Page 258 of When We Fall: Part One

Cole glared at me. “Enzo gets to fucking marry her, E. I want my fucking kid, OK? Not negotiable.”

“Maybe it should be,” I pressed. “It would take the pressure off her.”

Cole scowled at me. “She promised.”

I sighed, knowing I wasn’t going to get through to him. It didn’t matter what we did. I knew deep down shit would go from this to worse, and I prayed for our souls because it was going to fucking hurt.

I watchedCole shoot two of whom I assumed were Ivanov’s men in the head. They wouldn’t talk, but it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Enzo wanted a message sent, so we sent the damn thing.

Cole wiped the blood off his face and nodded for Jake and the men to clean shit up. After we’d spent the last three hours beating the shit out of them and them not talking, Cole had enough.

I’d had enough in the first thirty minutes.

“Enzo wants us to check out one of the warehouses,” Cole said, staring down at his phone and sighing. “If that’s clear, we can head back.”

I sighed. “Is Rosalie home?”

It was after nine at night. When we left hours before, she still hadn’t returned.

Cole typed out a message and frowned at the screen for a minute.

“Not yet. She just called and told him she’ll be there in a few minutes.” Cole sighed and darkened the screen. “Come on. Let’s get this shit over with so we can get home to her. I fucking miss her like I miss cake.”

I followed him out of the kill house, my name for the warehouse where we killed people, and into one of his cars, since he now had two.

We sat in the front seat silently for a few minutes before Cole spoke.

“I’m sick of this shit too,” he admitted softly. “I’d be good with us leaving this world and caring for our girl.”

I nodded. “Me too.”

“Too bad we’re fucked.” He started the car, and we squealed out of the parking lot.

He was right. We were fucked.

EIGHTY-TWO

ENZO

Ipaced the living room after I got off the phone with Rosalie. She was only a few minutes away. Fox had come home long ago and went straight to his room. He and I needed to sit down and have a heart-to-heart.

But goddamn, he pissed me off.

I know this shit sucked, but it was our life now. He swore he was in. He knew that this was what would happen. Or at least I assumed he did.

It was an argument I was tired of having. Truth be told, we were both mad at one another. I was pissed because of a lot of shit he’d done, like letting Anson watch him fuck our girl, or not telling me about his old man and his ties to the De Santis family, about him and Rosalie discussing running away. The list went on. I’m sure he had a list a mile long on me, too.

Headlights flashed in the window, and I immediately looked outside to see Rosalie pulling into the driveway.

I backed away from the glass, not wanting to overwhelm her by rushing outside. I heard Fox’s footsteps on the stairs. I assumed he’d been sitting at his window, watching and waiting like I had been.

He didn’t say a word to me as he swept past. I stood in the living room, watching out the window as he rushed to her and pulled her into his arms. I swallowed hard as he kissed her, cradling her face.

I wasn’t an idiot. I knew how much they loved one another. Sometimes I wondered if she’d even stay if he went off to play pro ball. It was one of the reasons I was trying so hard to get this wedding over with. She’d be my wife, and then they’d both stick around. Despite our recent issues, I loved Fox so goddamn much it hurt.

I just sucked at showing him.

Fox escorted Rosalie into the house. The air shifted as she stared at me.