That explained why it seemed to come so naturally to her. She wasn’t remade. She had reverted back to her old, pre-Court self. “That’s all well and good, but she’s a senior. If she skips classes and gets into fights, she’ll get expelled. She had colleges eating out of the palm of her hand, and now she may not even graduate.”
“So figure it out,” Deon said. “You promised me that you’d take care of her.”
“And I will, but…” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “She’s taking losing you really hard.”
“She’ll be okay. Cherri’s a tough cookie. Trust me, one way or another, she’ll come around.”
Cherri was strong, but Deon had a hold over her that even he seemed to be underestimating. Honestly, with the way things were, I didn’t think there was a damn thing I could do about it either. I sighed. “I don’t know. I think it’s just going to get worse.”
“Once she’s finished mourning me, she’ll be okay. Cherri’s not the type to just roll over,” Deon replied. “I’m surprised with Nikita’s attitude that this Cherri strikes you so odd.”
“Nikita is…” I thought about her beautiful face and the slightly frightening smile she got whenever she was allowed to punch someone or whip out a blade. “She’s a high-brow gangster. It’s different.”
“Oh, Cherri’s a hood gangster. That freaks you out?” Deon’s voice was defensive and short.
“No, I—” I shook my head. “We’re not doing this. Nikita has always been that way. Maybe you knew this Cherri, but this is new to me.”
“I get it. Just don’t let anything happen to her, okay?”
“I won’t.”
“Good.”
“Okay, have you ticked all your boxes? You can tell me why you called now? Did you find dad?” I asked.
“I haven’t found him yet, but I’ve enlisted some help. How much access to Connor’s company do you have?”
“All of it. They won’t fucking leave me alone.” It’d been hours since I checked my email, but I shuddered to think of what awaited me there when I did finally check it. “Why?”
“A guy I was locked up with has some people on the outside who are good at tracking, and I’m told that your dad is probably using money from somewhere. An offshore account, a credit card no one knew about, a non-profit foundation, something.”
“I’ll look into it. They’ve been begging me to come in and look at the finances. I’ll take the opportunity to see what I can find. Where do I call you when I know? No number showed up on my phone.”
“Just wait for me to call again. I’m afraid of being tracked, so I ditched my old one.”
I didn’t like that very much but understood the practicality of it. “Fine, but can it not be months this time?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Thanks.” The conversation was nearing its end, but as odd as it seemed, I didn’t want it to. “Um, given you do track down our father and get rid of him, what are you gonna do after that?”
Deon sighed. “I’m trying not to think that far ahead.”
To try and make my next statement lighter, I forced a laugh. “You could rise from the dead. Come home, marry Cherri, and run the family business with me.” Then I laughed some more.
Deon didn’t say anything for a long thirty seconds, and then he just said, “Don’t say stupid shit,” and hung up the phone.
I stared down at the ended call in shock. Was it really so stupid an idea to suggest that he’d just hang up on me? That was how our first conversation in months ends? How our first cordial conversation in years ends?
“Wow.”
What was I supposed to do next? I had to look into my father’s company, but that wouldn’t be able to happen until tomorrow or maybe even the weekend. There was also no way of knowing how long it would be before Deon called again. I felt like a sitting duck, and I didn’t like it.
Before I could stop myself, I’d navigated to Nikita’s number and pressed the button to call her. For as long as I could remember, she was the person I called when I felt lost. She often knew the way forward, and even if she didn’t, being around her brought a certain clarity that I couldn’t get from any other source. More than any of that, I just wanted to see her. I wanted to kiss her and assure her that she was the only person I loved. Even if she didn’t believe me, just saying it would make me feel better.
“It’s Nikita.” Her voicemail was simple and understated, just like she was.
“Hey, I know you’re mad at me, but I just heard from Deon and wanted to hear your voice or see you, or… I don’t know. Nikki, I need you to know that I love you more than myself. Even just these past few hours of not being with you have sucked. I want to see you, but I get it if you don’t want to see me. Just know that I love you and only you. Okay? I don’t feel that way about Cherri. I never did, but taking care of her is just something I have to do. Anyway. I’m done. I’m on my way home from dinner now. I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess. I love you so much. Bye.”
I turned and was surprised to see Brayden and Kyle’s cars still sitting in the restaurant parking lot, but I was ready to go. I finally started up my car and made my way home. It would be the first night of many that I’d spend without Nikita in my bed, and I doubted I’d get much sleep, so on the way home, I stopped for a cup of coffee and planned to spend the night digging into what of my dad’s company I could access remotely.
I pulled into the driveway of the smaller but still luxurious house that my parents built for me and gave me when I turned fourteen. At first, I didn’t notice the presence of any other vehicles, but then I noticed a familiar black car out of the corner of my eye. At lightning speed, I hopped out of my car and rushed through the front door. I ran into the living room, and Nikita was sitting on the couch, flicking through her phone.
I let out a sigh of relief. “Hi, beautiful.”
She looked up at me and smiled. “Hey.”
8
Nikita
When Nathan stepped down into the living room, laid on the couch, and put his head in my lap, I didn’t stop him. His eyes immediately fluttered closed, and I threaded my fingers into his hair to stroke his head and calm him. Not only had he endured a dinner with Kyle and Brayden after the intensity of the day, he said in his voicemail that he also heard from Deon, and god only knew how that conversation went. If he wanted to talk about any of it, I’d be there to listen, but if he didn’t, that was fine too.
Of course, I realized that I shouldn’t have jumped up and gone running over to Nathan’s the second he called, but for as long as I could remember, I was there when he needed me. Yes, things were a little off between us right now because of how things were with Cherri, but that didn’t change that Nathan was going through a lot at the time. I was the one person who understood it the most and could keep him from jumping off the deep end.
“Did you eat at dinner?” I asked.
“I did, I promise. You can ask Kyle and Brayden tomorrow. I had a rib eye with aioli sauce and roasted potatoes.”