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"Oh they're real pretty," I said dryly. "But they're feeling a lot better."
"Good. I'm glad."
"Enzy!" Reese's voice went high and girly as she slammed a plate down on the table and ran around the table, hitting him bodily, apparently completely unaware of his injuries. He grunted and winced hard, but wrapped his arms around his half-sister and squeezed tight. "You never come by anymore!" she accused into his chest. "I miss you."
"I miss you too, Re," he said and there was a sadness in his tone that said he truly did.
"Alright. We can do the reunion shit later," Kenzi declared, making Reese untangle herself from her brother's arms. "Asses in seats if you want to eat. You know where you all belong."
With that, everyone moved to find their seats. It didn't escape me that, when she passed him, Kenzi gave Enzo a one-armed hug and whispered, "I missed you too, you know."
"You're with me," Paine declared, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward our seats.
Once all seated, everyone just dug in. Literally everyone was grabbing for food at once. I sat back a little shell shocked, not used to casual family gatherings. Luckily for me, Paine to my left and Enzo to my right simply dropped piles of whatever they reached for onto my plate until there wasn't a sliver of the plate visible beneath all the food.
Then commenced the loudest, craziest, friendliest, most entertaining dinner I had ever been a part of in my life. By dessert, my cheeks hurt from smiling.
Catching Paine's eye, I whispered quietly, "I love them all."
Under the table, his hand squeezed my knee as his eyes went soft.
Yeah, I loved them all.
And, in that moment, I was starting to think I might have loved him too.EpilogueElsie - 1 DayI was shaking when I hung up the temporary cell phone I bought at the pharmacy on the way to work that morning. I hadn't talked about my decision with Paine. I would tell him when I got home, but I hadn't been sure what I was going to do until I did it so I didn't want to make a big deal out of it for no good reason.
I tossed the phone in the garbage outside my favorite coffee spot, went in to grab coffee, then headed home with the weight of the knowledge that I just brought down a raid upon the warehouse on Kennedy.
It had been something weighing on my mind since the morning after all that craziness. I had knowledge of a federal crime. Not only that, I had a means to help Rhett and Roman save face. On top of all of that, I had the chance to keep God-knew how many drugs out of the hands of countless people.
So I bought the burner. I made the call I needed to. And I drove home feeling a thousand pounds lighter.
My sister may have been caught up in the sweep, but that was the choice she had made. I wasn't taking that guilt on as my own.
Paine, when I told him as we sipped our coffee on the couch, understood and supported my decision.
And whereas the day before I had been pretty sure I was in love with him, as he absentmindedly rubbed one of my feet with one hand as he brought his coffee up to his lips, I knew it.Paine - 1 Week"Enz," I said as he sidled in beside me at the bar at Chaz's. "Looking better," I said, nodding at his face. There was a scar running up his cheek that he would always have to remind him of the life he had led. Had. Past tense. He was out. And it was my plan to make sure he stayed out.
"Paine," he nodded, reaching for the beer I had already ordered for him. "Why all the secrecy?"
"I got a job for you."
"A job?" he asked, a hint of both hope and concern. Enzo needed money. He had a savings like I had a savings when I got out. But it wouldn't last forever. He had no college education, no work experience but the shit places he had worked at before he came to work for me. And I knew he'd rather rip off his own arm than go back to one of those shit jobs.
So I stuck my neck out; I put out feelers; I found an out for him, one that could give him the adrenaline fix he needed, would utilize some of his hard-earned street skills, pay a fair amount of money, let him generally work for himself, but still be relatively legal. Relatively.
"Ever hear of Xander Rhodes?"
"PI in the city?"
"Yeah. He's been expanding his operation. He needs a couple new good men with skills and a willingness to operate just under the law."
"Doing what? Taking pictures of cheating husbands?"
