Page 30 of Veil of Secrets

Nico doesn’t move.

Then—just to make sure—he plants his boot on Tommy’s chest and pushes. Not hard. Just firm enough that the body stops twitching.

The sound of waves eats the rest.

Everything is still.

I don’t move.

I don’t breathe.

And then—I do.

My chest lurches. A ragged breath finally gets through. It burns.

I look at Nico.

He’s wiping his blade on Tommy’s jacket, methodical, like he’s done it a hundred times.

Maybe he has.

"Why would you do that?" I ask, voice sharp, cracking. "Why now?"

He doesn’t look up yet. Just tosses the jacket aside.

Then he meets my eyes.

"Because you looked at him like he still had power," he says. "I hate that look on you."

I step back.

Only a little.

The boards creak under my heel.

My throat tightens. The chain feels too tight suddenly.

"I didn’t need saving," I say.

He nods. “Good.”

I stare at the body. At the blood soaking into the pier.

“He was already dead to me,” I whisper.

“Then I just made it real.”

I look at him.

His face isn’t soft. It’s not smug either.

It’s just honest.

Like the kill wasn’t about proving anything. Just... ending it.

"You can’t just do things like that," I say.

“I just did.”

---