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An arm looped about my waist, and Petros smiled at me. ‘You all right?’
‘Never better. I can’t believe I have all of you.’
‘It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. How could anyone resist you?’ His lips drifted over mine, sending that strong, calm vibe of his through me.
‘I’ve lived so many lives here. From being a scared child to being a wild youth to being a love-starved adult. Rosenhall has always been my playground, but it had never really felt like my home.’ I turned to face Petros, running a thumb over his cheek. ‘Thank you for coming here to live with me.’
‘I mean, mansion or smelly old bunker?’ he said with a laugh. I gave his shoulder a small shove.
‘I’m so fucking happy. I keep waiting for the bubble to burst,’ I told him, watching Grieves smiling wider than I’d ever seen him.
‘We make our own bubble,’ Petros replied. ‘If it bursts, we’ll just make another. As long as it’s the three of us against the world, we can make it work.’
We walked towards the others, and I stopped behind Harriet’s chair, sliding a hand onto her shoulder. Her fingers fitted over mine, and she gave me a beaming smile. At times, she was a totally different woman from the one who’d captured me. Relaxed, sweet, affectionate. But when her nest of snakes needed her, she slipped back into her Viper persona without missing a beat. In the months since we’d burned her demons down, she’d wavered about what to do with her life. Nancy had stood up and offered to help. It took a lot for Harriet to hand over any control. Soon she saw that there were other women just like her, who thrived in a space where they could help others. Whether it was to fulfil their need for revenge, or from a burning desire to protect victims, didn’t seem to matter.
‘Maeve has offered to donate to the cause. They’ve got Cam’s old mansion, where they help put up people who have been abused. It means it’ll be easier to house people with nowhere to go. Isn’t that amazing?’ The way Harriet’s eyes sparkled gave me life. I’d do anything to keep them shining.
‘It’s fantastic, thanks Maeve,’ I said, reaching over and ruffling her hair.
‘Alfie!’ she groaned, trying to smooth her down while laughing. ‘You’re such a pest.’
‘Damn, better hope someone’s going to come in and deal with me then,’ I quipped with a smirk.
‘You’re awful,’ Esther laughed.
‘Awfully good at—’ Harriet cut me off, giving me a look that told me to behave myself. I bit my lower lip to stop the smart remark that bubbled at the back of my tongue.
Pulling me down, she whispered softly in my ear. ‘Be a good boy, or I’ll get my cable ties back out.’
‘Oh, little monster. If anyone’s being tied down, it’ll be you. I know how fucking wet you get when I use your holes and you can’t do anything about it.’ Her face heated against my cheek as I fought her fire with my own. ‘But first, we have a little something for you.’
Petros joined us at the table, carrying a delightful strawberry-covered cake adorned with forty candles. Harriet’s face was a picture of shock as everyone gathered around the table, singing Happy Birthday at the top of their lungs. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she broke into a smile.
‘How did you know? she asked.
‘I saw it in your file,’ I whispered, dropping my voice low. ‘We figured you’d lost enough birthdays.’
Later that evening, Petros, Harriet and I stood on a balcony, looking at the setting sun.
‘We got you a little something else,’ Petros said, nerves making him jittery.
‘You shouldn’t have,’ she replied, turning to face him.
Petros held out an envelope, not relinquishing it when she tried to take it. ‘Please know that this is only an option. You can totally decide what you want to do with it.’
‘And please don’t lop our balls off,’ I added.
Her face was stony as she pulled the letter from the envelope, her fingers tightening over a handful of photographs that were within.
‘You found my family?’ she whispered, looking up at Petros.
‘I looked them up when we escaped together. I thought you might want to go back to them, I wanted to have all the information for you. To make it easier on you. You told me you couldn’t go back after all you’ve been through. I never wanted to go against that, but I kept an eye on them all these years. Just in case.’
Her eyes dipped back to the pictures, a thumb caressing the happy faces within. ‘They look so happy. My sisters are so big now, I remember them as teenagers. Are these their children?’
Petros nodded, and her face softened.
‘I have nieces and nephews?’
