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Austin eyes me from his chair. “Are you really okay?”
A smile briefly tugs at my lips before disappearing. “I am.”
“None of us would think differently if you weren’t.”
I huff out a half laugh. “Do you want someone to take care of? I think Audrey is right, and you have that daddy vibe.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t start that shit.”
“You love it.”
“You’re avoiding,” he sighs, redirecting the conversation again.
“Fine. I feel guilty for finally feeling free,” I say, crossing my arms. “Are you happy now?”
“It is strange how the people that raise us can have such a heavy hold on us. My dad is dead, and all I could think about was getting that painting to make him happy.” He laughs and shakes his head. “Do you think the feeling will go away?”
“Eventually. The pain of them rejecting me faded, or at least scabbed over, and even that didn’t hurt nearly as bad this time when I ran into them. And if you can forget about a painting, then I know I’ll get over these feelings.”
He nods and runs his fingers along his jaw. “There is something you should know–”
When I remain silent, he pulls out a folded envelope from his back pocket and holds it out. I reach for it and take out the contents. I scan the words before looking back at him.
“What’s this?”
“A contract, written by mine and Audrey’s father prior to their deaths.”
“Why the fuck does it make it sound like Audrey and Sin are property to be traded? Did her dad think so little of them?”
“I don’t think it was like that,” he says, denying my words with a shake of his head. “I was at the meeting. They drew this up as a sort of back-up plan to keep both Mafia’s strong. But I left the table like a child throwing a tantrum before it got this far.”
I shift on the couch. “Did you show her?”
He presses his lips together in a tight line. “Not yet. I’m trying to figure out how to do it.”
“I’d take her someplace she can’t run, like an airplane.”
He snorts, a smile pulling at his lips. “She would probably jump.”
“Only if parachutes are handy,” I reply with a grin.
“I want you and Saint there too.”
I push off the couch and put distance between us as I circle the kitchen island and fill up a glass of water. “You might need the backup. But I think she will understand, really. Unless you tried to put the contract into place, then she might run. I don’t think belonging to an alpha is at the top of her list of things to do.”
“Maybe we should do it when we get Jason for her, then she has an outlet for her anger,” he chuckles.
“He is the asshole that hurt her most,” I agree. “But then it might remind her why she didn’t want a relationship.”
He stands and joins me in the kitchen. He leans against the island as I pull out stuff for a sandwich.
“You want one?”
“Starving actually.” He rubs his stomach, and I pull out more bread to make two more sandwiches.
“It’s because you think bourbon is a food group, and it is definitely not.”
He brushes his fingers over my cheek. “You are too good for me. I don’t think I tell you enough. But I’m pretty sure you saved me back then, as much as I saved you. And you are always the voice of reason for our pack. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
