Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ATLAS
Calvin loves me. His confession has been echoing in my head since the second it left his lips.
It was there all through the night while he slept, his head pressed against my chest so the sound of my heartbeat could lull him into relaxing—in the hours before that when I took my time making him come until he was so exhausted I knew he wasn’t going to be able to think while he slept…
All I can hear are those three words, and all I can think is that there’s a chapter in my life that I have to close so I can make sure I keep that love safe.
The thought keeps me up, carefully memorizing every line of Calvin’s soft features, the warmth there when he feels safe. Every time a little line starts to form between his brows, I lean in and gently smooth it away with a kiss.
When he wakes up, he looks well rested.
“Morning, sweetheart.”
Sleepy eyes blink for a few seconds as a warm smile drifts over his face…
and then I watch as everything that happened last night seems to catch up with him.
Sorrow, terror, agony, and then something close to bliss crosses his features so quickly that I almost feel dizzy with it.
Finally, Calvin takes a breath and settles on that last emotion.
“I love you,” he says, almost like he’s testing that the memory is accurate, that it wasn’t something he just dreamed up.
I lean in, brushing a soft kiss over his nose and pressing my forehead to his. “I love you too.” When he moves in for a kiss, I add in a teasing voice, “Even when you have morning breath.”
The startled sound that escapes him might be the cutest thing I’ve ever heard, and he tries to pull away with a laugh, but I easily roll him beneath me on the mattress, pressing my mouth to his to show him exactly how much I don’t care about his morning breath before I finally pull back.
“Come on. I want to make breakfast, and then I need to take care of a few things.”
I didn’t want to talk about what those things were—not that I wasn’t going to include Calvin.
First, I was pretty sure Calvin wouldn’t allow me to leave him out of it when it came to Keegan, and honestly I wouldn’t expect him to.
He’d let me stay with him every step of the way with Mitchell, and even though I was starting to have strong suspicions about why he was actually let loose from prison, I was still sitting on that, since I wasn’t sure.
But… well… I could leave him out of the discussion I had with North about exactly what had happened to Mitchell and his men.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him to know how to get rid of a body—I’d taught him how, after all—but I still liked to double check his work.
It made me feel better when I knew where things were buried.
Or burned. Or if they’d been fed to fish.
There were a lot of options.
Calvin looks at me for a moment like he’s trying to decide if I’m keeping secrets or just keeping him out of things he doesn’t want to hear. Finally, he nods and shoves himself from bed.
“I’ll make coffee.”
I’m completely distracted by his naked body as he moves around my room, pulling down some of the clothes he’d put into my closet so he can get dressed.
“You know,” I start before I can stop myself. Apparently, Calvin makes me incapable of keeping my feelings to myself. “Your clothes look really good in my closet.”
He turns to me with his brow furrowed, but the corner of his mouth is already lifting into the slightest smile, like he knows what I’m going to ask. “I don’t know…” Calvin pauses. “I think it’s kind of cramped.”
He fixes me with that sweet grin and I sit up, letting the covers slide down to my hips. I don’t miss the way his eyes follow the fabric. “I own a construction company. I could build you a walk-in closet if you wanted.”
“Yeah?” he asks, pulling on his pants before sauntering over to the bed. He leans in, one hand to my chest and his eyes full of warmth as he asks. “Why’s that?”
I tilt my head to look at him, shifting forward to brush my mouth against his once, twice, three times until his nipples get hard in the cool morning air and he shivers.
“I’m afraid I’m kidnapping you.”
“Oh?” He widens his eyes in mock shock and looks around. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I wrap one arm around his waist and pull him back onto the bed so he’s straddling me. His arms automatically come up, fingers trailing through my beard before he scratches my scalp gently. “I love you. I want you to stay.”
Some of that playfulness gives way to warmth as he leans in. He kisses me, soft and sweet before murmuring against my mouth. “My stuff is already here, Atlas. I think you already did kidnap me.”
I grin against his mouth. “I’m making it official.”
His arms wrap around me suddenly, and the warmth of his hug envelops me.
He drops his head to my shoulder and presses his lips to the pulse at my throat.
I wonder if he can feel the way my heart is jumping in my chest, the way his proximity and the thought of him being here all the time, every day, makes my head spin.
“I like the sound of that,” he murmurs, then raises his head. “Though I want my dishes. We need to clear out my apartment so I can hand in my keys.”
No argument. No telling me it’s too soon.
“Okay.”
“And I want my coffee pot. I hate to tell you this, Atlas… but yours is old.”
He pushes himself off the bed and starts to leave the bedroom.
“Hey, it might be old, but it still gets the job done.”
He stops to look at me over his shoulder, and his eyes roam over my frame before he grins again, heading to the kitchen.
