I Married A Hitman

Chapter Three-Nicole

The cemetery was almost empty when we arrived, the dark sky did nothing to improve my mood and speaking of moods....I was feeling them all at once.

Rage, sadness, resolve, grief.....name it

Nate drove without speaking a word to me, he had showed up at the hotel he rented for me yesterday told me to dress up as it was time. I had wanted so hard to slap him but I held back and ignore his words and on purpose stayed thirty minutes more late

I sat in the passenger seat with my arms locked around myself, watching the city blur into older neighborhoods and then into the long stretch of iron fencing that marked the edge of the burial grounds.

He parked near the back entrance where three men in dark work clothes were already waiting beside a freshly dug plot, with shovels leaning against a low stone wall.

They straightened when Nate got out of the car, nodding once in that quiet way men do when they know exactly who they’re working for and what not to ask.

I stayed in the car a few seconds longer than I needed to, staring at the simple wooden casket that had already been set near the edge of the grave. It looked too small and too normal.

I choked on a sob my dad wasn't tye best but she sure did make me feel safe and special well sometimes

But that was enough no one did anyway except for Reyna

When I finally opened the door I sniffed taking in the smell of wet earth and cut grass and the scent coming rain.

Nate started toward the men and I caught up to him before he could speak.

“Back off,” I said, voice low and tight. “I don’t want you near this. Leave us alone.”

He looked at me for a moment, those gray eyes unreadable, then simply nodded.

I honestly didn't expect that I wanted him to fight back or tell at me or ignore my wishes that would make me hate him more but he didn't

He turned instead and walked back toward the car, stopping a good distance away with his hands in his pockets, choosing to watch. The three men glanced between us once and then got to work without a word.

I stood at the edge of the grave while they lowered the casket. The ropes creaked and wood made a soft, final sound when it settled against the dirt. Someone asked if I wanted to say anything and I shook my head.

I honestly didn't know what to say

They looked at me and nodded and started filling the hole the rhythmic thud of them shoveling sand over the coffin made me want to puke.

I could feel the tea I drank this morning threatening to come up

I kept my arms wrapped around my middle and stared at the growing mound of earth, telling myself I would not cry.

Not here.

Not with him still close enough to see it but the first tear slipped out anyway and the careful wall I had been holding up since the night before cracked all the way through.

My breath hitched hard and my vision blurred. I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes and still the tears kept coming, angry hot tears and completely beyond my control.

I turned before I could stop myself.

Nate was still standing where I had left him, and something inside me snapped. I crossed the distance between us in a few long strides and hit him.

My fists landed against his chest, his shoulders, anywhere I could reach. I didn’t care that it hurt my hands, didn’t care that the men had stopped shoveling. I just kept hitting him, words spilling out of me in a broken, furious rush.

“I hate you,” I choked. “I hate you. You took everything. You stood there while he bled out on the floor and you didn’t even—you didn’t even look sorry—”

He didn’t move, he didn't even raise his hands if anything he just stood there and took every blow like he had expected them, like this was simply another part of the job.

That only made me angrier and I hit him harder with all I had.

“You don’t get to stand there like none of this touches you. You don’t get to look at me like that. I hate you. I f*****g hate you. I hate—”

Strong arms wrapped around me from behind. Reyna’s voice was close to my ear, rough and urgent. “Nic. Stop. Stop.”

One of the men stepped in as well, careful, trying to pull me back without hurting me.

I fought them both wildly for another few seconds trying to still hit Nate but the fight drained out of my body all at once. My hands were throbbing and throat felt dry. I sagged between Reyna and the hired man, breathing hard, tears still sliding down my face.

Nate still hadn’t moved, there was a faint red mark on his jaw where one of my fists had caught him, he just looked at me over Reyna’s shoulder with that emptiness

I wiped my face with the back of my sleeve, forced my voice to steady even though it still shook.

“You’re going to marry me,” I said, loud enough for him to hear. “So do it. Get it over with. I don’t want to wait and don’t want to think about it. Just do it and get on with whatever this is.”

For a moment the only sound was the wind moving through the bare trees at the edge of the cemetery. He held my gaze a second longer, then gave a single, slow nod.

“Tonight, then” he said.

I turned away from him before I could see anything else in his face. Reyna kept her arm around my shoulders as we walked back toward the cars.

Behind us the men resumed filling the grave, the soft thud of earth on wood following us all the way to the parking lot.

I didn’t look back.