Page 257 of When We Fall: Part One

“I can do it. I need to do more than make fucking drugs anyway. I’m one of the horsemen. I should be pulling my weight.”

“You do pull your weight,” Cole said. “You’re not going?—”

“Is it because you think I can’t handle it?” I challenged, getting to my feet. “Because I fucking can. I have something to look forward to when I get home.”

“E, man.” Enzo scrubbed his hand down his face. “We can’t risk?—”

“I’ll do it. I’ll go with E,” Fox said, entering the room.

“Fine.” Enzo shook his head. “I don’t like it, but it’ll work.”

“After all, you’re the one who deserves to stay home while we handle business,” Fox continued, a sour look on his face.

I glanced between the pair. They’d been acting oddly with one another for a long time now. We all knew Fox was still upset over the wedding, and he was definitely still pissed about the whole alley situation. Truth be told, I was, too.

“You got something to say?” Enzo demanded.

“Nope. I’ve already said it. Just tell me where we need to be…boss.”

Cole cleared his throat and looked from Fox to Enzo, a frown on his face. “Hey, this is dumb. I’ll go. E is right. I’ll have something to look forward to when I get home. No need to argue over shit. You guys will keep her company until I get back. No biggie.”

“I’ll still go with you,” I said to Cole. I wondered if it was a good idea, considering Fox and Enzo weren’t getting along. They might kill one another while we were away.

“I don’t care who goes, just not E alone. That’s all. Fox?—”

“Doesn’t matter,” Fox said, shaking his head. He walked out the front door. No one said a word as his Jeep barreled down the long driveway.

“You two need to really sit down and talk,” Cole said finally. “This shit can’t go south, so whatever is going on between you two needs to be resolved. Rosalie isn’t going to want to come back to the same old shit. If you two dipshits screw this up, I’ll kick both your asses.”

Enzo sighed and sat on the couch. Cole took a spot on the chair, and I sank back onto the loveseat.

“He’s pissed about me marrying Rosalie. He’s mad about her getting hurt. He blames me. He asked me to back off and just let this world go. I told him I can’t. I have a legacy to uphold, and I can’t let my father down,” Enzo said softly.

I frowned at his words. “I don’t like that Rosalie was hurt either. I’d be OK if we left?—”

“We aren’t leaving,” Enzo cut in. “We can’t. We’ve come too far. My father is proud of me for once. He expects me to make this work. I won’t give it up.”

“Not even for Rosalie?” I whispered. “I’d give it up for her.”

Enzo looked out the window, a muscle thrumming along his jaw. “I would give it up for her. I would. I just… can’t. I promised my dad. I can’t break that promise. He’d be a target. So would my mom. They need me to be in this position to protect them. It’s not just about Rosalie. It’s my entire fucking life. I can’t just walk away from it.”

“You’re right,” Cole murmured. “I get it. I also see E’s point. She’s not happy, man. She’s fucking left us for a week. Ran away to get some space. We keep having these same fights. I’m tired of them.”

“We fell in love too fast,” I said, my voice thick. “We didn’t give her time to grow. We just took from her and made demands that she obeyed.”

“So what the fuck do you guys want me to do?” Enzo snapped. “Huh?”

“Maybe we should listen to her—” I started.

“How? We can’t leave this life. I told you why. So then what do we do? Tell her we’re done? Not fucking happening.” Enzo glared at me.

“Let Fox take her,” I whispered, my voice wavering. “He’s been upset lately. Maybe the two of them can go on a small trip together again. That seemed to help last time.”

Enzo closed his eyes, and all was silent for a moment. “I will do whatever she asks, but I can’t leave this life. If she tells me she wants a vacation with Fox. With Cole. With you. I’ll say yes. I swear I will. But we’re not leaving what we built. That’s final.”

“She’s supposed to go on that vacation with me,” Cole said. “Shit’s been too bad for us to do it. We can’t leave you right now. At least, I can’t. If something happened to you, I’d fucking die too.” Cole looked over at Enzo, a sad expression on his face. “Any of you. I’m willing to put off my plans to ensure everything works out for all of us.”

“Even the baby?” I ventured softly. I knew he kept pushing her on it.