Page 58 of Finders Keep Her
“Really, I was trying to find you because you’re never home. I wanted to see you. I had an old email, and I tried there, but you didn’t respond, so I asked around.”
It’s hard to recall what information Nick might know about me. I have known him since I was a kid. Hell, he knew my mom.
“All right, whatever.” That doesn’t matter at the moment. “Tell me everything. All the details of the things you two spoke about. All of it, or I’ll have Ronan here cut out your eyes,” I bluff. I mean, he can cut them out, but I’m not staying to watch that.
“Please! I’ll tell you everything. Just keep him away from me.” I know I shouldn’t, but I smile, thinking about how fearful Nick is of Ronan. I should probably have a little of that too, but I feel the exact opposite. My Ro is planted firmly behind me, always at my back, even when I didn't know it.
“Then what are you waiting for?” As much as I wanted to know what the hole is, I’m not a fan of hanging out in it. There is no Wi-Fi, and it smells.
Nick lets it all out in a string of run-on sentences, thinking the faster he talks, the faster he gets out of here. By the time he's done, he's out of breath.
He is stupider than I imagined. Here I thought I was naïve. He ate up everything Cyberius was feeding him. Cyberius made him believe that he cares about me and was worried. He was able to amp that up once Cyberius linked that I am now connected to the Marino family, which, if the timeline is correct, he picked up on when Ronan had set that first trap.
I'm guessing Cyberius wasn't sure what to do with that link at first. I could have only been poking around, but he'd sent Nick back home to check things out, and there Ronan was, and it was more than clear we were together.
“You know he is likely to kill you,” Ronan tells Nick. “He was never going to give you Ellie; he wants her for himself.”
“Wait, no.” Nick shakes his head adamantly.
“Don’t you know better than to trust people you meet online?”
“The Marino family!” Nick is fighting to try and be on the right side of this.
“You sold me out.”
“I was saving you.” It’s pointless to have this conversation further with him. I turn around to face Ronan. The only one that needs saving right now is Nick.
“He’s just a dumbass.” I rub my temples. “What the hell do we do with him?” I’m not sure I have it in me to let him die. He might truly believe he was doing the right thing. All I can think about right now are his parents.
“That’s up to you.”
“Maybe we should talk to my dad,” I suggest.
“He knows. We had a talk before I grabbed him.”
“Really?” I smile up at him. “I love that you two get along.”
“He told me to do what I thought I should. That he trusted my choice.”
“Then why are you making it my choice?” I try to glare at him, but I can’t keep it up.
“What I thought should be done was letting you decide.”
“If we let him go, he could go running his mouth.” I start to weigh out the pros and cons.
“He could.” Ronan nods in agreement.
“But that’s the thing. I’m not hiding anymore, so how much does that matter?”
“I swear I won’t tell anyone anything. I messed up. I believe that Cyberius is bad.”
“Shut up,” I snip at him. "Now, where was I?"
"Plotting."
"Right." I snap my fingers. "If Nick here is so sorry, then maybe he could prove it." A slow, sexy smile spreads across Ro's handsome face. "If I'm going to hunt, I'll need bait."
“That’s my girl.”
