Wine and Whiskey (Surviving Absolution #1) (36 page)

Her heart aches for the littlest victim
of Jessica’s schemes. With an out-of-control mother and uncertainty about her
father,
Emme
needs them regardless of what the test
proves. “How can you be sure?”

“She and I screwed around for a few more
months after they broke up. She was definitely not pregnant, at least not at
first. When Kevin asked her to move in, she dumped me without a second thought.
He could take care of her like she wanted. All I could do was sneak around
behind Nick’s back.”

“So, she let Kevin think
Emme
was his daughter until they broke up. Then, she came
to Nick.”

“God, what a fucking bitch!” He shakes
his head and shoves his foot against the seat in front of them. “I loved her. I
know it’s fucked up, but I did. She acts like a hard-ass, but deep down, all
she wants is to be loved. No one ever has. Except me.”

Enough to risk Nick’s wrath, yet his love
couldn’t protect him from a broken heart. “I’m sorry she hurt you. She didn’t
realize what she had.”

He squares his shoulders, shrugging off
her sympathy. “When the test proves
Emme
isn’t his,
it will be my death sentence.”

“It doesn’t have to be. I know Nick will
be hurt, but he’ll forgive you.”

Carter rolls his eyes. “You’re so naïve.
He’ll think he can’t trust me. He won’t let me work in the business anymore,
but he can’t kick me out either. What choice does that leave him?”

“Don’t assume anything. You don’t know
until you talk to him.”

“I’m not willing to take the chance.”

She plays her last card, her only
opportunity to convince him of what his escape really means. “What about
Emme
? Are you really going to do that to her? You just
found out about your beautiful little girl, and you’re going to leave? She
needs you. She needs her father.”

“Stop it. You can’t guilt me into going
back. She doesn’t need me.”

“I know what it’s like to grow up without
your father, wondering what he looks like, what he acts like.” She lightly
touches the back of his hand, trying to forgive him as well as help him. “Or
why he left. Please don’t do that to her. Don’t make
Emme
wonder what happened to her daddy.”

Before he can respond, the plane free-falls
for a few seconds and alarms shriek from the cockpit. The pilots’ fingers fly
across the dashboard, pushing buttons and flipping levers. One turns back to
them, pulling his headphones off one ear. “We’ve lost an engine and have to
land, whether you like it or not.”

New but strong, her mother’s instinct
kicks in. With trembling hands, she buckles her seatbelt and braces herself
against the seat. She prays for the second time in the last hour—first for Nick,
and now for their baby.

Carter takes her hand. “Everything’s
going to be okay. They’re good pilots and have gotten us through worse.”

All she can do is nod and squeeze his fingers
back. Deep breaths in and out have little impact on her racing heart. After flying
for years for her concert tours, experiencing plane trouble isn't new, but it
still doesn't make it any easier. Especially when she worries for two.

“I’m sorry for all of this.” His voice
full of regret, he puts his arm around her shoulders. “I know I scared you, but
I swear I was never going to hurt you.”

After a few more shakes and shudders, the
plane lands and rolls to a stop back at the abandoned air strip. Unable to stop
trembling, she sits quietly as the pilots turn off the remaining engine and
finish their landing protocol. They climb out of the cockpit and walk down the
narrow aisle. The first one nods at her when he reaches her seat, but she waves
for them to go first. Her legs are too shaky to carry her out, overwhelmed with
the thought of how close they came to almost losing everything they love.

Carter nods to her. “It’s your turn.”

“What about you?”

He shakes his head and stares at his
hands in his lap.

She squeezes his shoulder before climbing
down the steps, assisted by the pilot waiting outside. “Thank you.”

“Mr. DeMarco’s on the phone. He wants to
speak to you.”

Her heart strains against her chest as
she presses it to her ear, eager to hear for herself he’s okay. “Nick?”

“Did he hurt you?”

Rage she must try to douse burns through
his voice. “No, I’m fine.”

“Where is he?”

Defeated and broken-hearted, she couldn’t
convince him everything would be okay. “He’s still in the plane. He wouldn’t
come out with us.”

“I’ll be there in two minutes. Stay on
the phone with me.”

“At the house, I heard everything you
said. I believe you…” Her voice cracks at the memory of his plea for her to
confirm his love. All she wants to do is remove any of his doubts. “And I know
how much you love me.”

“More than you know.”

She swallows through the sob building in
her throat. As much as they’ve hurt each other, it hasn’t been enough to
destroy the connection between them. “No, because I feel the same way. I hope
you know how much I love you.”

Headlights flash across the concrete
before Max stops the car about fifteen feet in front of her. Nick jumps out,
flinging off the bloody towel wrapped around his arm, and engulfs her. She lets
the tears and the cell fall as he cups her face.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.” She wraps her fingers around his,
needing to confirm he’s real, craving his tender touch to prove he’s here with
her. “I was so scared he—”

“I know.” He kisses her forehead. “Stay
with Max.”

Her body shudders at the coldness of his
expression. Just like with Juan, but this time even more personal. She squeezes
his hands tighter. “Please, Nick. Don’t do it. You don’t understand. He
panicked—”

Nick ignores her explanation and glances
at Max. “Put her in the car.”

She grabs for Nick’s hand, but Max holds
her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. Useless to struggle against his
strength, she turns to face him, fisting his shirt. “Please, Max, don’t let him
do it. You’ve got to stop him.”

“Not this time.” Max shakes his head, his
voice as hard as his expression. “Not after what he did to you.”

Fear throbs in her chest. They have to
listen. This can’t be the end. “Nick!”

Her scream blows past him, unable to
pierce the fury consuming him. He races up the stairs and disappears inside the
darkened cabin.

