CHAPTER XXIX
I stayed away for three days.
Three long motherfucking days.
All because she told me to.
My men and her old man told me to give her space and time to come to terms with what happened to her, to see past my betrayal.
But how the hell was I supposed to do that when she consumed my every thought, making it difficult to think about anything else?
She lived deep inside my soul, my darkness that danced and collided with shards of her shimmering light.
The moment she was ripped away from me, it felt as though a part of me was violently severed, leaving me drifting into nothingness.
It cut deep like a jagged knife. It fucked me up in ways I couldn’t even begin to describe.
Three days of torturing myself, remembering those ember orbs that shone like gold and a body I was craving to have under me once again. To kiss. To taste. To ravage. I couldn’t get enough of her floral scent. It was like a damn flower garden calling out to my soul.
I’d never met anyone full of goodness. Her innocence, her purity, they were what drew me to her in the first place. I never thought I’d deserve someone so damn good, but she made me feel lighter, alive, and worthy. A man who could be better, made complete.
I was a caged animal, lusting after her touch, wanting to devour her. My sweetest temptation turned into my sweetest obsession.
Fuck this.
I was tired of being patient. The devil needed his angel back.
“Nico, are you listening to me?”
I blinked and focused on my uncle, aware that my eyes had been locked onto his while he spoke, yet I had tuned him out. “No,” I replied honestly and unashamedly.
My uncle narrowed his eyes. “Considering this involved Gigi, I expected you to be more attentive.”
“Trust me, Uncle. Gigi has his attention,” Lo interjected with a sly smirk.
He wasn’t wrong. My angel had taken up residence in my head and inside my heart. And she could stay there as long as she wanted to.
I opened my mouth to respond, but my phone rang.
“Mya,” I said, answering the call.
“You need to get your ass to the hospital,” she said.
I straightened in my seat. “What’s going on?”
“Stone showed up and is in the room with Gigi, questioning her,” she said sharply.
“What the fuck, Mya!” I snapped, rising to my feet. “I told you he was not to go near her.”
“I know that!” she snapped back. “But Gigi assured me she was fine.”
“I don't give a flying fuck!” I snatched my keys from the desk and marched toward the door. “Her feelings don’t fucking matter.”
“Nice, Nico. That’ll really win her over,” Mya retorted.
“I don’t need to win her over,” I growled, swinging the door open. “She’s already mine. I’m on my way.”
With that, I hung up on her.
“Boss?” Miguel asked.
“Fuck!” I bellowed, charging toward the stairs with Demon barking at my outburst. “Come with me, Miguel.”
“Where are you going, Nico?” my uncle yelled from the top of the stairs.
“To see my girl,” I snarled.
“Do you think it’s a good idea?” he challenged.
“Don’t care,” I shot back, striding through the front door like a tornado.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I barked at Stone the moment I burst into Gigi’s hospital room.
“Doing my job,” he replied, unfazed.
I didn’t bother to look at Gigi; my eyes were locked on Stone’s as if I were conjuring enough power to melt his face off.
“She’s been through enough already and doesn’t need to be questioned,” I asserted.
“The sooner she gives us information, the faster we can catch the bastards who did this,” Stone countered.
“ She’s right here,” Gigi snapped, but I remained focused firmly on the jerk in front of me.
Stone turned to Gigi. “Don’t hesitate to call if you remember anything.” He attempted to sidestep me to offer his card to Gigi, but I blocked his path to my girl.
Standing tall, he left the card on the table. “Take care of yourself, Gigi.”
“Thank you,” she replied.
Once he was gone, Gigi let out a frustrated sigh. “What are you doing here, Nico?”
I slowly turned my heated gaze toward the woman on the bed, who looked more ethereal than ever.
“Don’t give me that look,” she rolled her eyes. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You let him into this room,” I responded sharply.
“You don’t get to decide what I can or can’t do. So back off.”
I closed the distance between us, capturing her chin firmly between my fingers. “Not a chance.”
I delivered a commanding kiss on her lips that took her breath away before leaving the room.
It had been two hours since I last tasted my angel.
I paced the hall outside Gigi’s room like a caged animal. I knew she needed space, but the longer I waited, the more I felt like I was going to explode.
