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I really should have stayed in bed instead of coming into work today.
Ariel cleared her throat as she fidgeted nervously, twisting her fingers into the hem of her shirt. “Can I talk to you one-on-one?”
That one-on-one was the reason I was agreeable to saying yes, but she’d still wait until I was ready. “I’ve already taken my break for the day, and there’s something I need to do right after work. It means I’m going to be in your neck of the woods, so if you want me to meet you at your house after, then that’ll work for me. But I’m telling you right now, if it turns into all of you people ganging up on me, then I’m calling your dad before I get the hell out of there.”
“Your family,” she whispered in a fucked up voice.
“What?” I asked her, confused.
“You said my people, but they are not just my people. They are your family, and you were right about it before.”
I knew I’d been right about before but, well, that had beenbefore.Clearly things were different now.
I swiveled around in my chair, turning my back on every single one of them, Rain included. I wiggled my mouse around until my computer screen lit up. I was sure there was something I could order on there for the shop that would make it look like I was working. Only Rain would know any better, and he wouldn’t rat me out.
“Yeah, sure,” I said as I clicked away on my mouse. “That was before you made it real clear just hownotmy family you people are. My blood family is dead, that’s a fact, but thankfully the family I’m building for myself is better than anything I could have ever hoped and dreamed for.”
Rain pressed a sweet kiss to my temple before herding them all out the back door. Tyson and Damien hadn’t wanted to leave before getting the chance to speak to me privately, but Rain wasn’t having any of it.
“If you don’t show up at the house later, I’m going to come looking for you. I don’t care what DadorRomero have to say about it,” Ariel shouted at me as she was pushed out the door.
I believed her, and that was cool, because I didn’t think I had it in me to run from a fight, no matter what the stakes were.
I’d see Ariel later.
And it’d just be the two of us.
22
I Don’t Want To Ever Lose Him
Isobel
I might have overdone it just a wee bit.
Three bakeries later, my back seat was filled with boxes and paper bags stuffed full of goodies. And they weren’t all blueberry flavored because I wasn’t an asshole. I knew that wasn’t everyone’s jam.
Speaking of jam, one of the bakeries had these cute little jars that were up front on display to trap you into buying them because they were too cute to be left behind. They had every different flavor of jam you could think of. Because I was a total sucker, I had to buy two of each flavor, that way I could have a set at my house too and still leave a set for the boys. Then I thought better of it and got another set for Romero’s house because I couldn’t leave my other boys out.
I had texted Toby and Baylie in our group chat when I left work to make sure they’d be home, and they were now expecting me. Rain had closed the shop early for the day so he could teach Simon and Trenton how to take the tattoo equipment apart, clean it, assemble it, and whatever the hell else it was that he thought they needed to learn.
After spending about an hour in the bathroom, both brothers had rallied, and even though they looked pale and sickly, they decided to stick the day out.
They never once side-eyed me, and I thought that maybe they weren’t as smart as Rain thought they were. But, because Iwassmart, I kept my thoughts to myself.
I parked in the driveway of the boys’ house after being buzzed in through the gate that covered both driveways to the boys’ house and the Alexander house. That was a new addition, and one I could easily get behind. The fence had been put up first around both properties, and the gate had been saved for last.
After everything all of these people had been through, I understood their need for privacy and as much safety as they could get.
I also parked in this driveway because there were too many people with cars next door who could be coming or going at any time. I needed an easy escape, just in case. One could never be too safe these days.
I had never actually been to Marcus Cole’s house before, even though I had met the man too many times to count. Ariel had lived with him in this house, but that was long before my time. What I knew of the man was that he had a touch of sadness to him that I never understood. He’d acted like he loved Ariel as if she were his own flesh and blood, and he had treated Rain as if he were his lifelong nemesis. He’d always been kind to me, and I never would have expected him to turn out to be the repulsive traitor he was.
I had never been filled in on the exact details of his death, and I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to know. All I knew was that Rain told me he got what he deserved. I’d take Rain’s word for it.
I parked the SUV in the driveway and pulled up my group chat with the boys because there was no way I could carry all of this sweet shit in by myself. They came out immediately without responding, and I got out of the SUV. I guessed them coming outsidewastheir response.
Toby had messy, dirty blond hair that came down to his chin. His eyes were crystal blue and, despite all he’d been through, they weren’t dead but simply guarded. He’d recently hit a growth spurt, but he hadn’t filled out yet, so he was tall, lanky, and, thanks to his time spent with the Council, he was still incredibly skinny.
