Chapter 20 1209 a.m.
Chapter twenty
Rose
Lightning flashes through the small openings, painting Niko in brief, jagged light.
He’s soaked, his hair dripping, his eyes—God, his ocean eyes—focus on me like he’s seeing something he doesn’t recognize. When we dated, I used to love to peer into those baby blues. His stare would always stir something inside me. I could get lost in them. But now, they are devoid of anything.
And scaring me.
“What are you doing down here?” I ask tightly. “I thought you were at the ball.” What time is it anyway?
He shrugs far too casually. The movement is lazy and deliberate, and his eyes give him away. Cold and so calculating.
Unease creeps up my neck.
“It’s over,” he says, low as he inches closer, concrete crunching beneath his shoes.
Cal’s hand tightens around mine, steady but tense. His other hand twitches over his gun. “I could ask you the same thing,” Niko clips back. “Strange place for a date.”
A date? What is he talking about? I told him why we were here. Didn’t I? I blink, confusion flashing through me. “A what?”
His head cocks slightly, and his gaze drops to where Cal’s hand wraps around mine. Niko stands, not answering me. Only staring. Which, somehow, is worse. The way his eyes linger and narrow unfurls something cold inside of me.
Cal doesn’t speak, doesn’t shift. But the slight change as his fingers tighten around mine lets me know he’s here with me. The pressure is steady and deliberate. He’s next to me, but dread surrounds us.
I scan the area, my heart pounding, hoping someone appears to chase Niko off.
But no one else is here.
The atmosphere is thick and tense; my nerves are frayed because something isn’t right, and Cal is my only anchor.
“So,” Niko says slowly, his face twitching, waving his finger between us. “You two a couple now?”
I yank my hand back, guilt slamming through me so fast it steals my breath. My pulse roars in my ears, drowning out everything else. It’s like getting caught sneaking out with the boy down the street all over again.
Cal’s eyes snap toward me, and I see the hurt before he masks it. We’re not a couple—not officially—but we both know where this is headed. And the way I pulled away just now … it put a crack in something fragile, something we hadn’t said out loud yet.
But I did it because Niko looked absolutely gutted when he saw us standing together. Instincts kicked in, and if I hadn’t stepped back, I’m not sure what he would’ve done.
But I don’t have time to fix it, or explain any of that to Cal. Not now.
Hostility rolls off him in waves. His gaze is like a weapon. “No,” I start, the words shaky but firm. “It’s not like that—”
He laughs, and the sharp, humorless sound reverberates against all my nerves. “You really expect me to believe that? I’ve seen you two.”
Wait … he’s seen us. What does that mean?
Lightning flares again, and for a moment, his face is different. Harder, meaner. And a hell of a lot more scarier.
The tenderness I used to see there is gone.
The man who would hold me on the couch while we watched movies is gone.
The man who would stroke my arm while we drove in his truck.
Gone.
The man who promised me so much … all of those versions of him.
Gone.
Who is the person before me?
But as fearful as I am right now, I have to keep my cool and hopefully bring back the Niko I knew.
Anxiety propels me forward as I move closer to him. Cal reaches for me. “Niko, what’s going on with you?” I ask softly and carefully. “You’re scaring me. You’re not acting like yourself.”
He advances, his voice rising and changing. “I’m scaring you?” In a split second, Cal is once again at my side, gripping my hand. Niko notices. “I’ve been trying to make you see me, Rose. You disappear with him, and now he’s touching you like he owns you.”
What is going on? Where is this coming from?
“Niko, I don’t understand what you’re—”
He cuts me off, eyes blazing. “I love you!”
The words crash over me louder than the thunder as they echo off the walls. I freeze. “You … you what?”
“You heard me,” he snaps. “I’ve always loved you, Rose.
When we were together, I was waiting for you to say it first. And I tried so damn hard with you.
” He balls his hands into fists. “You didn’t see it.
Or maybe you didn’t want to. At every turn, I showed you.
But you were too busy writing your book, or spending time with your mom.
Or perhaps still pining for him!” He jabs his finger toward Cal.
“Then running off with people who don’t give a damn about you. Like Maggie.”
I recoil in shock at hearing her name. “Maggie? What does Maggie have to do with our relationship?”
My question hangs unanswered. I glance at Cal. He hasn’t moved. He’s right there, strong and steady. It’s the only thing making me brave enough to stand here. Because this encounter with the person I thought I knew is forcing me to face a hard truth.
I wasted a year of my life.
Did I love Niko? Yes, but not enough to say it. And was that because of Cal? Maybe a little.
Okay, a lot.
But, any love I may have had for Niko, it wasn’t with this version of him.
Because I remember.
My chest tightens as I throw it back at him. “You cheated on me, Niko! I know you did. I had my suspicions and no proof, but deep down, I knew. So you don’t get to stand here and pretend like you loved me.”
Something shifts on his face. The anger sharpens, twisting into something darker. “That wasn’t cheating,” he spits. “That was a mistake.”
And there’s the proof. But he’s not done. “You—”
Cal steps around us, shielding me from Niko. “That’s enough,” he snarls out.
Niko’s eyes snap to him. His hand twitches toward his jacket, reaching inside. “Stay out of this!”
Cal stiffens. “Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
A boom of thunder rips through the garage as panic builds because this went from zero to a thousand in a split second. What is Niko doing?
Niko’s hand flashes out, and I see the glint of metal before my brain catches up.
A gun.
“Cal!” I scream.
The next few seconds collapse in a blur. Cal jerks me back. The fluorescent lights flutter as the world seems to narrow to the three of us. He moves with impossible speed, and his gun is out, gripped in his hands as the barrel levels at Niko before I’ve fully registered the motion.
“Drop your weapon!” Cal's command reverberates off the pillars. Time speeds up and slows down simultaneously. How? No clue. Sounds all around us morph into one. The click of a safety, a distant car horn, the rain, the thunder. All of it surrounds us.
“Rose, get back!” Cal hollers, the command like a blade. Niko doesn’t flinch right away. He stands his ground as his jaw works. Sinister attention cuts from Cal to me and back again. You can see it. Something dangerous brewing beneath the surface.
Cal’s hand remains steady as he white-knuckles his weapon. He doesn’t waver; every muscle screams control. “Don’t come any closer,” he commands.
Blood rushes fast and heavy, drumming through me. I want to say something—anything—but the words are stuck.
I am completely helpless. The seconds stretch into a drawn-out silence.
Niko doesn’t listen to Cal’s demands.
He pulls the trigger.
I scream.
Time stops.
The shot echoes, deafening in the enclosed space as concrete dust rains from the ceiling.
When you’re in these types of situations, your mind thinks strange things. My first split-second thought before all hell breaks loose: Is Niko a stormtrooper? Because his aim is terrible!
Knocking me back to reality is Cal tackling Niko into the shadows. A gun clatters across the slick floor. I’m not sure if it’s Niko’s or Cal’s.
“Run, Rose!” Cal yells, struggling to pin him.
I’m motionless. My body won’t listen, but my instincts are screaming at me to flee. Heartbeats slam against my ribs as thunder muffles the clash of fists and rage coming from them both. I am gripped by fear, in shock and unsure of who will walk away.