Page 16 of Kiss of Ruin (Brutal Empire)

She may not realize Antonio’s in love with her, but I know Scarlett would never forgive me if I intentionally put him into the middle of this war. Not a single one of us is safe in this business. There’s a difference between calculated risk and insanity. Antonio had been protecting Scarlett and Luis for as long as I can remember.

“Need another? I ask, going to the bottles on the side of the room.

He drains the rest of his glass and holds it out to me. I fill it three-quarters of the way. I don’t say anything else, filling my own glass and taking a seat in a chair on the opposite side of the room.

“How did they find it?” he asks after a few minutes of silence.

“I don’t have a fucking clue.” I shrug my shoulders and take a sip. “Luck?”

“Not a chance. Those men were ambushed. Not a one of them had a chance to get more than a single round off before they were gunned down.”

“Jesus Christ.” I drop my elbows on my knees and roll the glass between my hands. “I’ve got to find a way to stop them.”

Antonio drains the rest of his glass and stands. “Yes, you do.” He sets the glass on the table hard enough for the sound to echo in the room and walks out.

He’s right. I have to find a way to end this.

I pull my phone from my pocket and check the time. She should still be up. I select the number I call every day if not more.

“Nicholas?” My mom answers on the first ring.

“How is she?”

She sighs into the phone. “Never a hello for me anymore.”

Being chastised by your mother at the age of thirty-nine still felt the same as when you’re seven. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hello, Nicholas. How is everything going up there?” She tries to hide it, but I can hear the worry in her voice. I’ve always done dangerous things, not one of them have ever included a rival family actively trying to kill me. “Not great. Carlos and Andreas were here today.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“I know I will. Now, how’s Scarlett doing?”

“She’s making better progress than the doctor expected. She can use the cane to walk with minimal pain.”

It kills me to think about Scarlett having to keep herself upright with a cane. Her long, flowing red hair falling all around her shoulders. How I wish I could be there with her. To help her through this.

I remind myself that there are still many things she doesn’t know. That this decision was the best thing for her.

“Good. And she’s doing okay, otherwise?”

“You love her.” My mother has always been perceptive. I’m not surprised and when she sees so easily through me.

“Even if I did, after everything I’ve done, I doubt she loved me back.”

“Then I guess you best find a way to get this war under control, so that you can come down and see what you can do about that.”

She doesn’t know how much I wish I could be with Scarlett. I could apologize and promise never to hurt her again, but it seems like it would be a failed mission before I stepped off the plane into Miami.

“I have to go.” I say good-bye and hang up as quickly as I can.

My mother is right, getting to Scarlett needs to be my goal. To do that, I need to get shit under control here. There has to be a way to stop the DeLuca’s from finding our stash houses.

If we lose anymore product, I may not have to worry about apologizing to Scarlett.

Apologizing isn’t going to be enough. I destroyed any trust I had built with the woman I love, make that who I have always loved. To get her to be mine, I will need to grovel at her feet and prove that I am worthy of her love and trust.

I stand and head back to the office, leaving the drink, untouched on the side table. Alcohol isn’t going to help me get Scarlett back, but I just might know a way to make this work.

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