Chapter 7

Alex’s POV

I watch Nicole through the library window as she walks across the garden path, her shoulders tense even from this distance. Like she hasn’t slept all night.

I didn’t sleep either.

I didn’t think either of us could after yesterday.

Her words are still sharp in my head, cutting as clean as the moment she said them: I can’t trust you. The look in her eyes like she was afraid of me, still stings.

The library door swings open. It’s Clara.

“Sir, Miss Williams is ready for your morning session.”

“Send her to the library,” I say, my eyes never leaving Nicole’s figure. “And Clara…close the door when she arrives.”

I need to tell her. About the accident. About what put me in this chair. About the world I live in. She deserves to know what she’s up against, even if it terrifies her.

Especially if it terrifies her.

The door opens and Nicole steps inside, her medical bag clutched tight like armor. Her hair is pulled back into a messy bun, and her face looks pale, shadows under her eyes betraying her lack of rest.

“Good morning, Alex. How are you feeling today?”

I study her face. “Are you okay? You look tired.”

“I’m fine,” she answers quickly.

“Sit down, Nicole.”

She hesitates. “I should check your vitals first.”

“Sit. Please.”

Her lips press together, but she obeys. She takes the chair across from me, perched on the edge like she’s ready to run.

If she knew the kind of man I am, the things I’ve done, she’d never look at me the same.

But I can’t let her go. Her being here is the only thing keeping me from going insane in this house.

“You asked me yesterday what kind of man I am,” I begin, my voice steady. “You want to know if you can trust me. If I’m dangerous. The answer isn’t simple.”

Her knuckles whiten where she grips the arms of her chair. “Alex… you”

“Let me finish.” My tone is firm. “You deserve the truth, even if you don’t want to hear it.”

I turn my wheelchair to face her fully. She tries to look away, but I won’t let her. She needs to see me when I say this.

“Three months ago, after we met, I was racing for control of the most valuable territory in the city. The Dead Man’s Strip. Neutral ground worth millions. We agreed to race to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. The Hell Raiders versus the Vultures. The winner takes all.” The memory still claws at me. “I was leading the final lap when my bike went down.”

Her voice is barely a whisper. “An accident?”

“Someone cut my brake lines. Done by a professional, meant to look like equipment failure. I hit the guardrail at ninety miles per hour. I thought it was over. The doctors told me I was lucky to survive.”

Nicole’s face drains of color, like she’s staring at a ghost. “Someone tried to kill you.”

“Someone wanted me gone. Permanently.” I wheel closer, watching her reaction. “That’s the world I live in, Nicole. People don’t just compete with me, they try to destroy me. And anyone who gets close to me becomes a target too.”

She shoots to her feet and paces to the window, her reflection small against the vast gardens beyond. “This is exactly what I was afraid of.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t.” She spins back to me, eyes glistening. “You don’t understand what it’s like to lose someone to violence. To have your entire world ripped apart because men like you think power is worth killing for.”

Her pain cuts deeper than any blade. “Tell me.”

She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.”

For a long moment she just stares, and then the dam breaks.

“My father was killed when I was sixteen. Wrong place, wrong time, they said. He got caught in the crossfire of some gang dispute downtown.” Her voice cracks. “He was just walking to his car after a late shift. Just trying to make enough money to keep food on the table. But that didn’t matter to the men with guns, did it?”

Christ. No wonder she wants nothing to do with me.

“Nicole”

“Do you know what it’s like to watch your mother fall apart?” she pushes on, her words spilling faster, sharper. “To hear her cry herself to sleep every night for months? To know your father died for nothing, absolutely nothing, except that he was in the wrong place when dangerous men decided to settle their differences with bullets?”

I want to go to her. To hold her. To swear I’ll never let anyone hurt her again. But I’m trapped…in this chair, in the life I chose, in the blood already on my hands.

“I’m sorry,” I say, meaning it more than I’ve meant anything in years. “I’m sorry for your father. I’m sorry for your pain. And I’m sorry that knowing me puts you in danger.”

She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “Are you? Or is that just something you say?”

“I’ve killed men, Nicole.” The words fall flat, emotionless. “Not for sport. Not for fun. But when someone threatens what’s mine, when they try to take what I’ve built or hurt the people I protect. I don’t hesitate. That’s who I am.”

She freezes, unreadable.

“But I’ve never hurt an innocent person. I’ve never let violence spill into the civilian world if I could stop it. Your father…” My throat tightens. “What happened to him is exactly the kind of senseless waste I’ve spent years trying to prevent.”

“By being the most dangerous predator in the room?”

“By being strong enough that others think twice before they act.” I hold her gaze. “The Hell Raiders control Eastside LA. Since I took over, civilian casualties have dropped. Drug-related crimes too. We don’t prey on working families, Nicole. We protect them.”

“Through intimidation. Through violence.”

“Through strength and discipline. Yes, violence–but controlled. The alternative is chaos.”

She shakes her head. “You want me to believe you’re some kind of noble criminal.”

“I want you to understand the world isn’t black and white. Sometimes you have to be the monster to keep worse monsters at bay.”

She returns to her chair, sinking into it like her fight has drained away.

“I don’t want anything to do with you. I didn’t come here to be entangled in your world.” Her voice wavers, but she forces the words out. “Let’s just pretend we don’t know each other.”

Her words hit me like a blade to the chest.

“Nicole”

“If you don’t have anything else to say, I’ll take my leave now.”

I watch her stand, her footsteps fading down the hall until the silence is suffocating.

Leaning back into the chair, I stare at the empty doorway.

And for the first time in years, I wonder if telling the truth was a mistake.

Because I may have just lost her for good.