Chapter Twenty-Five
I literally hold my breath, I can't believe he just dropped that information to this room of men. My eyes stay locked on the side of his face as he watches each of his men, who have not uttered a word to the news. The room is completely silent, so silent you could hear a pin drop.
"If her uncle is a cop then why isn't their missing pictures all over the news? How come they ain’t tearing up this city looking for them?
" Tank asks. I'm not sure who he's asking as I still haven't moved.
I don't want to turn around, I don't want to face the men, but I know they are all looking at me, I can feel their eyes on me.
"Data." Nitro speaks. "It's time to share." He turns to me. "I don't know what you know, but you need to be ready for what you hear. Once you hear it, you will understand why I'm telling you that you can't leave."
I have no idea what the fuck he's talking about. "Prez?" I hear Ice question behind me. He clearly doesn't know what is about to be shared either.
"I'm sorry, Ice, I only found out this information about ten minutes before the meeting. VP doesn't even know yet," Nitro tells him.
Movement to my right has me turning to the other end of the table. The man introduced to me as Data briefly leaves the room, then arrives a few seconds later with his laptop. I watch as he connects it up to a big screen behind Nitro and everyone turns to look at it as it comes to life.
Right there on the big screen is my uncle, dressed in his uniform, talking to some guys in suits. I feel the panic begin to rise up inside of me, just the sight of his face scares me. I take a couple of deep breaths, I need to get a grip, I can't lose it.
I jump as Nitro places a hand on my arm.
"Breathe, he can't hurt you in here," he whispers to me.
A low growl sounds behind me, and I hear Ice's chair scrape across the floor, then I feel one hand on my arm and the other on the back of my neck.
Nitro smirks, then gives me a wink before removing his hand.
The heat from Ice, his touch, the gentle movements of his thumb across my neck, it's distracting. I'm losing my calm. I close my eyes and breathe. I let the creaking of chairs and the clicking of laptop keys pull me back to my senses. And I open my eyes to see the same image on the screen.
"Nova." I look up at Data. "I'm really sorry to bring this up, I know it's going to open up some pretty shitty memories, but I need to do it, okay?" he asks, his eyes full of sorrow. I nod, not having any clue what he's about to bring up.
"The man on the screen in the black suit is Tommy Larson. He and your uncle have known each other since they were in high school together. He runs a successful criminal empire, guns, drugs." He swallows and glances at Nitro who gives a small nod.
"Money laundering, people trafficking. This image is from last year when your uncle helped one of Larson’s men dodge a murder charge. Your uncle planted evidence on someone else who took the blame."
"What? I… wait…" Confused, I don't even know what to ask. Nitro places his hand back on my arm and I look over to him as Ice's grip tightens on my arm and neck.
"Prez..." Ice bites out. I don't understand the look that Nitro gives Ice, but he moves even closer, pulling me almost out of my chair. "Baby, let him finish," he tells me, his mouth way too close to my ear. I nod, not really at anyone.
"Nova, the man charged with your parents murder—"
"He was a homeless guy, just looking for somewhere to steal things from, that’s what my uncle told me." I cut Data off and tell him what I know but he shakes his head at me.
"No, Nova. The man charged was a homeless guy, but he didn't do it. He saw it and gave a statement detailing what he saw. That statement never saw the light of day, they took his signature from it and copied it on a confession..."
"No." I shake my head, this can't be true. I'm confused.
"Your uncle was owed several favours from Tommy Larson. He called in one of those favours. Your uncle and Tommy arranged for the home invasion; they arranged for your parents’ murder."
I stand from my chair. "No, you're wrong. It was the homeless guy," I state, my emotions beginning to overwhelm me. Ice is at my back in seconds, trying to pull me back to my chair. "Get off, you're wrong," I snap.
"Nova." Data steps in front of me. "There's more." I shake my head, tears rolling down my cheeks, but he keeps talking. "You were meant to be in that house during that break in. None of you were meant to survive, not even Mason."
Ice wraps his arms around me, holding me in place, as Data continues. "The only reason Mason survived was because the guy paid to kill them hadn't realised kids were part of the job. He saw your brother and freaked out, and he ran."
"I don't understand, if we were meant to die too then why didn't they just kill us, why didn't they send someone else to finish it?" I sob. I'm not even sure I believe what they are saying. This can't be true.
"Nova." Nitro places a hand on my shoulder, and I turn to look at him. "You came home and found them before they realised that you weren't there. What happened to you and your family was big news, it’s harder to take out a target when they are all over the TV and in the papers.
I shake my head, the tears making my eyes blurry. I can't think straight, this can't be true. I know my uncle is cruel but murder his own sister? His niece and nephew? I turn to look at the men in the room, the faces locked on mine, the look of pity on their faces. I can't take it anymore.
My knees give out and I drop, fully expecting my knees to slam into the hard floor, but Ice's strong grip holds me in place as he lowers me to the floor slowly then pulls me into his lap.
"Shh, it's okay, baby. It's okay. I've got you," he whispers in my ear as he cradles my head to his chest, letting me cry until exhaustion takes hold and I fall asleep where we sit.