Chapter 52 Nick
NICK
Melanie had been gone for hours. No calls, no texts—nothing. She’d just vanished. Colt and Abigail were in Orlando, so she wasn’t with them. Maybe she found a hotel, but she didn’t even have a car. She’d run off on foot. The thought of her passed out somewhere from low blood sugar gnawed at me.
There was never a dull moment with that girl.
She lived to stress me the fuck out. And my mom wasn’t helping—she kept asking where Melanie was.
I threw together a lie, told her Melanie wasn’t feeling well and I gave her the night off.
It was easier than the truth. If I so much as hinted that Melanie might be pregnant, my mom would unleash a storm I wasn’t ready to deal with.
The sudden ring of my phone made me flinch.
My heart slammed against my ribs as I snatched it up without checking the caller ID.
“Colt, I swear to G—”
“Niccolo, how are you?”
My stomach dropped. My fingers clenched around the phone.
“What do you want, Diablo?”
A smooth chuckle slithered through the line. “Oh, just checking in. And reminding you to keep that money flowing. We’re halfway there, you know.”
“I told you I’ll have the rest. I just can’t give you an exact date. But you’ll get it. I haven’t been late, have I?”
“No.” He paused, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make my pulse stutter. “I’m glad you’re a smart man because I was this close to showing up at your restaurant tonight. You know, to demonstrate what happens when people fall behind on payments.”
A slow, crushing pressure coiled in my gut. My breath came short.
“It’s only fair to charge interest, isn’t it, Niccolo?”
I have more going on than worrying about paying you, you son of a bitch.
I swallowed down the words I wanted to spit out and said, “Is that all?
Another pause. Then his voice dropped, laced with something I didn’t like. “Solo tonight, huh? Trouble in paradise? I noticed your pretty wife wasn’t working. A shame. I only came in to see her. That nice ass of hers—”
My jaw locked so tight my teeth ached. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I forced myself to stay quiet.
“My wife is none of your concern,” I said, my voice cold. “If you don’t want to talk business, I’m hanging up.”
I pulled the phone from my ear, thumb hovering over the end call button. Then his voice came again, soft but sharp as a blade.
“Oh, Niccolo.”
“What?” I gritted out.
“A devil’s job is never over until the angel falls.”
Before I had a chance to process what he said and respond, the line went dead.
The restaurant was finally empty, the lingering scent of garlic and seared meat clinging to my clothes as I flipped the lock on the front door.
The neon Closed sign buzzed softly against the window, casting a faint red glow onto the empty sidewalk.
My shoulders ached, my muscles stiff from another long shift, but my mind was too wired to feel the exhaustion fully.
I stepped out into the cool night air, inhaling deep, letting the crispness cut through the haze of grease and stress. The streets were quiet, except for the distant hum of traffic and the occasional flicker of a passing headlight.
Then, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
My breath hitched. My fingers fumbled to grab it, a tight knot forming in my gut as hope surged through me. Please let it be Melanie.
I swiped the screen open
It wasn’t.
Hey man, sorry, long day. You awake?
I glanced at the time—just past midnight. With a sigh, I pulled my phone from my pocket and leaned against my car, letting the cool night air settle the heat still clinging to my skin from the restaurant kitchen.
Yeah, just leaving the restaurant. What are you doing up?
Abigail can’t sleep. She’s tossing and turning, keeping me up. I swear, I’m ready for Chloe to get here already. She looks like she’s carrying twins with how big she’s gotten. I feel bad for her—she’s gotta be miserable.
I smirked as I unlocked my car and slid inside.
Me: LOL. Speaking of pregnancies… that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.
Oh shit.
Before I could type out another response, my phone rang.
Colt’s name lit up the screen, along with the old picture of us—the one where he was pulling a stupid face while I tried to lift him off the ground, proving I was stronger despite him being bigger.
It was the year I was on leave and we both were in town at the same time.
I shook my head and answered, connecting the call to my car’s Bluetooth as I pulled out of the parking lot.
“Alright, man,” Colt said without preamble.
“What’s going on? I knew something was off the second you told us you and Melanie got married. I never bought it.”
I dragged a hand through my hair, gripping the wheel tighter with the other. “Yeah, well… you were right. I’m in some shit, dude.”
Colt let out a low exhale. “Shit. How bad?”
I hesitated, the weight of the last few months pressing down on me. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Start at the beginning,” he said simply.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my knuckles whitening as I exhaled a slow breath. “You remember when my sister overdosed?”
