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ONE WEEK LATER
SWISS
Violet was like her mother.
An exact replica. With the same midnight black hair, the same face shape, the same spirit. She had taken the news of who her father was—what he was—in stride. She hadn’t hesitated to cut him off, to stand by her mother. Everything she knew about the man who raised her was a lie, yet she didn’t fall apart, throw a tantrum like some spoiled rich girl. No, she was more worried about her mother. It was clear she adored her.
In the week she’d been here, I’d been fucking floored at seeing Kate in a different role. Seeing the way they interacted. How they laughed easily, treated each other with kindness and respect. Their bond was forged by them growing up together. It was something special. Fucking precious. I could not believe how that piece of shit could’ve had that in his home and tried to poison it the way he did. Pure fucking evil. That’s what he was.
Violet had called him and said something to that effect. Then she’d blocked his number. We had people watching him, making sure he didn’t find his balls, didn’t risk his life to mend things with his daughter.
But he was too much of a coward for that.
Fucking piece of shit.
Violet was wary around me, I knew that. Appreciated that. Had appreciated it a fuck of a lot more when she found me cleaning the grill while Kate was inside making some fancy dessert.
I’d known she was there watching me for a while. I didn’t acknowledge her presence, knowing that she needed to make the first move, that she wouldn’t have come out here unless she had something to say.
“Do you love my mother?” she finally asked.
Straight to the point. No bullshit. I respected it. I met her eyes. They were unusual, bright, almost purple. She was as pretty as her mother, but those eyes were something else. Boys would go wild over her. Even the thought of it had me squeezing the shit out of the scrubber I was using. I felt protective over her, and I barely fucking knew her.
But I knew what she meant to Kate.
That was enough.
“Yes,” I answered simply.
“Good,” Violet nodded once, not smiling. “My mother deserves someone who loves her. Who will do anything for her.” She eyed me shrewdly, her gaze skated to my cut. “Who will protect her.”
“Darlin’, you don’t have to worry about that. I’m gonna protect your mom. Not gonna let any harm come to her.”
Her eyes narrowed as she regarded me, as if she were weighing my words. The gaze was much too mature for a girl her age, who’d grown up as sheltered as she had. Maybe she saw more than Kate gave her credit for.
“I know,” she said finally. “I also know that if you hurt her, you’ll have me to answer to.”
A threat coming from an eighteen-year-old girl should’ve been laughable to someone like me. But somehow she delivered it with strength and promise that made me take her seriously. Made me respect the fuck out of her.
“I’m not gonna let another man hurt her, including myself, for as long as I live,” I promised.
She nodded again. “Good.”
Freya, Hades and Eva arrived not long after, and Violet and Kate promptly got distracted by having a baby and another woman in the mix.
Hades and I congregated by the grill, beers in hand while Violet chased Eva around the yard, and Freya and Kate sat in the wicker chairs, drinking and chatting.
It felt fucking suburban, something that I was sure would’ve been the death of me before Kate.
“Who the fuck would’ve thought this would be us?” I scoffed, vocalizing my thoughts.
Hades didn’t answer. His penetrative gaze was focused on his wife, his child. He was probably juggling a lot of serious shit. Like sitting in a hospital, not knowing if his woman would live. I understood that. Hurt for him. Fuck, did I know that pain. But unfortunately, there was nothing either of us could do about that.
I focused on Kate. Her head was thrown back, laughing at something Violet said. As if she hadn’t a care in the world. As if she had known no difficulty or pain.
I’d seen men grit their teeth and fight through gunshot wounds, tortured men who didn’t scream as I peeled their skin off, but that, Kate’s unbridled happiness, her ability to laugh after everything she’d been through… that was the strongest thing I’d ever seen.
“I’ll do it,” Hades’s words punctured my thoughts.
