Nico (Ruin & Revenge #1)(88)

“That actually went better than I thought it would,” Jules said. It was either get their respect and have them lead us to Nico, or death.”

Nico was on the phone in a small office behind the pool table. Mia left Jules with Luca and Frankie, who were shooting a game, and sat in the seat across Nico’s desk. He looked up, his face expressionless, as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone.

Mia mouthed a “hello,” and Nico stood and walked to the other side of the room, his voice dropping to a hushed whisper. She caught the words hospital and surgery, but not much else.

He had taken off his jacket and tie and rolled up his shirtsleeves. Mia remembered how distracted she had been looking at his forearms when he helped her fix the car. She had never imagined that all her fantasies about him that day would come true. Or all her nightmares.

After he ended the call, he stayed at the far end of the room, staring out the window. For a man who was constantly in motion, his stillness alarmed her. She could see the stress etched in the lines on his face, the set of his jaw, and the lift of his shoulders. She could feel his pain. “Is everything all right?”

“It’s business.”

Her heart ached at his dismissive tone. She hoped she wouldn’t add to his problems with what she had come here to do, although if she were honest with herself, it was just an excuse to see him.

“I came to return this.” She pulled off the ring and placed it on his desk beside his silver pen as he turned to face her. “I don’t feel right keeping it. And frankly, I’m relieved. It was so huge I felt like I was going to be jumped any minute by someone with a chain saw prepared to cut off my hand to get it.”

She saw the faintest quiver of a smile, and then his face went blank again. “It was temporary. Something I had lying around.”

“Yeah, I have fifty-thousand-dollar engagement rings lying around my house, too, although I can’t find them under the pizza boxes.” Mia forced a laugh, although she could barely breathe for the tension in the room. Why the hell had she come? Jules had pumped her up with her rah rah speech, but now that she was sitting in front of the man who felt betrayed by her choices, she could see it was a huge mistake. She hadn’t expected him to forgive her, and he clearly wasn’t happy to have her here.

“I guess I’d better go. Jules is outside, probably causing trouble.” She stood and walked to the door.

“If I’d had the chance, I would have picked something different for you,” Nico said into the silence. “Platinum, not gold.”

“Maybe some skulls on it?” she suggested, as a glimmer of hope flickered in her chest.

“Something unconventional. A bit of a steampunk design, with a black diamond in the center and pink ones on either side.”

Emotion welled up in her throat. “Sounds very specific.”

“It was.”

“Well, now you can buy a dozen rings.” She stared at the ring on the desk, already missing the connection it represented.

He crossed the floor to the desk, and picked up the pen. “I only need one.”

“For your fiancée?” Embarrassed she put up her hand. “Don’t answer that. It’s not my business. I just came to return the ring and to tell you I’m sorry. I didn’t get a chance to tell you before. But I am deeply sorry. It was an impossible choice. My brother isn’t a good person. He’s weak and self-centered and cruel, and he did you a terrible, unspeakable, unforgiveable wrong that hurts my heart just thinking about it. But he is my brother, and although I think he should pay for what he did, I couldn’t just offer him up to you on a silver platter. You said you were willing to put aside the vendetta against my father; I hoped you would extend that forgiveness to Dante. Death isn’t the only way to get justice.”

Nico flipped the pen around his thumb. “You didn’t give me the choice.”

“I know. And you deserved to have that choice. But I couldn’t take the risk. I hope one day you can forgive me.”

“You didn’t trust me.” He picked up the ring and put it in his pocket.

“I trusted you with me. I don’t think you would ever hurt me. But no, I didn’t trust you with Dante’s life. Your reputation precedes you.”

“So loyal.” He stared at her intently as the pen twirled. “I wouldn’t need an alliance if all my men were as loyal as you.”

“They are.” She gave him a quizzical look. “From what I’ve seen and heard, they admire and respect you, and they are proud to be part of your crew.”

“Apparently not all of them.” His corded throat tightened when he swallowed. “I have my own impossible choice to make.”

Mia had never seen him so conflicted. She ached to hold him, but he’d taken the ring and made it clear that what they had was over. Giving him physical comfort wasn’t the right thing to do. He wasn’t hers any more. And she wasn’t his. “I’m sorry, Nico.”

“So the fuck am I.”

She pulled a real estate brochure from her purse and dropped it on his desk, her far-reaching attempt to make good the damage she had done. “Here’s something that might cheer you up. The Desert Dream is going up for sale.”

When he didn’t respond, she pushed it toward him. “It was one of the Rat Pack’s favorite hotels and one of the last old Vegas-meets-Hollywood hotels left.”