Page 100 of Who's Saving You
Dad watches her every move, but begins to speak. “I never stopped following you two since the day you forced me to leave. I knew I had to go; I had to follow your orders in order to protect you both. But I waited and watched for every press release that came out. I knew when you went to a certain restaurant, and I wished I could be there eating with you. I saw you both together on Draft Night. Your mother looked so proud, and I wanted nothing more than to be standing there beside her.”
He steps closer to Noelle as she lies still on the floor, eyes wide. He’s the only one in the room who moves. “But I had to wait for the right time. I had to figure out how things would play out. I couldn't just show up after the newspapers had made me a deadbeat dad. I couldn’t show up after disappearing after that sophomore game, once you made the draft. I’d look like I was after money, and you wouldn't have believed otherwise.
“I admit I made a ton of mistakes. So many mistakes while you were growing up.” He turns to my sister. “And what's worse is that I know my actions are what brought all of this on. My need for money drove a need in you that became bitter and controlling."
“You don’t know what I need. You never did, you were always so focused on him!” She stands taller. “So I made my own way.”
“I know you did. And you’re amazing at it, but there’s no room for this.”
They hold each other's stares for a moment before Dad walks over to Noelle. She’s pushed herself away from the chair, but her hands are still bound. He slowly helps her into a sitting position. He turns his back on Eva, and I’m ready to attack if she even blinks. Rhett slides back, watching all of us. As Dad helps Noelle stand, he says, “It wasn’t Noelle getting close to uncovering anything. Sure, she found some articles and filed some information requests, but things were getting back to you, Eva, because I did it. I had to use this opportunity to try to get through to Nik.” He looks to me now, slowly undoing the gag on Noelle. It falls away and the sight of dried blood and a fat lip makes me want to blow this entire room up. My fists clench and my body shakes, but Dad just stands besideNoelle and faces Eva once more. “I wanted Nik to knowwhat happened, and I wanted you scared about it. I knew you’d go to the end of the world to cover it, I just never thought you were capable of this. Though, after how you chased me away, I guess I could see it.”
Eva looks stunned, but then she slips back into professional mode. “I’ll spin this little return. I’ll make everything stick: the thrown game, the money, the bets. Then I’ll say you were after it all, that you and Nik had a plan to overthrow my career and take everything from me.” She laughs and shakes her head. “No one will believe you. I'll show the tape, Nik. You’ve seen it; you know I’ve got it.”
Dante steps up. “You’re not threatening anyone.” He nods his head toward Stone. “We’ve got it all on tape, every last one of your confessions. And don’t think for a second we won’t blow it all up.”
“You won't do that to Nik. He’ll be ousted from the league,” Eva spits.
“Stop recording.” Dante barks the order, and we all watch as Stone taps a barely there wire leading to an earpiece.
Dante begins to speak in a cool, yet powerful tone. Every word hits like a punch, driving home the fact he’s in control here, not her. “Nik Papas doesn’t exist at night, Eva. You should have known that. There’s one thing you taught your brother: to always be a step ahead. And once he started doubting you, I knew I had to take that step for him.” Dante walks toward her, still with the gun raised. “See, the Nik I know wouldn't ever turn on his sister; he’d never use you like you used him. The Nik I know lives with guilt for what he’s done, and I know if he could take it back, he would. The Nik I know had to adapt; he had to live the life you forced him into.
“You threatened your dad, said the crew would comefor him, kill him. He had no ideayouwere that crew with empty threats. You were playing kingpin, but I’m the real deal. And I made the calls to find out what really happened.
“Your dad’s right. No one gets hurt tonight. That’s not my way of doing business. So you have two choices. You walk from here, and you continue with your lifestyle and your job. You have a lucrative empire. You give me every piece of evidence you have, and you never speak of or threaten your family again. Or, you disappear. Just like you made your dad do, only I’ll be the one who chooses where you go.”
41
Noelle
The musty, damp smell of this building is making my head spin. My lips are chapped from the gag, and my wrists burn from the rope Rhett used to tie my hands.
I look at Nik’s dad and see a shocking resemblance between all three of them. I see a family torn apart by greed and jealousy. It hurts my heart because neither Eva nor Nik asked for any of this. It was their surroundings. It was being pitted against each other as kids, not knowing it was doing so much damage. It was Eva fighting to be seen, and Nik just fighting to be loved. And I don't doubt for one minute she doesn’t love him, but she didn’t know how to do it without strings attached.
Nik stands beside Dante, his look of shock wearing away as he grows bold beside his friend, the one standing up and making it right. The one person who never tookfrom Nik, the one who never lied or used to get ahead. The one who was there, guiding him the best he could to get him to a spot he knew he deserved. Sure, his ways were unorthodox, and Nik fell into a questionable lifestyle, but when forced to make a choice, he did.
“Untie her,” Dante orders anyone to come take this rope off my wrists. When Nik is the first one to me, I sag against his chest, and the tears I've been holding run down my face. I feel hands gently undo the ropes, and once I’m free, my arms hang limp; I'm unable to lift them. Nik scoops me up, bridal-style, and walks back over next to Stone and the guards.
“We can all walk out of here, we can go back to Club Trick, have a drink, have a laugh, and promise none of what happened tonight will leave this place.” Dante looks at Eva, swings his eyes to Rhett, they dust over me, linger on his dad, then land on Nik. “I’m sure that’s what Nik wants, what he believes can happen, but I’m far less optimistic than he is.
“You see, Eva, I remember talking with you. Of course, I didn’t know it was you; I thought I was talking to Ghost, a new crew member trying to make their way. I didn’t fault them for doing what they were doing. After all, I allowed your father to bet college money. That’s why I paid Nik’s way. Because your father spoke about him so highly, I knew he was something special. Your dad, though, he was too caught up. Same as you. You’re too caught up, and that’s why I don't believe you're going to do the right thing when we leave here.”
Eva stands tall, facing off with Dante. She’s still cold as ice, not letting anyone around her think they’re getting to her. “And what would you like me to do? Host Christmas at my house?”
Dante scoffs. “I want you to be a decent human being, but do you even remember how to do that?” She rolls her eyes, and he continues, “You’re smart, Eva–extremely. And there’s room for you, but only if you put in the work to fix this.”
“And how do you expect me to do that?”
His smile is cold, calculating, much like the glint in his eye. “You’ll pay your dues under my thumb, just like anyone else who has wrongs to right.”
“And if I refuse?”
“If you refuse,” Dante responds, his words completely devoid of emotion. “Then I will have no other choice than tomakeyou,” he pauses, his stare intensifying as he adds, “Or end you.”
Eva is quiet, but she doesn’t flinch or look away. After a few long moments, in a tone far less confident than usual, she says, “And if I fail?”
Dante holds her stare, his expression almost dreamy, his mouth curving up slightly. “Then you’ll never be free of me.”
They continue to stare at each other, the tension in the air palpable, but then, he blinks, and the moment is gone.
