Chapter 40 – Grey #2
She poked him in the ribs and he growled, shooting her a glare.
I folded myself on the edge of the bed, and she reached for me blindly, the mound of covers sighing as her hand found mine. I gave her a squeeze and felt something lurch in my chest.
This felt so right. Her here. All of us together.
I ran my fingers over her knuckles, and she peered at me from beneath her covers, her brows lowered in concern. “Hey, Superman, you okay?”
“Just… happy.”
She grinned at that, blinking her big beautiful eyes open a little wider, letting the covers drop a little lower.
She opened her mouth to say something, but the lights caught her attention, and she squinted, sitting up straighter to get a proper look around the room. “Did you do all this while I slept?”
“Rook did.”
She smirked at that and I knew she was imagining big scary dangerous Rook hanging a thousand Christmas lights because I was too and it was fucking hilarious.
AJ chuckled, and I joined her. “Did you sleep okay? How are you feeling.”
“Better. I feel good. Doesn’t hurt as much to breathe anymore, either.”
Corvus and I shared a look, and she wrinkled her nose. “What?”
She didn’t know it yet but that was the right answer.
Rook returned with her coffee and she gave him a warm smile. “You didn’t have to do all this.”
He passed her the mug and bent to kiss the top of her head. “Sure, I did. Like it?”
“It’s… a little harsh, but I love it.”
“Present time?” Rook asked, eagerly rubbing his hands together.
“I thought we said no presents?”
“They’re small ones,” I reassured her, but it didn’t erase the knot between her brows. She didn’t need to give us anything, anyway. Having her here, alive, was the best gift we would ever be given.
“Me first.” Rook bent to one knee next to her, fishing the items from his pocket.
AJ squealed as soon as she saw the ring and black diamond necklace, taking them from his hands with tears in her eyes. “I thought they were gone for good.”
She went to push her hair back but found only empty air behind her shoulders, laughing dryly.
Becca had fixed the chop she’d made to her hair in the bunker, turned it into a sharp angled bob that only further accentuated her high cheekbones and severe features.
She passed Corvus the necklace behind her. “Help me?”
“Dies and the others found them when they went back to get rid of all Carson’s shit,” Rook said, his dark eyes following the path of the finger now carrying his ring.
The slight downturning of her lips was the only indication that the reminder got to her before she fixed a smile in place of the frown. It was crazy to think that if we hadn’t chosen to attack right away like AJ suggested, we’d all be dead right now.
Carson had everything in place to annihilate us all without even lifting a gun, and it was all set to deploy less than twenty-four hours from when we attacked. We were right. He’d been busy.
We were just faster.
“Me next,” I said, lifting the tiny box from my pocket, turning it in my fingers before I set it on the plush covers in front of her.
She glanced between it and me curiously. I found the antique leather ring box online and thought it suited her, but it was the ring inside I hoped she’d like.
AJ popped the little pin and cracked the box open. I held my breath.
Her eyes lit up. “Grey, it’s gorgeous. I love it.”
She couldn’t tear it from the box fast enough, hesitating before she slid it onto a finger. The white gold ring had been crafted into a crow in flight, a diamond in place of its eye. “This isn’t…?”
An unsure laugh passed my lips. “No, not exactly but?—”
Corvus plopped his ring box down in front of her, flipping back the lid to reveal the princess cut diamond with two emerald stones on either side that he picked out. “We all wanted to be represented.”
She gasped before pressing her lips together, the slight quiver in her chin giving her away. “This is too much,” she told Corvus, indicating his ring. That diamond is like a whole carat.”
“I called Max back yesterday. Agreed to the spring shows and took the record deal.” He poked her ribs. “So let me spoil you.”
At this, she perked up, whirling to tackle him in a tight embrace. She cried out at the contact with her injury, pulling back, but only enough to dull the pain. She clung to him, not letting him put any extra space between them. “I’m so happy for you.”
“For us,” he corrected her gruffly. “You said you’d go on tour with me, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
She put the two new rings on her fingers, holding her hands out to admire them. “A few more of these and Diesel and I will match.”
I snorted. “Don’t tell him that.”
She sniffed, elbowing Corvus. “Well, there is one more gift that needs to be given.”
Corv reached into the nightstand on his side of the bed, coming out with a clean black box, which he held out to me.
“What’s this?”
“It was all Sparrow’s idea, we just helped pay for it.”
AJ paled, looking edgy in her seat. “You don’t have to wear it. I just thought, we thought that you might want one and?—”
I opened the lid and she fell quiet as I stared down at the glass eye swathed in dark navy silk. It looked so real that for a second I could’ve almost believed it was the one I was missing. Carved out, preserved, lovingly tucked in this box.
“Took a lot of back and forth to get the coloring just right and the sizing the vet gave us might’ve been off, so if it is we can get you a new one and?—”
“AJ…”
“Yes?”
I couldn’t seem to draw up the words to express how much this meant to me, my lungs burning, throat scratched raw. “It’s…”
“Do you hate it?”
“What? No!”
I managed to pull myself together, clearing my throat as I slid the lid back on the box. “It’s perfect. I’m going to try it out after we get back.”
“Back?” Her head tilted to one side. “Where are we going? I thought Dies was coming here for dinner.”
I could tell she had an inkling of where we were going with this, the hunger for it clear in her eyes.
In the way her hands twisted in the covers, ready to use up all the rage she’d been patiently waiting to set free.
It was a condition of our forgiveness for almost getting herself killed that she allow herself time to heal before we took Carson apart piece by bloody piece.
“We’re not going to dinner, Ghost.”
“It’s time,” Corvus confirmed. “The doc gave the all-clear last night.”
“Merry fucking Christmas, babe.”