I stayed anyway. I picked up a pool cue when a group of guys invited me into a game. I felt eyes on me with my blonde hair, tight jeans and the fact that I was the only woman in the room. Minutes passed as my nerves sharpened. Then one of Nico’s men appeared beside me.
“He wants to see you,” he said with a rough tone.
My pulse kicked up. The guy was huge. Pure bodyguard energy.
“Thanks,” I said. I didn’t want to smile too much because he looked irritated and serious. The back room felt smaller this time. Nico sat at the table, expression unreadable.
“You’re brave,” he said, almost amused. “Also, stupid.”
“I need answers,” I stated.
He leaned back. “Cops are watching me. You showing up here isn’t smart.”
“Did you send the note?” I cut to the chase. I knew this meeting would be cut short like the last one.
Something flickered in his eyes, brief and sharp, before vanishing.
“Why does it matter?” His tone was even like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I need to know,” I burst out, words spilling faster now. “I turned my life upside down. I’m doing a master’s degree I hate because I can’t stop searching for answers. It’s eating away at me slowly. Please.”
He smirked slightly. Like he found me ridiculous. Or maybe brave.
“Never repeat what I’m about to tell you,” he said, tone low and filled with warning. “Doesn’t matter if you do anyway. There’s no evidence.”
My stomach tightened.
“I’ve only ever killed one man,” he said. The words turned my blood cold.
A part of me wanted to turn around and run. Nico was a murderer, and I was stupid to be here alone with him.
“For a guy like me, that’s a big deal,” he continued, the humor gone from his voice.
His gaze drifted somewhere far away, like he wasn’t in the room with me anymore. “Marcel didn’t always use the same guides,” he started. “That night was a new one… he was different. Scraggly. Thin like a scarecrow. A beard that hadn’t seen a razor in years. His clothes smelled of smoke and damp earth. He lived outdoors. He knew the woods like they were part of him.” Nico’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t like him,” he admitted. “Something about him felt off. Too quiet. Eyes that watched too much. But guys like that are useful. They know where the border patrol drives. Which trails disappear under tree cover. Where the ground is soft enough to hide footprints.”
He leaned back, voice flattening as he spoke.
“The terrain out there isn’t easy. People think it’s just trees and snow. It’s not. It’s thick brush that tears your clothes. Swamps that swallow your boots. Rocky ridges where one wrong step sends you sliding. In some places, the forest is so dense you can’t see the sky. At night it gets cold fast, even in summer. Damp cold that sinks into your bones.”
My stomach twisted as I remembered how Sophie walked into the darkness with that group.
“We moved mostly at night,” he said. “Long stretches without talking. Everyone carrying too much. Packs digging into shoulders. People breathing hard but trying to stay quietbecause noise carries.” His eyes flicked toward me briefly. “Your friend kept up better than most. She was strong. Determined.”
That made my throat tighten.
“The guide pushed us hard,” he continued. “Too hard. He liked seeing people struggle. I noticed it. I didn’t trust him. But I never imagined…” His voice trailed off. He swallowed, looking ill. “After hours of walking, we stopped. Everyone was exhausted. You don’t sleep out there, not really. You just collapse wherever you can. Dirt. Roots. Rocks. Doesn’t matter.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “People spread out. Some close together, some wanting space. Your friend went off alone. I figured she needed privacy. Everyone does at some point.” His voice lowered. “When she didn’t come back… I waited. Thought maybe she turned around. After an hour I went looking.”
The room felt colder.
“I found her,” he said, and something dark moved behind his eyes. “She was already gone.”
His jaw flexed hard. “The things he did…” He stopped, shaking his head once. “He was there. Beside her body. He tried to explain himself... I didn’t know rage like that existed inside me.” Silence stretched between us. “I didn’t plan. I just ended the sick fuck because he was deranged, trying to explain what he’d done.”
The words sank in.
“I took his life with my hands,” he said. “And I enjoyed it.”