Rumblin' Knights Boxed Set

by Bella Jewel

  We don’t really know each other all that well.

  But he’s so easy to get along with, so I kind of just adopted him as my best friend, even though we’re still basically strangers that talk a lot.

  Whatever, it’s going to grow into a bestie relationship, he doesn’t get a choice now, I’m part of this little gang.

  I thump him on the shoulder for his little remark and say, “How have you been? We haven’t talked for a few days.”

  “God forbid,” he gasps, pressing a hand to his forehead dramatically.

  “Hey, I like our friendship!”

  “You mean the one you kind of forced onto me and now I have to go along with?”

  He winks at me, and I grin. “Yeah, that one. Anyway, you’re great to gossip with, and a girl needs to gossip sometimes.”

  He groans. “Don’t you have girl friends for that?”

  “Nope,” I say, and it’s not entirely a lie. I have friends, sure, but a really, really good friend? No.

  I do like the girls Shania hangs around with, I must admit. Erin and Ellie. They’re amazing. But as for a bestie, nah, I don’t have one of those. I’ve been told I’m too full-on for most. Probably why I’m roping poor Damon here into a friendship.

  “You answered that alarmingly quickly,” Damon says. “It’s making me wonder if I’m befriending some sort of psychopath.”

  I chuckle. “I guess you’ll find out if you wake up one day and you’re bound and gagged.”

  He gives me a side glance, and I laugh.

  “No, seriously, I have friends, just none I totally trust.”

  “And you trust me?”

  I purse my lips. “Yeah, actually, for some reason I do. Which is random because you could be a complete con and I’d not know.”

  Damon wiggles his brows. “Exactly.”

  “Anyway, if you break my trust, I’ll hurt you. It’s really that simple.”

  He snorts. “Sounds reasonable. Right, why did you text me urgent emergency come quick before I combust?”

  I giggle. Dramatic? Oh, yes, that’s me.

  “Well, I went out last night, to Nicolai’s new club …”

  Damon’s brows go up. “Nicolai the man I’ve been getting information about for Lincoln? That Nicolai?”

  I nod. “Yup, and what information?”

  He shrugs. “You know, finding out stuff when Shania was looking for him.”

  “Yeah, you’ll have to tell me about the gossip you found out one day.”

  He chuckles. “I can do that. Now back to Nicolai and this club he owns. Didn’t know he had a new one.”

  “Nobody did, he’s kind of kept it under wraps. I’m guessing the party he was throwing was a way of telling everyone.”

  Damon nods. “Well whatever works, I’d love to own a club.”

  I nod, too. “Same!”

  “Anyway, that can’t be why you called me all the way out?”

  “No, it’s not.” I laugh. “So, Nicolai took me for a tour of the club, and upstairs, he also has a strip club. I wanted to see it.”

  “You wanted to see it?” Damon raises his brows.

  “Yep, I wanted to see it. So he showed me around. It was awesome. Gosh, there is so much gossip I don’t even know where to go right now.”

  Damon chuckles. “How about one piece at a time.”

  “Okay, the first part, Yana is working for him again.”

  “Yana? As in the crazy one who bothered Shania?”

  “The one and only.” I nod. “I got pissed off to say the least, and he told me it was business. She’s a great dancer, she brings people in, and she only works on the nights when he isn’t there. But still, I was angry, you know?”

  “How so?” Damon asks.

  “Because of what Yana did to Shania!”

  “Yeah,” he agrees, “but that’s really to do with Shania, not you, so unless Yana has directly affected you, it really isn’t anyone’s business if she’s working for Nicolai.”

  “Why do you have to be so … logical!”

  He laughs. “I can’t help it!”

  “Okay, well, you’re probably right. Either way, I was drunk, so I was pissed. After everything Yana did and the fact that he and Shania are on good terms now with Tommy it just made me angry he’d do that. If Shania found out …”

  “True, and I agree with your point, but unless it directly affects Shania and Tommy, again, not our business.”

