Page 23 of Reign

Down, girl.

When Nikita’s hand finally connects with my face, I stop breathing but I don’t blink. Cas starts to rise from his chair and I hold up a hand to stop him. He responds by picking up a vase and smashing it against the wall.

Still, the spell with Nikita isn’t broken. “Tell me what you want.” It comes out as a breathy whisper and I should be mortified but I can’t bring myself to care.

His thumb trails my bottom lip as he takes a moment to find his words. “I want Dominic to help me get rid of Mateo instead of huntingme. In return, he and I will both be free and I won’t collect on my end of the bargain I made with Mateo all those years ago. Which means you, my dear, can have the freedom to choose either of us or neither of us.”

From gritted teeth beside us, Dominic says, “And if I refuse?”

Nikita drops his hand from my face and in an act that holds the quickness of lightning, he pulls me into his lap.

“Then you’ll declare war on me which also means declaring war on the Russian mafia, my friend. You’ll slow me down in my mission of revenge and freedom and as a punishment for that, you’ll lose this sweet fruit in the process.” He actually flicks his thumb across my nipple which, unfortunately for me, has a visible reaction to his touch and pebbles quickly. “Because I’m not above locking her away until she falls for her captor.”

Cas stands, about to lunge for Nikita when I rip myself away from him.

“Enough! Both of you. I won’t be used as another fucking bargaining chip ever again.” I don’t realize that I’ve moved closer to Cas until I feel his hand pull the back of my t-shirt so I’m leaning against his side. I turn to look at him and soften my voice although I mean the words that pour from my lips. “Stop trying to claim me. I belong to no one but myself.” I see the hurt flare in his eyes and can tell his jaw is clenched again. I’m honestly not trying to be vindictive this time but his caveman act and savior complex have got to get a grip. I haven’t had chance to get to know myself as an adult. To fall in love with myself, and although I do love Cas and suspect I always will, if we end up together, I’ve realized that I don’t want it to be out of fear or some feeling of owing him for saving me from Willem, saving me from his family, or saving me from Nikita.

I continue while I have command of the room. “Nikita, you said Cas could fill me in on the rest of the story, so before we agree to helping you, I’d like to hear it. Plus, I’m having brunch with your sister in two hours. Once I’m satisfied that I have the answers I need, then you’ll have your answer. All I’m asking is for twenty-four hours before we agree to helping you murder myactualfather this time.”

“You still won’t have all the answers because some things you just have to see for yourself, but I’ll be waiting.” Nikita slides a card across the coffee table.Do Russian mafia members carry business cards?It isn’t until I get a closer look that I realize it’s a picture of me and my parents taken from afar. It’s creepy because it’s clear we didn’t know someone was watching us. My heart constricts and I can hear the pity in Nikita’s voice when he speaks.

“They weren’t the people you thought they were, but I’m sorry you lost them anyway. Although, considering the shit your biological father was already starting to get involved in, your life was destined to be fucked up long before I entered the picture.”

He stands and smooths a hand over the bottom of his suit coat, coaxing out a wrinkle. His Omega watch catches my eye as it peeks out from his coat sleeve. How the man stands to wear a coat in this Miami heat is beyond me, but he seems unfazed. He heads to see himself out the front door when he turns and says, “Twenty-four hours or I’ll consider this war.”

As the door slams shut, I stay rooted to the spot, stunned at the interaction that just took place.

“Libby,” Cas says hesitantly, “I’m dying over here. Please, say something.”

So, I do. “Tell me why Nikita killed my parents.”

He sighs and rubs a hand over his face and recites the information he learned from both Mateo and Nikita, leaving my head spinning again.

~

THE TEXT FROM JOELLE comes in at nine-thirty with directions to SeaSpice Café. Cas asks if he can drive me and since heaskedinstead ofdemanded,I agreed. He’s nervous about the outing because I haven’t had a chance to get my GPS bracelet back from Camila yet and although I have my phone, it’s easy for that to get stolen or left behind. After he filled me on what Nikita told him, he went out on the beach and stayed there until it was time to leave.

It's weird how distance works. I feel Cas pulling away to give me the space I asked for and although it hurts, I also draw strength from it.

When I approach the hostess stand and give her my name, she leads me to an outdoor patio that is surrounded by a tall wooden privacy fence ten feet high. It works wonders to block out the noise from the street. A pergola sits just on the inside of the fence that ivy trails along the legs of giving the patio a quaint feel. The tinted plexiglass roof prevents the sun from baking the restaurant patrons alive in the Miami heat.

Our table is in the corner and no one is seated at either table to our left or right.

Joelle takes a sip of her mimosa and looks at me over the rim of her glass. “Good morning, Isabel.” She has a sweet smile on her face and her eyes are clear. She hasn’t been drinking long and she doesn’t look angry or suspicious which is a relief.

“Jo, thank you for meeting me.”

She nods. “I hear my brother pulled a Houdini and paid you a visit this morning. Sorry about that. I keep trying to remind him that breaking and entering isn’t a way to get people on his side, but like most men I know, he ignores everything I say.”

I can’t help the laugh that bubbles up out of my throat as I raise my glass in toast to Joelle. “Here, here, sister.” She chuckles and clinks her glass to mine. “Did he happen to tell you all of the fun information he shared while he was invading our home?”

“The CliffsNotes version. Although, I saw a pretty decent sparkle in his eyes when he talked about you,” she admits.

“That only complicates things for me.” After having been without a woman to confide in for so long, no female companion to hash things out with a million times in a million different ways like my female brain needs to do, I’m sorely tempted to tell her everything. From start to finish. But I’m still not sure I can trust her, so I leave my response there for now.

We start with small talk for almost an hour. It seems both of us want to avoid the heavy stuff right off the bat. It also gives us a chance to down a couple of mimosas to ease the sting of the conversation.

Finally, she casts a furtive glance around the patio to see if anyone is paying attention to our table. Only when she’s satisfied does she pick up her champagne flute with a shockingly steady hand – given the reason for our meeting - to take another sip before addressing me.

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