Page 84 of Texting the CEO's Obsession
Riley’s unconscious form is cradled in my arms and my brother’s lifeless body is going cold on the floor behind me. I can’t take it back. I can’t make it better.
I didn’t want it to end up this way.
Tears litter her eyes, slipping down over the curves of her cheeks as she quietly sobs, her hand grasping the edge of the doorframe as she tries to hold herself up. Regardless of the life we live, he was still her son.
“You stupid boy—” she mutters under her breath, eyes on my brother’s body as she shakes her head. “You just couldn’t let your brother be happy…”
I know she isn’t talking to me, but the words still sting nonetheless.
“Ma—”
I try to reason with her, but as her eyes meet mine, they turn from anger to pity. “He knew the rules, Nicky. This isn’t on you. I warned him; I tried to tell him to leave you be but he wouldn’t listen. This—this is on me.”
Standing a little straighter, she takes a shaky breath, wiping the tears from under her eyes as her bottom lip quivers. “Is she alright?”
“I think so.” I look down at the blood on her face, hate filling me over the notion that I didn’t keep her safe. “I need to get her to the hospital.”
“Get her in the car. I’ll call Clark at Mercy. We’ll get her taken care of.” She spares Bruno one last glance, her eyes glistening painfully, before she turns on her heel and steps back out of the shed. “I’ll take care of your brother.”
“You don’t have to do it on your own?—”
She lifts a hand, cutting me off as she casts a glance at me from over her shoulder. “This is the life we live, Nicky. No matter how much it hurts, we know the risks going in and we prepare ourselves accordingly. Now, go. We don’t need to lose anyone else.”
CHAPTER 26
RILEY
“Miss VanHorn is being held without bail, and she’ll be going to trial for hiring a hitman,” the officer tells me, his voice droning on along with the beeping of the monitors around me. “I have no doubt Mr. D’Amico’s lawyers will ensure she gets put away, ma’am.”
It should probably be a relief, but I never really had any doubt that Sloane would pay for what she did. Nick wouldn’t let her walk away without a scratch, no matter what connections she’s managed to scrounge up.
Not after what she almost cost him.
Not after what shedidcost him.
“Okay.” I haven’t made eye contact with him since he introduced himself, still in too much of a tailspin to feel like anything is really okay yet. “And Nick? Is he…”
I can’t even finish the sentence, too scared to put the thought of him going to jail out into the ether.
He was protecting me. I would have died if he didn’t do what he did.
I’ve been in the nicest hospital I’ve ever seen for half a week, being monitored and tested and treated for my head wound and the various cuts and bruises. It could have been so much worse than the minor concussion and top-of-the-line doctors I wound up with. I can’t stand the thought of not being able to see Nick again after everything that happened.
If he gets put away for saving my life, I’ll never forgive myself.
“Bruno D’Amico’s death has been ruled as self-defense,” the cop says. “No one is facing any charges.”
He doesn’t sound particularly thrilled about that, green eyes flat with disapproval, my fingers twisting uncomfortably in the stiff hospital sheets as I realize what’s happening. Lucy might be the one handling everything, or it may be Nick himself, but clearly the D’Amico family has some hand in cleaning this whole mess up.
As much as the thought of Nick using his mafia ties to keep himself out of trouble unsettles me, I can’t deny that I’m glad for it right now. I couldn’t bear to lose him after all of this.
“Thank you,” I say softly, smiling weakly at the officer. “I appreciate you coming by to tell me all this.”
He nods sharply, a tight smile on his thin lips.
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” he says, tugging his cap back over his buzzed brown hair. “You and your boyfriend will likely get a call from us in the next week to tie up some final details.”
My boyfriend.
