Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

NICO

T he only thing I have left from my parents is a small box of the things they cherished the most in this world. When things get too hard and I feel like shit, I like to go through it. A baseball my dad caught at a game he went to with my mom. The flute my mom would use to wake me up for school in the morning. It drove me crazy when she would blow it in my ear back then. Now, I'd give anything to hear it and have her be there for me. Both of them.

The bedroom feels cold without Aurora in here. I sit at my desk, staring at the bed and wishing more than anything to have her back in my arms. I know I fucked up. I pushed her too hard. And of course, she pushed back. Maybe if I hadn't done that, we wouldn't be in this situation.

Before the fight, I was almost completely sure that she would choose to be with me. Now I have no fucking clue. I rearrange the sides of the Rubik's Cube in my hand, needing to do something to keep my mind busy. And my hands as well, because I'm this close to calling her, and I promised myself I'd give her as much space as she needs.

I finish solving the Rubik's Cube in less than two minutes. As I'm sliding the last piece into place, my phone rings. I pull it out, and my eyebrows rise when I see who it is.

"Baby," I say, picking up, surprise coloring my tone.

"Hey, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asks. Warmth spreads through me at the sound of her voice. "It's pretty late."

"It's fine. I can't fall asleep without you anyway," I state. "What's wrong? Why did you call? Are you okay?'

"Yes, I'm fine. I just," she hesitates before speaking again, "I miss you."

I let out a soft breath of relief. "I miss you too, mi vida ."

"So, on a scale of one to ten, how much do you hate me right now?" she asks after a few seconds of silence pass.

I chuckle. "I could hate everyone else in the world, but not you, Aurora. Never you."

"Did you end up going to the cemetery?" she asks softly.

"Yeah," I reply. I visited the graves the day after our fight, needing something to ground myself. "Our parents are waiting for you, baby. All of them."

"I wonder if they're watching us right now. I wonder what they're thinking."

"They'd be glad that we're here. That we grew up and that we're opening ourselves up to the world. They'd be glad to see that they have three incredibly smart, fearless children. They'd want us to be happy. Well, except maybe Valerio. He's probably pissed off that we got married. Or, well, fake married."

She laughs at that. "If he was still alive, do you think we would be here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said it yourself once, Nicolas. He would have never approved of us."

"Maybe not, but if you wanted me to, I would have fought for us. I wouldn't have given up."

"Nico, you waited until he was dead before you came looking for me," she points out.

"No, I waited until I had enough power before I came for you. I waited until I was sure that no one would be able to take you away from me again."

She sighs softly. "What will our future even be like? You once told me that you didn't want kids."

"Do you want kids?" I question.

"I think so."

"Then we'll have kids," I reply easily. "You're steering this ship, Aurora. You have been since the day we met. All you need to tell is tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it."

Her voice cracks on the next words. "Why, though? Why are you letting yourself go through all this?"

"You're worth it, Aurora. I said it to you that day when I was eighteen, and I'll say it again. You're my life. I'd do anything for you."

"That's the problem, though. What if you end up like Valerio?"

I tense at that, waiting for her to explain.

"You said that you'd have kids if I wanted kids, but Nico, it's supposed to be your decision. You're supposed to want kids."

I've never really thought about having children. My parents lived for me until the day they died, and when they were gone, I felt this empty void. It's not a pain I would wish on my children.

"Valerio loved you," I state, unwilling to analyze my feelings about kids any further.

We can work through our present issues first before thinking about the future.

"I know he did now. But when our mother died, he was so buried by grief, Nico. He abandoned us. What if the same thing happens again? If we had kids and something happened to me, would you become like that? Trapped by your own grief?"

It's not lost on me that we both seem to be worried about making our parents' mistakes. Repeating the past.

"Nothing's going to happen to you," I say heatedly in reply to Aurora.

I'd die before I let her get hurt. But that's not the answer she was looking for. She sighs.

"I'm coming home in a few days. We'll talk more then."

My jaw tightens. I still have no idea what decision she's come to. But I know I'll support her choices no matter what.

Sometimes, when you love someone, you have to let them go.

She hangs up, and I'm left alone in the coldness of our bedroom, the truth of her revelations haunts me. I still hate that I believed her ten years ago, when she said she shot that man because he was going to kill her. I should have been able to look past the lie and realized that there was something more she wasn't telling me.

