Page 183 of The Catalyst

My expression drops.

He can’t though. That’s the problem and Martin knows that.

Before dinner started, I saw Nolan hand the contract to Martin for him to read it, which I thought was strange. None of it had anything to do with Martin, but maybe he requested to see it.

Martin groans as he slowly shakes his head.

“I won’t do that to you,” Martin admits in a raspy voice. “And, I won’t do it toher, either.”

Ollie’s eyebrows knit together before his eyes meet mine.

Fresh tears blur my vision as I say, “If anything happens to him or anyone else in his family, he’ll have all of the Bastards arrested. He had it all set up so that in the event of his death, it would still happen. That includes me in the equation. I would be arrested along with you, Nigel, Ronan, Oisin, Charlie, and anyone with a close association with the Bastards. That means Judy, Arely, and Perla, too.”

It’s never been easy to decipher his emotions, but the devastation is clear on Ollie’s face.

“I’m not going to ask you not to do anything—just to wait until my contract is up. Then, you can torture him all you want. Hell, I’ll be right there with you, watching him suffer with a smile on my face. It just can’t be until then. I need your word, Oliver. Swear to me. Swearbyme. Swear on my life, on the life of our baby, on Martin’s, and on your own, because if you don’t, you’ll put us all in jeopardy.”

Hurt echoes deep within my chest as it becomes clear for my crazy man that he can’t avenge his cousin’s agony or the threat against me. All he can do is just accept it.

For now, at least.

“I swear,” he finally speaks after a minute as Martin groans. “Watch him. If he gets any worse, call an ambulance, okay?”

I nod as Ollie walks out the door and I spend the rest of the day nursing Martin’s wounds. I hold ice with the washcloth and try to ease some of his bruises, but his injuries are so bad. I’ve never even seen someone come out of the ring looking like this.

I swear, if he dies, I’ll kill Nolan myself. Consequences be damned.

“Little rabbit,” he mutters in the late afternoon as I stroke his hair.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t feel bad. I asked for this.”

My eyes widen. “What do you mean?”

He clears his throat as he forces his eyes open, the oceanic blues I fell so hard for completely bloodshot. “I took your punishment so you wouldn’t have to. You and the baby matter more than my pretty face.”

I cry while rolling my eyes at how he could say something sweet yet heartbreaking and somehow make a joke out of it.

“Don’t ever do that again, please. I can handle bruises. What I can’t handle is seeing you like this.”

A rough chuckle comes from him mixed with pain. “Ditto, baby.”

“How are we going to make it through the next thirteen years?” I ask, fresh tears falling.

“By keeping our heads down.”

That’s it, then. The only way we can survive is by doing whatever Nolan wants us to do. I’ll bite my tongue and curb my attitude if it means this never happens to Martin ever again.

I can’t take seeing him like this.

CHAPTER 71

OLIVER

Iarrive at the house, and I can still smell my crazy girl on my face. That is by far the best smell I could use as a cologne, but it’s also tainted by the scent of blood. That usually doesn’t bother me, but it does because the blood belongs to my cousin.

I’ve always had a special relationship with Martin that I could never attain with Michael. Everyone loves Michael and thinks he shits rainbows. While Martin is viewed in a similar way by people that I am. He is the black sheep of the Gray family while I’m the black sheep of this fucking town.

---