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When Bryce is gone, Skylar slumps onto the sofa, and I can tell she’s fighting back tears.
Matteo sits next to her, and Luke goes to sit on her other side.
For a long time, Skylar wasn’t on speaking terms with Luke after he killed someone she didn’t think deserved to die. But now she turns to him and sobs into his chest.
I stand and go to Matteo, and he meets me halfway for a hug. “Thank you for being here. I should have just killed him weeks ago.”
I nod to Skylar. “If you had, you might have lost her. You did the right thing waiting to make the choice, and letting her be part of it. We’re here if you need us.”
Matteo drags a hand down his face. “Thanks. I think we’ll be OK. We’re going to take a trip, just the two of us. Do me a favor and keep an eye on Victor while I’m gone. He and Bryce were close, and I think he’s even angrier than I am.”
I give him a curt nod, and fight the urge to look at the subject of our concern as he leans against the wall, scowling. “Will do. He’s been pulling a lot of overtime lately, so I see him at the casino all the time.”
“We’re going to take that bastard Draven down,” Matteo assures.
The mood in the office is somber, but after a few minutes, Skylar stands and wipes at her eyes.
“I love you all. Don’t expect me to be this sappy all the time, but I meant it when I said you were the brothers I deserve. I might need extra hugs for the next little while.”
We all take turns hugging her, and when it’s my turn, she kisses my cheek. “I’m so pleased that things are working out for you and Bellamy and Tobias.”
I squeeze her tight. “Me too. And speaking of them, I should go. We have plans tonight.”
She waggles her eyebrows. “Another fun show for us to enjoy? The motorcycle scene is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen… I mean other than Matteo of course,” she quickly adds when he scowls at her.
We share a laugh, and I’m convinced they’re going to be OK. I leave the office to go in search of the two people who mean everything to me, and thank my lucky stars that our story has a happy ending.
***
Tobias
“Vixen, if you don’t stop fussing over me, I’m going to put you over my knee and show you just how well my shoulder has healed.”
She’s been worrying non-stop since the doctors cleared me to lift things again. It’s kind of cute, but I want her to relax and enjoy herself tonight.
“I can’t help it. I don’t want you re-injuring it.”
Cupping her face in my palms, I pull her close for a kiss, then slide my fingers into her curls as my lips take hers.
She moans and wraps her arms around me, opening her mouth to let me explore.
I pull away and smile down at her. “Relax, Bellamy. Owen will be here soon, and then we can have a good time. But you won’t enjoy yourself as much if you’re worried about me.”
She gives me a look that says she’ll never stop worrying about me, but drops onto a nearby sofa and pats it for her me to join her.
We’re in the Diamond room waiting for him to finish a meeting with Matteo and the other owners who are offering Bryce an ultimatum and most likely comforting Skylar as she grieves the loss of her brother—no matter which choice he made.
I’ve been tasked with keeping our wife occupied while Owen handles that, and I must say I’m not at all disappointed in my assignment. With Owen working full time at the Novak casinos, and Bellamy managing day-to-day operations of the club with Victor and Gracie, I’ve essentially become a house-husband. It will get old eventually, but for now I’m content to spend all my time getting to know my wife and Owen. He and I haven’t settled on what to call each other, but we’re definitely family.
Over the past five weeks, Bellamy and I have discovered more and more that we have in common, and I fall deeper in love with her every day. But it hasn’t all been pleasant. We’ve had to face some harsh realities as well.
Julian Harper was indeed taking money from Phineas Draven, and to look the other way if something happened to me at the wedding. Lorenzo was a pawn in Draven’s sick game, provided to him by Bryce. Whether Julian would have let Bellamy marry Lorenzo is unknown, but he still put greed above his daughter, and I know it breaks Bellamy’s heart. She hasn’t spoken to her parents since the one phone call to her mother. Owen and I aren’t pushing her to make contact unless she expresses an interest in it.
As for my own father, he wasn’t involved in the attack, but he’s still not entirely sold on the idea of me living in Las Vegas for a year. He doesn’t suspect that I share Bellamy with Owen, but I’ve been trying to broach the subject. I have no desire to hide my relationship. At some point, we’re going to have children, and if Owen is the biological father to any of them, it’s going to be very obvious that I’m not the only one having sex with Bellamy.
In fact, we’ve been teasing her that a baby is going to solve all of our problems with my family, because whether the child looks like me or not, a grandkid will soften their hearts. And ultimately, they consider the Thornes allies. But she says she’s not ready for children anytime soon, and to be honest, I’m fine with that. For now, we’ll just continue practicing the art of making a baby, that way when the time comes, we’ll be ready.
Gabe is recovering from his gunshot wounds, but the cancer is aggressively attacking his body, and I know we’ll be traveling to London sometime soon for a funeral. We’ve been talking every day since he started being able to talk again four weeks ago, but the amount of time he feels like talking gets a little shorter each day.