If I had, we wouldn't be here. I wish I'd known I inadvertently contributed to her demons.

I'm having lunch a couple of days later when Adrian suddenly walks into the house.

"You know, it's good manners to call ahead when you want to visit someone's home," I say to him, arching an eyebrow.

There's a frown on his face, and he's about to say something to me when my phone starts to ring. It's a restricted number. My brows furrow, but I pick up the call nonetheless.

"Hello?"

"It's Dominic," the person on the other end says without preamble. "And we have a problem."

"What is it?" I ask, immediately on high alert.

"When is Aurora returning to New York?"

"Today. Why?" I ask slowly.

Her flight should land in a couple of minutes. She texted me before she got on the plane.

"I just managed to decode the messages today. She's their target, Ramirez. Sebastian's planning on kidnapping her. If he hasn't already."

My heart practically drops to the floor at that. "Find him," I order. "I want his location as soon as possible."

"Wait, there's one more thing. I also have the identity of who he's working with."

"Let me guess, Santiago?" I ask in a hard tone, feeling an iciness sweep through me.

Of course Sebastian decided to work with that slimy fucker. It's pretty typical, unsurprising actually.

"Yes. He got into the country two days ago," Dominic states. "I'm already working on locating them. You just need to focus on putting some men together."

Once I hang up the call with Dominic, I look at Vlad.

"Get in touch with Danny. Now!" I snap.

He immediately gets to it while I turn to Adrian. "What's going on?' he asks, green eyes filled with worry.

"Sebastian's planning something. I think he's going after Aurora," I state. "Get me every available capo in the compound now."

Adrian's eyes widen. "Sebastian dispatched most of them this morning. Said there was suspicious activity from the Yakuza, and they needed to surveil their hideouts. I found it suspicious. I came here to talk about it with you. I'll call Marco. He'll send us men."

"No. Call Camila. She'll work faster than her uncle."

He nods before moving to do just that. When Vlad tells me he's unable to reach Danny, panic floods through my veins, but I can't allow myself to think about that. I briefly close my eyes, trying to purge the worst-case scenario from my head. After Vlad assures me that he's already working on finding them, I head up to my bedroom to grab something. When I'm there, I get a phone call. It's from another unknown number, but I already know who this is.

"Ramirez," the person on the other line says, his voice surprisingly pleasant.

"Santiago," I growl. "Where's my wife?"

"Relax. She's safe. At least for now. If you want her back, you're going to have to do some things for me."

"What the fuck do you want?"

"I want my cartel back."

"Your cartel's gone."

"I know, which is why you're going to help me establish a new one by providing me with some funds. I want money, Nicolas, plain and simple."

Valerio always said only a short-sighted man would ask for money when he holds the keys to a kingdom.

"And Sebastian? What the hell does he want?" I grit out.

"Oh, so you know about my partner. Excellent. Makes all of this easier. Seb wants you dead, Nicolas. He wants you dead and he wants to be Don. But you know what? I like you. We're both from the same place, brother," he says in Spanish. "And while you may have tried to kill me, I'll forgive you. I'll even let your wife go. Just make your way over here alone. And come with enough money for me to start over. Time's ticking, Ramirez. Sebastian's not here right now, but I can't guarantee what he'll do when he arrives."

My jaw tightens. "Send me the location."

"Sure. And I repeat, Nicolas. Come alone! No guards, no capos, nobody! I'll fucking know if you leave that house with any men. I'm not bluffing."

"I got it."

He hangs up, and I immediately begin to consider my options. I don't think he's joking about knowing if I make a move to tell the others. I'm guessing there's a camera in the house somewhere, or maybe he's managed to hack into our phones. Hell, he could even have a fucking spy in the house. But it doesn't matter. There's one person I know who can't have been compromised.

I send a text to The Shadow with the details of my plan, and he agrees. This just became a two-man operation.

Getting out of the house without being seen is easy enough. Everyone's too busy getting things ready for the fight. I leave a note behind with my location, asking them to be ready to move in when Dominic gives them the signal.

When I leave, I do so intent on making sure nothing happens to the woman I love. I promised I'd never let her get hurt, and I plan to keep that promise. But for the first time, I also wonder if maybe she was right to run from all of this after all.