Chapter 47

FORTY-SEVEN

Nathan

I pull open the door to The Depot and sigh. It's everything The Pact is not, which is exactly why Dom chose to meet here. The lighting is dramatic, the tables a gleaming black lacquer with warm brown inlays. The customers are dressed in clothes so expensive, the cost of an outfit could buy a few weeks of groceries for a foundation family, while the servers wear the black on black typical of luxury customer service.

I scan the crowd and find Dom at a table in the middle of the room, sitting back in his chair like he owns the place. There's a light fixture directly over his head, casting warmth down on him like a spotlight. He probably chose the table himself for that reason alone.

He waves me over, grinning wolfishly as I approach. "What's good, brother?"

"Can't complain." I pull out my seat with a shrug. "The expansion at ROF is rolling along smoothly. We've successfully approved our first round of applications and can start bringing much needed relief to people in the area."

Dom nods even though he doesn't give a shit. "You heard from Mina?"

"Nope. But she hasn't heard from me, either. We left things kind of ambiguous."

I've missed her every day and thought about calling her twice an hour. But she said we shouldn't see each other until she's financially stable, and I don't know how I'm supposed to know if that happened. With work so busy and Nick still missing, I don't have the bandwidth to figure it out. But if I wait too long, she'll slip through my fingers and the one thing I'm sure of with each passing day is that I can't let that happen.

Something behind me catches Dom's attention. He arches a brow and smirks before leaning his elbows on the table. "You're better off without her."

"Right." I fight the urge to turn and see what caught his attention. Probably a dazzling and spectacular woman, and I couldn't care less about those. "Dollar signs and opportunities and all that."

"You can't deny your life improved since you started taking my advice."

"I'm gonna have a giant ass house that's too much space for one person. Does that count as an improvement?" As beautiful as that home is going to be, it's a lot of house for one person.

"I can introduce you to all kinds of women who'd love to fill that extra space for a while." Dom's gaze darts over my shoulder again.

"What are you looking at?"

I turn and there she is. My Mina. Hair slicked back into a tight bun, black slacks, black tee, red lips. Tray in hand…

She fucking works here?

Our eyes meet and she draws up short.

A smile brightens her face for an instant before dismay takes its place. Her brows knit and she sighs, looking around as if desperate for an escape.

"Ouch," murmurs Dom but I don't care because Mina's heading this way, shoulders square, chin proud, eyes blazing.

"Hello and welcome to The Depot. I'm Mina and I'll be your server this evening. Did I give you enough time to decide?" Her tone is polite, though her eyes are panicked. Or pissed. Or…fuck. I don't know.

"If it isn't the hundred-thousand-dollar girl.'" Dom throws an arm over the back of the chair and looks downright gleeful at the change in her fortune. "I'll take a scotch on the rocks, doll."

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

Mina brandishes her tray. "I work here."

"Yes," I growl. "But why do you work here?"

When she returned the advance, I assumed she had money coming in to take its place. But if she took a second job, I must be missing pieces of the puzzle.

"The same reason anyone works anywhere," Mina replies dryly. "Some of us have boring lives that need to be maintained. I'll be right back with the scotch and whiskey neat."

Mina pivots and practically runs away before I realize I didn't place my order. She simply knew what I wanted.

And just like that, I know what I want too. Her. Not a break. Not time apart so she can work herself to the bone to prove something I already know. I want her in my life. In my arms. In my bed. In my heart.

Where she belongs.

"That had to be awkward for poor Ms. Blake, don't you think?" Dom asks, tutting like he actually cares. "From designer dresses and bidding wars to ‘can I take your order.'"

"Do you ever listen to yourself?" I shake my head. "You're such a fucking asshole."

"Never up for debate, brother."

I stare for a moment. Dominick Taylor was a means to an end. A way to get the backing and donations I needed as quickly as possible. Given that last statement, I think his time in my life has come to its natural conclusion.

"No," I say with a frown. "I guess it wasn't."

I'm out of my chair and squeezing between tables before I know where I'm going, just following Mina's path because I have to talk to her. She's standing at the bar with her back to me, tapping her foot on the floor and her fingers on her thigh. I grab her arm and she squeals.

"Nathan!" She places a hand to her heart and exhales. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

How have I gone so long without touching her? Without seeing her? Hearing her? I should have chased her down the second she left my office. I never should have let her leave.

"What happened to opening a business with Benjamin?" I bark, when what I want to know is what do I have to do to get you back in my life?

