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Rook
THE BEGINNING
The darkness of the house had all my senses on alert.
The repairs to Darkmoor manor had been finished for a couple of months. Summer and I had moved in it together, with Callie arriving a few weeks after.
And yet, something was different about my arrival tonight.
Inhaling a deep breath, I took in everything around me. The smell of new: fresh paint, plywood, and flooring, mixed with old: books, the shabby but comfortable sofa, familiar rugs that reminded both Summer and I of home. Anything I could salvage after they’d destroyed her—our—home.
I clenched the barrel of my gun tight, still pissed about that, as I moved from the main entrance of the house to the kitchen.
There were no noises coming from within—Summer leaping into my arms to welcome me home, a bright smile on her face. Callie cursing at someone on her phone. No soft glow of fire coming from the study, or pots banging as my chef argued with Summer over what to eat for dinner.
As I crept silently around the main kitchen island, the old ache in my chest returned, burning once again. Fear. Anger. Need to hurt. I hadn’t realized until this second how the tightness inside me had been replaced by something new and beautiful.
My work was still dangerous. However, not only did I have the satisfaction of seeing Saul’s face eaten by an alligator, but I also had new life breathed into me.
Living with Summer and even Callie—it was everything I'd been craving.
Dare I fucking say it—I was happy?
There. I said it.
Believe it or not, I was actually happy. Shocking.
A noise from the study made my senses heighten. I moved towards it, ready to pull the trigger at any sign of danger.
A choked off laugh made me still in confusion, then a sharp whisper, “Callie! Hush!”
Relaxing a little, I stepped into the darkness of the study, then froze at the lone person standing before me.
“Hello, Rook.” Copper red hair glinted in the moonlight streaming through the window.
I aimed my gun, my heart pounding, my words an angry growl, “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Suddenly, light flooded the room, and Summer and Callie’s face popped up from behind the sofa. “Surprise! Happy Birthday!”
My jaw went slack.
It was my birthday?
“Rook?” Summer’s voice, changed suddenly from glee to concern.
“Told you he wouldn’t like it.” Callie smacked Summer in the arm, but she ignored her, instead coming to stand in front of me.
“Baby,” her sweet voice hit me, “put the gun down.”
“What did he do to you?” I snarled, one hand coming out to drag her behind me. If he touched her, I was going to kill him—consequences to Tatiana be damned.
The man before me just stared at me coolly, though there was a twinge at the corner of his lips—he was amused.
“Rook, he didn’t do anything. I invited him here.” Summer’s arms wrapped around my waist, and she lay her head on my back. “I asked him to come—for your birthday.”
Her touch softened something inside me. Hesitatingly, I lowered the gun, only then noticing Tatiana standing next to Knight—the man from my past, the one who’d betrayed me, resulting in my Nana’s death.
Something filled me, something in my chest that flowed up into my throat, choking off my breath. I could only stare at him—a mixture of emotions.
