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Then she was gone, and it was only my cousin and me. “You know why he did it.”
He settled deeper into the couch with a sigh. “I would have done the same, but that doesn’t mean I have to like him.”
“I trust him, Cameron.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” I really did. Nate had made a mistake, but he’d done it for his mom. The only family he’d had for so long. I couldn’t fault him for that. Besides, I believed he wasn’t interested in doing me any harm. I had to.
My cousin stared at Nate for a while, turning away before the other man saw him. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Mari.”
I sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to push it again. Cameron was a good soldier. He’d question me privately, but when I gave my orders, it was law. He’d do whatever I needed, and his faith meant more to me than I cared to admit.
We lapsed into silence while the others talked quietly around the table, and guilt sprang up again. There hadn’t been time to talk since I’d put Joaquin down, and I hated that his death felt like a canyon between us, smaller than the one with Rafael but no more crossable. “I’m sorry.”
Cameron shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault, Mari.”
I was the one who’d killed his father. If it wasn’t my fault, whose was it?
As if he heard me, Cameron went on. “It had to happen, Mari. You have to be able to trust family, and Joaquin wasn’t trustworthy. What happened was the result of his own actions.”
Without waiting for me to agree, he stood, ruffled my hair, and made his way slowly to the dining room. Slumping into the seat next to Ash, he wrapped an arm around her while Shara and Dominic bickered playfully, and Nate watched with a silent grin.
Cameron was right that you had to be able to trust family, but what would he do when he found out someone else in ours wasn’t trustworthy either?
Chapter Six
Dominic
Hours after everyone left to take their tipsy asses home, I found myself in the gym, hands wrapped, fists blazing.
All evening, I’d been on edge. Part of it was leaving Greyson behind. Despite the fact that he was a cocky asshole, he was still family. Mari’s and mine. It felt wrong to be here without him. Almost as wrong as having Nate here. This was our home, our sanctuary. He didn’t belong here anymore.
Mari said she trusted him. That she’d forgiven him for what he’d done, but I hadn’t. I couldn’t. He’d put her in danger. He’d sided with Cash against us. I didn’t think there was anything in the world that could make me forgive that.
He took a bullet for Mari. You took one for him.
But was that enough?
“I thought I’d find you here.” His voice had my shoulders rising, and I threw an especially savage punch, rocking the bag back too far. I kept punching, refusing to slow my stride or acknowledge him, but that didn’t seem to bother Nate. He kept stepping closer.
“Go away,” I growled. Things were too on edge for him to be here. The need to beat his teeth in was hot in my veins, and if he didn’t leave, I was going to have a hell of a lot to explain to Mari.
Of course, the asshole didn’t listen. “We have to work this out, Dominic.”
“There’s nothing to work out.” It was a lie, and we both knew it, just like I knew I had no choice but to forgive him someday for Mari’s sake. But that day wasn’t today.
He rounded the bag and held it while I let loose. It was more satisfying than I expected to hear him grunt as he tried to stay steady. “You hate me. That seems like a big thing to fix.”
“Only if you stick around.”
On the next punch, Nate caught my eye and held it. “I’m not going anywhere, Dominic.”
I scoffed, turning away because I couldn’t look at him. “Heard that before.”
He sighed. “What will it take to move past this? Do you need to fight me?”
“What?” He couldn’t be serious.
