“No. They weren’t like that,” I insist. “They weren’t involved in anything?—”
“You were a kid,” he cuts in. “You didn’t seeeverything.”
No. I didn’t. But?—
“They were mine,” I say, subdued now but no less certain.
That’s the part that matters. That’s the only part that matters.
Nash watches me for a moment, then shifts slightly, his hand sliding along my side and over to my belly, not distracting, not soothing, just…there.
“They were,” he says. “But that doesn’t change what happened. And their murder doesn’t take away the love they had for you. Both things can be true.”
The finality in his tone shuts something down in me. The anger’s still there. That’ll never leave.
But the argument weakens and draws down to a close, because arguing with him doesn’t get me closer to anything I need.
“How do you know him?” I ask instead, dragging the conversation back where I want it. “How do you have this information?”
Nash leans back in the chair, one hand resting loosely on the desk, the other still anchored at my waist.
“I worked with him,” he says. “A long time ago.”
“What do you mean, worked with?” I press.
“We were on the same side once upon a time.”
My stomach twists again, sharper this time. “And now?”
A brief pause. Then?—
“We had a difference of opinion.”
I tip my head a little, eyes narrowed on him. That’s not the whole story. I can hear it in the space between the words. There’s more.
“And now he’s a silent partner in Noir Night,” Nash adds.
I go still in his lap.
“That’s why you won’t kill him,” I say, bitterness creeping in before I can stop it. “Because you do business with him.”
His grip tightens, just slightly.
“Careful, little wolf,” he says, voice low.
“Am I wrong?”
“No. But be careful all the same.”
I huff.
“It’s more complicated than that,” he continues. “We were close.”
I let out a humorless breath and squirm. “Close.”
He tightens his grip on me. “Like brothers.”
That stops me. Not because I believe it, but because I do. I’ve witnessed the dynamic between him, Shiloh, and Ever. It’s easy to imagine a fourth man being a part of their tribe at one time.
