“My mom called and left a voicemail. Stephen’s apartment caught on fire. They’re saying he was in it and must’ve been sleeping. He died in the fire. She said the police called and notified her.”
I nod once, waiting to see how she’s going to react. When she told me she and her parents would need closure, my initial thought was that’s not my fucking problem. But then I looked into her sad eyes and it was as if a switch in me clicked on. I couldn’t stand the thought of being the reason she’s sad. It might not have been me who pulled the trigger, but Logan worked for me, and somewhere along the way I lost control of him. I stopped paying attention, got too comfortable. So, her brother getting that far in over his head, the situation escalating the way it did, Logan doing shady shit behind my back, is all on me. And because of that, I made a call, and it was handled.
“My heart hurts all over again,” Nevaeh says, clutching her hand to her chest. “I already knew he was dead, but it still hurts like the wound is fresh.”
When she rubs her chest with her palm, I cut across the room and get into her bed with her. She scoots several inches forward togive me room, and I slip in behind her, kicking my loafers off and onto the floor. One arm snakes around her waist and the other slides under her head. As her head lifts slightly to lie on my arm and she leans back into my chest, I ignore the foreign feeling panging in my chest. It’s been years since I’ve allowed myself to feel anything, and I refuse to acknowledge what’s happening between Nevaeh and me.
“I have to call her back,” Nevaeh adds softly. “She’s going to plan the funeral, and I’ll have to be there.”
“And you will be there.”
She stiffens momentarily before she squirms a little to get comfortable. Her ass is backed up to my front, and it takes everything in me to ignore the way it rubs against my dick. The way her entire body fits perfectly against mine. I close my eyes, trying like hell to push away the crazy thoughts going through my head, but then a drop of liquid hits my arm, and I find myself holding her that much tighter. Her body sinks into mine, and she sighs in contentment.
As we lie here together, in comfortable silence, I think about everything that’s happened over the last week. Fuck, it feels like it’s been a damn year.
Another drop of liquid hits my arm, and I burrow my face into Nevaeh’s neck. “Shh, Angel. I know right now it hurts, but it’ll get easier. I promise.”
“How am I going to go to his funeral?” she asks after a minute. “I can’t bring this to my parents’ front door. If I show up for the funeral, Logan is going to follow. When is this going to end? Will I ever be able to leave?”
She’s right. He will. I saw the desperation in his eyes. He’s going to be waiting for the perfect opportunity to take her. I don’t thinkher parents or her friend are at risk. That guy Felix wants Nevaeh because she’s a virgin, and while he could find another one, he wants what was promised to him. In our world, if you let someone get away with fucking you over, you lose all the respect you’ve earned. The people who fear you will question whether they should be afraid. Guys trying to come up will use the situation to rise, while pushing you down.
At this point, Felix wanting her is about him proving he can have her, and that means he’ll stop at nothing to make sure he gets her. And since he’s using Logan to do his dirty work, he’ll be putting pressure on him to get the job done, and that makes Logan that much more dangerous and unpredictable.
I could go to the funeral with her, put a couple guards on her, but Logan isn’t going to go away. I only have one option.
“I’m going to have to kill him,” I murmur. “Both of them.” Even if I take Logan out of the equation, Felix isn’t going to stop until he has her, and I can’t risk that.
Nevaeh flips over to face me, her brows furrowed and her brown eyes wide. “What do you mean ‘both of them’?”
“Logan is hell-bent on getting you because he promised you to a man named Felix. He runs a sex trafficking ring. The only way to stop them from coming for you is to kill them both.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I can’t be responsible for someone else’s death, let alone two.”
Jesus fuck, this woman. She has men coming after her, trying to kidnap and sell her, and she’s worried aboutthem.
“I can’t risk it,” I tell her. “And in case you forgot, Logan killed your brother, which I just found out tonight was because yourbrother knew about the sex trafficking and was threatening to take them down. These guys are selling women. If your brother were alive, he would still be working to bring them down. Nobody is going to miss them. Trust me.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she says, sniffling. “My brother is gone, and it’s not your right to take their lives. When the time comes, they’ll be judged by God.”
Is she fucking serious?
“Fuck that! They’re going to be judged by me.” I move into a sitting position and pull Nevaeh up with me, not wanting to lose our contact. “I can’t sit around and wait for them to take you.” I frame her face with my hands, so she’s forced to look at me.
“Then go to the police,” she pleads.
“Like you did?”
“You have them in your pocket,” she points out. “You can make them listen to you.” She wraps her arms around me and her delicate fingers thread through the back of my hair. “Please, Ethan.”
“I can’t risk it,” I tell her again. “Guys like Logan and Felix aren’t men you underestimate. The last time I did—” I clamp my mouth shut, realizing what I was about to say.
“The last time you did, what?” Nevaeh scoots closer to me, if that’s even possible. “Talk to me, please. What happened?”
I look into her innocent eyes and take a deep breath. Maybe if she knows about my past, she’ll understand why my only option is to kill Logan and Felix.
“I was engaged once,” I begin slowly. “Her name was Kelsi and she was pregnant with my daughter.”
Nevaeh jerks back, but I ignore her reaction, focusing on the words I need to speak.