"Nothing happened." Mina draws her brows together and turns back to the bar. "We're moving ahead as planned."

I step closer—only a whisper of space between us—and lean in to make eye contact, forcing her to look at me. "Then why are you working here?"

A blonde woman with broad shoulders and watchful eyes drapes a towel over her shoulder as she approaches from the other side of the bar. Her gaze rakes me over and she doesn't look impressed. "Everything good, Mina?"

"It's fine, Nat." Mina waves her away. "We're good. I know him."

"Is there somewhere we can talk?" I lean even closer. "Privately?"

"I'm at work, Nathan. If you wanted to talk, you could have called or texted or stopped by my apartment or hell, even sent a letter. But now?" Mina shakes her head. "Now's not a good time."

I open my mouth to tell her I don't care about money, that I don't think she was in league with Fallon and I don't want her working as a waitress just to make ends meet, but my phone rings with a call.

Mina smiles sadly. "Saved by the bell."

I pull my phone out to silence it, but see Dad on the caller ID. Anyone else would have gone straight to voicemail but…

"I have to take this," I say to Mina. "It could be about Nick."

The defensiveness melts from Mina's posture. She reaches for me but pauses and crosses her arms instead. "Has there been any news?"

Her eyes meet mine and there she is. The woman I love. The woman I'm tired of living without. The woman who seems more and more like she's been telling the truth.

"This could be it," I say, then accept the call, turning to lean my back to the bar. "Dad?"

"They found him, Nathan. They found Nick."

Relief washes over me and I sag, one hand to my heart as I exhale shakily. "Do we know anything? Is he okay?"

I hold Mina's gaze like a lifeline. She's smiling for me, looking as hopeful as I feel. The distance between us erased that easily.

"He's alive, but he's hurt pretty badly," Dad says. "Mom and I are on our way to Wyatt and Kara's if you want to meet us there."

I agree then end the call, releasing a long breath.

Mina puts a hand to my shoulder and I sigh, grateful for the comfort. "That doesn't look like completely good news."

"They found Nick," I murmur, eyes closed. "But he's hurt. Dad wants me to go to my uncle's…"

I'm pulled in two directions. I need to know more about Nick but I'm not ready to leave Mina. I never want to leave her again.

"Go," she urges. "You need to be with your family. I'll let Dom know what happened. You and me? We can talk when you're done."

I nod. "I'll call you as soon as I can," I promise, then rush for the door.

I leave The Depot and drive straight to Nick's parents' house, arriving at almost the same time as Angela, Garrett, Micah, and Ivy. We park behind my parents' car, share a quick greeting, then race up the steps to the front door. Uncle Wyatt lets us in, while Aunt Kara paces back and forth across the living room, phone to ear. "Okay," she says. "Okay. Thank you."

Her face is pale as she ends the call.

"They're rushing him to Bethesda instead of stopping in Germany." Her hands shake as she brushes hair out of her face. "His truck drove over a landmine and he was taken behind enemy lines. He's the only one that survived." Her voice falters and she seems older and smaller than I remember.

"When will he arrive in Bethesda?" asks Uncle Wyatt.

"Soon. I don't know. We can book a flight ourselves or maybe the military wants to pay for our tickets, which is silly but he was talking fast and I'm not—" Aunt Kara covers her face, choking on sobs and her husband rushes to her side, pulling her close.

I turn to Angela, who looks stricken. Uncle Lucas strides through the door, back straight, shoulders square. "What do we know?"

"It's not good," Angela murmurs, then explains what we overheard to her father.

Lucas's face falls, his mouth going taut as he closes his eyes and nods. He pulls his daughter to him and presses a kiss to her forehead before crossing the room to place his hands on his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing. Forward me the name and number of your contact with the Marines. I'll be the liaison so all you have to do is take care of Nick. Let me handle everything else."

It's such a Hutton thing to do. Rush in. Take charge. Protect. Provide. It's the way we're built. All of us.

It's what I did with Blossom, what I wanted to do the second I learned Nick was missing. It's what I kept myself from doing with Mina at first. It wasn't until I accepted my need to take care of the people who matter that things started to feel real between us.

Suddenly, I feel less like a fool for the mistakes I made with Blossom. I did my best for her and maybe, someday, it'll mean something. Or maybe it won't. But in the meantime, I can take comfort knowing I was true to myself.

Mina's hopeful face flashes through my mind. I promised I'd call when I'm done with my family, and I have every intention of following through, but she was right when she said we need to be real and true and honest if this is going to work between us.

So, before I call her, there's something I have to do first.