"Tell Me A Secret"

"Kate, I killed your brother."

Niko's confession caused his fiancée to end her conversation with her mother on the phone.

"Ma, I have to call you back. Something weird just came up. Yes... Yes... Yes... I love you too, Ma. Good-bye."

She closed her phone and placed it on the counter top when she positioned herself on her stool to address Niko.

"You know, most people would say 'Good Morning, honey' or 'Hey the house is on fire!' to get attention. What you just said really… I mean…"

Her gaze fell to the floor, at Niko's worn boots, as her heart felt like it was slowly being squeezed by a vice.

"I didn't want to wait until the day before our wedding to say this, but I felt like I had no choice." Why was his voice so cold? So calculating? "I couldn't keep this secret from you."

Lifting her gaze, she found Niko standing over by the living room window, his dark gaze focused on nothing in particular outside. It was like he couldn't dare face her.

"Francis wanted me to kill Derrick. Derrick wanted me to kill Francis. If I didn't follow through, both were going to go down and drag me with them. I couldn't let that happen, not when I was getting closer to getting my revenge, nor could I cause more suffering for my cousin."

Kate let out a shuddering sigh. "I knew it," she said softly but with a hint of disappointment. "I fucking knew it."

Niko closed his eyes but he still didn't look at her as she stood up.

"Niko, how could you do this? My brothers aren't perfect and we all know any of them are going to die sooner or later… but to learn that you were responsible for having killed one of them? Because you decided to side with one of them? God, Niko! They were both so fucked up! How could you?"

Niko didn't so much as flinch as Kate started cursing up a storm. He wasn't used to hearing her swear unless they were drinking. She was just as bad as Packie when intoxicated; she blamed her Irish heritage.

Finally, Kate sat back on the stool and started laughing. It was a harsh, bitter laugh that forced Niko to finally look over in her direction.

"I should have known you were no better than my brothers. You're just like them and it makes me sick to even think I wasted my time with trying to see a more humane side of you, to let myself love someone so cruel and heartless. Why didn't I listen to my woman's intuition?"

"Oh!" Niko threw his hands into the air and he too offered a cynical laugh. "Perfect! God bless this city! I'm so happy to know that my future wife realizes how awful of a person I am! Despite knowing what I do and what I am capable of, you still feel the need to judge me. How noble of you, Kate McReary."

"Listen, you! I've been involved in more shit than I ever care to realize because of my family. Violence should be my middle name after everything I've witnessed, felt, and heard! You had no right, Niko Bellic! You had no right!"

The tension was thick in the air. Kate decided to busy herself with fiddling with her cell phone as Niko stood on his side of the room, his face emotionless. Neither said a word to one another and beyond the sound of the occasional traffic congestion outside, all was quiet. At last, Niko broke the silence with words of heavy melancholy.

"Life is very complicated, Kate, If it wasn't so, I would have not killed either of them. I did a lot of terrible things and yet this particular incident has bothered me the most…"

Kate flipped open her cell phone and selected her brother Packie's name. "Have you said anything to either Gerald or Patrick?"

"No. Nobody knows but you and your other brother involved."

Kate heaved a heavy sigh as she closed her phone. "Probably for the best." Her fingernail pressed painfully against her phone's screen. "They'd never forgive you." She paused before adding, "Sure, they say they hate one another, but to have someone close to them act as an executioner for members of our family?"

"... What about you, Kate? What do you want to do about us?"

An annoying buzzing noise was abruptly sounded, nearly giving Kate a heart attack. She fluttered her eyes open and found herself staring up at the ceiling. Next to her bed was her ancient radio alarm clock. She threw her arm over and fumbled with the buttons until she was able to shut off the noisy racket.

She groaned as the dream she had became fainter and fainter. Running her other hand over her face, she wondered what she ate the night before for her to dream about Niko (oh god, she was going to marry him!) and the glaring notion of him having killed her brother.

Niko may be a criminal but he wouldn't dare do such a horrible thing as kill a member of her family…

… would he?