Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

I shake my head. “I think we’re fooling ourselves to assume the worst is over.”

“Maybe,” he tells me, pulling back. “But for now, why don’t we just go home and you can call the boys, check in on them yourself?”

“Are you sure?” I ask, searching his eyes.

“Of course,” he tells me, pressing his lips to mine before brushing my hair back off my face. “They need your reassurance just as much as you need theirs.”

“Okay,” I breathe before pulling myself out of his arms and climbing back into the passenger seat.

Colton hits the gas again, pulling back out onto the road, reaching over and taking my hand in his “There is something you should know,” he tells me, rubbing his thumb back and forth over my hand. “You know how I mentioned the cops showing up?”

My head whips back around to him. I’d completely overlooked that part of his story. “Yeah,” I say in a panic. “What happened?”

“The boys were all holding firearms when they showed up, and Nic was arrested for possession of a deadly weapon. I haven’t heard any details, but I’ve sent one of my lawyers down to the police station and he’ll be taking care of it. So, we should hopefully know something more tonight.”

I stare up at him, amazed by his generosity after Nic has done so much to hurt him. “You didn’t have to do that,” I urge him, “but thank you.”

Colton nods. “I didn’t do it for him,” he tells me. “I did it for you.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“Alright,” he says, letting out a breath and showing me just how nervous he was to share all of that with me. “Let me get you home, and then we can figure out what our next steps will be.”

“I can’t agree more.”

With that, Colton flies down the road, and twenty minutes later, I stand out by one of the many pools, staring down at my phone, and trying to find the courage to actually call the guys.

I drop down onto one of the sunbeds while glancing through the back window of the mansion. Colton stands in the kitchen with his phone glued to his ear and appears as though he’s busily putting something together, but we both know that he’s just standing close in case I need him.

Wanting to be stronger, I let out a breath and get on with it. The phone rings three times before Kairo’s face appears on my screen, looking more pissed off than I’ve ever seen him. “Ocean,” he says, instantly making tears well in my eyes.

I hate myself for being so transparent and do my best to blink the tears away. “Hey,” I say, my voice low and filled with pain. “I just needed to check that you’re alright.”

He rolls his eyes but doesn’t lift the pissed-off stare that seems to hit me right through the phone. “Besides the fact that I had one of your guy’s bullets slice through my arm, then yeah, just peachy.”

“Kai,” I say, my tone dropping low as my heart breaks. I completely deserved that. “You have to know that I didn’t know they were coming for you. If I knew … I would have been there trying to make it stop. I’m so sorry, so fucking sorry, and I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m going to beg for it anyway because the thought of you guys hating me is killing me, and I just … I can’t lose you all. You’re all that I have left.”

“Stop,” he says, his voice finally breaking as his heart appears out on his sleeve. “We don’t hate you. We told you that no matter what, you’re always our sister, and we meant that.”

I shake my head. “How can you say that after what I did? If I hadn’t gone to Russo, then this never would have happened. Your guys would be alive, and you wouldn’t be hurt.”

“Pretty girl,” he soothes, using that old nickname that I feel I haven't heard in months. “Whether you went to Russo or not, we were already at war. All you did was give him the push to do what he’d already had planned to do, but thanks to Colton, their plan backfired, and for now, we all get to live to see another day.”

“I … I really don’t even know what to say.”

“I know,” he murmurs, “But when you figure it out, can you make sure all the bullshit whining is finished. I don’t want to hear it anymore. It is what it is, and we’ve both said what needs to be said. End of the discussion, okay?”

I nod, despite us both knowing damn well that this will be brought up at every chance I get. I’ll never stop feeling miserable for this, which in turn means that despite having their forgiveness, I’ll never stop apologizing.