Zane nodded his head grimly. “I don’t know why she refers to herself as Ria. When she introduced herself that morning in the gym, I was surprised. I guess it’s her nickname.”
Nick sat back down in shock. “Did you really take her?”
He would have thought Ria would be traumatized from an experience such as kidnapping, but she had given no sign of anything like that happening to her. She was tough, though. She didn’t let the recent attack hold her back.
“Yes. I used the money I made off the cartel to buy two of Dragon’s men. They kept her locked up until morning. Ty and Lane also watched the house to make sure I wasn’t double-crossed by them trying to hurt her,” Zane explained. “She never saw anyone or said anything to the police,” Zane added.
“Fuck,” was all Nick could say in response.
He sat for a few moments as he took it all in.
“How was she related to Dragon? And why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” Nick was furious that he had been kept in the dark. What the hell was wrong with Zane?
“She is Dragon’s and Matthew’s half-sister. And I didn’t know you were going to start dating her, Nick. She’s not the type of girl you’ve ever gone after before. She actually has a brain, and you can have a normal conversation with her.”
Nick scowled at Zane, but he couldn’t argue his point.
His phone buzzed with a message from Ty. It said he couldn’t train this morning, but it didn’t explain why. This was the first time Ty had ever missed a session; therefore, Nick knew it was important. He replied back to tell him to take care.
He looked back at Zane. “I guess we do what we’ve always done. Keep our mouths shut.”
Zane nodded. “I guess it’s a good thing you’ve decided not to see her anymore.”
“Yeah, it would be a bitch to find out you’re dating the man who was responsible for both of your brothers’ deaths.”
Nicholas didn’t know how he felt about Ria being related to Matthew and Dragon. There wasn’t a family resemblance in their features, and neither one of her brothers would have devoted any time to saving a human being like she had. Ria wanted to save lives, not take them as they had. He didn’t want to blame Ria for their mistakes anymore than he wanted anyone to blame Melanie for his.
Chapter 12
Nick drove around; thinking about what had happened the day after his mother had died. He had wanted justice. He had even called the juvenile detention center, asking what would happen to the boy that ended his mother’s life. He would never forget the rage he’d felt when they had told him he had already been released. From that moment, he had known it would be up to him to get the justice he was searching for.
He and Zane had determined where he would be. His name was Matthew, and he was a nineteen-year-old senior, too much of a punk to settle down and do what he needed to do to graduate. He shouldn’t have even been at the school. It wasn’t fair to have a nineteen-year-old kid bullying the younger students. He was even taken to the juvenile detention center in error; the cops mistakenly assumed he was underage.
He and Zane had stayed close, but out of sight, as they’d watched the multiple drug deals. Matthew sold to kids. He was one of those sick bastards that went after the young children. He dressed the addictive drugs up in pretty parcels to get them hooked early before they could realize the impact it would have on them as they grew older.
He and Zane had waited patiently all day to find a moment when Matthew would finally be alone. When the time had come, Nick hadn’t wasted another moment as Zane had looked out for him.
He had rushed Matthew, determined to confront him. He hadn’t even been sure what he was going to do until Matthew had turned to him and said the words Nick still heard in his nightmares. “I’ll kill you like I killed your mother!”
Matthew had then jabbed at him with a knife, but he’d stood no chance against Nick’s strength, speed, and need for vengeance. Nick had taken the knife from him and stabbed Matthew, just like Matthew had stabbed his mother. Nick had looked down at Matthew without remorse, watching the blood pour out of him.
As he’d watched Matthew die, Nick refused to feel guilt. Matthew had chosen to swing his knife into his mother; he deserved to die.
He recalled Zane coming up to him and wiping down the knife, telling him to run. And that’s what they had done. They ran until they had believed no one would ever know it was them.
Nick had believed for years that they had indeed gotten away with it. However, they hadn’t. Zane had simply found a way to keep Nick safe until he couldn’t bear it any longer. Nick couldn’t blame him for killing Dragon… Alejandro, or whatever the fuck his name was supposed to be.