Chapter 2

Nicola

Ilove my brother, I really do, but I'm not about to watch him as he stares at the monitoring screen of Dom's torture chamber while my bitch best friend is fucking her other boyfriend into submission. It's really distracting listening to the moaning and a shit ton of dirty talk. It's why I'm in the back of the room with Evan as he faces the wall and hums under his breath to block out all the noise.

I think I'm in love. He's such a wonderful boyfriend, so caring and sweet, that I want to get out of here so I can ride his disco stick, but I'm going to have to wait. I don't want to listen to Tillie having sex, but I want to make sure she's okay. That's what friends do. Ride or die, or in this case, listen to my home girl get some.

That's my bestie in there, staking her claim, and I'm so damn proud of her.

"Girl power!" I shout loudly in the quiet surveillance room, interrupting the ragged breathing of her men and Tey's cray-cray mumbling.

Nicky whips his head over toward me, taking his dilated eyes off the computer screen. His eyebrows hit his hairline as if he's surprised, I'm still here and he forgot about me. I rock on my heels, pinch Evan's tight butt without meaning to, and shift my gaze to the ceiling because everyone is staring at me now and I'd rather not see the tented pants popping up everywhere I look.

Gross.

These guys are like big brothers to me. I've known them my whole life. Except Dom, so I guess it's okay to look. I mean, Tillie already gave me a mental image of what he's packing down there with her hands, so I'm kind of curious. It can't be bigger than Dalton's, and I only know his dick is big because I've always thought he walks a little too confidently as if he has a third leg, plus my girl was walking like a cowboy after I stumbled into their fuckfest at Gary the douche's party.

"Bonetown!" I yell, pointing fingers like little guns, and then smack myself in the forehead because it's now known what I was just thinking about.

I used to be beyond embarrassed by my Tourette's, but I learned over the years that no matter who you are, someone is always going to judge you. I decided to own that shit and make everyone else my bitch. Okay. Not really. I'm just a girl who looks in the mirror and likes what she sees. Not many can say or do that. We all have our flaws, differences, etc. I'm proud of mine.

"Jesus Christ, Nicola!" Nicky shouts in Japanese, striding quickly over me as he starts to steer me out of the room.

I only put up a little bit of a fight, digging my heels in until I hear Tillie over the speakers, "Would you love me no matter what?" Logan replies with "Always," and my job here is done. She's safe and damn happy, as far as I can tell from the screams coming through the speakers. I grab Evan's arm and pull him with me as Nicky walks us faster to the door. Once out in the hallway, Tillie's sounds of pleasure cut off as the surveillance room door shut behind us.

"Thank fuck," Evan mutters under his breath as his shoulders sag in relief.

He pushes his sexy glasses up his nose and grins at me with his Darth Vader helmet under his arm. So hot. I'm going to have him wear that later when I'm giving him a blow job. Ugh. I can totally picture him using Daddy Darth's voice to tell me he's my daddy.

The force of his orgasm will be strong.

I'm stuck daydreaming and shake my head when I see Nicky towering over my boyfriend.

"You got a problem with hearing my girl get fucked?" Nicky growls like a straight-up Neanderthal.

I quickly get between them, pushing on my big brother's chest, and flick him on the nose. He glares and takes a step back, crossing his arms with that annoying look on his face that says he's going to kill someone.

He's so weird.

"I could only handle singing ‘Baby Shark Do Do Do' so much before I lost my mind. It's not easy blocking out all the noise going on in there, but I managed to." Evan stands up straighter, looking my brother in the eye without blinking, even though sweat is dripping down Evan's forehead the longer they stare at each other.

That's hot. He's totally getting a blowie after we get out of here for standing up to my overbearing brother.

Nicky narrows his eyes even more then he grunts before turning his gaze to me.

That's it. All is good now. Men are weird.

"Check in with me, keep your phone on you, and don't go home," Nicky grumbles, his facial expression worried, as he pulls me into a hug with a tight squeeze before letting me go.

My eyes water as I watch him disappear back into the room with the other guys. Nicky has always looked out for me. He shielded me from the harshness of the world we were born into and took the wrath of my father, so I was never harmed. My brother tried his hardest to keep me out of the way, and I pretended ignorance to appease him. I knew from an early age just how cruel our father was. I saw everything. Every beating Nicky received left bruises that he tried to hide from me and act like he wasn't in pain. The coming and going of evil men into our homes. The women would go into a building and not return. The dead look in my mother's eyes as she would quietly leave the room when my father became mad, letting his anger lash at Nicky.

I see it all, and it hurts so fucking much, knowing my brother suffers at the hands of our father. I lay in guilt at night, wondering what I can do to stop it all, but I sometimes think I'm weak like our mother. I never fight back because I'm afraid I'll end up like those girls who just disappear once they come across the triad. It all makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs and put a bullet through Jin's skull.

Maybe I can.

I can be strong and brave like Nicholas. Maybe it's finally my turn to protect him.

"Hey. What are you thinking about so hard over there?" Evan questions me as he drapes his arm over my shoulder while leading me out of the house and down the driveway to his car.

"Do you have a gun?" He jolts against me, startled by my answer, and looks into my eyes with his head tilted as his glasses slide down his nose.

Sexy, but in a nerdy way. I'm here for it.

I fidget in my seat the moment my butt hits the smooth leather. I'm trying to stay in control so my Tourette's doesn't get out of control as I watch him calmly shut my car door and round the hood.

He doesn't say anything as he starts the car and pulls out of the gate. His brows are pinched together in worry as he struggles to give me an answer. I end up smacking my arm repeatedly, not meaning to, as I become increasingly nervous the longer he's silent. My head twitches to the right in a tic that won't stop. Feeling his hand suddenly in mine helps my heart rate slow down, and I eventually can turn my head to look at him as the tics decrease.

