The complete revenge

Later, at the hotel, I felt refreshed. My mother called to calm me down, telling me that everything was fine. But I was already ready to go back.

Colle knocked on the bathroom door and came in. I looked at him in the reflection of the mirror, his eyes staring into mine. There was something in them that I hadn't seen. His eyes looked unhappy. Worried. Broken.

I continued to comb my hair, but without looking away from his.

- If only I had listened to you. - he began.

- No," he said softly. Let's not think about that now.

He looked down and then locked his gaze on mine once more.

- I'll get him.

I noticed that his hands were clenched into fists and his knuckles were already white. I also noticed that his hands were bruised and had some purple spots, as if he had hit a concrete wall. When he saw me looking at him, he opened his hands, then closed them and repeated the movement to get the blood flowing again.

I walked over to him and took his hands. He hesitated, but I pulled back and clasped my hand in his.

- Not like this, Colle. I need you here with me. Me and Nicholas. If you get lost now, what will become of us? You don't know how hard this is for me.

- He has to pay! - He knitted his eyebrows together, indignant.

- I know! I know, but you're losing it! You barely stopped in the room with Nicholas. With me! We have to find him, yes, I know that. He deserves to pay. But don't forget what you have here. - I let go of his hand and supported mine toward my heart.

He took my hand and gently withdrew it, stroking it with his finger.

- You say you understand, but you don't. He's my brother. He is my brother. Damn it! He and my father ruined my life. And now, he almost killed Nicholas! I can't... I swear. I've blocked out all the anger inside me, but now I really don't know what I'm capable of if I catch him. I'll accept it if he tries to screw up my life. Now, the lives of the people I love out of sheer self-centeredness, pride, or fucking insanity, whatever, I won't accept it! I will not shut up. I will find him and yes, baby, I will kill him.

- You can't kill him," I said, but regretted it when I saw his

look on his face.

- I can't kill him? He almost did, our son... Nicholas! - he added, making my heart hurt even more. I knew Ethan was hurt and angry, but that didn't justify him being cruel with words and actions. Everything he was going through, I was going through too. He noticed that I pulled away and returned the gentle tone. - Hey, baby. - He smoothed my face, lifting my chin so that I could look at him. - I'm sorry, this is all so fucked up. This city, this situation, I would give anything to be me in his place. I just want to end it all and take our boy home. Marry you, go on our honeymoon. Forget this nightmare. But for now, we are still here and that is the reality. I want to be with you, I swear, I am trying hard, but I am leading one team while Lucian is with another. I couldn't overburden him. He is doing too much for me. I just want to make sure that the men are doing their best. As soon as we find him, we can go back to our old plans.

- Promise me you won't kill him. Don't lose your freedom for this, it's not worth it. Nicholas and I are worth more. For us.

He looked at me, studying me. And finally he nodded.

- Yes, baby. You got it. It was just a moment of insanity.

I kissed him and then managed to convince him to go to the hospital with me. As we drove back, the trip went by in silence. The truth is that I didn't believe him, a broken man is capable of anything. The only thing that kept me going was faith, that whatever Colle was going to do with Luck, think of our love first.

- He watched cartoons," my mother said when I got back to the hospital. - He had visits from Will, Vivian, Maria and his sister. Thomas and Alice called too. - She smiled at me, rising from her chair. - He's fine, he's up, he's walking, the doctor examined him. His body is slowly recovering. He'll be home soon. -She gave me an encouraging smile.

- I'm going to get some coffee, I'll bring you some.

Then he left.

I held Nicholas's hands, small warm hands that fit perfectly inside mine. I don't know what my life would be if I lost him, my heart ached just thinking about it. I would rather die than be in a place where he was not. His condition was stable, and we would soon be out of there, but seeing him bedridden in a hospital was painful. This roller coaster of a situation was literally killing my emotions, making me unstable. As hot tears started streaming down my face, I decided to exhume these thoughts.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned around and found Will. I knew he was there because of what had happened to Nicholas, but we hadn't met yet.

