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Nicole lifts her chin and gazes around us. Her long, dark hair falls limply over her shoulders. She’s not as pale as she was the night we brought her here, but there’s unhappiness etched into her features, something I never used to see before. “We shouldn’t need to be this safe in Coldlake. It was never this dangerous when we were growing up.”
“But it was, Nicole,” I say gently. “We just weren’t told about the danger. How much did you and I hear about the Black Orchid Killer when we were nine? Almost nothing because our parents protected us from that.”
They were right to protect us from that horror then, but we can’t be willfully ignorant about it now. I feel like Nicole is drawing a direct line from my men to the danger she’s in like it’s all their fault. Which is ironic, considering they’re the ones who are keeping her safe.
“Being here with these men and their guns and knowing their enemies wish you harm,” she shudders. “I don’t know how you can bear it.”
I gaze at her sadly. We used to be such good friends and understand each other so well, or at leasttryto understand each other. “They don’t enjoy danger. They like hard work, and when they’re not working, they relax with each other. Our favorite thing to do is eat Chinese food together. Cassius is ambitious and kind. Vinicius is a great talker and teacher. Salvatore loves his family and friends. Lorenzo keeps us safe and healthy. What we have together makes me happy.”
Nicole’s eyes widen as she listens to me recite their best qualities. “Can I ask you a question? That hazel-eyed one, he said some things about the five of you.”
I can guess what the question is. All week, she’s seen how four men have been affectionate with me. “You mean Vinicius. Yes, they’re all my lovers.”
Her expression is more baffled than ever. “But…how? Why?”
I hold up my hand with its dazzling diamond engagement ring. “They asked, and I said yes. They’re a package deal, those four. I wasn’t sure if I liked all of them at first, but they grew on me. Now, I couldn’t imagine being with just one of them.”
“But how can youlikethem? They’re horrible, violent men.”
“For heaven’s sake, Nicole. They’re notBatmanvillains. They run this city how they want it run and they look out for their own. What my father did, killing my mother in front of me? They would never do anything like that. They wouldn’t use me to take revenge on my father because that’s not part of their code.”
I think back to the night we all played poker together. I was upset that I couldn’t help them take revenge on my father. At the time it broke my heart, but it showed me how much I mean to them. I’m not a pawn, I’m part of them.
“They’re extraordinarily good at looking out for themselves and each other, and extraordinarily handsome.” I pluck at blades of grass and let them fall through my fingers. “It’s okay, you don’t have to like them. But I would like you to try and understand whyIlike them.”
Nicole wrinkles her nose. “Don’t they want their own girlfriends?”
I laugh. “They hate the idea, actually. They’re very protective and they’d go insane with worry if they had to keep me safe on their own. They share Coldlake, and they share me. We’ve got each other’s backs.”
Nicole’s expression softens when I sayprotective. Lately, I don’t think she’s felt very protected by the people who are supposed to love her. “Do they get jealous? Are there fights?”
“They banter and wind each other up like old friends do. They all have very different personalities and backgrounds. It shouldn’t work, but it does because they all have respect for each other.”
Nicole glances around at the high walls. “You mean that? They won’t use you like your father used you when he promised you in marriage? Like…” She takes a deep breath. “Like my father used me?”
I shake my head. “Not in a million years.”
Her lower lip trembles, and she whispers, “You’re lucky.”
“I am lucky, but not only for that reason. I’m lucky every time they touch me. Every small thing they do for me and the sweet things they say. Most of all, I’m lucky for all the ways they’ve grown and helped me grow and how they’ve opened their hearts to me.”
Nicole takes a deep breath. “All right, I believe you’re safe here, but I don’t belong. I’ve decided to go home.”
My gaze snaps back to her. We explained to her last week that the Black Orchid Killer could be after her. “What? Are you sure?”
She sits up straighter and her lower lip firms. Suddenly, she looks more like the Nicole I know and love. “It’s dangerous, but Mom needs me. Dad’s put her through hell, yet again, and I should be with her.”
I’ve always loved Mrs. De Luca and I know how much Nicole adores her mom. If it were me, I wouldn’t want Mom to be alone and worrying about me, either. “I don’t know if the others will agree, but let’s talk to Lorenzo about it.”
We find Lorenzo in the lounge, a notebook open on his knees while he writes, his tattooed hand moving across the page.
“Lorenzo?”
“Princess,” he murmurs, without looking up.
“Nicole wants to go home.”
Lorenzo closes the notebook and stares at Nicole. She gazes back, her expression determined and her gaze unwavering. It’s the first time she’s been near him without shaking in fear.
