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Abel nods slowly and sits down in one of the chairs on the back deck. Pogo comes over and tries to jump in his lap but doesn’t quite make it. Abel rolls his eyes playfully, then bends to pick up his dog. I sit as well, looking out at the backyard, loving how peaceful this area is. Quin has a huge wall surrounding the small house, which I understand since we’re in the middle of the woods and bears are a thing here. Thankfully, I haven’t seen one, but you can never be too sure.
My attention is pulled back to Abel when he exhales roughly. “That’s the short story, yes. Longer story is Savage was the head of a notorious crime family, but he didn’t really love it. Despite how brutal he had to be, it wasn’t for him. He wanted to leave. I was actually his prisoner, kinda?” He lets out a laugh when I give him an incredulous look. “Sorry. Let me start from the beginning. My brother was a thief and broke into Savage’s mansion. He was caught and I traded myself in order for Savage to set him free. I promised to be his for a year. Sav never really forbade me from leaving or doing anything, like he still let me go to school and whatnot. But I stayed because I wanted to keep my word. In that time, we fell in love. He turned out to be a lot different than I thought he was. I got lucky that he fell in love with me too.”
His smile is so radiant when he talks about Savage. But it dims when he tells me the rest of what happened. “We were going to leave, ya know? Without saying anything. Just pack our shit and go, leaving the drugs and guns and life of crime behind. But my brother …” He swallows thickly and shakes his head, wiping under his eye. “He sold me out to Savage’s enemies. Savage and Quin and Michael had to come get me after hours of being beaten and tortured.” Abel shivers with a deep frown on his face, eyebrows dipped like he went somewhere else in his mind. Shaking himself, he tries to paste a smile on his face, but his eyes have lost some of their shine. “They got me out and blew the warehouse up. Some way, they made it look like we all died in the blast, so yeah. We’re all dead now and here we are.”
What a terrible thing to happen. Abel seems like such a sweet man. To have his brother betray him had to be hard. “I’m sorry to hear that, Abel. I’m glad you’re okay and even more glad you chose Canada to settle and start your new life. It’s beautiful here. How did you land on Quebec?”
That makes him laugh, the tears in his eyes drying. “Savage set up a date for me and hired a chef from Quebec. It was the best date I’ve ever had.”
We grin at each other and I decide to tell him what happened to me and why I’m here. I wrap my arms around my middle, trying to protect myself from the fear I feel because I don’t know where Andler and his crew are and the fear for the people that might be stuck in that warehouse. I hope they’re not going through hell while the RCMP get a task force together. I wish I could have done more. Not sure what exactly, but something more. I’ll probably always beat myself up for not telling Quin as soon as I saw him.
By the time I’m finished, both Abel and I are teary messes. He wipes under his eyes and says with a small smile. “Looks like both our guys saved us, huh?”
“Yeah. I’m so thankful he came for me. Quin is the Daddy I’ve always wanted.”
“He’s a good guy. They were all really good to me … after they stopped holding me hostage.”
“Were you ever really a hostage, though?” Quin asks, looking down at Abel with a smirk.
“You bet your ass I was, Captor,” Abel tells him with a smirk of his own.
Quin barks a laugh and steps outside, Savage right behind him. I stand and Quin sits in the seat I just vacated and I plop on his lap. I’m not tiny like Abel—not by a long shot at five ten and almost one hundred and seventy pounds—but Quin doesn’t seem to mind my weight or me sitting on his lap. Savage stands beside Abel and takes Pogo from his lap. The dog wiggles his butt and tries to lick his face, but Savage dodges. “We’ve talked about licking in the face, Pogo. Knock it off.” He chuckles and sets the dog down. Pogo lays down with his head on Abel’s feet and lets out a breath.
We sit outside for a while, talking about nothing and everything, getting to know each other. Savage isn’t really nice, per se, but he’s not as scary as I thought he was when he threatened me. Maybe as time goes on, he’ll like me more and I can be a part of the family too.
Dinner is great. Quin is a great cook. I look over at him over my plate and he winks at me, making butterflies dance in my belly. He talks to Savage and Abel effortlessly and he looks so happy to be around his friends, it’s hard to imagine he was a guard for a mafia boss. It’s not hard to believe Savage was the mafia boss, though. He has that aura of power radiating from him, like he’s used to giving orders and having them followed.
“Dinner was great, Quin. Thanks for having us,” Abel tells Quin as he collects plates from the table. “Sav and I will clean up.”
“Then we can watchEver After,” Savage says with a wink.
Quin groans and I give him a skeptical look. What the hell isEver After? He shakes his head and grabs my hand, leading me over to the couch. Pogo looks up at us, then at the couch and lies back down. Guess he doesn’t want to try to jump up there to hang with us. “It’s their favorite movie,” Quin answers me. “Theyalwayswatch that movie. They’re obsessed.” I chuckle and tuck my feet under me, leaning into him.
After they finish with the clean-up, Savage scoops up Pogo and they all sprawl on the other side of the sectional, turning on the movie they wanted to watch. It’s actually quite good. Drew Barrymore was beautiful in this film and her acting is phenomenal. The end had me tearing up because it was so sweet.
With the movie done, we bid each other good night and Savage and Abel go into the spare room while I join my Daddy in his. Or is it ours? This isn’t his home, so I’m not quite sure.
We undress and climb into bed, Quin spooning me and kissing the back of my neck. “You okay, mouse?”
“Yeah. I had a great time tonight. Your family is great.”
“They are.” Quin pauses for a beat, then whispers, “Abel told you what happened?”
I nod. “That doesn’t even sound real, but it obviously is because you’re here. You guys went through a lot. And poor Abel.” He’s stronger than I am. I don’t think I would have given Quin up either, but you never know when you’re in the situation what could happen. To be beaten like that for hours on end … I can’t even imagine.
“He’s strong, that’s for sure. Savage chose well. He needed someone like Abel. Tough, doesn’t take his shit, but sweet too. They fit. Like we fit.”
I gasp and turn to him. “You think we fit?” I ask, wanting it to be true, but not knowing how he really feels.
Rubbing my face, then running that hand through my hair, Quin smiles at me. “Of course I do, baby boy. I felt that way from the first time we were together. Didn’t you?”
“Yeah, but I’m also needy.” Quin chuckles and kisses my nose. Then meets my lips and kisses me languidly, making me clutch his shoulder to keep myself from climbing all over him.
Pulling his lips from mine, Quin kisses my forehead and puts my head on his chest. “You’re not needy, boy.”
“If you say so,” I tell him with a smirk. He pops my bottom and I yelp, then giggle.
“Don’t get cheeky.”
