12. Dax
DAX
Dear Diary,
Today I decided breaking into Hell might be easier than letting her marry the devil.
It was late when the bell over the shop door tinkled, and I groaned internally, another tattoo; the last thing I wanted to do at this time of night. I’d managed to keep myself busy all day, but Nyah had never been far from my mind.
I itched to touch her. The tiny glimpse of her at the Guerras’ was not enough to satisfy even a little of the need I had for her.
And if I couldn’t touch her, then I needed to go punch something.
Getting in a fight right now probably wasn’t a good idea.
That would only lead to getting myself thrown in a cell at the police station in Providence.
But there was a bag in my basement that had been getting more workouts lately than back when I’d been a teenager and had fought for sport.
It was the only thing that took the edge off missing her.
Reaper put his broom down and crossed the room, smiling widely for the woman who’d walked in the doors.
I breathed a sigh of relief, recognizing Violet, Reaper’s woman.
And Nyah’s best friend.
Reaper put his arms around Violet and kissed her upturned face. “Hey, you. You good?”
She nodded. “Feeling great. Didn’t puke today.”
He high-fived her.
I turned away. Violet was a couple of months pregnant, and I was happy for Reaper and the family he was creating.
But I’d been struggling to be around Violet for weeks, ever since Nyah had left. She was due to have their baby right around the same time Nyah would have had mine.
If we hadn’t lost it.
I forced myself to look at her now though. I couldn’t really see any sign of a visible baby bump. I knew she’d been pretty sick and that morning sickness was generally only a thing in early pregnancy, so I guessed she wasn’t too far along yet.
Violet smiled over at me. “Hey, Dax. I’m just picking up Levi since his bike is off the road right now.” She peered at me more closely. “You okay?”
She studied my black eye with the same concern my mother had. With the same concern Roarke and Reaper had. Everyone was concerned about me. I got it. I probably would have been too, if I’d been watching one of my friends or brothers self-destruct the way I had been.
It wasn’t that I didn’t know. Fuck me, the throbbing in my eye and the constant ache in my body from taking fists night after night was a constant reminder.
It was just that I couldn’t stop. The physical ache from getting in fights hurt less than the one inside me that never fucking stopped unless I had bigger pains to think about.
“I saw Nyah today,” I blurted out.
Violet stopped. “What? Where? You went to the city?”
I shook my head. “She’s staying at the Guerras’.”
Violet shook her head in confusion. “Who? I thought she was at her parents’ place?”
“So did I,” I mumbled. “Until today.”
Reaper put an arm around her, drawing her tight to his side like even the mention of the name Guerra made him want to protect her. “The Guerras as in Luca Guerra? Heir to the human-trafficking, blackmailing, drug-dealing, gun-running Mafia throne?”
I laughed bitterly. “Sure. He was there. But apparently it’s his father she’s engaged to.”
“What?” Reaper and Violet both said in unison, identical expressions of shock on their faces.
All I could do was nod miserably.
“No.” Violet shook her head, her eyes widening with every step she paced around the shop. “That doesn’t make any sense. She was going home to take care of her mother. But she was going to come back…” She stared up at me. “She loves you.”
It didn’t help to hear that. It only made it worse. If she loved me, she had a funny way of showing it.
Violet grabbed my arm and squeezed it so tight her nails dug in.
“Dax, whatever is going on in your head right now, erase it. If Nyah is marrying someone else, it’s not because she wants to.
You know her family is involved with the Mafia somehow.
None of this is her doing.” Panic filled her voice.
“We have to do something! We can’t just leave her there! ”
Reaper’s mouth pulled into a grim line. “We can’t just storm in there either.
That would be a death wish. It’d start a war between the Slayers and the Guerras that wouldn’t go down well with the prez…
” He shook his head and swore beneath his breath.
“Shit. Lynx just started working for them too. Prez’s attempt at keeping things sweet with them, I think.
We owed them a favor, and they called it in. ”
I nodded, confirming. “I saw him over there this morning. He’s Nyah’s bodyguard from what I could tell.”
Reaper screwed up his face. “What the fuck?” He pulled out his phone and punched a thick finger at the screen a few times. “I’m calling him.”
He put the phone on loudspeaker, and the three of us crowded around it.
Lynx answered with a sleepy-sounding, “Hello?”
Violet cut in before Reaper could even say anything. “Nyah is marrying Carlos Guerra and you didn’t tell us?”
There was a pause on the other end, and then Lynx said, “Violet?”
She sighed. “Yes, Violet! Who else would it be on Levi’s phone? He and Dax are here too. Are you with Nyah right now? Can I talk to her? I’ve gotten nothing but her voicemail for weeks now.”
I held my breath. I’d only heard her voice that morning, and yet I wanted to hear it again so badly.
But Lynx ignored Violet’s question. “Dax? You’re there?”
“Yes,” I said stiffly.
“Nyah asked me to pass on a message.”
My breath stuttered in my lungs. Hope filled me.
It was like Lynx knew and took pity on me, because his voice softened. “Listen, man. She told me to tell you to stay away. She’s marrying Carlos, and she doesn’t want to see you.”
Violet’s mouth dropped open. “No. I don’t believe that for a second.”
I didn’t want to either. I couldn’t.
There’d been something between us this morning. Her words might have been saying to leave.
But her body had said something different altogether.
“It’s for the best. The date is set. There’s a white dress hanging in her closet.” He sighed. “I’m really sorry. But this wedding is happening. And she doesn’t want to see you.”
“And what?” Violet raged. “She doesn’t want to see me either?”
Lynx’s voice darkened. “Do not come over here, Violet. Under no circumstances. It’s not safe.”
“If it’s not safe for me, then it’s not safe for her either!” Violet shot back.
She’d taken the words right out of my mouth.
Lynx groaned. “Reaper, you want to help me out here? I cannot have you all storming the gates at the Guerra mansion. You will last all of three seconds if they think you’re here to kidnap their boss’s fiancée.”
I’d seen that with my own eyes. Seen the heightened security. The cameras. The guards with guns.
I already knew that after this morning, I wouldn’t get another shot so easily.
But I also knew I couldn’t stay away from her. Not when Violet had just confirmed everything I was thinking.
Nyah would never willingly marry Carlos Guerra.
Lynx was still trying to reassure Violet. “I have her. I promise. I’m literally at her side every minute I’m awake. I won’t let anything happen to her. And I’ll talk to her about calling you. I’m sure she has her reasons for being quiet.”
Reasons like Guerra was keeping her that way. Did she even have a phone? Or had that been taken from her too, along with her free will?
I wanted to get in my car and drive straight back over there, demanding to see her.
But I could do that and get myself put on a watch list. One where I would never be permitted entry through Guerra’s gates.
Or I could be smart. And find a way inside. One where I was invited in, not looked at with suspicion.
It was the only way I was going to get her out. I was sure of it.
I just had to work out what Carlos needed.
And then be the man who delivered it on a silver platter.