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At least ten men run off, climbing onto Harley’s and taking off at the speed of light but when Kian starts sputtering and blood comes trailing out of his mouth, my attention falls back to him as he looks up at his son. “I love you, boy,” he says, choking on the blood building in his throat. “This is all yours now. Don’t let me down.”
Nic shakes his head. “Don’t you dare say goodbye, you hear me? You’re not going anywhere.”
Kian’s eyes start to grow heavy as tears race down my cheeks. “Tell your mother it was always her. Always.”
Nic nods and as tears appear in his eyes, everything inside of me dies. Kian’s eyes close and his body goes heavy in Nic’s arms. “Dad?” he demands, shaking his father, desperate to hear his voice just one more time. “Dad.”
Kai’s hand falls to Nic’s shoulder and he pries him away. “He’s gone,” Kai murmurs. “Let him go.”
Nic cries out, his voice filled with pain. “NOOOO.”
I let out a shaky breath and despite everything we just went through, I find myself moving toward him. I step into his side and as he looks up at me from his position on the bloodied ground, I find a broken man, a version of Nic I’ve never seen before.
His arms curl around me and he pulls me down into his lap, holding me tighter and crushing me with his strength.
There’s nothing but silence as the grief tears through every last person standing around and after five minutes of gut-wrenching pain, all eyes begin to fall on Nic until he finally releases me and gets to his feet.
His chin raises and as he looks around at the Widows before him, every head bows, silently vowing their loyalty, and just like that, a broken, grieving Nic steps up as the rightful leader of the Black Widows.
Chapter 26
I sit at the bar in the compound, avoiding the eyes of the Black Widows as they stare at me. Their boss was just murdered and they know I don’t belong, yet their new king has insisted I stay, in fact, demanded it. They won’t go against him to kick me out, especially considering Kian was Nic’s father, but they’re certainly not happy about it.
My gut tells me that I should get up and leave. I want to hate Nic. I want to hate all of them. They knew these things about my father and not once did they come clean. How could they do that? I thought we had an understanding. I thought the trust between us was unbreakable, but lately, Nic and the boys have been testing that theory.
Nic silently sits beside me. I couldn’t leave him. I should have. I should have gotten back in that damn Ferrari and taken my ass home. It’s stupid being within these walls. Men are pacing and despite having Widows out searching for the black SUV, the ones remaining are all searching for someone to blame, and considering I was the reason they were all out front, that blame falls on me.
I’ve never felt tension like this before. I’ve just walked right into the firing line of a gang war while technically being on the opposite side. If I was smart, I’d be hauling ass, yet the pain radiating out of Nic keeps me right here.
I watch him as he swirls the amber liquid around the bottom of his glass. He looks devastated and right now, I’m not sure if it’s because he lost his father or because of the responsibilities that have just fallen on his shoulders. He didn’t have much love for his father. Kian was dark and twisted and not in the romantic kind of way, but in the needs to be locked in prison wearing a straight jacket kind of way. He was dangerous and he made sure that Nic didn’t grow up with love, but as Nic grew and it became clear that he was a natural-born leader, Kian couldn’t resist reeling him back into his dark world.
What is it with the fathers around here? Is every man over a certain age just automatically a dick. My father had a web of lies and was a fucking hitman for the West Side Wolves, Colton’s father was an asshole who abused his wife and children, while Kian was a fucking monster.
I have to give it to the guy, he was the only person in my life who wasn’t afraid to tell me the truth and for that, I’m grateful even if it means putting my relationship with my boys on the rocks.
Things will never go back to normal after this. I will never have trust for them again. I mean, I sure as hell trust them to always protect me and always do what they think is right, but I will forever question their loyalty, their motives, and their hearts. It’s never a position I wanted to be in, but they’ve backed me into a corner and I’m left with no choice.
