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Nicole’s face crossed with genuine confusion as she tried to make connections meet in her head.
‘Who has Valentina? And why do you care?’ Her voice trembled as I closed the space between us, shoving her up against the door and reaching round her to lock it as I heard hurried footsteps on the stairs.
‘Because I’m in love with her and your shit-for-brains brother has kidnapped her.’
‘You love Valentina?’
‘Yes. And I need to get her back. Now.’
Nicole shoved lightly on my chest before sitting down heavily on the end of her bed, her head dropping into her hands as she took a breath.
‘You’re in love with my cousin. How the fuck?’
‘You’re screwing your step-brother, so let’s hold off the pointing fingers, shall we?’
Her eyes were wet when she looked back up at me, her face paler than usual. ‘I thought he loved me, but it’s all gone wrong.’
I needed answers, but with her crumbling, I’d need to tread a little more carefully. My fists and blades would only end with both of us dead. My body itched for answers to get my girl, but I forced myself to sit on the bed beside her.
A loud banging sounded on the outside of her bedroom door while our eyes met, and I gave a small shake of my head.
‘I’m fine. We’re fine. Leave us to talk.’ She shouted, wiping at her eyes.
‘When did it start?’ I asked, seeing her need to talk. Getting her onside would serve me better than forcing details from her.
‘I don’t know.’
‘How can you not know?’ Shagging your step-brother wasn’t exactly a forgettable experience.
‘It’s been going on as long as I can remember.’
My throat ached as realisation swam over me. Hugh was older than Nicole, almost ten years older than her, and their parents had married when she was just a little kid...
‘Fuck, Nicole. I’m sorry.’ I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into my side as her tears flowed. ‘He’s a piece of shit.’
‘He told me I was special, and that he loved me more than anyone. Even more than my dad, and then he’d make sure we’d be together forever. When I got a little older, it started to feel good, and I told myself that it must be okay if my body reacted to him like that. He would get me to ask for things he wanted, or sway Daddy’s decisions. I thought I couldn’t live without him. When you asked to marry me, but weren’t looking for an intimate relationship, I thought it was the best of both worlds. He could have me behind closed doors while the world thought I belonged to you.’
I screwed my eyes shut at the memory of hearing her and him after our engagement party, bile rising in my throat. He’d groomed her and turned her into his puppet when he realised that his step-father had no interest in letting him take over. He’d stolen her childhood and her twenties, all for his own sick self interest.
‘I’m pregnant,’ she whispered. ‘He messed with my birth control pills. He told me afterward that he wanted to stick a kid in me before you did and pass it off as yours. It was then that I realised how wrong it all was. That he’d been using me. His kid would take it all, my syndicate and yours, and he’d find a way to be the one guiding the child as a twisted voice in its ear.’
‘You don’t have to do it, Nicole,’ I said, squeezing my arm around her. ‘You’ve never known a life without him, but you can have one. With or without the baby. You are strong, smart and beautiful, and you have your father’s endless support.’
‘I love him.’
‘Hugh’s made you believe that, but it’s not love. Love should never leave you strapped down with fear. The only person Hugh loves is himself. And power. He’s used you as a means of control, but everything he’s told you is a lie. He’s a slimy, deceptive little prick.’
A sob caught in her throat as she looked up at me.
‘Keep the baby, or get rid of it. But Hugh’s got to go. I won’t sit by and watch him abuse anyone else.’
I gave her a few moments, my leg twitching as I ached to find my girl.
‘Please tell me where she is,’ I said, brushing the tears from her cheek, aching for her but needing to help my girl more.
‘I didn’t know he even had her. I didn’t realise you two knew one another.’
‘I found her on the cam site before I knew who she was, and then one thing led to another. I didn’t want to hurt you or go back on our deal, but I didn’t expect to fall so hard, so fast, either.’
