number and call him or show up in person.
He’d need to do some recon first, which meant speaking to a local who would know the dirt on everyone. Yaya.
As he strode out of the clerk’s office, he started pulling up Google and LinkedIn just to do his own background check, multitasking as he navigated the polished linoleum hallways.
He was so absorbed, he nearly walked straight into a wall when he turned the corner toward the main exit.
He caught himself at the last second, looking up to avoid a collision, only to find, for a split second, that he was staring at himself.
No, not himself. It took a full heartbeat for his brain to process the visual, and another for him to realize it was AJ, standing in the corridor, looking just as shocked to see Niko as Niko was to see him.
“What are you doing here?” AJ’s tone was flat, but there was a definite edge, as if he was being ambushed.
Niko, still blinking, gathered himself. “I needed some property records. What are you—” He stopped mid-sentence as he caught movement beside his brother.
Poppy was there, standing just a half-step behind AJ, dressed in a stunning white satin dress that had the effect of throwing every ounce of sunlight in the lobby directly onto her, like there was a spotlight on her.
Her dark hair was down in loose curls, and she was wearing makeup, which he hadn’t seen her do lately—the kind that took effort and intention.
Niko’s gaze snapped between his brother and Poppy, then back again. AJ was wearing a navy suit, with a deep burgundy tie that matched Poppy’s shoes. The realization dawned slowly, as if the universe had set up a joke and was waiting for him to laugh.
“Holy shit! Are you two…” Niko’s eyes bounced between AJ and Poppy, landing on AJ. “Are you…getting married?!”
“Yes,” Poppy cheerily confirmed.
AJ just stared at him blankly. He could tell his brother was not happy to see him. To be honest, he wasn’t thrilled to see his brother, either, now that he’d done this.
“You weren’t going to tell me?” Niko had been hurt when his brother didn’t tell him about Poppy’s pregnancy, but it was very early on and high risk, so he understood, but this, getting married? Niko was his brother. His twin brother. His only brother. Did he hate him?
“We didn’t tell anyone,” Poppy rushed to explain. “We wanted it to be private… You know, just us.”
Niko felt her words land in his stomach like a sucker punch in the gut. No, more like getting kneed in the balls by He-Man, Master of the Universe, himself.
“Oh, okay. Sorry, I’ll um…yeah. I’ll get out…congratulations.” Niko stepped around them and started walking to his car.
“Niko, no!” Poppy rushed after him. “Wait! You can’t leave! Now that you’re here, I’m so glad!”
“Poppy, it’s fine,” Niko assured her. “This is about you guys. It’s your day, I didn’t mean to mess anything up or—”
“You didn’t!” she insisted. “I promise. It was already feeling so wrong about no one being here. Honestly, this might sound horrible, but I just didn’t want my mom or my sisters here, for my own reasons, and that’s not changed.
But I did want Liam here, and Frankie. And Yaya and Arthur.
So, if you don’t mind waiting, I’ll call them and see if any of them can come.
But, either way, I’d love for you to be our witness. ”
Niko glanced over at his brother and studied him.
He would know with just the tilt of AJ’s chin or the press of his lips, the micro-tension in his jaw, or the way his fingers flexed at his side if Niko was welcome or not.
AJ’s face had always been a mirror to his own, but the twins rarely needed words for communication.
If Niko’s presence was a violation, AJ would let him know.
He braced himself to be rejected, but instead, after a heartbeat, AJ blinked, squared his shoulders, and gave the smallest nod of affirmation, along with the hint of a smile.
“Of course I’ll stay,” Niko grinned. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”
No one had booked the courthouse for a wedding that morning, so they were able to fit them in.
The waiting room was spare and bleak, with linoleum floors, battered wooden benches, and a dying ficus in one corner, but Poppy’s white dress made the whole place look celestial as she scrolled on her phone.
AJ kept adjusting his tie, checking his cuff links, and tapping his palm with his middle finger, which he did when he was stimming, his nerves a silent metronome as they waited.
For a lot of AJ’s life, Niko worried that he’d never find someone who saw him for the amazing, incredible, brilliant, funny, loyal, disciplined, fun man he was, but Poppy saw that man.
She had even helped him become more of himself, the best version of himself.
From what Niko had observed and heard, Poppy didn’t love AJ despite the different way his brain worked, she loved AJ because of that.
“She’s amazing. I’m really happy for you,” Niko told his brother sincerely.
“Thanks.” AJ nodded.
No sooner had the word left his mouth than a flurry of noise erupted from the corridor, and Frankie burst in, her arms full of flowers.
“Did we make it?” she asked, nearly bowling over the bailiff.
Liam followed behind with Yaya and Arthur.
“You did!” Poppy smiled.
Frankie ran to Poppy and pulled her into a bear hug. “You look like a goddess,” she said, voice wobbling.
“You no get married without me?” She pulled a rolled-up newspaper out of her knitting bag and whacked AJ over the head with it. “What you think? So stupid!”
“Sorry, Yaya,” Aj quickly apologized, knowing better than to argue with her.
She reached up and squeezed his cheeks. “You are lucky you so handsome!”
“I am lucky he’s so handsome,” Poppy smiled. “And I’m sorry, it was my fault we didn’t tell anyone.”
“Oh, no, no, no!” Yaya waved the newspaper in front of Poppy’s face. “First lesson for happy marriage, never your fault. Never wife fault.”
Poppy and Liam both chuckled. Arthur, AJ, Frankie, and Niko all smiled but knew she was not kidding.
“AJ Costas and Poppy Davies.”
The clerk called Poppy and AJ up, and the group was led to a small room that contained a few chairs and a podium, behind which the officiant stood while the bride and groom stood in front of it. The vows were simple, to the point. The entire ceremony from start to finish was under five minutes.
When the judge proclaimed them husband and wife, Poppy threw her arms around AJ, Frankie sniffled, Yaya dabbed her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief, and even Liam looked misty, though he denied it later.
Afterward, everyone spilled out onto the courthouse steps, blinking in the thin, alpine sunlight, and different groups began taking photos arranged by Frankie.
Niko took the opportunity to speak to Yaya. He quickly explained the situation and showed her the man’s name on the paperwork. “Do you know him?”
“No, no, no. I not know him, but I know father. This boy give his family so much trouble. Not good boy. Bad, bad habits."
“Bad habits?” he questioned.
“Goes to casinos. Loses all money.”
Niko wasn’t sure how that was relevant to his situation, but he tucked it in the back of his mind.
“Do you have his phone number? I’d like to speak to him, to explain the situation and tell him I’ll pay him whatever he wants.”
Yaya’s lips curled in a smile, but it wasn’t a happy smile.
Niko loved Yaya, but he would have to say the grin she was wearing was downright sinister.
She patted his cheek. “You are good boy, Niko. You protect your family. But remember, sometimes the best way to beat shark is not to fight in water.”
He nodded, not entirely sure what that meant but knowing if he asked, he wouldn’t get any more clarity.
Yaya took his hand in hers. “l make few calls. In meantime, be happy for brother. Today is about love, not war.”
Niko looked over at AJ, who was holding hands with Poppy and staring up at the blue, cloudless sky as if he couldn’t believe it was real.
Beside them Frankie was snapping photos on her phone, and Liam was gazing at her adoringly.
Yaya joined Arthur, and Niko got a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. A feeling of family, of belonging.
This moment would be perfect if Tiana was there by his side.
As he stared at his siblings and grandma, he really hoped his own story, like theirs, could have a happy ending too.