The Lost Souls (The Holy Trinity #2.5)(36)

Loving.

The way a woman should love a man.

For the first time since he’d woken up…different…Shandor felt almost human again.





Chapter Nineteen


“Are you proud of yourself, frate?”

Inside the otherwise empty food tent, Nico glanced up from his venison stew and watched as Tobar let the heavy tent flap fall behind him. Crossing the space between them quickly, Tobar slid onto the picnic bench across from him.

It had been weeks since he’d betrayed Becki with Magdolna. The entire clan knew, he hadn’t hidden it, and now no one was speaking to him.

It would be his luck that Tobar was the one to break the shunning silence.

He was one lucky *, that was for sure. He had been lucky enough to fall for a woman who would never love him back, lucky enough to want to father the copil of another man, a man who just so happened to be his clan’s baró, and lucky to be stupid enough to f*ck another fat? because he’d been angry and hurting and hadn’t known how else to deal with his feelings.

Yeah, he was real damn lucky.

The quick, heated bout of sex hadn’t even been worth it. Nico had felt even worse when it was over. From the moment he’d zipped up his jeans, he’d been unable to look at Magdolna, and had run from her, from her trailer, but his guilt had arrived late. The damage had been done. He’d not only been seen carrying Mags into her trailer but also running out, looking disheveled.

Everyone knew.

He could have dealt with the clan’s accusations, his mam?’s disapproval, but what he couldn’t deal with was what he saw in Becki’s eyes.

She would never forgive him.

He was just another man she could add to her long list of men who’d hurt and disappointed her. In fact, he wasn’t even a man at all. He was a coward. He’d taken the coward’s way out, burying his broken heart between the thighs of another woman.

But Nico wasn’t going to just slink off and disappear. He was Becki’s husband, she was his wife, and he’d made promises to her, ones he intended to keep. He would give her time, they both just needed some time, but sooner or later he was going to return to his trailer and take back what was his.

He foresaw quite a bit of groveling in his future. Especially if he ever wanted to have sex again.

“Do I look proud of myself?” he growled at Tobar.

Smirking, Tobar shrugged. “I couldn’t care less,” he said. “The only reason I’m acknowledging your pathetic existence is because Becki came to me, requesting a divorce, and I’m granting it.”

Every nerve in Nico’s body shot to attention, and his back went ramrod straight. “On what grounds?” he demanded.

Tobar shrugged again. “For starters, you betrayed your marriage vows.”

Nico’s fists came crashing down on top of the table. “Fuck you!” he yelled. “You’re actually going to sit there and look me in the eye and tell me you’re going to let her divorce me because I cheated? Jericho would have laughed that sort of request right out of camp! We both know I’m not the first Gypsy to betray his wife, not by a long shot! Romanis aren’t equal opportunists! Women don’t have any f*cking rights, and she’s my f*cking woman!”

Tobar’s dark eyes remained cold and uncaring. “My tat? mare is gone,” he bit out. “This is my clan now.”

Nico shook his head wildly. “You can’t. You have no grounds to grant a divorce unless the husband requests it, and I’m not requesting a damn thing.”

“Secondly,” Tobar continued, ignoring him, “we have no proof that Hockey is dead. Neither Xan nor Marko saw him die. And if he is still alive, that makes your marriage—”

“You’re fishing!” Nico yelled, jumping to his feet. Gripping the edge of the table, he leaned forward. “Hockey is dead, and you know it! Be a f*cking man, frate, and say the real reason you’re going to grant my wife a divorce!”

Tobar looked up at him. “You have no right to question my authority. I’m your baró, the leader of this clan, and you—”

“Fuck you!” Nico yelled. “And your authority! You want her, Tobar! Admit it! You’ve wanted her from the beginning!”

Tobar shot to his feet with such force, the bench beneath him toppled over. “I should thank you,” he bit out. “For sending Becki straight to me. I hope Magdolna was worth it.” Turning away, Tobar headed for the tent entrance.

“You will not touch my wife!” Nico yelled.

Pausing, Tobar glanced over his shoulder and smirked. “I’m your baró,” he said. “I’ll touch whatever the f*ck I want. Who’s going to stop me? You?” Tobar laughed coldly.

Beneath his skin, Nico’s muscles rippled with rage. “You will not touch my wife!” he roared.

Rolling his eyes, Tobar turned away, dismissing him, and Nico—not thinking, just reacting to rage building inside him—grabbed the end of the picnic table, flipped it up, and sent it flying across the tent. Reaching for the blade on his belt, he went running.

Tobar never saw it coming. He didn’t even have time to fight Nico with magic. Before he’d turned fully around, Nico was already on top of him, sinking his knife into the side of his neck. The long hunting blade went clean through to the other side.