Read Online Lawless: Mob Boss Book Three by Michelle St. James - Free Book Online
Authors: Michelle St. James
Ads: Link
isn’t living, and I can’t keep doing it. We can’t keep doing it. Especially now. They’ve given us no choice, David.”
“You could let Nico go,” he said. “Let him and Luca handle it.”
“I can’t do that,” she said. “This is my fight, too.”
She didn’t say the other thing; that she couldn’t be without Nico again. That being without him wasn’t living. That letting him go after Raneiro in the name of her safety while she stayed safe on the island was something she couldn’t live with. She didn’t know if David would understand the depth of her feelings for Nico, the way his heart had intertwined with hers so completely that she was sure it would stop beating if he were ripped from her again. Maybe going with him was no guarantee of his safety, but she was going to stay by his side from here on out. Whatever the future held for them — life, death — they would face it together.
David’s shoulders sagged in resignation. “Then do what you have to do, Ange.”
She walked back to where he stood. “I’ll be back. And then we’ll start over, I promise.”
He stood, wrapping her in his arms. When had he gotten taller than her?
“I love you, Ange. And I need you. Just don’t forget it,” he said.
“Never.” She squeezed him tighter.
She closed her eyes as memories flashed in her mind; David’s scared face the first day of Kindergarten when she’d walked him to his classroom. David holding the flashlight under her covers so she could read to him in the dark. David wiping her tears when she thought Nico was gone forever.
“Love you, loser,” she said.
He choked out a laugh. She tried to memorize the sound of it. Tried to banish the feeling that she wouldn’t be back to hear it again.
14
E d was waiting when they got to the dock. He took their bags, and Angel and Sara embraced while David stood silently by. They hadn’t been around each other enough for Nico to expect David to like him. They didn’t even know each other. But Nico needed to do his part to set the record straight before he left with Angel.
He clasped a hand on David’s back and turned away from the women. “I’m going to keep her safe,” Nico said. He might not be able to guarantee his own safety, but he would get Angel home to her brother even if it killed him. “You can count on it.”
“I don’t see how you can promise that,” David said.
Nico looked in his eyes. “I am promising. And I don’t make promises lightly.”
“Okay,” David said.
Nico considered his next words. “I know we haven’t had a chance to get to know each other, and I know you have every reason to despise me. But I love your sister with everything I am. Her safety matters more to me than my own life, and since you matter to her, that means your safety matters that much to me, too. If there were another way, I’d take it. But you and I both know she won’t stay.”
He hesitated, then nodded.
“And you have to do your part, too,” Nico said.
David looked surprised. “My part?”
“You have to get well,” Nico said. “You have to show her that you want to stay alive, because right now, she’s living in fear that you don’t, and I’m not sure she’d be able to make it without you. She needs you. Do you understand?”
“She needs me?” David asked.
“That’s right,” Nico said. “She’s been carrying all of this on her shoulders while you get well, but she can’t do it forever, and she can’t do it without you. So take this time to regroup. Take your meds. Sleep and talk to Sara. Pull it together so that when she comes back you can be here for her.”
He didn’t say the other thing lingering in the back of his mind; that if he didn’t make it out alive, Angel would need her brother even more.
David’s nod was slower this time, like he was really thinking about what Nico said. “Okay.”
Nico clasped his back. “Good.”
He said a quick goodbye to Sara and got in the boat while Angel exchanged
“You could let Nico go,” he said. “Let him and Luca handle it.”
“I can’t do that,” she said. “This is my fight, too.”
She didn’t say the other thing; that she couldn’t be without Nico again. That being without him wasn’t living. That letting him go after Raneiro in the name of her safety while she stayed safe on the island was something she couldn’t live with. She didn’t know if David would understand the depth of her feelings for Nico, the way his heart had intertwined with hers so completely that she was sure it would stop beating if he were ripped from her again. Maybe going with him was no guarantee of his safety, but she was going to stay by his side from here on out. Whatever the future held for them — life, death — they would face it together.
David’s shoulders sagged in resignation. “Then do what you have to do, Ange.”
She walked back to where he stood. “I’ll be back. And then we’ll start over, I promise.”
He stood, wrapping her in his arms. When had he gotten taller than her?
“I love you, Ange. And I need you. Just don’t forget it,” he said.
“Never.” She squeezed him tighter.
She closed her eyes as memories flashed in her mind; David’s scared face the first day of Kindergarten when she’d walked him to his classroom. David holding the flashlight under her covers so she could read to him in the dark. David wiping her tears when she thought Nico was gone forever.
“Love you, loser,” she said.
He choked out a laugh. She tried to memorize the sound of it. Tried to banish the feeling that she wouldn’t be back to hear it again.
14
E d was waiting when they got to the dock. He took their bags, and Angel and Sara embraced while David stood silently by. They hadn’t been around each other enough for Nico to expect David to like him. They didn’t even know each other. But Nico needed to do his part to set the record straight before he left with Angel.
He clasped a hand on David’s back and turned away from the women. “I’m going to keep her safe,” Nico said. He might not be able to guarantee his own safety, but he would get Angel home to her brother even if it killed him. “You can count on it.”
“I don’t see how you can promise that,” David said.
Nico looked in his eyes. “I am promising. And I don’t make promises lightly.”
“Okay,” David said.
Nico considered his next words. “I know we haven’t had a chance to get to know each other, and I know you have every reason to despise me. But I love your sister with everything I am. Her safety matters more to me than my own life, and since you matter to her, that means your safety matters that much to me, too. If there were another way, I’d take it. But you and I both know she won’t stay.”
He hesitated, then nodded.
“And you have to do your part, too,” Nico said.
David looked surprised. “My part?”
“You have to get well,” Nico said. “You have to show her that you want to stay alive, because right now, she’s living in fear that you don’t, and I’m not sure she’d be able to make it without you. She needs you. Do you understand?”
“She needs me?” David asked.
“That’s right,” Nico said. “She’s been carrying all of this on her shoulders while you get well, but she can’t do it forever, and she can’t do it without you. So take this time to regroup. Take your meds. Sleep and talk to Sara. Pull it together so that when she comes back you can be here for her.”
He didn’t say the other thing lingering in the back of his mind; that if he didn’t make it out alive, Angel would need her brother even more.
David’s nod was slower this time, like he was really thinking about what Nico said. “Okay.”
Nico clasped his back. “Good.”
He said a quick goodbye to Sara and got in the boat while Angel exchanged
Similar Books
