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The week I’d gotten my license and went to pick up Nova, when he’d yelled from the kitchen to take care of his girl or he’d bury me in a shallow grave.
The way he’d looked at Ash. The way he’d smiled at Nova and Bird.
None of that mattered anymore. Every memory of him was tainted now. Fractured. Seen through a dark gray lens.
“Not good for Ash,” Casper said with a sigh. “Hopin’ they’ll realize it was self-defense and drop it.”
“She’s the one who shot him?” I asked in surprise. I’d been too afraid to ask while I’d waited with Nova, terrified that she’d been the one who’d pulled the trigger.
“Brenna called her when she saw Nova’s face,” Dragon said quietly. “Wanted to give her a heads up that we were steppin’ in.” He scratched at his chin thoughtfully. “Guess she decided to handle it herself.”
“It’s about fuckin’ time.”
Dragon looked at me in surprise.
“What?” I said defensively. “You think she didn’t notice? Something must’ve happened before now. It’s not like he went from zero to attempted murder in a day.”
Dragon nodded. “Wish I could get my hands on him,” he said, his eyes on his hands as he flexed his fingers. “Shot to the chest was too easy.”
Gramps cleared his throat. “You hear him askin’ about the kids?” he said quietly. “Bastard was confused as hell and worried if they were okay.”
“Lost his goddamn mind,” Casper mumbled. “Poor fuck.”
“This goes without sayin’,” Leo said quietly. “But it ever gets to that point for me, one of you better fuckin’ take care of it.”
“Fuck,” Dragon said, slashing his hand through the air. “Don’t say shit like that.”
“You got it,” my dad replied at the same time. “Same goes.”
My phone started buzzing in my pocket, and I reached for it. The second I answered it, my heart began to pound with dread.
“Rumi, you better get in here,” my gram said over the sound of Nova’s cries.
Chapter 20
Nova
Ididn’t understandwhy I couldn’t stop the sounds tearing out of my throat. I’d held it together for so long, when Pop had fallen and I’d seen Nana in the doorway, when seconds later men from the Aces had poured into the house and someone had helped me and Bird over to the couch, while I’d gotten poked and prodded and checked and fussed over—but now I couldn’t seem to stop it.
They’d wheeled me back into the room after my x-ray and I’d been fine. Rumi’s Gram sat like a guard in the corner and Brenna had peeked in for a minute to make sure all was well before going back to Bird.
As soon as the room was silent, no movement, no one to worry about, I’d lost it.
“What the hell happened?” Rumi asked, rushing in a few minutes later. His gram was on the bed with me, trying to soothe me, but she slid off when Rumi reached me.
“It finally hit her, I think,” his gram murmured, carefully smoothing my hair away from my face. She quietly left the room as Rumi climbed on the bed with me and pulled me into his arms.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Hey, No, you’re okay, baby. You’re okay.”
“I’m sorry,” I stuttered, unable to control even my breathing. “I can’t—”
“Shh,” he whispered, one hand in my hair and the other steady on my back. “Shh. Fuck. Nova, that must be killin’ your ribs.”
“It is,” I wailed.
Rumi pressed his lips against my forehead. “It’s okay, baby. Shh.” He held me. “I’m here now. Shh.”
“How did this happen?” I asked after my tears had finally slowed down to a trickle. I was so weary that even my head felt heavy on my neck.
