Wretched (Never After Series)(72)

“I’ll admit, I was starting to lose faith.” He chuckles. “You’re incredibly cagey, do you know that about yourself?”

“Seems I had a right to be,” I snap.

“Fair.” He quirks his lips. “Honestly, they were about to pull me. But then… you gave me a gift.”

Disbelief rains down on me like hail. “I told you about the greenhouse.”

“Do you think they’ll give me the medal of merit?” His eyes lose focus like he’s picturing it right then. “Don’t take it personally, babe. We’ve got stuff on the Cantanellis too thanks to that recording you suggested we take of the mayor.”

The USB drive. I had forgotten that even existed.

“All this time, I thought you were this mysterious guy, living behind a curtain and playing fancy tricks with your computers.”

He shrugs. “I’m a man of many talents.”

“You’re a real piece of shit.”

“Come on, there’s no ne—” There’s a bang, and then his eyes widen, blood spraying from the hole that just appeared in the middle of his head. It drips down his face, and his body drops, the thud loud as it hits the ground.

Nicholas stands behind him, my gun at his side, and his eyes like fire as they burn through me.

My mouth drops open, and I stare at him, completely gobsmacked. My heart gallops. “What—”

“Quiet,” he demands, closing the door behind him and then rushing forward to lean over Cody’s dead body, his hands checking his pockets until he finds a small set of keys.

I snap my mouth closed because, well, I’m not really in a position of doing anything other than what he asks right now.

“Is there another way out of here?” he asks.

My brows scrunch, my eyes flinging back and forth from Cody and the blood pooling around his body, then back to Nick. Again and again. Is this what shock feels like?

“Eveline.” His voice is sharp. “Is there another way for you to go?”

I swallow, snapping out of my daze, my chest heaving as I realize what he just did. “Ye-yeah, there’s a tunnel underground that has a back exit.”

When he kneels at my side, his cinnamon and pine scent flows through me, making my chest cramp so tight I can hardly breathe. “You need to leave.”

He undoes my cuffs, and I bring my hands up, rubbing at my wrists. “You just—”

Grabbing my face, he turns it to him, his hands as steady as they ever were, his thumbs brushing beneath my cheeks. His eyes are dark and worried and so fucking perfect, and it pisses me off that even now, I get distracted by everything he is.

“Listen to me,” he rushes out. “You need to go.”

“But I—”

He slams his mouth to mine and I can’t help but to kiss him back, because for everything he’s done, and everything he’s not, I still love him, no matter how much I’ve tried to stop.

“I love you,” he says.

A sob works its way through my body and gets stuck on the back of my tongue.

“I didn’t know that I could love until you. And you’re not perfect, okay? You piss me off and you do things I never thought I’d be alright with, and you’re moody as hell. You’re actually the furthest fucking thing from perfect I’ve ever seen. But Eveline… you’re perfect for me.”

My heart twists, small bits of it mending back together at the seams.

He kisses me one more time. “In about five minutes, this place is going to swarm with feds, and they’re here for you. You understand what I’m saying?”

I nod, my stomach flipping, the blood racing through my veins.

He tightens his grip on my face. “Listen to me. I won’t ask for your forgiveness.” He glances at the door before locking his frantic eyes back on me. “I don’t want you to forgive me right now. I just want to know you’re out there and there’s a chance. That one day, maybe we’ll meet again, and I’ll walk up to you and say I’m Nicholas Tennyson Woodsworth, my favorite color is blue, I hated school, and I am so fucking in love with you that I can’t imagine living in a world that doesn’t have you in it.”

I hiccup, my hands wrapping around his wrists.

“If you don’t run, right now, then I don’t get that chance.” His eyes flick back and forth between mine. “Please, let me have it, pretty girl. Go.”

There’s a single moment where I consider staying. I stare over at Cody, sprawled out on the floor, and I wonder how Nicholas will explain it. If he’ll be able to.

“I’ll be fine,” he urges.

He grabs me, presses his lips to mine one more time, and then shoves me away.

I jump up, turn around, and run.





40





NICHOLAS





I made it in time.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I would. I hadn’t resigned yet, wanting to keep my eyes and ears open, and thank fucking god I did, considering it was only three hours ago I got the tip that Agent Baum was moving in.

When I heard, there was a moment of clarity, like staring into crystal clear waters for the first time in my life. There was no doubt left, everything I’ve been battling dissipated into thin air as though it never existed in the first place.