“Fuck this,” I spat under my breath, not able to stand there any longer. I pushed the door open and stepped into the room.
The moment I stepped inside, I heard the melody of a piano and violin rendition of “Someone You Love” playing in the background. Behind the curtain that separated us, she lay on her side, facing the window. Her dark hair spilled over the pillow like a river.
I stood there for a moment, a lump forming in my throat. I could only watch her, yearning to reach out, to pull her into my arms and erase the distance between us. But I had betrayed her without a chance for explanation, and now she was lost to me.
“Are you going to stand there like a creep?” Her soft voice made my heart capitulate.
“You can still feel me?” I replied, forcing a smirk to mask my desperation.
“Yep.” Just one word, heavy with unspoken pain.
“Even when you hate me?” I took a tentative step closer, my pulse quickening.
“Even when I hate you.”
A beat of silence danced between us.
“Nico,” she said flatly. “What are you doing here?”
I closed my eyes, savoring the sound of my name on her lips. “Do you really need to ask?”
I heard the bed shift and opened my eyes to see her sit up. My gaze dropped to her chest, and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw her wearing one of my shirts that hung loosely on her.
She looked down, fidgeting with the fabric. “Mya found this with my things,” she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
I walked closer to her. “I love seeing you in my clothes, Angel.” I settled into the chair beside her.
She looked up, her eyes blazing as she shut off the music.
“Nico, what are you doing here?” she asked again.
“I needed to see you.”
“Why?”
I worked my jaw. “Because you’re mine.”
She glared at me. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are,” I said calmly, though I gripped the armrests, ready to rip them off.
She turned her gaze away, staring straight ahead. I took the opportunity to study her. The bruises were fading, some already gone, her color returning.
“Have you eaten?” I asked, glancing around the room. It was after five, and I hadn’t seen anyone bring her food.
She didn’t respond.
I sighed. “What would you like? I’ll get you whatever you want.”
“I want you to leave,” she said quietly but firmly. She was angry. My angel had a darkness around her aura.
“I’m not leaving,” I told her.
Finally, she turned to me, but her eyes were dark with fury. “I don’t understand. The moment you thought I betrayed you, you threw me in the basement like trash and refused to listen to me. What makes you think you’ve earned my attention, let alone my affection?”
“I know I fucked up. I was an asshole.”
She scoffed. “Yeah, a big asshole.”
I held back my smirk at her sassiness.
“But you have to understand?—”
“Understand what?” she interrupted, her voice sharp. “That you were ready to torture me because you thought I was a spy?” She sat up a little straighter, her eyes narrowing.
I clenched my jaw, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. I hated being interrupted. Any other person would’ve already had their tongue ripped out.
“My world is dark. I can’t risk having distractions or mistakes. I already had a mole, and Enzo is in the FBI, which was another reason why I had to be cautious.”
So much happened that night. Too many secrets were exposed.
“It still doesn’t make what you did right. It doesn’t matter what you think happened,” she shot back.
“You’re wrong.”
She tilted her head, challenging me with her gaze. “How am I wrong?”
I swallowed hard. “I didn’t know who to trust.”
“You should’ve trusted me!” she screamed. “Trusted us!”
“Yeah, and look how well that turned out for me when my ex fucking betrayed me!” I roared back.
“I’m not your ex! And this was totally different. I just discovered who I was and wanted to share that with you. But you wouldn’t give me the time of day. How can you expect me to trust you again?”
Shame hit me repeatedly like a punching bag.I reached for her hand, but she recoiled.
“Don’t,” she snapped.
I ground my molars, holding back the urge to handcuff her to my wrist. “I know you’re not my ex.
But trust doesn’t come easily for me, baby.
After falling in love with you, I thought it was too good to be true.
I wasn’t and still am not worthy of your love.
But I’m a selfish bastard, and I’m not giving you up. ”
Gigi shook her head. “That still doesn’t answer my question.”
“I won’t ever treat you like that again. You have my word.”
“Your word means nothing to me. Because that’s all they are with you. Words.”
“You’re right.”
Her eyebrows shot up.
