AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He did what?” Tobias asked carefully.
A chill coursed through me as I lifted my gaze to theirs. I swallowed hard at their dangerous gazes. “He…he had me by the hair.”
Tobias glanced at Nick, then Caleb. “Did he.”
But it didn’t matter, not anymore. Gio was gone, exiled from the city by Lazarus. There was no way he’d come back.
“I’ll get some antiseptic,” Caleb said quietly, and left, making his way to the bathroom.
I pressed my fingers to the burning area and winced. “So, it has to be Creed, right? He has to know something.”
“Whatever it is, he’s not telling us,” Tobias muttered.
“I tried to call him before.” Nick turned, pacing the floor. But the moment he turned, I caught the blood on his cheek.
“You’re hurt.” I shoved up from the bed. “Nick, you’re bleeding.”
I crossed the room, forcing my knees to hold me. He touched his cheek and stared at his fingers when they came away bloody. “It’s not mine.” He met my gaze. “It’s okay, Ryth. It’s not mine.”
I grabbed his hand, looking at the mess. He’d lunged, beating them down with unmerciful blows. He'd fought for me…they all had.My heart swelled. “You came for me.”
He stared into my soul. “And will again, princess.”
“Every fucking time,” Tobias added.
“Until the goddamn end,” Caleb finished as he strode into the room. “And beyond. Now, sit. We need to figure this out.”
Nick walked me back to the bed, sitting me back down. But I couldn’t look away from the blood on his cheek, or the unsatisfied danger in his eyes. I shoved thoughts of Gio aside and tried to think. “How do we find out what he knows if he won't tell us?”
“We make him,” Tobias growled, clenching his fists.
“He’s our dad.” Nick shook his head. “No matter what, we have to trust he has our best interests at heart, and Ryth's.”
He and mom were married now.
“So, we have no option but to figure this out on our own…and wait for them to return,” I said, wincing as Caleb gently applied the antiseptic cream to my scalp, then touches the deep scratch on my cheek, his dark eyes turned menacing. “Fucking bitch.” He growled. “The next time I see her.”
“I have some guys I know,” Tobias said quietly. “I can get them involved.”
“T, no.” Nick shook his head. “I’m not going down that road, not again.”
I looked from Tobias to Nick. “Going down what road again?”
“Nothing.” Tobias shot a glare at Nick.
But I wasn’t having it. “Uh-uh,” I said, sounding exactly like Lazarus’ bodyguard. “No secrets, remember?”
Tobias clenched his jaw and that same broody expression I’d come to love settled in. “I know them from the Rossis, okay?”
I pushed up from the bed, feeling a little stronger now. “How deep were you in with him?”
“How deep?” Nick let out a chuckle and shook his head. “Tobias was his best fucking friend.”
“Was,” Tobias muttered. “Past tense, brother.”
It all made sense now, the way Lazarus had looked at Tobias, the way he'd come charging in tonight had less to do with me than it had Tobias. Lazarus loved him…like a brother.
Had I had Lazarus all wrong? “He said my father wasn’t killed for a reason. If he’s not the one after him, then it has to be someone else.”
