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Noah shifts uncomfortably behind Kade. He hasn’t said a word during this exchange and I almost feel guilty. He’s always been the nicest and most accepting of me. Some points he even felt like a possible friend. But even he has struggled with jealousy as Scar and I have gotten closer. It’s not like I can’t understand. Our shared history is daunting. None of them can touch the seventeen years I did have with her, where we were the center of each other’s worlds. I’d be jealous of myself too.
“Maybe we should talk more about this and the implications,” he tries to reason with everyone.
“I’ll start husband hunting,” I promise.
“No!” All her men but Noah snap. “We agreed that we shouldn’t share outside of the six of us,” Declan adds calmly.
“Six,” Kade emphasizes.
Scar narrows her eyes at me. “Maybe you should go husband hunting.” Something in her tone is threatening. “Then I can antagonize your husband like you’re doing to mine.”
I grin, fair enough. “What’s family for?”
“You had your fun, now leave them alone. They can be sensitive.” Only she would call these five brutes sensitive. Love really is blind.
The guys all trade confused looks as they watch us. At least they’re starting to get it. I sigh dramatically. “Fine,” I relent. “Even if I do find a husband, I don’t want to share him with you anyway.”
She rolls her eyes. “I never thought you would.” Understanding begins to creep into some of the guys’ expressions. “And you five, no more caveman jealousy and antics. Charles doesn’t want me like that. He never has. He’s gay.”
Mouths part open in surprise and I wink at Kade and Luca. “Have you forgotten how stunning she’s always been? Did you really think we would have stayed virgins until we were seventeen if I wasn’t gay? What straight teenager would not have been absolutely floored at having her as his girlfriend?”
Stunned silence is the only answer I get for several long moments. Scar and I the only ones grinning as they process what I’ve said. I can’t believe it’s something they had never even thought about. They’re thinking about it now.
Ryder is the first one to throw his head back and cackle, but the rest are quick to follow. I have a feeling my relationships with all of them will start to look vastly different now that they no longer see me as competition.
The rest of the party flows easily, everyone in much better moods after my reveal. The guys’ attitudes immediately shift and become more welcoming. Or at least, more accepting. More alcohol flows, even past the kids’ bedtimes.
It’s a chance for me to see the life Scar has built for herself in a new light. A more relaxed one, a softer view. It’s so much better than any life I had pictured for her over the years. Her happiness radiating from her in a way I never thought would be possible before. It infects me. My cheeks hurt from all the laughter and smiles we’ve shared. Something I can’t remember ever happening since I lost her.
The raven-haired beauty that I’ve met only in passing sidles up to my side, her shoulder brushing mine. Rachel. I haven’t seen much from her and Scar isn’t one to share other people’s problems, but I’ve picked up a bit here and there through staying at Scar’s house on and off over the last couple months.
“It can be overwhelming at first,” she says, taking a sip from her wine glass. “When you’re so used to being alone, having very few people to trust and count on. But before you know it, you’ll just be another part of the chaos.”
I raise a brow at her. She seems to fit right in, like she’s always been a part of this group. “Speaking from experience?”
She nods, a fond smile playing on her lips. “Scar couldn’t decide whether to save me or stab me when I showed up on her doorstep bleeding and demanding answers. I’ve gained a lot since she took a chance on trusting me. Lost a lot too, but we all have.” Her eyes fill with moisture as she looks over at the room, full of bodies as one of Scar’s friends climbs on top of a table, dragging another girl with her. “I set out to find my sister, but never thought it would lead me to a whole family. They know how to pull you in and help you discover parts of yourself you never knew existed.”
I smile, thinking about a little girl from long ago with blonde hair and a shining smile. “Scar has always been good at that.”
Before she can respond, my phone rings. A familiar number flashes across the screen. I give her an apologetic smile as I excuse myself to take the call.
“What do you have for me?”
Dave’s gravelly voice fills the line. “You were right,” he starts and my stomach tightens in knots. The free-floating feeling of this day evaporating with that simple statement. “He knows Andre has been compromised. He went to each of the locations you gave me. Went in for less than ten minutes, came out with a black briefcase.”
A rock sinks in my gut. This is it. It has to be. I knew having men in my father’s inner circle would eventually pay off, but I never knew it would feel like this. An even mix of dread and excitement. Please be good news.
“He went to a house in the suburbs I’ve never been to before,” Dave continues to explain. “Spent much longer in there. He came back empty handed.”
I run my fingers through my hair, my breathing irregular. “You think he dropped whatever he collected there?”
“Yes, sir,” he answers decisively.
I force myself to take a deep breath. “Any sign of him burning anything?”
“No, I got the impression it was more of a safe house,” he hesitates. “Somewhere for him to disappear alone for a while without being interrupted. Somewhere no one would expect him to be.”
It seems nothing like my father which makes it exactly what I should have expected from him. Hiding in plain sight. Middle class suburbia where anyone who knows him would say he’d never be caught dead there.
