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“It’s over. You’re free. You got your life and your freedom back in every possible sense,” Luke replies. “So, what’s the plan?”
I think about it for a moment. “I’m not really sure. Everything happened so fast, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what happened, to figure out how I feel right now.”
“Don’t go,” Kellan sighs deeply. “Stay with us.”
I know I should say something, but my words have left me. All I can do is look at these three wonderful men as they come closer, their massive, muscular frames overpowering my will altogether. Who am I kidding? I was always safe with them. I was happy and content, well taken care of, and cherished. The thought of leaving them hurts me more than any of Daniel’s punches ever did.
“We love you,” Luke says. “Each in our own way, Avery, but we love you. We’ve made it work so far, why not keep going?”
“The four of us?” I reply. “We were supposed to have fun… that was it.”
Fallon smiles. “I think we can all agree it became way more than just fun. Avery, dammit, can’t you see us? We’re hopelessly in love with you.”
Luke touches my hand. “I love you, Avery. And I want you in my life. I believe you feel the same way—I see it in your eyes, I feel it in your touch. We belong together.”
I want to tell him that yes, I do feel the same. I want to throw myself in their arms and surrender completely to them. But Kellan picks up on my hesitation and hugs me tightly, covering my face with tender, loving kisses. I lose my self-control and welcome his affection. I feel his love pouring into my heart, my very soul expanding as I soften in his embrace.
“Why not give it a try?” he asks. “Miley and Annie have already made a home with us. They’re happy and safe. And you’ve already started a new life here. You’ve got remodeling jobs and plenty of opportunities to develop your career. You have our full support in anything you decide to do, Avery, but we want to be with you. We want to give this thing we have a real shot.”
“How will it work?” I ask him. “The world wouldn’t understand.”
“The world doesn’t need to understand,” Fallon says, cupping my cheek while Kellan still holds me tight. Luke kisses my temple. “It’ll be our secret, Avery. Our sweet, wonderful secret. What happens behind closed doors, stays behind closed doors.”
“You’ll always be safe and happy with us,” Luke says. “And now that Daniel is gone, you have no reason to run, no reason to struggle starting over again. You can just pick up where you left off.”
This is crazy, right?
My heart is screaming yes. My body is responding to their presence in such a deliciously familiar manner. I can no longer deny my feelings for them. I just survived the most traumatic event of my life and here are my three guardian angels, professing their love and telling me they want to share a life together.
What’s crazy is if you walk away from this.
“Let’s try,” Kellan says. “Stick around for a little while longer and see what happens. We’ll work it out. I know we will.”
“Think about it, Avery,” Luke says. “You’ve got nothing to lose. We want you in our lives, and we will do everything in our power to make sure you never regret the day we met.”
“I could never regret that day,” I concede with a deep exhale. “I love you. The three of you. I’ve loved you for a while, now. I don’t know when it happened, I don’t know when my heart clicked into place, but I’m done holding back, I’m done lying to myself. I love you, Kellan. I love you, Fallon. I love you, Luke. I love us too much not to try and see what more we could do together.”
Kellan smiles gently and kisses me once more. Fallon and Luke’s arms snake around us, and we melt into each other. I have no idea where this will lead. I don’t have a clue as to whether it’ll actually work out or not.
But they’re right—there is no harm in trying, not when our hearts are already so tightly bound together. The girls already love them. They’ve grown attached to Helen, the house, and their school. They like it here. And I like it here, too.
The nightmare is over.
I’m done surviving. It’s time for me to start living.
29
Avery
Ican’t believe how quickly the week flew by since the events at the cabin.
I’d thought I’d freed myself the moment I first filed for divorce, but it pains me to admit that I wasn’t truly free until I saw Daniel dead on the floor. I know it was the only way things could’ve ended. He brought it upon himself. One day, I will put all this behind me. I will heal and become a better version of myself. I will grow and I will thrive. So will my girls.
We’re in good hands, now.
Miley and Annie are back in school, and Helen is ever the doting babysitter—a second mother, I might say. The legal system will handle Daniel’s death accordingly. It was labeled as a justified kill, and Luke won’t have any issues because of it. Wolfhound Security has lost two good agents in the process, but they will move on, and they will grow stronger and better because of it. And the prick who sold me out to Daniel will go to prison for what he did. His reasons don’t matter anymore. He broke the law and put me and my daughters in mortal peril. I’m done forgiving anybody who hurts me or my children, directly or indirectly.
I finished the Masons’ house. They were so delighted, they promised to recommend my services to others in their family and close circle of friends. I’m already getting calls for new projects. The outlook is more than positive. I have plenty of reasons to see a prosperous career here.