"I have a concealed weapon. I'm just worried about why you're asking," Evan says, stroking his thumb back and forth over my wrist.

I won't ever lie to him. He's a good guy. He doesn't deserve deception from me. I sometimes wonder if love is worth dragging him into my dangerous world and if I'm only setting him up to get hurt, or worse, killed.

Love is funny that way. It can be selfish and hurt to the core because we don't want to lose the one good thing in our lives.

I guess I'm rotten, like Jin. I can't see my life without Evan's hand in mine.

"I'm going to kill my father. For Nicky and for myself," I say casually with a shrug like it's no big deal, but my palms sweat at just the thought of doing it.

Could I pull the trigger when the time came?

I don't know, but I have to try.

"Holy Batman!" he shouts out loud, making me jump in my seat as he lets go of my hand.

Evan swerves the car at the last second, realizing he ran a stop sign and almost hit another car. Maybe I shouldn't be having this conversation while he's driving. I should have waited when we got to his house, distracted him with sex, and then announced I needed a bang stick. He straightens the wheel and takes a deep breath as he merges onto the highway toward his home, his gaze ?focused on the road.

"I'm thinking we might have to rethink this relationship," I start to say but screech as Evan yanks the wheel sharply, jumping over the intersection while I grab the ‘oh shit' bar.

I bounce in my seat and gape at him as he quickly gets off the highway from the other side. Car horns honk at us; pissed-off drivers are probably praying for our deaths. For some reason, seeing him take control of the vehicle like that makes my vagina weep.

I need help. Like, someone should definitely call my therapist before I decide to give him road head and really get us in a car accident. He glances out of the corner of his eye at me, doing a double take since I'm staring at him twisted in my seat. I'm probably drooling, and my eyes keep shifting to his lap, wondering if his dick would like a warm hug from my mouth.

"You can't leave me. Me and you against the world, Nicola. I'll get you a fucking bazooka, grenades, or whatever you want. You just can't leave me," Evan says in a stern voice that I have to slap my hand when it climbs up my own leg to the promised land.

Fuck, that's hot.

His jaw is tight, his glasses perched on the end of his nose as he glares at the road, all while his knuckles turn white on the steering wheel.

"I love you." He curses at my declaration, nearly hitting an old lady who's crossing the street. "But if you let me finish talking, I was going to tell you Batman sucks. Go with Captain America next time. His ass is the symbol for America, after all."

He slams the brakes at the stoplight, jerking us both in our seats, and turns halfway toward me.

"You really mean that?" he chokes out, staring intensely at me.

Crap. Did I hurt his feelings? I literally have no filter.

"Your ass is so much better than Captain America, baby." I lean forward, petting his arm and making shushing noises to calm him down, just in case.

A car honks behind us, making Evan swear again as he notices the light green and turns forward again.

"No. Not that. You really love me?" He says this with a pitched voice before clearing his throat and looking over to see me nodding my head quickly.

"I love yo— Fuck!" I was leaning eagerly in my seat when I noticed his eyes shift over my shoulder and widen until I could only see his pupils expanding behind his glasses.

A loud crunch blasts in my ears, followed by shattering glass and screaming. It's so loud; that's all I can focus on as my world tips upside down. I'm the one making that noise, screaming in terror. Unbelievable pain spears into my shoulder and leg while my vision grows fuzzy. What seems like hours later but is probably only seconds later, I blink rapidly. The first thing I notice is that the windshield is scattered across the cement, and I'm hanging upside down.

Groaning, I slowly turn my head to see Evan hanging limply in his seat with blood dripping down his forehead.

"Evan." My voice comes out raspy and so quiet, probably from screaming and shock. "Evan!" I say loudly and sigh in relief as he groans in pain, blinking rapidly.

His glasses fell off at some point, so I know his eyesight is blurry and he can't see much. He's only looking at me, though, reaching his hand out frantically.

"You okay?!" He practically shouts, struggling in his seat, but his belt buckle won't come loose.

"Just dandy. What happened?" I look around, grimacing in pain at my burning shoulder, and notice multiple men, all dressed in black, heading our way with guns.

I whip my head toward Evan, seeing him clenching his ribs and breathing fast.

"I'm about to be taken, baby. Don't do anything. Tell Nicky the triad came to collect." I say it so fast I'm not even sure he understands, as he shakes his head as if to focus.

"Wha-What? No!" he yells, trying to reach for me as my mangled door is wrenched open and rough hands grab at me, cutting my seat belt loose.

"Nicola!" Evan screams at the top of his lungs as I'm dragged out, my legs cutting into the glass as my father's men grab me under my arms on each side.

The last thing I see is Evan's frantic eyes connecting with mine in despair before his body goes limp, probably passing out from blood loss.

I'm not even fighting; there isn't any point. The triad is surrounding Evan's car and the van I'm being tossed into. If my father was showing up, I would be thrown into a limo with his disapproving glare. This isn't the typical lecture that I'm a useless daughter; I'm being taken by my father's men and tossed around like yesterday's trash. I have the biggest feeling I'm going to be in a lot of pain later. I just hope my brother doesn't come for me and do anything stupid, like face Jin alone.

"Fuck!" I yell just as a burlap bag is thrown over my head as I watch two of the triad walk back over to Evan and start to take him out of the car too.

No. No. No. No. Please, not Evan!

Please, Nicky. Don't come for me.

I repeat it over and over, wishing it would be true, but I know my brother.

We are both going to die.