27. Madeline
Madeline
Walking into the lounge room, Vince was icing his hand, staring at the fire. A full glass of whiskey untouched on the coffee table.
“Are you okay?” I walked around the couch to stand in front of him.
My stomach twisted. Something had happened. That cold, distant look in his eyes.
“What happened?” I kneeled in front of him, cupping his cheek. Then I saw his tears.
Vince never cried.
Panic rushes through me. Pushing him back slightly so I could sit over him.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I hugged him. My heart beating way too fast.
For Vince to be in a state like this. Something must have happened to one of his siblings.
After five minutes or longer, I pulled back just slightly.
“Vinny, will you please say something?” I leaned my forehead against his. “Please.”
“Where have you been?”
I frowned. Pulling back. “Are you sure you want to talk about me? And not what is going on with you?”
The distance in his eyes scared me.
He nodded.
Maybe he just needed a distraction.
We never talked about business. Of course, the first time I ever consider speaking about it had to be the same night that I looked terrible at what I did.
“We had a shipment hijacked during transport.” Tracing his neck tattoo. “This is the second one this month. Nothing about it makes sense. We even flew the guns down to a private airfield from our warehouse up north, in case the one here was being watched.”
His hand rested on my lower back.
Holding his face, I forced him to look at me. “Now. Are you okay?”
“Bastion and I got into a fight.”
I sighed.
Out of all his brothers, Bastion was the most dependent on him. While Luca or Rome would go to Nikolai with a problem, Bas would only turn to Vince.
Over the years, it was hard not to see the pattern. If something great happened in Bastion’s life, he called Vince. If his world was ending, he would call Vince. And for everything else in between, he still called Vince.
“I hit him pretty hard.” He looked away from me. “I’ve never seen him look at me like that.” His voice broke, “terrified of me.”
Their fights never escalated this far. “Where were the others?” Why hadn’t one of them stepped in before it got that far?
“They pulled me off him.”
“All three of them?”
He slowly nodded.
I wiped the tears from his cheek, holding his face. “Well, give Bas a few days. Then apologize. You two will work it out.”
Wiping away his silent tears.
“He loves you, and one heated fight won’t change that.”
He might have heard what I said, but I could tell he didn’t believe me.
There was nothing I hated more than seeing him this upset.
Tracing his cheek, I leaned closer to his mouth, softly kissing him.
At first, he was still. As if he was shocked.
After the other night in the shower, all I thought about was this.
Though, I probably chose a terrible time to kiss him. Holding me tighter to him, as he finally kissed me back.
VINCE
The next morning, I walked to Bastion's house.
I hoped by the time I arrived, I would know what to say. But once I saw him. I couldn’t form a word.
He stepped back out of my way, leaving the door open. By the suit and tired expression, he had worked at the club last night.
I closed the door. Fuck. “Did you get looked at?”
He didn’t answer me, just leaned against the pillar staring at the ground.
I ran my hand over my head.
His busted lip, swollen jaw. How had I lost control like that?
“Nik likes to think you were better, but you weren’t.” he looked at me, one eye bloodshot. “She was the one to pull you from that. Not us. Not Nik. Her.”
The longer I stared at him, the more damage I saw. My handprint around his neck. “Come on, I’m getting?—”
“I nearly lost you. That night because of Damius. If it wasn’t for her. We would have lost you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Now, any chance of you losing her. It scares me.”
I just stared at him.
“Did she ever ask why you were on that side of town?” he pushed away from the pillar. “The night you two met.”
“No, she never asked.”
He slowly nodded.
“Bastion, about last night. I am sorry. There is never a reason for me to act like that to you.”
I’d never seen him like this. No smart come back. No insult. No baiting. Just nothing. It scared me. Had I broken him? I had. I had broken my little brother.
“Bas—”
“It’s just bruises.” He muttered, walking away from me. “I’m going to bed.”
I stood there for a few minutes, after I heard his bedroom door close. Maybe I wasn’t better than the old bastard. Or worse, I was becoming like our father after mom died. I used to save Bastion from being hit. Now I was the one hitting him.