  “Shoosh!” I say, pressing my finger to my lips, which makes him laugh. “As I was saying, I was pissed. Anyway, he pulled me up and we got into a heated argument. I told him how I feel about him, and what he did to Shania, and he basically told me I’m judgmental, and never once have I asked him why he did what he did, or for his side of the story, just like everyone else. And then he kicked me out.”

  Damon raises his brows. “He kicked you out.”

  “Yep.”

  “Because you were judging him?”

  “Yep.”

  “I mean,” Damon says, crossing his arms, “I guess I can see it from both sides. I mean obviously you’ve only ever heard Shania’s side, and being your sister obviously you stuck with that side. But I mean, there are always two sides to every story. You’ve heard hers, but you’ve never heard his, so I suppose you did just assume and therefore, judge.”

  “Shania isn’t a liar,” I point out, huffily.

  “No, she’s not. Her feelings and her story are most certainly very real, but so are his. She had her reasons, he had his. You know what I mean?”

  Of course I do. I do know Shania came on too strong, I also know she was in a bad place when she got pregnant. I saw more than one fight between them, hell, some of them I remember like it was yesterday. She was angry, he became angry, and the threats got thrown around. It was messy, it truly was. But, I guess Damon is right, I’ve only ever heard Shania’s side, because that was the only side I truly cared about.

  But last night, Nicolai made me feel bad.

  He made me feel judgy.

  And I don’t like being judgy.

  I don’t like being that person.

  “Do you think I should go and say sorry to him?” I ask, biting my bottom lip.

  “Do you think you should?”

  I snort. “Stop answering my questions with a question. I want your opinion, because I don’t know what to do, but I do feel bad, because I did just attack him and that isn’t really fair. I’ve judged him purely on Shania, and also because he was clearly a douche back then, but maybe that was a bit unfair, you know?”

  Damon shrugs. “Only you know the answer to that.”

  “Do you think it would piss Shania off if I went and apologized to him? Or worse, heard him out?”

  “Probably, yeah,” Damon tells me honestly. “But you’ve done the damage, only you can decide if you just let it go or if you need to apologize.”

  I exhale. “I’ll just tell her, and then at least I’m not being dishonest.”

  “Good idea.”

  “Then I’ll go apologize, because I do think I need to.”

  Damon grins and puts his hands out. “Would you look at that, you really did have the answers all along!”

  “Nobody likes a douche, Damon!” I laugh.

  He shoves my shoulder lightly. “I simply guide you to finding your own answer, that way I can’t be held responsible if you take my advice and it’s wrong and you fuck up.”

  “Smart,” I praise him.

  He grins. “Oh, yes, I know.”

  I laugh.

  Yep, Damon is going to be my best friend whether he likes it or not.

  ~*~*~*~

  “Oh, that sounds bad,” Shania says, frowning. “Explains why he was snappy when I dropped Tommy off this morning.”

  “Sorry,” I say, giving her my best sympathetic smile. “I didn’t mean to piss him off. I guess … I don’t know, I just don’t like him, you know?”

  Shania nods. “Yeah, I know. But I guess he’s right, he probably doesn
’t deserve to be fully judged. I mean, I was a lot to blame. I kind of clung onto him like some sort of stage-5 clinger. He made his intentions pretty clear from the start, I just chose not to hear them. So, there’s no point in hating him. It’s in the past, that’s where I’m trying to leave it all anyway. For Tommy’s sake.”

  Dammit.

  Voice of reason our Shania.

  “Well now I feel really bad for being horrible to him.”

  Shania laughs. “Don’t feel entirely bad, he does deserve some of it.”

  I grin. “True, he does. Anyway, I’m letting you know, because I’m going to go and apologize. Because it wasn’t the right thing to do, and I certainly don’t want any tension between any of us, for Tommy.”

  Shania studies me, then shrugs. “Yeah, that’s fine. Thanks for telling me. And I agree. I don’t want any more tension. I’d like you to be in Tommy’s life. I mean, you are his aunty after all.”

