Page 49 of Taming a Ruthless Heart

“Congratulations, brother.”I finally say, doing my best to keep my voice even, but I don’t mask the pride that buffs my chest.It slips through my words.“You deserve this.You both do.”

He sighs, a long, relieved breath, as if he’d been waiting for my approval.“Thanks, Dave.Means a lot coming from you.I know I don’t call often and you’ve got a lot on your plate with the business and Dad’s declining health now?—”

“Don’t.”My voice is sharp, cutting through the vulnerability I sense in him.“You don’t owe me anything.”

“I know,” he murmurs, a raw edge in his voice.“But it doesn’t mean I don’t think about it.About everything you’ve done to keep me and Angie safe.”

He’s talking about the events of two years ago.But there are other things Nick doesn’t even dream of.The past comes rushing back, the late-night phone calls and frantic messages to my associates.The plans Dad and I put in place to shield Nick, keeping his name off the radar.I kept him safe when I couldn’t even keep myself safe, sacrificing pieces of myself so he could pursue his dreams.

To Nick, my voice gruff, I just say, “I’d do it all again.You know that.”And I mean all I did over the last fifteen years.

“Yeah, I know.”He pauses, and I can hear him swallowing hard.“It’s just that I shut you out of my life for so long.Then, when I needed you, you swooped in like those years never happened, Dave.And you literally saved me and my wife.You gave me a life I couldn’t have had otherwise.”

I clear my throat as the weight of Nick’s gratitude presses against my chest like an anvil.I’m not used to softness, to this kind of sincerity.Most of the people around me deal in lies, deals, and betrayals.But Nick?He’s honest.Always has been.That’s why he couldn’t stay in our line of business.

“Mom was right.You didn’t belong here.I’m glad you got out of this life.I’m proud of what you accomplished, the life you built for yourself.You deserve better and you got it.”I pause to take a deep inhale.Half-joking, to deflect the heaviness settling between us, I add, “Just don’t get all sentimental on me, little brother.”

Nick chuckles, a faint sound.“Too late.And hey, get ready for when you meet the kid.It’s a lot of responsibility being an uncle, you know.”

The image hits me out of nowhere—a small, fragile life untouched by any of this darkness, unaware of the sins that cling to our family’s name.A niece or nephew.An innocent who might look up at me and see just an uncle, not the man I’ve become, not the ruthless leader holding the Syndicate’s reins in his bloody hands.

“I’d like that,” I say, voice softer, the words barely more than a murmur.“I’d like it very much.I miss you and Angie.”

There’s a pause, a beat of silence where I can almost see him smiling on the other end of the line.His sigh of relief is audible.

“Dave, are you okay?I mean, really.You sound… different.”Nick’s tone shifts from lighthearted to cautious, probing.

For a moment, I consider brushing him off, falling back into the habit of protecting him from the weight of my world.But Nick isn’t a kid anymore.He’s a man, one who deserves at least a sliver of the truth.

Nick knows Alexia.He witnessed how head-over-heals in love I was back in the day.We even talked about her when I was helping him fight the Silvieris to keep Angie by his side.I don’t want to burden him with the news that she’s in danger.He has other concerns to occupy his mind right now.

“It’s complicated.”I drag a hand down my face, trying to shake the fatigue, the frustration that’s been building like poison in my veins.“Things are shifting right now.Old enemies coming back to haunt me, that sort of thing.”

“Uh-huh.”He hums before turning quiet, thoughtful.“If there’s anything I can do, just let me know, Dave.”

The offer is simple, earnest, and it catches me off guard.Nick’s lived so far from this world for so long, yet here he is, reaching out, offering help.He doesn’t owe me anything—he’s paid his dues a hundred times over by escaping this life.But I hear the sincerity, the loyalty that no amount of distance could erase.

“I appreciate it, Nick.I do,” I say, feeling that familiar warmth rise in my chest again.It’s rare, this feeling, this connection.But for a moment, I allow myself to lean into it, to let down my guard.“Just keep living the life you’ve chosen.I’m happy for you.”

Another pause, then Nick adds, softly, “Always so damn stoic!You know, it wouldn’t kill you to let someone in every now and then.”

“Stoic?”I scoff, letting a hint of amusement creep into my tone.“That’s what you call it?”

“Yeah,” he says, laughter in his voice.“But you’re a good man, Dave.Don’t ever forget that.”

His words fall over my heart like a balm, smoothing the jagged edges of anger and frustration.For a split second, I believe him.

“You always see the best in people, like Mom used to do,” I choke out the words.

“True.Despite all the twisted ugliness she faced in her practice, Mom always looked for the redeeming qualities in people.”

I blink a few times to refocus my hazy vision.That’s what remembering Martha Boyle does to me.Every.Fucking.Time!

I square my shoulders and my voice.“If you ever need me, you know I’ll be there.”

“And I’ll be here for you, too, if you ever need someone who’s not tangled up in all that Syndicate mess.”

A part of me wants to reach through the line, to tell him everything—about the files, about the Vasilyevichs, about the war bubbling under the surface.But I hold back.Nick deserves to live without the shadow of this world hanging over him.

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