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“I’ve done bad things,” she whimpers, placing her hands over mine and holding on, like she’s afraid I’ll let go. “I’ve done things that will hurt people who don’t deserve it.”
“Okay…” I turn her, forcing her around so her feet tangle on the very edge of our pool as they come up.
She lets out a panicked breath and scrambles to grab my shoulders. But fuck, I won’t let her fall. I won’t let her go.
“Whydid you do the bad thing?”
She instantly scowls. “Does it matter?”
“Yes.” I wrap one arm around her back to hold her close, then I bring my other hand up to cup her jaw and force her to look into my eyes. “It absolutely matters. Because if you did it for purely selfish reasons, then that’s different than if you did it to protect someone else. Or maybe it was revenge, which has its place too. Or maybe it was boredom. Or pettiness. Or?—”
“I believed bad things about someone,” she jumps in. “Really, really bad things. And those things aren’t entirely untrue; the crimes still exist, and someone special to me was hurt. But?—”
“So you acted protectively.” I work, so fucking desperately, to help her find peace. “If someone you love was hurt, Christabelle, you have every right to burn the city down.” I draw her to her toes and feather a kiss to her lips. Salty and swollen, and so fucking sweet. My very favorite flavor since meeting her. “I would for you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“You might change your mind,” she protests. “If you found out I’m a horrible person. Maybe you’d light a fire and watchmeburn.”
“No.” I bring our faces closer and feather my lips across hers. “If you acted protectively, then you did the right thing. It’s what any of us would do. I won’t ever say you were wrong for that. Now, will you come back to dinner?” I nibble her bottom lip and breathe her in all the way to the bottom of my lungs. “I don’t remember the last time all five of us ate together.”
“You don’t?” She sniffles again and reaches up to swipe her tears away. “It’s rare?”
“Uh…once-every-sixteen-yearsrare.” I cup her perfect face. “I want to share tonight with you, okay? I want to be with you, but I want to be with them, too. Will you please join us?”
“And if I said I wasn’t feeling well, and that I might go home, but that you should stay here and be with them, anyway?”
“Then I’d blow them off and make our next twelve hours worth my missing out.” I flash a playful grin when her eyes narrow. Then I squeeze her ass and snicker when she jolts and almost falls back into the pool.
“We should come out here for a midnight dip. You.” I nip the side of her neck and earn a hiss of anger. “Me. Darkness. And the whole world on pause until we decide we’re done.”
“Are you coming back inside, or what?” Cato leans out of the house, but he holds onto the doorframe. “We miss you, Cannon.”
“Fuck off.” I take her hand in mine and turn to lead her back toward the door. The moment I’m close enough, I smack my baby brother on the side of the ear and grin when he yelps. “We were having a private moment.”
“Don’t hit him.” Surprising the fuck out of us both, Christabelle tosses my hand off and wraps her arm around his instead. Like they’re going to the fuckin prom! “What was life like growing up here, Cato? Did they treat you well?”
“No.” He catches on fast, flipping me off and leading his girl inside the house, so they leave me out here, all alone and unwanted. “They bullied me a lot, Ms. Cannon. I never got bacon at breakfast, because they always got to it first, and I still don’t know how to tie my shoelaces.”
Of course she gasps. “What?”
“No one ever taught me,” he moans. “No one ever tells me they’re proud of me. You should ask the Doc about my mommy issues. They’re intense!”
“Stop bitching.” Exhaling on a huff, I snatch up the socialite’s shoes and head back inside, following them all the way to the dining room. “I’m the guy who woke up to that little asshole every single fuckin night for years.Years!” I exclaim, drawing everyone else’s attention as we come back into view. “He has mommy issues, just like the rest of us. Arch solved his by banging the doc. Tim solves his by lusting after a woman he won’t actually take to bed. And I solved mine by bagging you.” I pull out Christabelle’s chair and grab her face when she’d rather focus entirely on the youngest Malone.
Her silver eyes glitter, but at least she’s not crying anymore.
“He needs to find his own toxic coping mechanism. I’ve already claimed you.”
“Well, shit.” Minka picks up her wine and makes a face as she brings it to her lips. “I’d say that’s about as serious as we’ll ever see him.” She takes a sip and ‘ahhh’s around the liquid. “Welcome to the family, Ms. Cannon. I don’t think you get to leave now unless it’s in a body bag.”
“Classy.” Tim grabs a bread roll and tosses it at the first woman who took the plunge and attempted to domesticate a herd of ferals. “She’s literally researching the deaths of women who birthed us, and you decide to make a dead body joke?”
She scoffs and rests her head on Archer’s shoulder. “Was I joking?”
22
CHRISTABELLE
DAY OF RECKONING
