by K. L. Ramsey
She shook her head, “No,” she said. “I told you, besides my brother, you’re the only one who knows now. Please don’t tell anyone, Damion,” she begged. “You have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone who I am. The Syndicate will kill me and my brother. They won’t risk letting a Lust live.”
“I heard about what happened to your family, Nix. My father told me about it when I was younger. How old were you when it happened?”
“I was twelve. My brother, Carter, was only nine. They killed my father first and my mother knew that they were going to be coming for the rest of us, so she sent us both to live with a distant cousin of hers. Ma got us out of town and the next day, we got word that they killed our mother. All I had left in this world was my brother—we were just kids. My cousin let us stay with her and we had to move around a lot and eventually, I decided to change my name to my mother’s maiden name—Ryker.”
“Did your brother change his name too?” Damion asked. He was told that both kids were murdered with their parents. It was one of the reason’s why his father wanted out of the Syndicate. He worried that if the families could turn on their own, they would take out the next weakest family—the Prides. Damion hated that his father saw their family as weak.
“No,” she whispered. “He refused to change his last name. He said that was the only thing that the Syndicate couldn’t take from him. Our cousin convinced him to leave the country—that was almost seven years ago. He was only nineteen years old when he took off and I haven’t seen him since.” The sadness in Nix’s eyes made him regret his question. Earlier, he only saw a strong stubborn woman in Nixon. But now, all he saw was someone who was scared for her life. She was afraid of who she was and that was something that Damion could relate to.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed. “About everything, Nix. None of that could have been easy on you.”
“It wasn’t,” she admitted. “I live in constant fear that someone will find out who I am. God, if Rock finds out, I’m as good as dead. He’ll believe that I’m working against him and he won’t let me live—you know that right?” she asked.
He did know that Rock would kill her if he found out that her last name was Lust. His uncle would think that she was working undercover to bring down the Greeds. “He won’t find it out from me. No one will. I’ll keep your secret, Nix. But, I do need to know—why are you working for my uncle if not to bring him down?”
“I think that he has a valid plan, Damion. I know you think that he’s up to no good, but he genuinely wants to partner with you and Finn. He knows that there is power in numbers—we all know that truth all too well. He thinks that if the Greed, Pride, and Envy families join forces, you’ll be able to work together to take down the Gluttony family. If we can take them down, the Sloth and Wrath families will topple alongside them. This Syndicate used to be a force when all of the families worked together, but when they all turned on each other—well, that’s when things went wrong.”
“How do I know that I can trust him, Nixon?” Damion asked. “My family has been burned by Rock so many times. I remember how he used to treat my father. He used him; treated him like a dog, Nix.”
“You don’t,” she breathed. “You don’t even know if you can trust me, really.” That was a fair point. He didn’t know if he could trust her, but now that he knew her biggest secret, it made it a little easier to believe she wouldn’t double-cross him. If she did, he could out her and that thought seemed to terrify Nixon.
“I can promise you this,” she said. “If Rock’s plan works, the Lust family will be rejoining the Syndicate and we’ll stand with your three families. I’ve already spoken to Carter about it and he’s on board. He’s just waiting for me to tell him to come home—when things are safe for us again.”
“I’ll need to talk to Finn. I won’t let Rock anywhere near our company, but I’ll consider joining forces with him to bring down the Gluttony family. My company’s off limits though,” he said.
“Understood,” she said. “And thank you for at least considering this.”
“I won’t make you any promises,” he said. “Let me talk to Finn. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She nodded and pulled her cell phone from her purse. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Oh, sorry—I’m calling for an Uber,” she said.
“You didn’t drive here?” he asked.
“No. I was going to but then I found my front two tires slashed,” Nix said. “At least, I think that they were slashed. I ran home to shower and change for our meeting. I never got the chance to shower after my run earlier today and well, I wasn’t home for very long. I went out to get into my car and that’s when I found my flat tires.”
“Do you think that they were slashed intentionally?” he asked.
Nix shrugged, “No clue,” she said. “I’m not even sure if they were slashed or not. I didn’t take the time to inspect them. I didn’t want to be late for our meeting.”
“While I appreciate that, you really should get your tires checked,” he said.
“That’s the plan,” Nix agreed. “As soon as I can get an Uber home, I’ll call AAA and have them changed.”
Damion stood and slipped on his suit jacket. “How about I give you a lift and see what I can do about your tires,” he offered.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” she said. He pulled her chair out for her and helped her on with her jacket.
“Not a problem. We’re neighbors, remember? It wouldn’t be very neighborly of me if I let you call an Uber when I’m going in the same direction.” Damion said.
“I appreciate the ride, Damion,” she said. “But, I can figure out the tires. I’m sure you’ve had a long day and the last thing you want to do is change my tires.” She was right, the last thing he wanted was to spend the night changing tires. He usually hired people to do that kind of shit for him, but if they were slashed, that meant that someone might be trying to send her a message. If he was going to consider getting into bed with his uncle and possibly the Lust family, he needed to be sure that they weren’t already targets. As selfish as it sounded, he wanted to make sure that his assets were protected.