“Max, please?”

“No.”

She slumps against him. Adrenaline drains
from her body, stealing all her energy. Nothing else for her to give.

A pop shrieks across the open space, and
his head flies up. “What the fuck?”

Max’s grip tightens around her, shielding
her from the glass exploding behind them.

* * * *

Nick pulses with
rage, unable to think about anything but destroying the man sitting in front of
him, no matter how much he loves him. Carter remains motionless, staring at the
gun lying on his right leg. He traces the shallow crevice along the handle with
his fingertip before curling his finger around the trigger. “Don’t let Shae get
into the car. I tried to call it off, but it’s too late. I can’t stop it.”

A fucking hit.
His own cousin hates him enough to want him dead, yet
doesn’t have the balls to kill him himself. At least he protects the person who
deserves it the most. “You fucking son of a bitch! You put her through hell
just to set me up. Why did you pull her into it?”

“Didn’t plan it that way. She was an easy answer to an
unexpected complication. Funny thing is…her…all this…” He waves the Glock
through the air before tapping the edge of the barrel on his thigh, never
lifting his gaze. “Reminds me why you rule the empire, and I should have been
satisfied as number two.”

Even funnier, if Carter would’ve only asked for it, he
would have gladly relinquished his power. No revolution required. Too late to
dream about the freedom his abdication would have meant for him with Shae, he
focuses on the immediate danger. “Who’s the target?”

“You and Max.”

“When?”

Carter glances at his watch. “Now.” He blows out a deep
breath before pressing the metal tip to his temple. “Whoever said revenge is
sweet, fucking lied.”

The last words Carter speaks before pulling the trigger.
His head explodes onto the window before his body slumps forward and his cell
slides to the floor. Nick swipes the phone from the carpet and shoves it in his
pocket as gunfire erupts outside the plane.

Outside the window, two men stand in front of the
crumbling, white brick building that used to serve as the airport office,
blasting his car. Glass and metal shards rain across Max’s back as he covers
Shae with his body. After a few crackles and sparks, flames shoot out from
under the hood. Max wraps one arm around the top of Shae’s head and props the
other across the ground, aiming at the closest shooter.

Sweat engulfs his body as he sprints down the plane
aisle. Once Max hits the man, he exposes their position on the other side of
the car, leaving them open to the second shooter. Nick pushes out the rear
emergency door, dropping down to the cracked asphalt below. Ignoring the pain
radiating up his heels from the impact, he crouches behind the wheel mechanism.
He must time his shot with Max’s so they bring them down together.

Nick extends his arm and drops the farthest hit man with
a shot to the head. Max’s bullet drives through the shoe of the other man, who
unleashes one last round before he slams backward onto the concrete.

Red circles puddle at both the head and almost severed
foot of the dying shooter as Nick leans over him. “Who do you work for?”

His mouth opens and closes like a fish struggling to
breathe. With a jerky hand, he reaches for his gun before Nick kicks it out of
his reach.

“Come on, motherfucker. You know it’s over. You might as
well give it up.”

Pink-tinged bubbles gather in the corners of his mouth
before his lips form the shape of an “o.” His voice is barely audible as he
lifts up his chin. “Juan.”

The pain of Carter’s disloyalty stabs deeper into his
chest. Once united against a common enemy, Carter sacrificed their relationship
for his opportunity to reign. Yet too blind with jealousy to realize the
hollowness of his partnership with Juan, who would have turned on him once Nick
was eliminated.

To be sure, Nick pumps a shot into the hit man’s head and
heart before he turns around. Fully engulfed, flames leap higher from the
hissing car, threatening to explode. Both Max and Shae remain motionless as
Nick races to them, heat scorching his face and hands as he struggles to rouse
Max.

“Come on, Max. I’ve got to get you guys out of here.”

Max nods and pushes himself up with one hand before
sitting back on his heels and holding his head.

“Sweetness, I have to get you away from the fire.”

Uncertain if she’s unconscious or dazed, he scoops her up
and carries her behind her SUV. Relief pours through him at her soft, scratchy
voice. “What about Max?”

Reluctant to let her go, he kisses her forehead and sits
her against the tire. “I’m getting him. I’ll be right back.”

He hops up and sprints to Max. “Come on. You too.”

Max accepts his outstretched hand, and Nick pulls him up.
Supporting Max’s weight, he guides him to Shae, while Max rubs the back of his
head. “I think my ears are fucking ringing.”

“No, it’s sirens. We’re about to have company.”

Behind the car, Nick squats in front of her, caressing
her cheek. “I’m sorry. All this shit happens to you because of me.”

Her silky hair tickles his skin as she shakes her head.
“I don’t understand what happened.”

Amidst the chaos, he avoids giving her the real answer.
He needs to protect her a little longer from the savagery of his world,
especially when instigated by someone she thought she could trust. “Don’t be
scared. You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be okay.”

She leans into his hand, her eyes locking with his,
humbling him with her faith in him. “I know. I trust you.”

A convoy of emergency vehicles races through the parking
lot. The ambulance stops closest to the car, and two EMTs jog toward them. A
curly-haired woman drops an orange and white bag next to Shae’s foot and kneels
down in front of Shae. “Are you hurt, miss?”

Wrapping her hand around Nick’s, Shae shakes her head.
“No, I think I’m okay.”

Like hell she is. Nick nods to the woman. “She needs to
be examined.”

“Okay, let’s see what we’ve got.”

The woman takes Shae’s pulse while the other paramedic
talks to Max. Nick squeezes Shae’s hand one last time before he rises to face
the approaching officers.

The older one motions to him. “We need you to come with
us.”