CHAPTER 16
NOW
NICKY
“Hey, Mama!” My sister’s voice piques with excitement as her face fills the screen of our mother’s iPhone.
“Hey, baby! Did you just get in?”
“Yeah, Caleb just dropped me off a few minutes ago. He decided to just make the drive back to Berkeley tonight.”
“He better have taken you somewhere nice!” I call out from the driver’s seat as I navigate the roads to my parents’ house.
“Is that Nick?” Jonsie asks, prompting my mom to turn the phone screen toward me.
I glance over to be met with a wide smile from my baby sister, eliciting one from myself in return. “Hey, Baby J.”
“Hey, Nick. I miss you.”
“Miss you more. Where’d lover boy take you tonight?”
“Ugh.” She crinkles her nose in disgust. “Can we not call him that please?”
“Fine. Boyfriend. There, is that better?”
“How ‘bout Caleb? Can we just go with Caleb?”
Ma and I share a brief look, silently conferring before I press the issue. “Uh, J, this guy is considering moving across the country for you. If he’s not your boyfriend, then what would you call him?”
I pull into my parents’ driveway, coming to a stop and throwing the car into park.
“Okay, first off,” she snaps, “if he moves across the country, he’s doing it for med school, not me. And second, the titles I award within my relationship are no one’s business but my own. Butt out, big bro.”
“Fair enough.” I toss my hands up in surrender, letting her know I’m not pushing the issue.
Aside from keeping her away from Mav, relationships are one area I vow to no longer insert myself in when it comes to J. Though, I have a high suspicion her history with him is the reason she’s so resistant to making things official with this current guy. She may put on a brave face, but it’s obvious the breakup with Bishop left her raw. Unfortunately, it’s the way it has to be. She’s not safe as his girl. Even he was smart enough to recognize that and cut her loose.
Jonsie turns her attention to our mom, and they spend the next several minutes talking a mile a minute about everything from what she had for dinner to her upcoming graduation from USC. I’m so fucking proud of her.
You wouldn’t know it from the outside looking in, but my sister’s had a hard life, most of which is attributed to her connection to me. My mind flickers back to the assault she endured as a teenager, what those fucking pieces of shit did to her for hours before leaving her for dead on the side of that darkened stretch of road for me to find. My grip instinctually tightens on my steering wheel at the memory of her in the hospital bed. It was sheer luck she didn’t die.
I hunted every single one of those motherfuckers down and wiped them from existence. I buried the assault under the guise of a car accident, so she’d never have to relive her trauma in the form of pity-filled looks from others. I covered the tracks so well our parents don’t even know the truth. And yet, in spite of my efforts, she slipped further and further away to a deep dark place that seemed beyond my reach.
I was losing control. J—the one thing I need in life to stay grounded—was disappearing a little more each day, leaving only a shadow of her former self behind. Suddenly, I was eight years old all over again, standing in that funeral home watching my life spiral.
And then a fiery little redhead stepped in and pulled us both back into the light.
I can’t help but wonder what she’s doing at this very moment. Is she still at the gala? Is she having fun? Are Luc and her mother tormenting her over the shit I pulled?
Part of me hopes they are. A slightly smaller part of me imagines Lucian enraged by the way she melted into me. Perhaps he’s so distraught he calls off the wedding, and—
Jesus Christ, Nicky. Get a hold of yourself.
Giving my head a slight shake, I claw from the rabbit hole I was well on my way to free-falling down. Exiting my car, I make my way to the passenger side, where I open the door for my mom. She hops out, promising to call J tomorrow before bidding her goodnight. She turns the screen toward me, allowing me a final word.
“Night, Baby J.”
“Night, bro,” she offers as a farewell, though discreetly taps her ear twice, letting me know she’ll be calling me in two minutes. Our mom’s great, but these days she rarely gets us in the same place at the same time. If she knows J and I are gonna stay up and chat, she’ll have us on conference in this driveway ‘til the sun comes up.
Ma ends the call, turning to pull me into a hug. “Thank you for taking me tonight.”
I wrap my arms around her, planting a kiss atop her head. “Anything for you, Ma. I’m sorry we cut it short.”
“Don’t sweat it, sweetheart. I managed to get all my bids in before I left, and I already instructed that any of my winnings are to be donated back to charity.”
“Yeah, but I know how much you love watching them sulk when they announce it at the end of the night.”
She releases me, taking a step back as she reaches up to pat my cheek before making her way up the front steps. “It’s okay, baby. One of these days I should probably grow up and stop taking such joy in their misery.”
“You have someone filming it for you, don’t you?”
She pauses, turning to shoot me a mischievous grin over her shoulder. “I said someday. Today just doesn’t happen to be it.”
I snort out a laugh as I back around the car toward the driver’s side door. “Be good, Ma. Tell Pops I said hi.”
“Get home safe, sweetheart.” She offers up a final wave before ascending the last few steps and slipping inside.
