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“And now?” I asked, taking a second to gather my breath.
“Now I get my family back.” He rolled me, freeing himself and bouncing on his toes. “You’re still my brother, Dominic. You and Greyson and Mari are the only people who matter.”
“I’m not your anything,” I snarled, shoving to my feet and putting all the power I had into my next punch. I smashed my fist into his diaphragm until Nate’s next exhale was a breathless cough.
Getting the wind knocked out of him dropped him to one knee. Even still, Nate tried to talk through the gasps. “You are, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you see that. It’s the four of us against the world.”
I moved forward again, but the urge to hit him was gone. I was just tired. So fucking tired. Tired of hating him, tired of fighting against him, fighting for him, fighting myself. I knew what I had to do for Mari, but I wasn’t sure how to make it happen.
Finally, I just sighed. “I don’t believe you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
“He’s telling the truth.” It said something about my singular focus to beat the shit out of Nate that I hadn’t realized when Mari had come in. “If you don’t believe him, believe me, Dominic. He didn’t want to hurt us, and he won’t do it again.”
It was only because I was staring right at him that I saw the change on Nate’s face. The way his eyes lit up and the pure joy in his smile as he whipped his head to face her. “You believe me?”
She smiled. “I do.”
Everything about him screamed reverence. Respect. Adoration. It stung the part of me that still wanted that for Mari. That craved the security of giving her a family, something she’d been missing for too long. But how could I accept him? How could I just let it go?
“You trust him?” I asked.
“I shouldn’t, but I do.” I heard nothing but truth in her voice. “We all make mistakes, Dominic. Where would we be if we didn’t have forgiveness in us?”
She wasn’t talking figuratively; she was talking about herself and me. Where would we be if she hadn’t given me another chance? When I’d been too stubborn to see that she was still my Mari, she’d given me a chance to prove myself to her. To make up for my idiotic mistakes.
At least Nate was trying to save his mother’s life. I’d just been focused on resurrecting a ghost.
“I’m sorry. To both of you. To all of you.” Nate’s voice was sad and hopeful at the same time, and it tore me to pieces.
“We know, baby.” Mari smiled at him, so sweet despite the late hour and the exhaustion I knew was dragging her down. We were making it worse for her. No. Not we. I was making it worse.
My girl needed stability, and so did our family. The people we took care of outside these walls. They needed a united force, and I had to be the one to give it to them. I had to choose the possibility of the future we were planning together over the potential for revenge. I had to trust that she knew what she was doing when she said she believed Nate.
I had to take the first step. “Make it up to her.”
They both startled, turning toward me slowly. Mari’s eyes were wide and curious, if not a little concerned. “Dominic?—”
“How?” Nate asked.
“How else? On your knees, fuckboy. Best way to earn it is through orgasms. Should we say one for every omission?”
The plan formed quickly, a way for all of us to get what we wanted, and despite how concerned I was about Nate, I knew it was the right thing to do. I wasn’t sure I could even go through with it, but I wanted to see how far he would go to regain his position at her side. What he would do to get back to being my friend and my brother, as he said he wanted.
“Dominic.” Mari’s voice had hardened, but Nate had already knelt in front of her, grabbing her hand in his. She jerked around to watch him.
“Let me do this, Mari. Let me show you how much I mean what I say.”
“You don’t have to, though. I know you mean it.” The way she caressed his face was so painfully soft. Like he meant the whole world to her. I wasn’t jealous; I was heartbroken. He’d nearly caused that softness to leave, not just for him, but for Grey and me too. He’d nearly broken her.
Focus on the now. Focus on the positive. We made it through, and she’s herself again.
Pressing myself to her back, I slipped my hands around Mari’s hips, loving the feel of her. Bullet wounds or not, it had been too long. “But I don’t. Come on, Mari. Let the man show you he means it. Let him prove himself to us.”
“Fine, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”
I laughed into her neck. “Are you really arguing about orgasms?”
