'I Do' For Revenge
Chapter 199: The People You Trust Hurts The Most
CHAPTER 199: THE PEOPLE YOU TRUST HURTS THE MOST
~HELENA~
The safe house was really just a boring, beige apartment in Queens with bars on t he windows and furniture that smelled fai ntly of mothballs and old coffee.
The bedroom door was slightly open, and I could hear my brothers’ soft bre athing.
The y’d been confused and sc ared when the men in black suits picked them up from school ye sterday. I had told them it was just a security drill for Axel’s co mpany, some kind of VIP protection thing.
I lied to them. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that our big brother, Henry, was the reason we were hiding. That Henry was the reason ever ything w a s falling apart.
I sat on the couch in the living room, my knees pulled up to my chest, staring at the blank television screen. Ev ery time a car drove by outside, I jumped. Every set of headlights made my heart race. Every sound in the hallway made me hold my breath .
I felt sick. Physically sick, li ke I might throw up at any moment.
I had betrayed my ow n brother. I knew Henry was a cheat... I knew he had lied and used me like a p awn, but I still felt kinda guil ty. And now I was the only thing standing between my you nger brothers and the complete ruin of our family n ame.
They were too young to understand. Jaso n wa s only fourteen. Ryan was twelve. They didn’ t know what Henry had done. T hey didn’t know about the cartel, the money, the bomb. And God willing, they never would.
And then there was Tye.
I closed my eyes, but I could still see t he look on his face when he mentioned the security l ogs showing m y biometric signature.
The cold, hard suspicion in his eyes, the way his han d had moved toward his weapon. He had looked at me like I was a terrorist... like I was trash... like I was capable of killing people.
A key turned in the lock.
I scrambled off the couch immediately, backing into the corner of the room. My heart was beating fast. I grabbed a heavy brass lamp from the end table, holding it like a baseball bat with shaky hands.
The door opened slowly, and Tye walked in .
I let out a breath that was half-so b, half-gasp, lowering the lamp but didn’t put it down. I couldn’t seem to make my fingers let go.
Tye stepped inside, locking the door behind him. He looked ti red... exhausted, actu ally.
His suit was rumpled, his tie was gone, and there were dark circles under his eyes that made him look older. He loo ked at the lamp in my hand, then at my face, taking in my wide eyes and trembling hands.
" Y ou can put the weapon down, Helena," he said softly . "It’s over."
"Over?" I asked with a trembling voice. "What’s over? What happened? Is Layla okay? Is Mr..."
"Henry is... in custody," Tye said, choosing his words carefully. He moved slowly, probably not wanting to spook me further. "He’s going to pri son. And the thr eat is gone. The cartel has been dealt with."
I collapsed onto the couch, my legs sudden ly unable to hold me. The reli ef was so overwhelming that it made me feel dizzy. "And... and Layla?"
" She’s wi th Axel," Tye said, and a small smile touched his lips. "He’s awake. He’s going to be okay."
"Thank God," I whispered, pressing my hands to my face. "Thank God."
Tye walked into the kitchen and returned with a water bot tle from the fridge. He didn’t l eave, thou gh. He stood there, leaning against the cou nter, looking awk ward and uncertain in a way I’d never seen him before.
The silence stretched between us.
"I..." I started, picking at a loose thread on the cushion. "I’m sorry, T ye, about the bomb. About scanning it without checking properly. I didn’t know. I swear to God, I didn’t know."
"I know," Tye sa id quietly. "We know you we re us ed. It was almost like he timed the whole thing and made sure the courier was there when you were there too. He knew you were efficient and lo ya l, and he we aponised those traits."
"But you didn’t b elieve me," I said, the hurt f inally bubbling to the surface. I looked up at him, meeting his eyes. " When you saw the logs, you thought I did it on purpose or something."
Tye flinched visibly. He looked awa y, staring at the barred window.
"I did," he admitted. "I saw your name, and I thought the worst. I assumed you were guilty."
" Why?" I asked quietly, tears burning behind my eyes. "I thought... I thought we were..." I paused, no t sure how to define whatever it was between us. The banter, the kiss, the lingering looks, the way he always seemed to know when I needed help. "I thought you knew me."
Tye sighed. He walk ed ov er and sat on the coffee table facing me , posi ti oning himse lf so he wa s lower than I was. He cl asped his hands between his knee s, staring at them for a long moment .
"It wasn’t about you, Helena ," he said finally in a low, strained voice. "It was about me. About my pa st."
He unbuttoned the top of his shirt with one hand, pulling the cloth aside t o reveal the top of a jagged, ugly sc ar on his chest. It looked like it had been a serious wound .
"What happened?" I whispered.
And so he went on to narrate a story a bout how his last serious relationship ended with his ex placing a bullet in his chest.
"I survived, obviously, but I learnt a le sson that day, the people you trust the most are the ones who can hurt you the worst. Th e ones who can get close enough to put the knife in."
He looked up a t me, and his eyes were filled w ith a raw vulnerability I’d never seen in him before. This was the man behind the armour, stripped bare before m e.
"When I saw your name on that log... it triggered everything," he continued. "I didn’t see you. I saw her. I saw another betrayal. Anot her person I’d trusted t urning out to be a threat. And I shut down. I went into threat-assessment mode instead of thinking c learly."
"Oh , Tye," I whispered, reaching out to touch his hand. His skin was warm beneath my fingers. "I’m so sorry that happen ed to you."
"I should have trusted my gut," he said, looking at my hand on his. "My gut told me you were innocent. My gut told me you were good, that you could never do something like that. But my head was scared. My head was screaming at me not to be fooled again."
He turned his hand over, interlacing his finger s with mine. His palm was warm and rough , calloused from years of work.
"I’m sorry, Hel ena," he s aid, and the sincerity in h is voice made my throat tight. "I shouldn’t have doubted you. I shouldn’t have let my past trauma make me treat you like a suspect. You saved us to day. You gave us the evi dence we needed to win. You risked every thing to do the right thing."
"I just wanted to help," I whispered, tears p ricking my e yes again. "I just wanted to stop Henry before he hurt more people ."
"You did," Tye said firml y. "You did good. You d id m ore than good. You were brave."
He squeezed my hand gen tly and I nodded, allowing mysel f to relax and believe. I did good, even though it didn’t entirely feel that wa y, I know I did.
"Come on," he said, standing up and pulling me gently to my feet. "Let’s get you and your brothe rs out of here. I’ll drive you home. I’ve got a patrol car s ittin g outside your buil ding for the next week, just in case. And I’ll personally check in every day."
"Thank you, T ye," I said, sniffing, trying to put a rein on the tears. "For everything. For pro tecting us. For believing me eventually."
"You can thank me by allow ing me to buy you that coffee I owe you, " he said, a hint of his usual confidence returning to his voice.
I looked at him really looked at him. The hard exteri or was still there: the scars, the muscles, the careful way he watched the room.
But the cracks were showing now. And through the cracks, I saw the man underneath. The one who’d been hurt, but who was trying to trust again.
"Ma ke it dinner," I said, a small, watery smile touching my lips. "And you’re paying. Somewhere nice, too . Not the hospital or company cafeteria."
Tye grinned, the shadow l ifting from his face. "Deal. I know an Italian place. They make this pasta carbonara that’ll change your life."
"Sounds perfect," I said.
He kept holding my hand as we walked toward t he bedroom to wake my brothers. And for the first ti me in days, I f elt like maybe everything really would be okay.