  I nod. “Damn right I am. Best aunty in the world, too.”

  Shania laughs. “Well, we’ll see about that. You need to look after him for a night and keep him alive before I give you that title.”

  “Hey!” I cry, laughing. “I’m not that bad.”

  She giggles. “I’m certain you are that bad.”

  I finish up my lunch date with Shania, and now that I’ve gotten the all clear from her, I head over to Nicolai’s place and hope he’s home. He’s got Tommy, so he probably is. Plus, it’s a Sunday. Nobody likes going out on a Sunday, right? Not me, anyway, yet here I am, driving over to his house, wondering what the hell I’m even bothering for.

  Then I think about Tommy.

  And how hard Shania fought.

  And I’m not going to be the reason any tension is brought back in.

  I arrive at Nicolai’s house just after two in the afternoon. I stayed at Shania’s a little longer than I planned, but that’s okay, we had fun. I like hanging out with her. I get out of the car and stare up at the big house. I’m not usually a fan of apologies, or taking back my words, but, you know, I can be the bigger person if I absolutely have to be.

  In this case I do.

  I walk up to the front door and knock. Nicolai doesn’t answer.

  Huffing, I bang on it again. His car is here, I know he’s home.

  “Do you always get so angry when someone doesn’t answer the door?”

  I spin around and see Nicolai standing behind me, shirtless and covered in sweat. He’s holding some sort of gardening shears in his hand, and holy lord, my knees go a little weak. What a body. I’m a woman, and there is no way my instincts can do anything but force me to look at the perfection sitting in front of me. Utter perfection. No doubt about it.

  I can see why Shania got a little lovey dovey when she was around him.

  It’s truly hard not to.

  I force my eyes to stay on his, even though they really, really, really want to travel down the length of his body, over every hard muscle, exploring every inch.

  But that would be inappropriate.

  I’m not one to be inappropriate.

  I’m laughing on the inside because what a lie.

  Anyway, back to Nicolai.

  “I didn’t pick you as the gardening type,” I say, crossing my arms and trying to act casual.

  My heart is racing.

  Why is it racing?

  Am I nervous? Why the hell am I nervous?

  It can’t be him, it must be because I’m being forced to apologize to a man I despised for so long.

  Nicolai shrugs, those intense yet dazzling green eyes fixed on mine. “I didn’t pick you as the type to come and apologize.”

  “What makes you think that’s what I’m here for?” I say quickly, narrowing my eyes and keeping my arms crossed.

  “Am I wrong?”

  I purse my lips.

  “Apology accepted.”

  I snort. “I didn’t say anything. The way you’re going, you won’t be getting that apology.”

  “I’ve already accepted it.”

  I bite my lip, trying not to laugh. Banter. Nicolai knows how to banter. He always seems so serious, this definitely comes as a surprise.

  “Well, I didn’t offer it, so you can’t accept it if I didn’t offer it.”

  His lip quirks. Dammit, why can’t he be ugly?

  It would be far easier right about now.

  “Do you want a drink, Lucy? Then you can get into detail about how sorry you are.”

  “That depends,” I say, uncrossing my arms and following him when he starts toward the front door.

  “On what?” he calls.

  “Is the drink alcoholic?”

  He makes what almost sounds like a chuckle. “Always.”

  I follow him into the house, glancing around properly now I’m in here without all the people. It’s a nice place, he’s decorated it well. I like it, for a single man.

  “Where’s Tommy?” I ask him.

  “He’s with my sister. He stays over every Sunday with her son. They love it.”

  “You have a sister?” I question.

  “Yeah.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  He stops and looks back at me. “It would appear you don’t know much about me at all.”

  Probably true.

  “No need to rub it in, buddy. Keep it up, and no apology.”

  He grins at me, and holy shit. Hot. So hot. “I always did like you.”

  “So you’ve told me.”

  He gets us both a beer and we go out onto the back deck and sit down on some epic chairs that are really damned comfortable. I sip the drink and stare, wondering how I’m supposed to suck it up and just do this. I have to. So I can get out of here and we can all live happily ever after.

