Page 83 of Heist in Paradise

“Why?” I gritted out. Salt bled onto my tongue. I’d bitten something, or maybe I was coming undone at the seams, unraveling like a frayed crash test dummy.

Not him, my mind pleaded.

Nate’s arm shook. His face was pale and anguished. “Fuck,” he moaned. “Fuck, fuck.”

“It’s not—it wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he said in a rush, the gun quivering at my face. “I didn’t know about the girls, Jax. I didn’t know about the goddamn tunnels, what they were…” He swallowed thickly. “I didn’t know.”

I said nothing.

Behind me, Ryle pressed a hand to my back, a subtle reassurance. My protective instincts roared. “Put the gun down, Scooby.” I didn’t recognize my own voice.

Nate blanched and jerked the gun downwards. “I’m not going to shoot you. I would never—I’m just wigging out.”

I’d seen him wigged out before. I’d seen him high and miserable and obnoxious. But I’d never seen him like this.

Never so broken.

Without a gun at my face, the words came easier. “What did you know?”

“I knew about the safe,” he said, looking down, avoiding my eye. “I swear, it wasn’t—it wasn’t planned or anything. Not the way you think.”

“You don’t want to know what I think.”

He flinched. His eyes darted up, dark and haunted. I thought Ryle had been the weakest link, but I was wrong. It was him.

“One of Dr. Z’s men contacted me after the last job,” Nate said quietly, defeated. “He told me that Dr. Z was unhappy, that he was looking to eliminate us. If I didn’t—if we didn’t deliver—he would make the call. Unless I did what he wanted.”

My jaw clenched. “What did he want?”

“He wanted me to destroy whatever was in the safe.”

Ryle ghosted up beside me. “You mean that weird book?”

“Yeah,” Nate whispered. “You can guess why.”

It took a minute, and then it clicked. My fists clenched, raw knuckles stinging. “He’s in the book, isn’t he?”

Slowly, Nate nodded.

“This was never about the painting,” I said in a hoarse voice. “This whole job has been a goddamn ruse from the beginning.”

My mind flashed to Olivia, the giant question mark that surrounded her. The coward in me wanted to remain oblivious. I didn’t want to know.

Unlocking my jaw, I grunted out: “Was Olivia in on it?”

Nate made a face, and my fucking heart lurched into hyperspace, before he shook his head. “No. She’s just a weird coincidence. She was never supposed to be here.”

Madoc didn’t believe in coincidences. Neither did I.

“I’m sorry,” Nate said, sniffing. “I’m so fucking sorry, Jax.”

I’d heard enough pointless apologies to last a lifetime. “Is this why you’ve been using?”

Nate nodded, forehead scrunching. “I don’t know how to live with myself,” he croaked. “It was just easier to numb everything, to stop feeling for a while.” He shifted, staring down again. “I never wanted to betray you, Jax, I swear. Any of you. I just—he didn’t give me a choice.”

A harsh exhale left me. “You’re a fucking idiot.”

He looked up glumly. “I know.”