I drop into my seat just as the dash lights up with J’s incoming call.
“What’s good, sis?”
“Hey.” Her voice carries over the speakers. “She get inside okay?”
“Yeah, she’s in for the night.” I pull out of the driveway, heading for home.
“Cool. So, how’d you get roped into the infamous Dutchess Valentine’s Gala?”
“Pops was fucking dreading it. I did him a solid.”
“Really?” J draws out the word, her tone bearing hints of skepticism. “So, you mean to tell me this little mother-son date night was just you stepping in for Mitch out of the goodness of your heart, and had absolutely nothing to do with a particular run-in you had earlier today?”
“Jesus Christ, J. The women in this family are like dogs with a bone when it comes to this topic today. I guarantee you whatever Ma told you, she embellished.” I pull into my neighborhood, praying Rico doesn’t have any late-night surprises waiting for me.
“Mom didn’t say anything.”
“Then where you getting your so-called info from?”
“Did you forget the other half of the encounter in question just so happens to be my best friend?” She laughs like the answer’s obvious.
My body goes rigid, my right hand gripping the shifter like my life depends on it.
“You talked to Daph today?”
“I talk to Daph every day.”
“And? What did she say?”
“That you ambushed her at the house earlier.”
“You realize she was at our parents’ house, right? It’s not like I camped out on her patio and bum rushed her when she came outside.”
“Are you home yet?” she snaps in annoyance.
“Yeah,” I answer just as I pull into my driveway.
My phone lights up in my lap, alerting me that J’s requesting to FaceTime. Parking the car, I swipe to accept and am met with an impressively arched brow.
“Careful, girl. That brow gets any higher and it’ll disappear into your hairline.”
“Shut up. Why you starting shit with her?”
“J—”
“Eh!” She holds up one finger, effectively silencing me. “Nicky, I love you. You are hands down the most important person on this planet to me. Which is why, instead of clawing your face off, I am asking you nicely to please leave her be. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless you’re done playing these bullshit games and you’re ready to make it official.”
My heart feels like it skips a beat or two in my chest at the possibility of claiming Daphne publicly. However, the thrill it sends through my body is short-lived, leaving a deep-rooted pain throbbing behind my breastbone at the sheer thought of the size of the target I’d be hanging on her back.
I deal with the scum of the earth on a daily basis. Most of these motherfuckers would sell their left nut at the chance to take a shot at me. Daph would provide them the opportunity they’ve been all but too eager to seize.
“What is it with you and Ma that you’ve both suddenly forgotten about that walking douche she’s set to marry?”
“Ooo. Douche, huh? Does Lucian Devoreaux have Nicky C. a bit riled?”
“Ha!” I scoff. “Not in the fucking slightest.”
“Really? So, if I was to ask Rico to let them use his villa in Brazil for their honeymoon, that would be okay?”
I feel the tendons in my neck flex as I grit my teeth. “Fine by me.”
“Awesome.” She smiles wide. “I mean, he’d have to kill the video feed of all those cameras he has throughout the house. Unless you guys wanted a front row seat to Daph getting railed repeatedly by her new husband.”
“Joanna!” I snarl, baring my teeth at the screen. She flinches, the gesture breaking through the murderous fog that had descended at the visual she’d painted. “Shit. J, I’m so sorry.” I rush to apologize, but the little brat seems unbothered. In fact, she’s smiling at me.
Goddammit. I walked right into that one.
“Figure your shit out, Nicky. God knows you’re smart enough.” She stands, carrying the phone with her as she makes her way through the apartment to her fridge, where she retrieves a soda. Popping the top, she props her cell against something on her kitchen counter as she takes a swig.
The new angle allows me to see more of the room, and I take notice of the obnoxiously large arrangement of deep dark burgundy flowers behind her.
“Damn, J.” I whistle. “When it comes to flowers, Caleb goes big or goes home, huh? What are they?” I squint to gain a better look.
“Uh. They’re peonies.” J quickly swipes up the phone, briefly glancing over her shoulder before scurrying back toward her bedroom. “Look, Nick, you’re telling me there’s no real feelings on your end? Fine. Then stay away. Stay away from her house, stay away from events you know she’ll be at, and you should definitely stay away from Dutchess Square this Saturday.”
“Dutchess Square?”
“Yeah.” She takes another sip of her soda. “Specifically, the high-end home goods store around 12:30 where my best friend will be shopping. You absolutely shouldn’t be there.” The corner of her mouth tips up to accompany the conniving glint in her eyes.
I shake my head, failing to rein in the smirk creeping across my face. “You’re a menace.”
“I’m an optimist. I trust you’ll figure it out eventually. Don’t take too long, though.” She holds her hand up, wiggling her fingers at the screen. “Love ya, bro.”
I mirror the gesture, my smile slightly more somber. “Love you more, brat. Woogity woogity.”
“Woogity woogity.” She blows me a kiss, throwing up a peace sign before the screen goes dark.