Colt didn’t hesitate. “Yeah.” His voice lost its usual easygoing tone, turning serious.
I stared at the empty road ahead, my car's headlights cutting through the darkness. “What I didn’t tell you guys back then… those pills weren’t mine.” I swallowed hard. “They were fronted to me by someone. A dealer.”
Silence stretched between us before Colt finally spoke. “You’re telling me you were dealing?”
“Not exactly,” I said, jaw clenching. “I was desperate. I needed money, and this guy—Diablo—he offered me a way out. Loaned me the pills to sell. But after what happened with my sister, I said fuck no. I was going to return them, pay him back for what she took… but then he got locked up.”
Colt cursed under his breath. “Wait—Diablo? That Diablo?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.” He let out a low whistle. “What does he have to do with all this now?”
I could practically see Diablo’s smirking face in my mind, the cold, calculating way he had looked at me across my own restaurant.
“He showed up a couple of months ago. Walked right into my place like we were old friends. Then he hit me with it—said I still owed him. And since he was so generous to let the debt sit for a few years, he decided I should pay him back… times two.”
“Jesus Christ,” Colt muttered. “What a fucking psycho. I can’t believe he’s out. I only met him once, but even then, I knew he was a goddamn lunatic.”
I exhaled sharply. “Yeah, well, I wish I never got desperate enough to do business with him, because now I’m paying for it.”
“How much?”
“Thirty grand.”
Colt’s sharp intake of breath crackled over the line. “Damn, man. You serious?”
“Dead serious.” I flexed my fingers around the wheel. “And I’ve already paid half.”
Colt was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, his voice more measured. “You know I’ve got money, right? I don’t blow it on dumb shit like some of these guys. I invest. I build. If you need help, I got you.”
I sighed. “I appreciate it, but I already feel like a failure. I can’t let you bail me out.”
Colt scoffed. “Right. Because it’s better to have a goddamn cartel thug showing up at your restaurant whenever he wants?” His voice hardened. “This guy’s dangerous, Nick.”
“I know.” My fingers drummed against the steering wheel. “That’s why I came up with a solution. But now… I don’t know if it was the wisest decision.”
Colt groaned. “Oh, hell. What did you do now?”
I smirked despite myself. Colt had always been the disciplined one, the guy who played it smart. I was the reckless one—jumping fences as a kid, pushing limits just to see how far I could go before I got caught.
I ran a hand through my hair, inhaling deeply. “I… kinda asked Melanie to marry me. As a deal. For her to get health care and for me to get a few extra thousand a month to pay off my debt.”
Silence.
I cleared my throat. “Hello? Did I lose you?”
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Colt finally said, his voice flat.
“No.”
“Dude, what the fuck? You built your entire career in the military. You know this is fraud, right? If they find out, that’s jail time.”
“I know,” I muttered, lowering my voice like someone could hear me. Old habits. Even though I wasn’t on active duty anymore, part of me still wondered if the government was listening.
And now, if Diablo had his way… they wouldn’t be the only ones.
I exhaled sharply, gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles ached. “I know, but now Melanie might be pregnant, and I don’t know what the fuck to do. This is a goddamn mess.”
Colt let out a long breath. “Yeah… Abigail mentioned something about that. But she hasn’t taken the test yet, right? So there’s still a chance she’s not.”
I straightened in my seat, my pulse spiking. “Wait—Melanie told Abigail?”
“Yeah, man.”
“Is she okay? Where is she? Why the hell hasn’t she answered my calls?” My heart hammered in my chest.
“Whoa, whoa, relax, soldier boy,” Colt said, his tone calm but firm. “She’s fine. She’s at Josh’s. Said she’s taking the test in the morning.”
I went still.
“She’s where?”
Red blurred my vision. My jaw clenched so hard it ached, and heat surged through my chest, mixing with something dark and territorial. My grip tightened on the wheel until my fingers cramped.
Josh. Fucking Josh. Really?
I knew they had history, knew they’d been together before, and now she was there—in his space, under his roof.
I swore under my breath, my whole body vibrating with the need to do something reckless. To find him and make sure he understood exactly who Melanie belonged to.
Colt sighed. “Relax. Josh is my half-brother. He’s not gonna do anything. Even if you guys aren’t, you know… really together.”
I ground my teeth. “We are together.”
Colt paused. “I thought you said—”
“I know what I said.” My voice was low, edged with frustration. “It started out as fake. A damn arrangement. But now…”