Page 38 of Taking Over the Dark

I blurt out, “Has someone checked this thing for bombs?” as we pull up to the sitting plane.

The whole car turns to look at me in the middle of the back seat, and Noah’s the one to break the silence first. “Yes. Rhett and Dino check the plane every time before it takes off. Also, the pilot was an explosive expert in the military. He does a check before take off as well.”

“Okay, that makes me feel better.” I slump back into the seat, adding, “I don’t like flying…”

Nash grabs my thigh, comforting me. “I didn’t either before starting to play at Palm University. We never flew as kids, and I had to get used to it once I got to college. I can show you some of my breathing techniques when we get boarded.”

He shouldn’t be the one comforting me right now. The whole reason we’re getting on this plane is that his sister and one of her lovers have been kidnapped, but of course, he is.

It’s Nash.

My sweet Big Boy.

I’ve flown twice, and neither was a bad experience, but I still do not like it. However, walking onto this plane is completely different. I roll my eyes and turn to look at Marcello. “Do you know how bad this is for the fucking environment?”

“Yes, I do. That’s why I donate to nonprofit environmental foundations, and my plane releases the least amount of emissions available on the market. I have to have this thing for the organs to allow Haisley to conduct her job properly.”

“I really try to hate you… then you say shit like that,” I say over my shoulder as I walk away from the people piling onto this plane. We really are taking the whole damn crew.

Mar and her guys are here. The two of them follow her around like two lost puppies, and I can’t blame them one bit… she’s hot as fuck. Blair, Vin, and Noah are on here as well. Plus, Marcello’s two right-hand men, Rhett and Dino. I still don’t know how I feel about them after finding out they were the ones that were supposed to be protecting me at the bar when my car blew up. But I know they couldn’t have stopped it even if they wanted to, and that scares the fuck out of me.

Nash sits beside me in the oversized seat, lifting the armrest between us. He buckles me into the seat, does the same to himself, and then pulls my upper half under his arm, wrapping his arm around me. Inhaling his scent sends me back to the first night I met him. The cinnamon, orchid, and some other spice I can never figure out that he wears are unique, and they’ll forever be ingrained in my brain for him, Nash Hayden.

The plane starts to taxi down the runway, and Nash starts to whisper to me, “We’re going to breathe. In for eight.” I startto pull my air in through my nostrils, slowly letting my eyes drift close. “Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Hold it for four.” We do it together, and then he instructs, “Now release through your lips. Slowly.” We go through that same routine too many times to count, and before I know it, we’re in the air, and the pilot’s voice is coming over the speakers, letting us know we can unbuckle if we want to.

We both unbuckle, and he pulls me into his lap to lie across it. It feels odd being as tall as I am, but I feel so small compared to this monster of a man.

“Are you okay,Mi Amor?”

“Now I am.” I snuggle into his chest and listen to his heartbeat for a minute. I could easily fall asleep, but I want to use this time to check in with him. “Are you okay, Nash?”

He starts, “I thought I was, and then that call from Dario brought back every bad memory with my dad, plus the guilt of leaving Willow down here with him is really eating at me now. I find myself wondering if this would’ve happened if I would’ve tried harder to get her to come with me when I moved here.”

“I don’t think this is only from today’s events. I know you’ve been fighting with this for a while. This shined every light on it. You couldn’t have stopped this from happening.”

“I know, but I also know me being involved in everything in Las Vegas isn’t helping anything. Especially if my dad’s hands are deeper in this shit than we all thought.”

“Again, none of that is your fault. You cannot control other people’s actions or emotions. Even if that person is your parent,” I explain to him while wrapping my arms around his stomach.

He grew up with a parent just like my mother, but he was a hundred times worse.

A dirty cop.

My mother’s tongue was the worst thing on her. She never cared how deep her words would cut me, but it did give metough skin. The one person that was supposed to love me unconditionally couldn’t do that. Everyone talks about daddy issues, but having a mom who can’t love you for you is the worst wound I will ever wish on anyone. How Nash still has any light shining in him, I’ll never know… but he does.

* HEDONIST [RECHARGED] - Bad Omens, WARGASM (UK)

TWENTY-SEVEN

NASH

How she looks up at me has my heartbeat picking up. She starts in a hushed tone, “You might be taking over the dark in Vegas, but Nash, you’re all the light we will ever need. Even in the worst scenario imaginable, you were my light, and no one can dim that. Not even your father.” She runs her hand down my face, adding, “Do you understand that?” The thing that makes my breath hitch is her use of the word “we.”

I give her a nod, taking in what she’s saying, finally coming to terms with the fact that I can be happy and fully lean into that happiness. The darkness might surround me, but I’ll be the light the three of them need, steering them away from dangers like an old, sturdy lighthouse.

?*“I love you, Ellie.”

She unwraps her arms from my stomach, making my stomach feel like it’ll fall out of my ass, thinking I’ve scared her off, but I can’t keep those words to myself anymore. She surprises me by saying, “I love you too, Nash Hayden.” The beaming smile lighting up her face makes me think she’s the light she keeps talking about. “I heard you say it when we were in the bunker, but I didn’t have the energy to speak, let alone look at you…”

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