“How about you let me help you out with your tires and you can make us some coffee to go with these.” He took the pastry boxes that the waiter handed him and thanked him.
“Please tell me that box contains flan, and I’m completely on board with your plan,” Nix agreed. Flan was his favorite and judging from the amount of enthusiasm coming from Nixon, it was one of hers too.
“Yep,” he said, dangling the box in front of her.
“Well, then, Mr. Pride, you have a deal,” she agreed.
Damion drove the few miles back to their neighborhood in almost complete silence. He wasn’t sure what to say to her and he could tell that she felt the same way. If they weren’t talking about business, they didn’t seem to have much to talk about.
He parked in the space next to her car and handed her the box of flan. “You mind taking this in with you?” he asked.
“Are you sure you don’t just want me to call AAA? I’ll still make coffee to go with our dessert,” she offered.
Damion chuckled, “I don’t mind taking a look at your tires,” he said. “But you only have one spare, so it might be a good idea to give AAA a call to come out and tow your car to your dealer. They’ll be able to put new tires on for you. I’d still like to see if they were slashed,” he said. He worried that his hunch was correct and that someone had intentionally slashed her front tires to keep her from meeting with him. Only a handful of people knew about their meeting tonight and most of them were people he trusted. Except for Rock—and Damion wouldn’t put it past his uncle to sabotage his own deal, especially if Rock found out about Nix being a Lust.
“I’ll call them and put on the coffee. Thanks, Damion. I appreciate all of your help,” she said. It was crazy that earlier that day, he was storming out of the conference room, pissed off at her. She didn’t seem like the same overly confident
woman who demanded his time and attention that morning. Nix seemed softer, even a little timid now, and he had to admit that he liked seeing this softer side of Nixon. He watched as she unlocked her front door and walked into her home, shutting the door behind herself.
“Let’s see what’s going on with your tires,” he said to himself. He pulled up his flashlight app on his cell phone and investigated the flat tires. They had indeed been slashed, repeatedly. It looked like someone had used a hunting knife to puncture the tires and he worried that his original assumptions were correct. Someone did this to Nixon for a reason. The question was who and why they’d go to such lengths to keep her from meeting with him.
He was going to deliver the bad news, have a quick cup of coffee and some dessert, and then head home to call his head of security. He was sure that Stan would be able to give him some guidance on what to do next. He might have grown up in the Deadly Sins Syndicate but that wasn’t his world anymore. His father got them out of that life and he had a feeling that going into business with Finn had only thrust both of them back into that life, like it or not.
He gently knocked on her front door and she quickly answered it. “So?” she asked.
“Do you mind if I wash up first?” he asked.
“Oh, of course,” she said. “The powder room is right through that door,” she said, pointing to the closed door at the end of the hallway. Her place was nice. It had kind of a modern industrial feel to it. He didn’t really know her, but her home felt a lot like he expected it to.
She was waiting for him when he came out of the bathroom and handed him a cup of coffee. “I don’t know how you take it,” she said. “I have some creamer if you want it.”
“No,” he said. “I take it black, thank you.”
“I also put dessert out in the kitchen. Would you like to sit?” she asked.
“That would be nice,” he agreed. “Your place is great, by the way.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I bought this place after my fiancé and I ended things. I needed a fresh start, you know? I got a new job with Rock, and then found this place and just fell in love.”
“You were engaged?” he asked.
“I was,” she admitted. He followed her into the kitchen and sat down across from her at the table.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I was stupid—we both were,” she breathed. “I just moved out of my cousin’s place to live on my own. Carter left the country and I felt very alone. I met Dale at the gym and we hit it off. He moved into my tiny apartment and after a year, he asked me to marry him.”
“Why didn’t it work out?” he asked.
Nix shrugged, “Not sure, really. We just weren’t a good fit, you know?” He wanted to tell her that he had no idea what she meant. Damion just turned thirty-four and he had never really had a serious relationship. He never let himself get that involved with the women he saw. He had a few women that he liked to take out and have fun with but when the next morning came, he sent them on the way with no promises made. He didn’t understand the need to be tied down to one person and he wasn’t sure he ever would.
“We were engaged for five years and I realized that neither of us was doing anything to work towards the actual wedding ceremony. I eventually confronted Dale and asked him why that was, and he point-blank told me that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to marry me. At first, I was hurt, but then I realized that I wasn’t as upset as I should be about losing my fiancé after five years. He moved out and I decided that I needed a fresh start.”
“You never told him who you are?” Damion asked.
“No,” Nix admitted. “I couldn’t. If I had, it would have just put us both in danger.”
“I’m not judging,” he said, sitting down at her kitchen table. “But isn’t that like living a lie? You were going to marry a man who would never really know who you are.” His assessment of Nix sounded harsh, once he said it out loud. “Sorry, don’t answer that. It’s none of my business.”
