Chase Me

Chapter Forty-Seven: Scotch

Nex

So much disaster.

Everyone knew now what had happened in Los Angeles and there was a cacophony of yells from Santiago, Victor, and sounds of disbelief from the crowd. And here I was, trying to calm the only person my mind was focussing on.

Elio's head was in his hands and he was breathing harder than I had ever seen him do before. "Gone—it's—gone. It's all—gone."

"Breathe, Prince. Breathe." I rubbed circles on his back.

He shook his head. "It's all gone, Nex. Everything, it's gone. My home. It's gone." His voice broke at the end and my chest squeezed at the sound. "It's all gone. Crumbled and gone."

I had never seen Elio like this before. So hurt. Without thinking about what anyone would see, I grabbed Elio by his shoulders and pulled him all the way to me, wrapping my arms around him and continuing my rubbing on his back. "Calm down, Prince. Calm down. Breathe, we'll figure this out."

He shook his head against my shoulder. "No." He pushed off and I felt empty. He wiped at his face furiously and I saw the red in his eyes glow darker. "They're going to pay. They have to."

I pulled at his coat before he could straight into the mess. "No, Elio, think. Stop and think."

"No."

I yanked at him, hard, until he was facing me. "What are you going to do? Go right to Minnesota and shoot up the place? Calm the fuck down and we'll figure it out, don't make any irrational decisions."

His brows narrowed and he looked pissed. He jerked his arm away from my grip then got right up in my face and shoved an angry finger into my chest. "That was my home, Nex. You don't know what it's like, feeling everything you've ever loved crumble. That was my mother's home. The only thing I had left of her that I could actually interact with because what am I going to do when the only thing I can hear when speaking to her is the heart-monitor beeping and telling me she isn't dead yet? Hell, I don't even know if she can hear me!" His brows relaxed and his eyes widened. He'd said too much.

He moved away from me, looking anywhere but at me. I stayed silent. He adjusted his coat and moved away from me. I stayed unmoving. I watched him walk right out of the door. My feet stayed planted.

Home. He thought that I didn't know what it was like to lose a home? I didn't even think I had a home, to begin with but him telling me that I didn't know his pain was triggering something deeper in me.

I stayed to help Amo calm the mess in the Griffin mansion. Marco was in his office, not bothering to come out since we'd decided that it would be Amo deciding New York's stance in the war. It was better that way. With so much going on inside my head, I didn't want to see that bastard anyway.

We were going to Minnesota. By the end of the week, we'd be in Minnesota. Amo had whispered to me that we'd be in St. Paul in a matter of a few days. That gave me time to prepare and try to figure out how I was going to help Elio.

Why was I going to help him? I didn't know, I just had to. Something in me couldn't bear the thought that he was upset at me or upset at all. I got in my car and headed toward my apartment after Amo had left with Bellona. He's seemed off lately. More smiley. Which was weird since he almost always had a grin or smirk on, only this was different. I didn't know how that woman had done it but she'd made his smile finally reach his eyes, and it was about time I had seen that look on him again.

I parked my car and headed up. I knew Elio would be there and as I headed up the stairs, I mentally prepared myself for what I was going to tell him. He needed to know.