Sweet On You

chapter Twenty-five



"You made a mess of it, didn't you?"

Nico glanced up from the contract he wasn't really reading because he couldn't focus on the words. "Excuse me?"

Jason gave him an arch, British look that conveyed disappointment on a cellular level. "I saw that you won the bid on the Harrison building."

He returned his employee's look with a hard one of his own. "I told you I intended to make that purchase."

"Yes, but that was before Daniela."

Shoving the documents aside, he whirled in his chair and stared unseeing out the window.

Jason cleared his throat. "You know I don't infringe on your privacy—"

Nico snorted.

"—but as your right hand, I feel I need to speak up this time, because you're making the biggest mistake of your life."

It certainly felt that way, but he'd made a promise to his brother. He clenched his jaw. Eddie gave his life for him—this was the least he could do.

Unaware of his inner dialogue, Jason continued in his clipped voice. "Is this property so important that you're willing to destroy the best thing that's ever happened to you?"

"I need air." The chair skittered as he stood. He blew by Jason and grabbed his coat off the hook. "Look over those contracts for me."

"Think about what you're doing while you're out," Jason called after him. "And don't come back until you've made the right decision."

Nico left the building, barely noticing the greetings the guards called out to him. He walked down California Street. He stopped at a liquor store and bought a bottle of Jim Beam before continuing on to the Embarcadero, past the Ferry Building, and right on Harrison.

His steps slowed as he neared the building.

It was nothing like the night he'd found Eddie on the sidewalk. That night had been still, with a full moon illuminating the night's evilness. Tonight, there wasn't a sliver of moonlight to be had, but it didn't lessen his uneasiness. He tensed as he strode up the walkway.

Nico sat on the front stoop of his newly acquired building, the bottle of Jim Beam in his hands. He took a slug of the whiskey, grimacing. He held the bottle out to pour it on the sidewalk when a stiff breeze all but knocked him upside the head.

It'd just been the wind—logically he knew that—but for some reason he had the feeling Eddie was lurking somewhere in the periphery, smirking at him. Little bro, sometimes I think you ain't got any brains in that big head of yours, he'd have said.

"I know," Nico muttered, shaking the rest of the liquor out of the bottle. Because he suspected trading in Daniela's love for this decrepit building was a colossal mistake.

Not that Daniela had said the words to him. He wasn't a connoisseur of love, or anything about it, but there was something more than just lust between the two of them.

He missed her.

All day he sniffed the air, searching for the scent of her baking. He didn't trip on random articles of clothing, or find underwear in odd corners of his apartment. In the mornings, he woke up reaching for her.

It was a gnawing ache, deep in his gut.

Something rustled close to him, and he turned, knowing instinctively it wasn't the wind.

A little girl stood eight feet away, staring at him with the biggest eyes he'd ever seen.

He didn't know what to say, so he fell on an old standby. "Hi."

She shifted closer, playing with the zipper on her brand new jacket. "Are you Santa Claus?"

He took in the signs: the not clean hair, the clothing that was still creased from its packing, the wary look in her eyes. This girl was part of Daniela's project. He sighed sadly. No wonder she'd been so determined to help.

The girl took another stepped forward. "My brother said Santa was the one who brung us food and presents."

He was more like the Grinch, actually, about to take their home away. "I'm not Santa, but I know who your Santa is."

Her eyes widened. "Can you tell him thank you? And can you tell him the cinnamon bread is my favorite?"

"I will." If Santa ever spoke to him again.

"Maybe Santa will bring us a new home too." She looked up at him. "We used to have a nice apartment, but then Mama got fired because I was sick and no one wanted her so we had to move here. But I don't like it. But we gots to go now, because they're going to knock the walls down."

"That sounds awful," he managed to say.

"My brother Jimmy says he'll take care of me, no matter what." Her thin chest puffed out. "He will too."

His heart cracked. Eddie had done the same for him. "I'm sure he will."

She head popped up, hearing something he wasn't attuned too. "I gots to go."

He watched her scurry into the cold building he was planning to tear down.

For someone with big brains, you got no sense, little bro.

"No kidding." Nico got up and walked to his car, hearing Eddie's mocking laughter in the wind.