A funeral…or a wedding.
And while Bryan looks ready to pass onto whatever afterlife it is Colombians believe in, I doubt it’s going to happen today.
Which means someone’s getting married.
And the only idiot in a white dress…is me.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Savage
Vito probably wouldn’t agree if I told him Nyx looks absolutely beautiful. He’d tell me she looked like some celebrity who’d been on a three-day drug binge, and had suddenly decided to wear the only thing in her closet that didn’t have puke on it.
But fuck it.
Nyx looks ravishing.
Her wild hair. That form-fitting dress. The way her underwear shines through the fabric—such a blatant statement about how few fucks she gives about clothes or fashion or what other people think.
And that’s why I’m doing this.
Yes, I’ll be protecting her…but that’s like saying birds fly because they like the view.
IneedNyx in my life. And this is one way I can guarantee she’ll stay in it.
Although I’m still not sure how I feel about the pink ring box that was waiting for me on the bathroom counter. Honestly, I just couldn’t make myself look inside.
How Vito knew about it is beyond me, and something I’ll have to discuss with him. In-depth. Perhaps while I’m feeding his fingers to my dogs.
I stalk up to where Vito and Nyx are standing—Nyx with blue eyes wide as fucking saucers, and Vito with a smirk I desperately want to punch off his fucking face. As soon as he’s in reach, I shove the ring box into his hand.
“What, now I’m the fucking ring bearer too?” He sighs heavily. “Jack of all trades, master of—”
“Shut the fuck up and get them ready,” I cut in.
Vito throws me a hurt look, but he’s already heading to the cluster of people around Bryan’s bed.
When I take a step closer to Nyx and reach for her, she backs up. “Don’t you fucking touch me,” she whispers. Her eyes are luminous. “How the fuck could you think this would work?”
“I told you, we went too far.”
She frowns, her mouth pouting in confusion. “Because we fucked a few times?” She starts to scoff, but I grab her wrist and draw her close. I see Vito edging away, and I don’t blame him. I wish I didn’t have to stand here and face Nyx’s anger either.
“Because you’ve become a target. Because this—” I cock my head to the people gathered behind me, “—this is the only way I can protect you.”
“I’m sorry, have you heard of Kevlar?” she splutters, and then rips her hand out of mine and makes vague—if emphatic—gestures around her torso. “It’s this vest, see, and you wear it around here, and that,thatprotects you.”
I grab her jaw. “Nyx, listen to me.”
“I’m about a second away from kicking you in the fucking balls, Papi.”
I drop my gaze, let out a rough sigh. Then I cup her face in my hands, trying to be as gentle as possible. She latches onto my wrists anyway, as if she doesn’t trust that I won’t grab her throat, and try to choke her to death.
If she keeps up this attitude, honestly I wouldn’t put it past myself to try.
“When you’re my wife, no one can touch you.”
Her eyes flinch at the wordwifebut she doesn’t say anything. Her nails, however, start digging into my skin.