I laughed. “Have fun dealing with that revelation, boys.” I turned to Austin. “Give me one sec.”
He nodded after following my gaze to where Weave was standing off to the side. He’d been giving us the space for ourreunion, but I wanted to make sure I talked to him before disappearing to god knows where.
“Thank you for coming, John.”
“Of course Miss—Mrs. Winterhayes.” He smiled. “I wouldn’t have let them come without me.”
“Good call, these crazy people definitely need adult supervision.”
“Indeed. Before you take off, I have something for you.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a phone. “It’s been updated with new encryption, if you decide to come back and continue working with us villains.”
“I absolutely will be. And who knows, maybe we can work together on something a little more villainous going forward.”
“I would like nothing more, Violet.”
I took the phone and gave him a big hug before I headed back to my husband.
“Ready?” I asked.
“I’ve been ready for four weeks.” He kissed my forehead before turning back to everyone else. His team. Our team. “I mean it, we better not hear from a single one of you until we’re back.”
“And when will that be?” Hemlock asked.
Austin looked at me to answer. I met his gaze, mischief probably sparkling in my eyes. While I was torturing Dipshit, I’d felt Aus thinking about how much time he’d need with me and I thought that sounded perfect.
“Two months. At least.”
His grip around me tightened.For real?
Three might be better. I think we earned that, don’t you?
God, I fucking love you.
“No, make it three,” he said to the group before we disappeared—leaving their protests behind us.
51
THE VOLUNTEER
Before I letAustin whisk me away, I took care of a few things.
One, I touched base with all my villains, so they stopped tearing apart the city to find me. I also let them know that the check-ins were no longer necessary—and byI,I mean Austin told them to leave me the fuck alone while I recovered. Everyone was pleased to know both Avalanche and I were alive.
Two, I let the hospitals know that I was okay. I didn’t tell them exactly what happened, only that someone tried to use me to get to the villains, and I was going to take some time away. They were incredibly understanding and told me to take as much time as I needed.
Three, I called all the girls from the hospitals—even Jessica—and told them I was okay but I’d be taking an extended leave. A few fussed to see me in person, which I made time to do, but mostly they were just relieved to hear from me.
Four, I started the process of legally changing my last name. I hadn’t done it before because it would be hard to explain, but at this point I just wanted our last name—officially. I was sure people would still have questions, but I’d been missing for four weeks so they’d probably chalk it up to trauma or something.
Five, I asked Austin to take us up to the cottage. I’d hidden my engagement ring and wedding band in a loose floorboard before I’d tried to sneak out. I knew there was a good chance I was going to be taken, and I’d wanted to make sure no one got ahold of it. For the first time since our courthouse elopement, I wore my rings out in public.
Six, I stopped by the police station to give a statement and hand over all the evidence Officer Castle had collected and given to Austin before he left the city. The mountain collapsing made international headlines. I knew it would come back to me, so I got proactive. I gave them a very detailed—mostly true—statement. I told them all about a group of people who were trying to take over the world. That I’d been taken and held against my will by members of the Senate, HoC, and their very own police force. Then I followed it up with the fact that I was leaving the country for an unknown amount of time. They’d tried to make me stay, but my girl Vivian tore them a new asshole. She also started a lawsuit on my behalf. Would it go anywhere? Who knows, but it didn’t hurt to try.
Seven, I gave everything I knew to the media so the police couldn’t sweep this under the rug. I was going to make damn sure every single person related to New Dawn was going to hang for this.
On April 21st, I was sitting first class on a plane destined for Bora Bora with my husband. You know, I really loved being a strong, independent woman,butmarrying a rich man definitely had its perks. Sipping mimosas on a plane headed for my dream vacation spot, being the main one.
On April 22nd, we were walking into the villa Austin reserved. I barely took half a second to look around before I was trying to get him into the bedroom. I was too busy running around trying to get all my shit done to make good on my promise, but now we were here and I was going to love the fuck out of my husband.