- Hey, hi. - He smiled and stuck his hands in both pockets of his jeans.

jeans.

I stood up and walked over to him, hugging him tightly. I had missed the last few months that he had been gone. After Will left, his relationship was based on seeing and talking only with Nicholas. But I missed him. He was my friend, brother and whatever else when I had no one. The truth is that part of me felt very guilty for causing his and Ethan's friendship to fade away, because it was something that existed long before I did. However, the way he hugged me reminded me that he was Will, and that he had a huge heart.

- I'm sorry Nicole, I wanted to come and see you sooner, but I didn't know how you would react.

He took the sides of my face and planted a kiss on my forehead. Then he pulled away and his gaze locked on something behind me. I knew he had seen Nicholas.

- That son of a bitch! - Will walked over to him and ran a gentle hand over his face. - I can't stand the sight of him, he better stay away or I might kill him.

I walked over to him and put my hands on his shoulder so that he would turn his attention to me.

- You need to be with me," he said. - I know how serious the situation is, but I can't be left alone going through all this. I need someone by my side to tell me that everything will be all right. - At that moment I regretted having said that. His firm jaw clenched, clearly showing his irritability.

- Ethan is leaving you alone," he said softly, but menacingly.

- No. That's not it. He's actually here, he just needs some time, that's all. Besides, he's after Luck, and it's been taking up a lot of his time.

- Too busy to be with the woman he loves? What kind of bastard has not only one team, but two, looking for his brother and can't be here with you for at least an hour to know if you are okay emotionally?

I didn't say anything and avoided facing him so as not to collapse right there. It wasn't fair to make Ethan come off as the villain when I knew, more than anyone, that if he wasn't with me it was because he was as hurt as I was. He was hurt, and seeing us was the biggest confirmation of his mistake for not being able to protect us. I didn't really think so, but I only had to look at him to know that he blamed himself for the situation, and that he was weak and unsteady, struggling to hold on to the bar.

- I'm sorry," he said harshly. - I know that you are... engaged. I didn't mean to accuse you. It's just that...

- Hey, it's okay. It's hard for everyone here. We're all tense and on edge. - I pulled myself into a hug and laid my head on his chest.

Suddenly, a low noise took our attention. Then came another and another. A distant commotion began.

Will became alert, his body stiffened. He pulled me a little away, holding both sides of my arm, and said: - Stay here.

- What is it?

He looked at me seriously, as if he didn't want to answer, but in the end he spoke:

- It sounds like gunshots. I'll call Colle.

He walked slowly away, with his cell phone to his ear. Will stuck his body right in the doorway and looked quickly.

- He's not answering," he said seriously.

My heart began to ache and my hands to sweat. What if Luck was there? Was what he had said a promise? What if he had hurt someone? Madeleine, Vivian? What if he had killed Colle? What if Colle had killed him? My legs started to weaken.

- Hey," Will said softly. - I'm going to need you to lock the door and not open it for anyone. If necessary, hide in the bathroom with Nicholas.

- What?! What! What's going on? No, don't leave me here alone," I said softly, holding his arm.

- Everything is fine. The hallway is empty, I'm just going to look downstairs and see if everything is in order.

- I continued to hold his arm as he started to walk down the hall. He looked at my hand, and then at me.

- It's going to be okay, Nicole. Go back to the room, stay with Nicholas," he said calmly, but without any room for discussion.

I nodded and went back to the room, but not without first looking down the hall. It was empty, there were no nurses, no doctors, no one. The hospital was small, but well equipped, and incredibly there were no other patients on the pediatric floor. We even considered a transfer, but the doctor thought it was better not to risk it, since the hospital was well prepared and the staff well trained.

Nicholas' right lung was perforated superficially, there was a small hemorrhage that was contained in surgery. His arm was broken and there were some bruises that were already disappearing. The hospital was good, except that it was in my old town, which hurt everything, since Nicholas' progenitor was still at large and most likely in the vicinity.