Page 41 of Lost & Found

Her words brought not only a genuine smile to my face, but a rush of thankfulness coursed through my body. It was odd that while Chase and I were close, I’d formed a much deeper bond with the Death Squad. It was a brotherhood.

Facing old friends, some who were pissed about my breakup with Hannah and being in close quarters with her, wouldn’t be easy. Having Isabella by my side would make it easier to manage.

“You’re amazing. Thank you, truly. I’ll have the ideas for you by tonight.”

She nodded. I swung my legs over the chair and stood, stretching. Angling my arm toward the mirror, I eyed today’s additions. When I moved closer, I noticed under one of the existing roses she’d started a new skull, and off to the side, something was taking shape.

She hadn’t completely finished that section, and with the clear wrap, I couldn’t quite make it out. A portion of the skull’s eyes had something directly flowing off it. It pulled at me, but I didn’t want to ask outright. I trusted the process, and it didn’t resemble a micro-peen so I turned back and pulled out my phone. I noticed the time.

“Okay. My appointment with Marcel—”

“Is at seven, right after dinner. I know, Bella. See you at the house.” I pulled her head close, not trusting myself with a full body hug. The sweetest sigh greeted me, and her hand rested on my chest. I kissed the top of her head, since that was about all I was allowed.

“Thanks for everything.” She pulled back and turned to finish cleaning her tattoo gun and station.

The dining room was ablaze with activity as the family gathered for dinner. The excited chatter and lively jabs flying across the table only made me love my family more. My eyes drifted to the one empty seat. When we moved in, the girls and I insisted we set a place for Winter. The symbolism allowed hope to flourish in our silly hearts.

She would join us. Her rightful place was here with us.

I repeated the thought to myself before I walked in. While everyone had seen the new haircut and most everyone had seen my nose piercing, Sebastian hadn’t.

“Guess what, Uncle Nik? I scored four whole goals at practice today,” Declan bellowed, bouncing in his seat with that boundless energy he had by the bucketful.

Thankfully, Nik’s attention was completely focused on him, or he may have missed it with the volume of several of the other conversations going on. The only quiet ones were Victoria and Marcel, and from the look on her face and the placement of his hands, I didn’t want to know what was going on.

“That’s amazing, little man. Future Manchester United star in the house,” Nik declared, grabbing his glass of wine. He put it up in a cheers position, and Declan quickly grabbed for his glass of milk.

He was a little overenthusiastic, and the milk sloshed onto his hand. I entered quietly and walked over to him, grabbing a napkin to help. I ignored Pasha completely. My feelings were getting jumbled when it came to him.

I may have agreed to go to this wedding of his friend, but everything inside screamed it was foolish. The list of cons I’d made was a mile long and outweighed the pros by far. I took my seat and turned to Sebastian. His eyes immediately narrowed into slits. His cheek twitched.

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Language,” I taunted, looking at Declan for emphasis. They tried for the most part, but it was such a large part of their vocabulary that it almost always slipped in.

“A goddamn nose piercing? What are you, sixteen?”

Kinsley immediately rose to my defense with a quickness that had me shocked. I thought she was entirely engrossed in her conversation.

“Torturer, that’s not very nice. I think it’s lovely. And if anyone can rock one, it’s her,” Kinsley said, turning from her conversation with Alek.

And in true impulsive Kinsley form, she swiftly delivered a sharp kick toward my brother. I knew what she did because she slouched down to where her chin rested on the table to reach him. God, I loved her. She never wore shoes in the house, so I’m sure her socked foot did little to no damage. The effect was comical, and a surprised yelp slipped from Bash.

“Did you kick me, young lady?” he bellowed.

Kinsley slithered up into her seat, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Something told me she realized how lackluster the move had been. Her bottom lip trembled.

“Um, yeah, I did. It’s just—” Her gaze shifted to Alek, and she lowered her head. “Sorry.”

Declan pushed away from the table and rushed to her side. “You’re gonna make her cry, Uncle Bash. Remember, you need to work on that. We don’t make girls cry.”

The amount of laughter at the look on my brother’s face was priceless. Being checked by a six-year-old wasn’t something he expected. After the laughter died down, I leaned back in my chair, feeling the warmth of the family. Bash still fumed, and I couldn’t resist poking him.

“You need to relax, big brother. It was on my list. It’s a tiny stud. You’re acting like I’ve come home with a full-face tattoo.”

He leveled his gaze in my direction. “This stupid list of yours is going to be the death of me.”

“The list is homework. A necessary step in her journey.” Marcel spoke, coming to my defense.