Final Debt (Indebted #6)(121)

So even though I’m physically gone, I swear to you I won’t leave spiritually. Scatter my remains on the estate and whenever the wind blows, I’m there telling you a joke. Whenever it snows, I’m there covering you in frost. Whenever the sun shines, I’m there warming your chaotic soul.

And when you finally meet a girl worthy of your love, I’ll exist within her. I’ll teach her how to help you. I’ll guide her how to protect you like you’ll protect her. Because you’re the best goddamn friend a brother could ever ask for and whoever the girl is who steals your heart, I know she’s worth it.

I love her already. Just like I love you.

Never forget that friendships are forever.

I’ll see you again, Kite.

I’ll always be around.



I didn’t cry, even though my soul raged at the unjust and loss. My hands shook as I folded the letter and placed it carefully into its envelope. Kes had written the note before we claimed Nila. He’d sat alone one night and penned a letter to be delivered after his death.

How had he managed to pour so much into a few short paragraphs? How had he known exactly what to say?

If only he’d written it after he met Nila.

He would know what he predicted came true.

Nila was my everything.

She’d replaced Kes as my crutch, and I would never take her for granted like I did him.

Never.

The breeze blew gently, smelling sweetly of hay from the stables.

I closed my eyes and just rested in the moment. No thoughts. No concerns. I let life exist around me and stole a few short seconds to connect with my dead brother.

You’re still here, Kestrel.

I feel you.



Another few days passed and life found a new rhythm.

The Black Diamond brothers sorted out their own hierarchy. I put Flaw in charge as temporary president and he culled the members who didn’t want to walk on the right side of the law. Those we paid handsomely, made them sign non-disclosure agreement guaranteeing hefty punishments if they spoke out of turn, and let them leave the club.

As our membership was always about diamonds and business, no one had to be unpatched or excommunicated from the brotherhood. They were just employees searching for new work.

One night, once we’d all eaten—Weavers and Hawks sharing a table in the red dining room where so much pain had occurred—I took Nila by the hand to our quarters. Once upon a time, my rooms had been called the bachelor wing, but now, they were our matrimonial suite. A honeymoon before I made her my wife.

We entered the wing. However, instead of taking her to bed, I gave her a key.

Standing at the base of a small staircase leading to a storage floor above, her black eyes met mine with confusion. “What’s this?”

I smiled softly, wrapping her fingers around the key. “The past week I’ve managed to put some of my past behind me. It’s time for you to do the same.” Gathering her in a hug, I murmured, “Time to let the past go so we can all move on and heal.”

I didn’t want to think about what she’d find up there. She had to face it. Just like I’d faced Cut.

She let me hug her, her desire for me building the longer we touched. I couldn’t put this off anymore. I’d already put it off too long.

Pulling away, I let her go, dragging a hand through my hair.

She frowned, twirling the key in her fingers. “What does it open?”

Something you won’t want to see.

Climbing the first few rungs of the steps, I held out my hand for her to follow. “I’ll show you.”

She silently chased me up the twisting stone staircase, nervousness layering her thoughts the higher we strode.

We didn’t bump into anyone. There was no fear of being caught by snooping cameras or hiding from madmen with death threats. Just an ordinary house and an ordinary night. About to do a very unordinary thing.

Nila slowed the higher we climbed. “Where are we going?”

I didn’t look back. If I did, I’d second-guess the intelligence of what I was doing. It wasn’t my choice to decide if this was wrong. It was Nila’s. “Almost there.”

When we arrived on Cut’s third floor, she faltered. “Tell me.”

Grabbing her hand, I tugged her down the plush carpeted corridor. Up here no artwork or embroidery decorated the space. These rooms were the unseen part of the Hall. The place where secrets were stored and debts were hidden for eternity.

“You’ll see.” I led Nila further down the corridor, stopping outside a room she hadn’t been permitted to enter. This wasn’t just a room but a tomb of memories. There were still so many unexplored parts of the Hall. She’d only visited a fraction of my home and most rooms were welcoming and just like any other.

But not this one.

This one housed nightmares.

The storage mecca of every debt extracted.

The carved door depicted roses and tulips, similar to the awful flower arrangements Bonnie had enjoyed. The moment the contents were cleared, I would destroy the door, too.

Taking the key from Nila’s suddenly shaking fingers; I inserted it into the lock and opened the door. The soft snick of the mechanism made me swallow hard. I felt as if I trespassed on things I shouldn’t, entering a realm not meant for me. “After you.”

My heart thudded at the seriousness on her face. “What—what’s in there?”