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I intend to have Colton in my life for as long as he will have me. I’m kinda hoping that’s until one of us is laying on our deathbed, you know, in sixty years, not tomorrow when Nic realizes what the hell is going on. For that to happen, we need a clean slate where the trust can go both ways. After Colton killed Marco DeCarlo, I asked for complete honesty from him, and it’s only fair that I do the same for him.
As my mind swirls, while trying to figure out the best way to break it to him, my hand pauses on his chest, which makes his tighten around my waist. “Why’d you stop?” he grumbles. “I was enjoying that.”
“Sorry,” I murmur, picking up the movement again. “I didn’t realize you were awake.”
“I’ve been up for a while,” he tells me on a yawn. “Your thoughts are so loud that I can almost hear them. What’s going on? You barely slept all night.”
“Did I keep you up?”
He shakes his head and pulls me closer into his chest. “You’re fine, Jade. What’s bothering you?”
“It’s the Wolves,” I tell him.
Colton lets out a heavy breath and starts rubbing his hand up and down my back. “You don’t need to worry about them anymore. Russo let you go. They’re not your problem.”
My face pulls into a twisted cringe. “That’s not exactly what happened.”
“What do you mean?” he questions, sitting up in bed and twisting until he’s meeting my eyes. “That was the deal I made with him. He gives you your freedom in exchange for his business.”
I shake my head. “He just told you what you needed to hear so he could get his ass out of there,” I tell him. “He didn’t let me go. Instead, he stood down as leader and slotted me straight into the spot.”
His face scrunches, and he looks at me as though I’m speaking another language. “What the fuck are you talking about? You’re not the fucking leader of the Wolves. Stop bullshitting me.”
“You don’t know how much I wish that I could start running around here saying ‘gotcha’ but I can’t. He made the announcement last night, and I had to face down a hundred Wolves who didn’t think that some knocked up, teenage kid has enough balls to lead them, and honestly, I had a hard time believing it too.”
Colton throws himself out of his bed, gaping at me like some kind of stranger. “What the fuck, Ocean. You’re only just telling me this now? You had all fucking night.”
“I know, but I wasn’t willing to ruin our night. It was too good,” I say, peeling myself off of his bed and walking around to put myself right in front of him. My hands fall to his biceps and I hold onto him tight, forcing him to take a few calming breaths. “It’s okay, Colton,” I whisper. “I’m right here, and I’m okay. I handled the situation last night, and I have the Wolves on my side. It’s not exactly a great position to be in, but it’s better to have them standing at my back than stabbing a knife into it.”
Colton shakes his head, not liking this one fucking bit. “Jade,” he murmurs, meeting my eyes and looking fucking sick about it. “What do we … fuck. I can’t even think right now.”
“It’s okay,” I tell him. “I’m still struggling to wrap my head around it too. But right now, we don’t need to do anything. Though eventually, I need to make a move to prove that I’m worthy of their loyalty, and the sooner I make my move, the better. Each and every one of them got on their knees and vowed that they’ll follow me, but they’re going to expect something great to come of this.”
“Like what?” he grumbles, beginning to pace the room.
“What do you think?” I murmur. “They want Nic.”
“And you promised to hand him over.”
I nod, taking a deep breath. Colton drops onto the end of his bed and instantly pulls me down into his lap, nuzzling his face into my neck and breathing me in. “Could you do it?” he questions, holding me a little tighter. “Because I don’t want to see what happens if you don’t come through.”
I nod again. “Out of everyone,” I whisper, curling my arms around his neck. “I’m the only one who could even get close enough to try.”
“That’s not what I’m asking, Jade,” he tells me, his voice low and filled with concern. “When it comes down to it, do you really have what it takes to finish it? This is Nic, the guy you grew up with, you shared your life with him, and a huge part of your heart still lives with him.”
“I …” I shake my head. “I honestly don’t know. Could I stand in front of him and pull a trigger? I don’t know, but could I hand him over to the Wolves to protect my family? You bet your ass I would. Nic needs help, he needs guidance, and he needs someone to pull his head out of his ass and help him to see that everything he’s been doing is wrong. He's so drunk with power that he’s completely lost himself. I miss the guy that he used to be.”