  That’s how it goes, right?

  Probably not.

  When is life ever that easy?

  But I have to do the right thing, for my sister.

  “Look,” I say, taking another sip for courage, “I’m sorry, okay? Sorry for judging you without even knowing your side. I hope you understand that Shania is my sister, so I was always going to have her back, but that didn’t mean I needed to be a bitch to you. I don’t know you and, in the end, the situation isn’t mine, it’s hers. You don’t deserve me to be horrible, you’ve both lived through enough nasty to last you a lifetime.”

  He’s quiet for a second, and I wonder if he’s contemplating how to tell me my apology was epic, because it really was. But I meant it. He doesn’t deserve to hear shit from me; I’m sure he’s gotten enough over the years from Shania and everyone else involved in their issues.

  “That apology was okay, I suppose.”

  I snort. “It was epic!”

  “It wasn’t epic, it was so-so.”

  “How was it so-so?”

  “It sounded, you know, rehearsed.”

  I laugh. “I rehearse nothing. The words that come out of my mouth are exactly what I’m thinking in the moment and nothing less.”

  He looks over at me. “You’re right, I’d believe that. Okay, apology accepted.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

  “It was harder than you think.”

  He smiles a little, and we sit in silence for a moment.

  “You know you have to tell me now, right?” I say, staring over at him. “I mean, you told me off for judging you without knowing, so now I want to know. Then, at least, I can call you an asshole and truly have reason.”

  He grunts, and then murmurs, “Your sister know you’re here?”

  “Firstly, that just sounded weird. Like I’m doing something wrong. I’m not. And secondly, yes, she does.”

  More silence.

  “Are you going to tell me, or should I leave?”

  He doesn’t look at me and I’m sure he’s about to tell me to leave but, instead, he starts talking.

  “I’ll tell you, but you have to listen. From start to finish. No interruptions. No ‘but Shania told me th
is’ nothing. And you have to be open minded. I’ll say it exactly how it was, for me anyway. You have to look at it as if I’m talking about anyone but your sister. I’m not saying Shania didn’t have all the right to feel the way she did, and I’m not putting her down, know that. But I don’t lie. I tell the truth and that’s what you’ll get. Raw and open. You handle that?”

  He turns finally and looks to me, eyes intense. He’s not messing around. He’s going to lay it all out for me. I probably don’t have to hear this. Really, if we’re looking into it, I should just leave and be done with it. But curiosity killed that cat, remember? And I’m curious. I’ve always been curious. The story, it’s so intense, so complicated, and I’ve only ever heard the one side.

  I’ll always be on Shania’s side. Always.

  But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear how Nicolai saw it.

  I wonder if Shania will be mad at me for listening?

  Probably. But, I’ll be honest with her.

  She’ll get over it, I’m sure.

  “Yeah,” I say, sipping my drink and leaning back in the chair, getting comfortable. “I can handle that.”

  He takes a drink, too. He looks forward again and starts talking.

  “When Shania came to me, she was naive. No doubt about it. She had this innocence about her, and yet she had the balls to come into my club and ask for a job. She stripped down when I asked her to, confident even though I knew inside she was crapping herself. She had something, something that I knew would send the men over the edge. Something most strippers don’t have…innocence. So, I took her on. She was young, younger than I usually like, but she held her own so I gave her a shot.”

  It’s hard for me to think about Shania like that, stripping down in front of a stranger. She was always the better one, always stronger, always more grown up. She helped me when I was still in school, she did it all for me. I’ll be forever grateful for that, maybe even more so now I’m hearing just how it must have been for her to go in there and bare everything.

  “I was right,” Nicolai goes on, “she drew in the crowd. I was seeing Yana at the time, and it became apparent she didn’t like Shania. She was taking her shine. Not to mention, Shania had a crush on me. Was obvious, probably to everyone but her. I kept my distance as much as possible, but I knew she had a bit of a thing for me. Time went on, things kept happening that kept bringing her to me.”