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“I’ll die alone.”
“You will not.” I close my eyes and grit my teeth. “You just need to get your mind off of it. Take a vacation. Go to the Bahamas or Paris or something. Retail therapy—is that what Kate calls it? Do some shopping. Get your mind off of him.”
“How could you do this to me, Nate? After everything else we’ve been through! How could you?”
Nora’s anger falters. Her gaze drop to the ground, and I can see her chin starting to quiver. I feel the pangs of guilt in my stomach.
“Come here,” I say with a sigh.
Nora races toward me and practically crashes in
to my chest, knocking me a little off balance, but I recover quickly and wrap my arms around her. She shakes as she cries, and I can feel her tears soaking through my shirt.
“It will all be fine, Nor. I swear it will be.”
“I don’t see how.”
“If he would have betray the business, he’d eventually betray you. Do you think I could let him get away with that? Do you really think I’d allow someone to be in a position to hurt you?”
“You’re all I have, Nate. You’re the only one who ever understood me or what I went through, you know that? Not even Micha.” She sniffs. “Certainly not Pops.”
“Pops understood.”
“He knew more than he let on.” Nora takes a half step back, quickly wiping her cheeks with her hand. “Enough about them. Get back to Jack. Antony said you were the one who did it. Is that true?”
“Micha’s gone, Nor. It had to be me.”
“Are you all right?” She looks up at me, and I’m surprised by the tender concern in her eyes, considering the reason for it.
“I’m fine,” I lie. “I’ve been around it all my life.”
“You’ve never taken it that far.”
“Even if Micha were still here, I would have been the one to kill him because he betrayed you.”
Nora lets out a long sigh as she rests her cheek on my chest.
“I’m not getting married again,” she says quietly. “Not right away, at least. I took the bullet the last time. It should be you.”
“I know.”
“Who?”
“I have no idea.”
“Are you going to start looking?” Nora looks up at me.
“I haven’t thought about it too much yet.”
“But you’ll do it, right?” Nora’s voice quavers. “I can’t do it again, Nate. I clearly need to take more time to find someone who can not only deal with my shit but won’t be a fucking traitor to my family.”
“Take your time, Nor.” I rub her back gently, hoping she isn’t focusing on the traumatic part of her past. “I only want what’s best for you. You know that. You deserve someone right for you.”
“I want a funeral.” She takes a half step back, her hands on my arms as she looks right into my eyes.
Ah, shit.
“Then you’d better call Threes,” I say, shaking my head slowly, “before he gets rid of the body.”
