I want to be a part of hers.
Like a tsunami colliding with my body, clarity washes over me with a force that nearly knocks me to my knees.
I love her. I’ve known that from the beginning, but the realization that I love her with every fiber of my being, enough to let my walls down and show her how ugly I am inside, is crippling.
It makes me feel like I’m dying, but the knowledge that I’m ready to do it anyway startles me.
I want her by my side, even if she’s next to theirs, as well.
More than that, I need her.
She can make her own choices, but first, I have to come clean.
About everything.
Chapter 2
Before I have timeto respond to Nyx’s ominous statement, the elevator dings. I feel more than see the three of us turn to face it as one, our spines straightening for appraisal: hers or ours, I’m not sure.
I try to focus on my gorgeous girl as she floats from the elevator like some kind of ethereal goddess, but I can’t because I’m too busy fuckingreeling.
I swallow thickly, and against my will, my eyes flick to Hunter. Unlike his usual leather and skin-tight jeans, he’s wearing a tux that matches the rest of ours, and it pisses me off. Mostly because he looks damn good like this, and it’s fucking with my headandmy dick.
I shouldn’t have noticed how good he looks.
Ican’tnotice.
His shoulder-length dirty blonde hair is down and tossed to the side, and the sight of it makes me remember how it felt wrapped around my fist.
Why did I even do that?
I have no idea what came over me. But the sight of him, his cocky smile and arrogant face, makes me feel shit that confuses me.
I want to throttle him. Absolutely choke the life from his body. Maybe it’s his arrogance. Maybe it’s all the hurt he’s caused Ella in the last few months. Maybe it’s his involvement in her childhood abuse.
But, even I can understand he was forced just as much as she was. I see how badly he wishes he could change their past. I know what it’s like to be nothing more than a product of your environment. My brothers and I may have tried to change our lives, but at the end of the day, we are what Agustus made us to be—cold-hearted killers who will stop at nothing to reach our goals.
We’re ruthless, brutal men, just like Gus.
I bite my cheek and look away as the questions settle deep in my mind.
How different is Hunter from his childhood? Is he the same? Does he have it in him to repeat the cycle he was forced to be a part of? Is Ella safe?
A gasp pulls me from my thoughts, and I unclench my fists just in time to meet her eyes across the room. She’s choking back a laugh, her tiny hand covering her mouth as her gaze slides to Nyxon.
I smirk, a chuckle building in my chest, and toss her a secret wink, just for us.
I’m glad I was able to give her something last night, even something so stupid and childish. I hadn’t meant to get shitfaced with Nyx, but we were both struggling to choke back her story, her childhood, and everything she’s been through. Adding on Hunter’s part in that, and we both just kind of lost it.
I understand our reaction was justified. We love Ella, and no one wants to hear about the horrors of the person they love most in the world’s past, but I wish I’d stayed sober long enough to hold her until she fell asleep.
Instead, I carted Nyx’s passed-out ass to his room, filled a bucket full of craft glue and glitter left over from Ella’s birthday decorations, and stole my girl from her bed. Hearing her cackle while destroying his ugly, overgrown beard was the highlight of my night, fuck, maybe my week. She needed it, and honestly, so did I.
But now, Nyx is rocking a nearly bald face and shorter hair than I think I’ve ever seen him with. As much as I hate to admit it, the asshole looks good this way. You can finally see the black ink crawling up his neck, and judging by the way Ella clenches her thighs, she likes his new look.
My eyes rake down her body, taking her in from head to toe.
Her long chocolate brown hair cascades down her back in curls, but part of the front’s pulled to the side, showing off the pretty diamond earrings from my brother. They go perfectlywith the necklace I got her. It stands out against her exposed neckline the long black dress creates.
