I gasp. Not because I was jealous or anything like that, but a sixteen-year-old having sex with a grown woman is not okay. Even if he was the one initiating it.
“Within four months I’d completely taken her from him. I sent him the videos of her fucking and sucking me and my brothers. He was devastated. They divorced, and because there was no prenup, she got half of his fortune. But I wasn’t done.”
He readjusted Noah in his arms.
“After I took that bitch from him, I went after his reputation. I dug up all his dirt and sent it to business partners and associates. Hell, some of the shit I sent wasn’t even true. Before long, his connections were tanking, and he was losing business left and right. But he still had too much.
“The next thing I ripped from him was his little startup business. I swooped in like a fucking thief in the night and bought up all the shares his other partners were selling. Once I had the majority of shares, I voted him out just to dissolve the entire fucking company. He was jobless and going broker by the second. He couldn’t even seek help because I had taken away everybody in his circle.”
He stares off into the distance, his gaze not on anything in particular.
“He lost his big house, the cars, the vacation properties and everything else he had. But I still wasn’t done. I wanted him to suffer. I want everything from him.” The way those last five words are growled tells me just how much anger he still holds for his godfather.
He turns to me, his dark brown eyes staring back at me.
“Do you know crystal meth looks a lot like cocaine when it’s ground up?” He turns back to the vacant spot he was staring at. “Peter had always been an occasional coke user. All it requires is the right place and time. And when your life is falling apart, drugs are always an escape.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Is my husband insinuating he purposely got his godfather addicted to drugs? Nico tookeverything from this man, from his woman to his friends to his business, and still introduced him to drugs.
“Why?” That was my only question.
I get that the man sent him away and took his parents’ money. Yes, Nico has a right to be angry, but I feel like I’m missing something crucial here.
He turns to me, the redness in his eyes has intensified, but still no tears.
“I found out that on the night my parents had that wreck, their brakes had been tampered with. Their accident wasn’t an accident, it was a murder. My godfather paid off the cops and had the investigation thrown out. He is the reason my parents died.”
I gasp and place my free hand over my mouth. No wonder he hates the godfather so much. And I guess I’ve been around my husband too long and I’m just as twisted as he is, because I feel like he’s justified in his actions.
“Where is your godfather now?”
“In the psychiatric ward in Mt. August. Years of drug abuse have done damage to his brain. He’s damn near a vegetable. Every so often I go see him just to remind him that I’ve kept him alive just so he could suffer.”
This time when he turns to me, he looks me over. His gaze searching my face.
“I’m not a good man, Tiff. I’ve done some horrible shit in my life. I know everything that’s happening to me is karma. But I can’t find it in my heart to regret anything I did. Because it all brought me right here.” He lifts my hand and places a kiss on the back of it, then leans down and kisses Noah’s forehead.
“I’d go through all the shit…” he trails off, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “All the things I went through, I’d go through them again if it means I get to have you.”
Nico has just revealed the darkest side of himself. The things he has done to his godfather alone should make me want to leave. I should see that this man would stop at nothing to get what he wants. I mean, he proved that with everything he did to get me. This is a big red flag. This flag is so big it should be raised up and flown over the white house. Yet, fleeing is the furthest thing from my mind.
Letting go of his hand, I cup his face and stare into his eyes. “I love you. And no matter what, we will get through this.”
His past was catching up with him. All the issues with the hotels, the attacks on my life — all of it was because of something from his past. I was willing to face the monster with him. No matter what came, we would face it together.
chapter Twenty-five
Bikers
Nico
Yesterday was rough. I lost nearly half of my reservations from my hotels across the world after that last fiasco.
Somehow, the Horseman hacked into our computer system and shut down our Orlando resort. Maseo and his team spent hours getting that shit back online and securing it to make sure no information was leaked. They did a good job, but the damage was already done.
When Kaz told me to run every hotel on a different network, I thought he was crazy. It was more costly and time consuming, but I obeyed. Now, I’m glad I did. If I hadn’t, the Horseman could have tapped into every single one of my hotels. This shit was getting out of hand.
I stepped away from the chaos and panic for a bit to ease my mind. That’s how I ended up at my parents’ memorial. Tiffany and Noah showing up was a surprise, but I needed it. I needed to be reminded of what I had, what I fought for, and why no matter what, the Horseman would not win.
