Page 88 of Poisoned Promise
There’s no other way she could have become so talented at such a young age.
Dove is the Nightingale.
And worse than that… she killed Nico.
My Nico.
My hands twist together until my fingers fade to white under the pressure and my heart beats so powerfully it’s like my entire chest is contracting with every beat.
Nico.
My best friend since before I can remember.
He never looked down on me for being an Enforcer or moving from family to family.
There was always a seat at his table and a plate of food waiting every time I visited.
He supported me through the death of my parents, every agonizing moment as a teenager, every injury and near-deathexperience that came from being fodder on the front lines of whichever family started a war with another.
He was my rock and there was a perfect window in my life back then when I had the bestest friend I ever could have asked for, and the woman of my dreams on my arm.
That image turns to ash in my mind and a bubble of emotion rises in my chest, catching just under my throat.
Is this the real reason Dove left back then? Unable to look me in the eyes after slaughtering the closest thing I had to family?
Or did she only get close to me so she could sink her dagger into Nico’s heart?
Have I been in her crosshairs this entire time and too blinded by love to see it?
Anger collides with the upset in my chest and my head hangs low between my shoulders, eyes closed.
This is my punishment for keeping her hidden from Caterina.
All this time, she was looking out for me and I spat in her face because I thought I knew better. I thought I was in love.
I clutch my hands together until numbness sweeps up my forearm but just as it reaches my elbows, the latch on the door clicks and it swings open.
Caterina slowly walks in, a quiet, soft smile on her face as she waves away her security, although the door remains ajar as she walks further inside.
“Felix.”
“Tell me it’s not true.” Our eyes meet and sympathy bleeds from her expression. “Tell me Dove isn’t…”
“The Nightingale?” Her lips purse. “I’m sorry, Felix. I tried to warn you. I told you to trust me and you chose not to.” Her words purr slightly as she speaks. “I have always had your best interests at heart and instead you chose to betray me. BetrayNico.”
Sharp pain lances through my chest at his name and my lower lip quivers slightly. I’m unable to look away from the burning accusation in her eyes, even as she stops a few feet away.
“Tell me what happened,” I ask roughly. “Tell me the truth. Please.”
Caterina sighs deeply and places one hand on her chest. “Talking about this pains me, Felix. You’re asking me to relive the worst week of my life.”
“It was the worst for me, too. Please, I have to know… what really happened to Nico?” The details I’ve clung to over the years are so sparse that it’s difficult to form a full picture even with the earlier revelations.
“Do you remember the last time you saw Nico?” Caterina perches elegantly on the edge of the small table in my cell and crosses one ankle over the other.
“Yeah, we—… we were planning a trip to Montana. He wanted to get away for a little while, embrace nature. He said he was tired of the prison this city had become.”
She nods. “Partly my fault for how hard I was working him at that time. Looking back, I don’t regret it. I knew in my heart he would take his trip and embrace nature for all of five minutesbefore remembering the luxuries of home. Then he’d be on the first flight back.” Her smile is filled with nostalgia. “The Healy deal fell through. Do you remember?”
