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“Yeah, that’s kinda what I wanted to ask you about. I don’t want to ask Cian because I don’t want to upset him. I mean he told me bits and pieces, but not exact details.”
She sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “They were high school sweethearts, he tell you that? She was always around, and I loved her like a sister. I was just as shocked as everyone else when Cian found her and Ryzen in bed together the night before their wedding. We were all staying downtown at the Grand Hotel. Gretchen was screaming down the hallway and when we got there, we found Cian and Ryzen in a full-blown fight. I had never seen him so enraged. I was terrified. It took five of the hotel security guards to pull him off of Ryzen.
“Soon after that, Ryzen accused him of stealing money from their company. He told everyone, even got his dirty cop friends involved. It was a nightmare.” She shook her head.
God, the anger and betrayal Cian must have gone through. It was amazing that he hadn’t actually killed Ryzen.
“We found out that Ryzen was working with the Voledetti family, but not until much later. After it was all too late. Ryzen told all their investors not to trust Cian, that he was a thief who took after his drunk of a father. Cian was ruined. Nobody would work with him—no investors, no developers, no agents. It took him six years to rebuild his reputation. He found a silent investor who wanted to remain anonymous and gave him just enough for his first property. And he built his empire up from there, one property at a time. Because that’s just the way Cian is. He’s a survivor. Unstoppable.”
I nodded, taking all the information in. Ryzen was a bigger piece of shit than I had realized.
“I don’t know what happened to Gretchen.” She scrunched up her nose. “We never talked about her again. I tried asking soon after the fight, but Cian refused and said to never mention her name again.” She stood and stretched her arms over her head. “But this thing with the necklace, and her hair… I would talk to Cian about it. He needs to know.”
I clutched the crystal in my hand, the sharp edges digging into my palm. She was right. I would talk to him about it. Uneasiness swept through me, but I shook it off. I ended up back in bed with Cian, unable to keep my eyes open any longer.
The next time I opened my eyes, Cian wasn’t next to me, but standing and staring out the window.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” I mumbled and rubbed my eyes. The clock on the nightstand flashed seven a.m. and I groaned. I would have to go home soon. Valik would be texting me within the next few hours to check up on me, and the last thing I needed was him finding out I wasn’t at home where I’d told him I would be.
“I’ll survive.” Cian ran his fingers through his hair, then clenched his fist. “I should have been more careful.” He turned to face me. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you last night, Nova. It won’t happen again.”
“Cian,” I scoffed and walked over to him. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for something that was out of your control.” He wrapped his arm around me and tugged me close to him. “How did they get you to that house?”
His back stiffened, and I rubbed my hand up and down, gently gliding over his scars. “I was in the parking garage in our building and a van pulled up. Before I had time to react, four men jumped out and tackled me. I tried to fight them off, but there were too many of them. They must have knocked me out, because the next thing I know I was tied up in the chair and you were walking in the door.” He slammed his hand against the wall. “I was fucking careless, and I’m so sorry.”
“It was four against one, Cian. You couldn’t have done anything.” I cradled his face in my palms. “I’m just glad that you’re alive. That we all are.” I planted a kiss on his lips. “What do you think Kaviathin meant when he said Iaccusedhim of kidnapping? Did you hear the way he said it? Itwas… strange.”
“I haven’t stopped thinking about that either. Something is off about that.” Cian clenched his fists, letting out a deep breath.
I shrugged, trying to shake off the feeling of dread. “They will get what’s coming to them.”
“I will never let anything bad happen to you, Nova. You are such a remarkable woman, caring, strong, and I won’t let them dim your light. I will always take care of you.” He brushed his lips against my forehead, and my whole body warmed.
“Come on, you need to rest.” Cian let me drag him to the bed and we lay down. His hands roamed over my body, and I slapped them away. “I said rest, not sex.”
He chuckled, his breath warm against my cheek. “Something tells me that I would heal a lot faster if I was buried deep inside of you.” His voice was husky, and I bit my lip.
Damn, he was good at changing the subject. But I knew sex was the last thing he needed right now. Besides, I had to get something off of my chest. I sighed and faced him. “I need to tell you something.”
His face turned serious. “You can tell me anything, Nova.”
“OK, it might not be important, but… when I was searching through Ryzen’s things I found a lot of pictures of you, him, and Gretchen in a box in his room.”
Cian quirked his eyebrow up and nodded.
“That angel pendant, the one you thought looked familiar? It was hers. I saw it in hundreds of photos. And I’m assuming the hair was also hers.”
He narrowed his eyes, rubbing this thumb across his bottom lip. “You’re right. I couldn’t place it before, but now that you’ve said it, she did wear that all the time. Her grandmother gave her that necklace when her grandfather died.”
“I’m sorry if this upsets you, I just thought that you should know. Plus, it’s, um, super fucking creepy of Ryzen to have those things.”
“Why would I be upset?” He tilted his head to the side, staring at me.
“Well, I mean, it’s Gretchen, and I don’t want to open old wounds.” It wasn’t like I was jealous. Not at all. I just didn’t want to unlock a door that he had sealed shut years ago. Well, that I had hoped was sealed.
“Nova.” He tugged my head back. “That was almost a decade ago. I don’t care about her. I haven’t in a really long time.” His eyes searched mine, and a wave of relief washed over me.
“But Ryzen and your revenge? I thought that…”