“I don’t mind—you’re right. It would have been like I was living a lie—a double life if you will. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t very upset about him ending things with me. I guess that a part of me always knew that being with Dale would never work because I couldn’t fully be myself with him. I couldn’t be myself with anyone,” she whispered.
“Until now,” Damion interrupted.
“Sorry?” she questioned.
“Well, now I know, so you can be yourself around me, Nixon,” he said. He took a bite of his flan and hummed his approval.
“Thank you for saying that,” she breathed. “It will be nice to have someone else besides my brother that I don’t have to pretend around.”
“Of course,” he agreed. “You really need to try this flan—it’s so good,” he gushed around another mouthful, causing Nix to giggle.
“Thank you for believing my story,” she said. Nix shoved a big bite of flan into her mouth and he put his fork down.
“I never said that I believe you, Nix,” he admitted. “My father taught me one very valuable lesson in life—don’t trust anyone. I don’t even fully trust Finn and he’s been my best friend since birth practically.”
“You don’t believe me, then?” she asked.
“I believe that you are a Lust. I remember the stories of your father, mother, and their two children who were murdered by some of the families in the Syndicate. It’s one of the reasons why my father got us out. He left everything—even the Pride name behind. But, I’m done with running and hiding. You can be too, you know?” he asked.
Nixon shook her head, “No, I can’t,” she said. “I still have to go to work in the lion’s den tomorrow morning and tell him that I still haven’t gotten you to agree to his proposal. And, on top of that, you think I’m not being one hundred percent honest with you, Damion.”
“Don’t look at me like that, Nix.” She was practically pouting at him and he hated that he hurt her feelings. Sure, he wasn’t her biggest fan, but he didn’t want to outright hurt her feelings. “I told you that I don’t even trust my closest friend. It’s just who I am,” Damion said.
“It’s fine, really,” Nixon lied. He could tell by the look on her face that it was not fine, but she seemed to want to be done with the whole discussion. “You’re avoiding what’s really important here,” she said. “What happened to my tires?”
Damion sighed. She was right, he was trying to avoid this next part. He was going to have to tell her that it looked like what had happened to her tires was done on purpose.
“Slashed,” he breathed. “Quite a few times. Looks like someone took a hunting knife to them. I’m sorry, Nix.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she said. “Unless you were the one to slash them.” Her tone was teasing and lite, but he could tell that she was wondering if he had anything to do with it.
He held up his hands, as if in defense. “Nope,” he said. “I was at work until our meeting. I left the office and went right to the restaurant. I have the video footage if you’d like to see it,” he offered.
Nix held up one small hand, “I’m not the one with trust issues here, Damion. You can keep your video footage. I was just joking about you being the one to have slashed my tires. I’m betting it was one of the other families though. Maybe one of them got wind that I was meeting with you tonight. They will stop at nothing to keep you, Finn, and Rock from joining forces. If you three do, it could mean the end for the power-hungry Gluttony family or the Sloth and Wrath families, who do their dirty work. This partnership could topple the empire and re-shift the power in the Syndicate.”
“You mean four families,” Damion corrected. “Because if Finn and I agree to work with Rock, I’d expect the Lust family’s backing in all of this. Would we have you and your brother behind us, Nixon?” he asked. He couldn’t believe that he was actually considering Rock’s plan but Nixon made a point—a damn good one at that. If the Pride, Envy, Greed, and Lust families all joined forces, there
would be no way for the Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth families to stop them from taking over the Syndicate. Things could finally be run the way that he and Finn wanted. The Deadly Sins Syndicate could finally take its place in the corporate world as a business on the up and up. There would be no more secrets, no more killing, no more innocent lives destroyed. It just might work, if Nix and Carter would agree to coming out from the shadows and jumping on board with them.
“How about it, Nix? If Finn and I agree to Rock’s plan, will you and Carter come out of hiding and join our efforts?” he asked. She didn’t even think about it, just simply nodded her head and gave her simple answer.
“Yes,” she breathed.
Nixon
“I’ll talk to Finn first thing in the morning and you’ll have our answer by our lunch meeting. I’ll have my assistant call yours to set up our meeting,” he said. The man honestly gave her whiplash, he switched gears so fast. One minute, he was storming out of a conference room, practically cussing her out, and the next, he was inviting her to lunch.
“Wait,” she said. “Did you just invite me to lunch?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s not a date or anything, Nix. It’s a lunch meeting. We need to discuss this further and I want Rock there. Can you make that happen?” he asked. She wasn’t sure that she could make Rock Greed do anything that he didn’t want to do. Hell, she could barely keep her head above water around the man, but she would try. What Damion was offering her was a way for her and Carter to be free. They could both come out of hiding and be the people who they were meant to be—they could be Lusts again.
“I will try. I’ll call his assistant to see if she can put you on his schedule,” she offered. “Other than that, I don’t hold much power over your uncle, Damion,” she said.
“Do what you have to do to get him there. I want both of you there and I’ll bring Finn. The four of us need to have a little come to Jesus meeting, Nix. It’s time to get everything out on the table. You good with that?” he asked.