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“Marry me, Cutie-pie,” he gasped as he caught the breath I’d just knocked out of him.
“Idiot,” Rueben grumbled, winking at me. I suspected Rueben had seen me but had let Porter touch me first, knowing how I’d respond.
“You think you would’ve learned after the first time, Fungi!” I teased, reaching down to help him up.
“Nah. It’s more fun to run head first,” he countered, making me shake my head as I smiled. Porter was too cute for his own good most of the time.
“Everything grabbed?” I asked, glancing at their packs. I had no clue what they’d been aiming to steal other than the evidence. Rueben nodded to two duffles on his shoulders and the one Porter had dropped.
“We’re good. Let’s go before the guards wake up.”
I giggled. “That’s going to be a while. I’m sure they’re having the time of their life right now.”
Porter and Rueben chuckled as we headed toward the back staircase. The trek was easier now that we didn’t have to wait on Phoenix to disengage the alarm. Hooking the bags to the zip line, we sent them through the air onto the other roof.
“You sure you don’t want to take it across?” I asked, glancing at the thin wire connecting the skyscrapers.
Porter gulped, moving backward toward the door as he held up his hands, afraid I’d somehow be able to hook him up without his consent and shove him across. Reuben also swallowed and shook his head no.
“Spoilsports,” I teased.
Releasing the wire, it flew back toward the other end. Quickly, the three of us changed into regular clothes and shoved everything into a backpack that Rueben would carry.
They’d insisted that Porter and I leave first, pretending to be a couple in love. Though, with the way Porter’s hands roamed my body as we rode down the elevator, there wasn’t any pretending on my part. No one paid attention to us as we walked out of the lobby; our eyes focused solely on one another.
Reuben emerged five minutes later, and the three of us walked to the van parked a few blocks over, where the other two had converged once they’d grabbed the bags. The doors flew open, and Otto jumped out, checking me over before pulling me into a tight hug.
“You did it, Little Bird. It’s over.”
Those words broke the last bit of restraint I held as I grieved for the little girl who’d lost her parents and had subsequently been thrust into this life. I loved where I’d ended up and all the people I’d met along the way, but I couldn’t say the same for every family Carlos had messed with. And now, no one else would have to.
It had taken me twenty years, but I’d finally avenged George and Laura Hopevale.Theirlegacy would live on, giving genuine hope to families.
I knew it wasn’t the end of villains. There would be others; bad guys were like bed bugs—burrowing in places and impossible to kill outright. But it didn’t mean I would stop taking them down; however, that looked in the future.
“Come on. Let’s head home. Phillip is waiting for us.”
Words had never sounded as sweet as those right then.
30
RAVEN
Steppingoff the plane back in Colorado felt different this time than any of the other times I’d returned to the Belladonna mansion. It wasn’t because I had four men with me who owned my heart, bringing me alive in so many new ways. But more how I didn’t feel the same eagerness I typically did to return to the mansion.
Most often after completing a mission, I’d hide away in my room with as many of Karma’s creations as I could gather from the kitchen and bingePhoenix Hospital. I’d occasionally come up for air to shower, but it wasn’t a top priority. I needed that time to decompress before I jumped back into the fray, my search for Otto and retribution powering me.
Except now I had Otto, and I’d avenged my parents. Where did I exactly go from here?
“Wow. This place is beautiful. Maybe we should purchase a house here!” Porter said as he peered around at the mountains and clusters of trees off in the distance.
“How many houses do you have?” I asked curiously. “I thought your base was in NYC?”
“That’s our main residence, but we have places worldwide. You never know when you need to get away,” Otto said as he grabbed my hand and drew me near the car.
I waved at Pierce, who had the good grace not to lift his eyebrows too high at my new companions. He’d seen a lot working at the Belladonna mansion in his short time, so I doubted this even registered as the weirdest.
“Hey, Pierce. Tabby give into your charm yet?” I teased. He huffed, shaking his head as he smiled and opened the doors. The poor sap was obsessed, and she had no idea.
