Six Guns: Volume Two by Sara V. Zook

hear this. I needed to hear the words come from his mouth.
    “Want to know how I became mob boss?”
    I didn’t reply again.
    “Shake your head yes if you do.”
    Against my will, my head was nodding forward. I was in shock. Oh god, the shock as I continued to be pinned down by Nicky Cain.
    “Carmine was my father.”
    I gasped. What? Carmine’s son?
    A small smirk crossed over Nicky’s lips then. “I know. Crazy, huh? Remmy was the one to break it to me. I didn’t know, but Carmine did all this time. He had plans for me. I guess his plans didn’t include getting killed and having me find out this way. I have no experience, Lilah. I have no fucking clue what I’m doing. I’m in way over my head, and I’m forced into this now. I’ve inherited this shit. So now I have to deal with everything that comes with my title. You have no idea what I’m going through. I have to go to Carmine’s. The guys pull me aside and ask me questions. They expect answers from me, and they don’t give me any time to think. They want to know now. I have to make decisions quickly. What if it’s the wrong choice? How will that affect the empire?”
    “Empire?”
    Nicky shook his head and climbed off of me. He walked to the other side of the room and leaned against the wall. “My head’s all muddled with what’s going on around me. I’m still processing.” He tapped the side of his head with his finger. “So now you know, Lilah. I couldn’t fucking deal with being around everyone over there. I left. I ditched you because I wasn’t even thinking about you. I was thinking about other stuff. Sounds bad, but I’ll tell you the truth—you’re not always at the forefront of my mind. I have a lot on my plate.”
    I brought my hand up to rest on my chest and stared at the floor for a moment. He’d confessed more than I thought he would. Maybe it was still the alcohol running through his veins. Maybe it was just something he needed to say. Everything about what he’d just said stung, though. The burn was deep and slow as it spread throughout me—pure torture as I took it all in. He did unspeakable things. I knew a murderer stood before me. A drug dealer too? Did he transport guns and sell them on the street? What was it that Carmine did that now transferred over to Nicky? Carmine was his father? How in the world did this all come about? And the one thing that hurt even more than all the rest: that he hadn’t even had a thought about me as he left Carmine’s tonight. He was too consumed with everything else to realize that I was still inside waiting for him. What did that mean? Didn’t he care about me like I thought he did?
    Nicky watched me for a few minutes before crossing the room again and coming back over to me. He took hold of my arms and lifted me into a standing position. I stared up at him as his wild, tormented eyes continued to search mine. He didn’t let go of my arms, and I didn’t even attempt to struggle against his grip. “What are you thinking, Lilah? Has your opinion of me changed now that you know?”
    I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. My knees felt weak. The way people had stared at him in the restaurant, the staff fumbling over each other to make sure they pleased him. They were afraid of him. The whole city of Haven knew who Nicky Cain was. How had I missed it?
    Nicky shook me a little. “Tell me, Lilah. Tell me what you’re fucking thinking.”
    “Why did you tell me all that, Nicky?” I whispered.
    Nicky licked his lips as he continued to watch me like a predator stalking its prey. “You threw water in my face. You demanded answers. You’ve wanted to know this whole time, and maybe I wanted to tell you. I don’t know. I debated whether or not to tell you the whole truth. Maybe if I didn’t tell you everything, I’d be protecting you in a sense. How much does someone like me tell his woman? How much of the truth changes your view of me? Just something else adding to my misery,