“We’d deal with that shit, O. It’s not my first rodeo. They’ll never catch us.”
“Knock it off,” Nic grumbles from the kitchen. “She said no. Respect it.”
“Fine.” Kai groans and slumps over to the couch before dropping down beside Eli with a frown the size of the car he wants to steal. He should consider himself lucky that I took the stupid bus. I’ve never witnessed it before but something tells me that no one gets away with stealing from Charles Carrington, especially guys like my boys. He'd use them as an example and completely ruin their lives.
With Kai busy sulking and Eli staring at his hands, I go for Nic next and he welcomes me with open arms. I fold into him as though I belong there and despite the pain that rockets through my chest, I can’t help but feel like I’m home. “Where have you been, baby girl?” he murmurs into my hair. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I whisper against his strong chest, refusing to let go.
His lips press softly against my temple for the slightest second and the urge to raise my head and capture his lips with mine tears through me. I miss what we had so bad. The past six months since we’ve been apart have really sucked but when it’s not right, it’s not right. I deserve a man who is going to be faithful to me and although he hates it, he completely agrees.
Nic picks me up and slides my ass back onto the counter before stepping into my open legs. “Where have you been?” he questions, repeating his unanswered question. “I was expecting you to make the trip home weeks ago.”
“I know, I just … it’s been busy with school and now I’m working.”
“School and work?” he questions. “You sure that’s it? Nothing else is keeping you there?”
He watches me with curious eyes and I don’t know how, but something tells me that he knows everything that’s been going down in Bellevue Springs … including Charlie. I let out a sigh, not being one to lie to him, but wanting to protect him from the truth if it’s going to hurt. “Nothing that’s worth it,” I clarify, knowing he will understand my unspoken message.
“You’re going to get hurt,” he murmurs, keeping our conversation private. “Guys like that … to them, you’re just the help. Be careful.”
His words are like a shot right through my soul. I don’t know if he’d used that phrase on purpose or if it was just a coincidence but either way, it speaks enormous amounts of truth, so much that he could never understand. “I’m a big girl, Nic. I can take care of myself.”
He shakes his head. “You’re not, O,” he tells me gently, pressing a finger to the side of my head. “You’re a big girl in here,” he says before moving those fingers to my chest and hovering them right over my heart, “but in here, you’re just like everyone else. You’re not incapable of being hurt, Ocean. No matter how much you guard yourself and keep those thick walls up, every day they’re being chipped away, and eventually, one of those pricks will hold the power to destroy you, whether you want them to or not.”
My mind instantly flashes to Colton and the way his words have the ability to tear me down. Nic might be onto something, but I refuse to believe it. Colton Carrington will never have that power over me, I won’t allow it, no matter how much I have to hold myself back. I will not break.
“They won’t,” I tell him adamantly, knowing he can read the lie on my lips just as easily as I can. “Besides, I won’t be hanging around there long enough to allow it to happen.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Why do you think I asked Charles if I can work there? I want to have options after I graduate. I can’t stay there and live off their money, no matter how enticing it is. I’m better than that and I want to make my own way.”
“So come back home then. You can move in here with me.”
“And your mom,” I say, finishing off his sentence.
“Come on, you know I’m only here because I can’t bear to leave her alone in this town. She’s too outspoken. It’s dangerous for her here.”
“She’s Kian’s ex-wife and the mother of his only child, I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to make a