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We head back into the city, and I just sit in silence holding the gun in my lap, still unsure of how I feel about this whole mess. I feel so angry at my father for wanting me gone and for making me live under his horrible control. I idealized him, yes—or maybe I just lied to myself all along—but all of that disintegrated the minute I heard him threaten my men.
This is my family now. My seven sinners.
I spent so many years trying to be good, to be the perfect daughter, and all along my father barely noticed I was there, save from being a placeholder for my inheritance.
Threatening my new family and destroying my old, though, that was going too far, and that made me want to see him bleed. These intense feelings are so overwhelming, so all consuming, but they make me see without a shadow of a doubt that I’m totally and completely in love with all seven of my protectors.
I guess I’ve known it since I first laid eyes on each one of them. But I didn’t realize the extent of how deeply my feelings ran until this moment—when I was more than willing to kill for them. For us. For our future.
I sigh as we pull up to Sin, Inc. I’ve seen enough darkness to last a lifetime. I’m ready for this to be over. But as I look at my men, I have the sinking feeling that it’s not over yet. Their faces tell me there’s still more to face.
With a heavy heart, I let them help me from the car and usher me inside.
Chapter 32
Arsen
We all gather around Caroline in the limo, giving her plenty of space and letting her hug herself tight in the thick fur coat we had the driver bring for her. We’re here for her, but touch isn’t what she needs right now. We all watch her face carefully as she comes to terms with everything that just happened and everything she just learned.
I muse over how she’s changed us all, though we each expected to have our own impacts and changes on her. With everything that’s come to light, I don’t know if we really did.
One would think spending so much time with such bad men as us, she would be slowly but surely corrupted, but I think we only brought her true nature to light. She’s the daughter of Sin, Inc. through and through, after all. And now, wrapped in her lavish garment, she reminds me of some sort of maturing worm wrapped in its cocoon. I’m trembling in fear and excitement to see the beautiful butterfly of sin that emerges.
As we continue staring at her, Caroline stares at her former home. Our fixer crew arrives and they quickly set to work on the home to tweak this and that before setting the home ablaze.
Ares instructed them very carefully.
They are to take a few key valuables, things nobody would miss or notice.
They are to secure certain doors to create the illusion of a struggle.
And finally, they are to compromise the security computers and electrical system so the main room is an inferno of flame that burns down the rest of the house accordingly. This covers every sign of our transgressions within that home. For these men, it’s little more than routine.
After the deed is finalized our limo escorts us back to Sin, Inc. Our secondary crew is busy repairing the lower floors, and we all squeeze through to the company infirmary where our doctor looks us over and patches up the injured.
Through the whole process none of our eyes leave Caroline. Her gaze is blank and she doesn’t meet any of our eyes. We begin to worry, but with exchanged glances between us we all know she’s going to be okay, and that she only needs time.
Repaired and recuperated, we all finally settle down in a resting room. We each take our seat on a large black semicircular couch that is positioned around a large and rather comfy chair, in which Caroline takes her rightful seat. We watch on silently as she rests. After a time, she looks up at each of us in turn, her face more clear and alert than we’ve seen it in hours.
“It was self defense,” Justin says.
“You had no choice,” Samuel says.
“You saved us,” Kaden says.
“They had it coming,” Marshall says.
“You did the right thing,” I say.
“They were clean shots you made,” Ares says.
“Your mother would be proud. It was the action of a true crime lord,” Apollo says, and we all nod along in agreement.
Caroline takes a deep breath, and a salacious smile creeps across her face. She stands up and lets the thick coat surrounding her fall around her ankles. Her poise is filled with confidence, and we each reel back as we stare at her. Power is radiating off her in waves, and we’re feeding off her just being in her presence.