I smiled genuinely for the first time since she’d been gone. “I know I have a lot to work on, and I promise I will not fail you again. Ever. Gigi, my soul died the moment you were taken from me.”
Her eyes softened slightly, but the anger lingered there, like the calm before a storm ready to unleash its fury. “You think your sorry and promises are going to be enough?”
“No,” I said. “I just want a second chance to make it right. To show you that you can trust me again.”
Gigi looked away again. “You have no idea what I’ve been through. The pain, the agony, the loss I felt.” Her hand went to her flat stomach, and rage took over me. At one point, we were going to have that conversation.
“I know what was done to you,” I said, my voice low and strained. “He sent me videos of what they did.”
She turned back to me with tears clouding her eyes. “Wh-what?”
I slid back in my chair, hands clasped between my legs, staring at the floor. “I saw what he did to you.” I rubbed my palms together until they formed into tight fists. “I heard your cries, Gigi. I watched it happen, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.”
She softly sniffled, but I couldn’t look up. The shame was too heavy, a burden I had to carry for allowing this to happen. The guilt had been eating me alive from the moment I knew she was missing.
“I’m not telling you this to excuse what happened to you,” I continued, “but I need you to know I suffered along with you. The pain I felt was real. My love for you is real.”
“You think you can fix this?”
I glanced up to meet her gaze, and the rawness in her eyes nearly shattered me. “I have to try,” I said quietly. “You gave me a reason to live. To fight. And I’ll be damned if I ever give that up. My soul doesn’t know how to live without yours.”
She sighed, the anger slowly dissipating, but the hurt still shone in her eyes. “I’m not ready to forgive you yet.”
“I know, and I don’t expect you to. But I’m willing to do whatever it takes until you do.”
“And what if I don’t want to make this work? What if I want to walk away from all this this…from you,” she said, waving her hand in the air. “
The fuck?
“You would walk away from me?”
She lowered her head.I rose to my feet and roughly gripped her chin, forcing her to face me. “The only way you’re allowed to leave my ass is when I’m cold, dead, and buried six feet in the ground.”
“I can have that arranged.” She smirked.
“And even then, I will rise from hell and haunt your ass before you ever decide to give yourself to another man.”
Just the idea alone of another man touching her, kissing her, sticking his dick in what’s mine made me want to peel off my skin.
We sat in silence, the air heavy around us.
I found myself looking away, reluctant to press her further.
Yet the longing to kiss her was overwhelming, a deep yearning that begged for release, craving just a taste of her intoxicating sweetness.
But when she finally broke the stillness, my heart leaped to my throat.
“Why didn't you tell me about your mom?” Her voice was so soft I barely heard her.
I took a breath, forcing myself to meet her gaze. “You had enough to deal with. I wasn’t sure when the right moment would come,” I replied.
As the light caught her face just right, I noticed her amber eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, tears spilling down her cheeks. “It’s my fault.”
I shot up from my seat. “The fuck it is,” I declared. “It is not your fault.”
“But she wouldn’t have come down to find me if?—”
“If I hadn’t put you down there in the first place,” I interjected, my own words ringing hollow. If anyone bore the weight of responsibility, it was me.
She buried her face in her hands, her body trembling with silent sobs. “I saw her fly against the wall… Her neck twisted from the impact.”
I clenched my eyes shut trying to erase the haunting image of my mother’s vacant stare from that night.
Gigi kept apologizing, though she had nothing to be sorry for.
Seizing the moment, I leaned in and wrapped my arms around her, feeling the warmth of her body against mine.
To my astonishment, she clutched my waist tightly, her fingers gripping my shirt like it was a means to survive.
I savored this moment, relishing the thrill of holding my angel close to me once again.
“I’m so mad at you,” she whispered against my chest.
“I know, baby,” I murmured, my heart aching as I longed to erase the hurt I had etched into her heart and soul.
I wanted to press my lips against hers, to reclaim her, but the moment was interrupted by a knock at the door as the nurse entered.
My eyes stayed on my girl, my gaze fierce and unwavering. “This conversation isn’t over,” I warned her, set on proving my worth.
She was a challenge I was willing to accept, no matter the cost.