By the time coffee is poured and breakfast is cooking, I can see some of the apprehension and exhaustion from last night trying to creep along Calvin’s body. It’s a small thing, but it’s there, like a ghost haunting at the edge of his soul.
I wish I could completely take it away from him—I wish I could erase the memory of everything that happened, but I have a feeling once it all settles down, he’ll feel better with the knowledge that the man who’d made his life so miserable is gone for good.
I take a few minutes to fix our plates and slide one in front of Calvin as I sit down beside him.
“Can you take a few days off work?”
He looks up at me and frowns. “I shouldn’t…” Even as he says it, I can see the pain trying to claw to the surface of his expression. “They’re probably going to want to question everyone at the hospital about Meka, and I…”
“You aren’t on the cameras. No one is going to know you saw…” I trail off, and he nods softly.
“Once they break the news to me, I can probably get away with taking a few days off.”
I want to tell him it’ll be okay, that time heals all wounds and grief fades… but I don’t really know how true that is. I don’t feel things exactly the same as normal people—my entire life has revolved around my children and killing Keegan. He already got his revenge. So…
“Will you take it off… for me, please?” I stand up, pulling him away from the food that he’s shuffling around on his plate so I can wrap him up in another hug.
“We can spend the next few days getting you moved in.” I lean down and kiss him once, feeling him relax at the soft touch.
“You can start planning what parts of my house you want to add on to. I’ll build you a walk-in closet—I’ll build you your own office if you want.
” I tease another kiss from him. “I’ll even put in a pool. ”
At least he’s smiling now, and I know I’d give anything, kill anyone, to keep that smile on his face.
It’s why I kind of hate the fact that I’m going to have to sit him down soon to tell him my plans with Keegan.
He has to know what’s going on. We can spend some of those days off doing exactly what I said…
but he has to know that I’m going to tie up all the loose ends so we can start our life together with a fresh slate—without danger, without ghosts from our pasts looking over our shoulders.
Last night we buried his, now it was time to bury mine.
“I think a few days locked up here with you is actually exactly what the doctor ordered.” He comes up on tiptoe and presses a kiss to my throat. “You didn’t tell me you were a medical professional, Atlas.”
I grin at the way he intentionally puts a tease into his voice, loving the fact that I’m a safe enough space for him that he can lose himself in playful flirting instead of the pain trying to overwhelm him.
“Maybe you should go by the hospital to pick up a few things…” I grin, leaning in. “How hard would it be to steal a coat from one of your doctors?”
A blush spreads across his features and he buries his face against my throat.
He really does like the idea of playing doctor, doesn’t he?
My fingers are sliding beneath Calvin’s shirt when the door opens, and I hear a low, rumbling voice spill out in surprise.
“Holy shit, Dad. North wasn’t kidding, was he?
I know I told you to go for it, but you certainly move fast.” I turn.
Wylder’s whiskey-colored eyes are warm, and his arms are crossed over his too broad chest.
“I’m pretty sure I taught you to knock.” I don’t let go of Calvin as I speak, though I do slide my hand from beneath his shirt. “What are you doing here, son? Is everything okay?”
Honestly, he’s saving me the trouble of calling him. I’ve spent years trying to hunt Keegan down and I haven’t found him yet. I’m ready for it to be over, and between North’s brutality and Wylder’s careful precision, I know we can finally end it.
What I don’t expect is the shorter man who steps out from behind him.
He has one hand on his hip as he looks around.
He’s thin, with deep brown skin—curly hair is tied into a ponytail that bounces with his movement.
He has an innocent look to him, but his eyes tell something different.
The brown depths show cunning, strength, and a little mischief.
He scrunches what I can only describe as a button nose while he purses his small, plump lips, looking around my kitchen.
Finally, his gaze lands on me and he arches a thick brow.
“Wylder told me he needed the best, so the best is here. Ta-da.” The man gives a little wave of his wrist, gesturing to himself.
My eyes widen, and Wylder glances down at the tiny man beside him with an expression that’s half annoyed, half infatuated.
“Right, Princess. Why don’t you go find an outlet to plug into?”
The smaller man looks at him with narrowed eyes, and I’m pretty sure if an expression could kill, I’d be down a son. That doesn’t stop him from hitching his bag on his shoulder and walking to my kitchen table like he owns the place.
I watch him as Calvin quietly offers him coffee, then turn back to Wylder.
“Okay… but honestly. What are you doing here, Wylder? I was going to call you, but…”
“North told me what happened last night—he filled in all the blanks you’ve been feeding me.
” Wylder steps into the house, closing the door behind him before approaching me.
I have to crane my neck to look him in the eyes.
“Listen, I know you want to handle things on your own, Dad… I get it. But I’m tired of this hanging over our family like a fucking death shroud.
” Before I can open my mouth to tell him he has the wrong idea, he shakes his head and finishes.
“I’m here to help you find Keegan, and then I’m going to help you kill him. ”