Page 114 of Nikolai (Kansas City Reapers)

“Just a moment, sweetheart,” I whispered, kissing the top of her head as I pressed her forward to give me room to step out of the tub. I wrapped a towel around my waist before answering the door.

“Deacon?” I questioned, opening the door to see his somber face on the other side. “How did you get in here? I locked the door.”

“You know a lock can’t stop me,” he said quietly, but there was no humor in his tone or his facial expression. “Listen, Niko. Quinn called me. He tried to reach you, but you weren’t answering your phone.”

My stomach dropped as I stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door partially behind me to allow for a modicum of privacy.

“What happened?” I asked, my tone serious and stoic.

“Do you remember him mentioning the woman, Theresa I think her name was? The one who was supposed to be protecting Maddy at the new safe house?”

“Yeah, I remember. He was trying to get a hold of her when we left. What happened?” I crossed my arms over my chest, steeling myself for whatever bad news I was about to receive.

“When the police arrived to process the crime scene, they swept the property. Niko, they found Theresa’s car parked in the garage.”

“But she wasn’t there yet.” Dread and worry sank like a rock in the pit of my gut.

“They found her body in the woods behind the house. She’d been shot in the head, execution style.” Deacon’s voice carried a weight and a dire seriousness that echoed my own emotions.

“Jesus…” I swore. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I let the reality of what that meant settle over me. “Maddy is in more danger than ever. Whatever this fucking gang is trying to cover up, Maddy is obviously a threat to them.”

“I think we need to up our security.”

“You’re right. I’ll talk to Jax in the morning, and—”

“Niko, let me,” he cut me off gently, his hand clapping over my shoulder as he leveled me with a look. “You go take care of that woman in there. And take care of yourself. You both went through hell today. We both know what happens when we bury trauma. Don’t let the mistakes of the past become tomorrow’s repeated headlines.”

I nodded my head as he turned to leave my room, buthe paused in the doorway, looking back at me. “Niko? Quinn said she had the letters D. K. branded onto her chest before she died. Do you know what that means?”

“It means that whoever this Shadow guy is, he wants us to know it was him. It was a threat.” I replied grimly. Deacon nodded and shut the door behind himself as he made his exit.

A million worries and fears ricocheted through my head, refusing to slow down or let me land on any singular one. Running a hand through my hair, I pushed the fears aside, taking Deacon’s words to heart. Those worries would hold until tomorrow. Tonight, I had a beautiful woman to care for.

I closed the bathroom door behind me, eager to rejoin Maddy. As I rounded the bathtub, I realized that she was shaking, her body wracked by silent sobs.

Tears streamed down her face, and the dread in my gut gave way to the pain I felt, knowing she was in turmoil.

“What did you hear?” I asked gently, crouching down by the tub.

“Every word,” she whispered, her voice so full of remorse it tore my heart to pieces.

Crawling back into the tub behind her, I pulled her to me once more, wrapping my arms around her waist.

“Lay back, love. I’m right here,” I urged her, guiding her head to rest against my shoulder. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”

“I can’t stop thinking about her,” she whispered, her voice breaking as her hands gripped my forearms, holdingon to me for dear life. “She was supposed to keep me safe, and instead, my decisions led to her death. I never even met her, but now I feel like I will see her face in my nightmares for the rest of my life. I keep replaying how my choices brought her into harm’s way, how she gave her life for me.”

Tears streamed down her face, dripping into the water, creating ripples against the water’s surface as she clung to me. My heart ached for her, for the unbearable sorrow she was feeling; a feeling I knew all too well.

“I’m overwhelmed with guilt, knowing that my mistakes cost her life. It’s like I can’t even breathe. If I hadn’t gone to that club, if I hadn’t run out of there, upset over a dumb boy, if I hadn’t—”

“Maddy, you can’t think like that. It’s not healthy, and it’s not reality.”

“No, Niko. It is. It’s very fucking real. My actions led these fucking criminals, whoever they are, right to her. I’m trapped in this dark place of ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys,’ where every regret pulls me deeper into despair. I’m stuck in this endless cycle of regret, and it feels like nothing I do or say can ever make up for what’s happened.”

She drew a ragged breath, her voice barely a whisper. “I’m so lost, and I don’t know how to escape this endless ache of knowing that she died because of me.”

Sobs wracked her small frame as she lay there, trembling in my arms. Carefully, I guided her, helping her to turn around in the tub to face me as the water sloshed slightly over the tub’s curved rim.

---