Chapter 39
Raiden
It’s been far too long since I’ve spent Thanksgiving with family.
I didn’t know the guys well enough last year for it not to have been awkward if I joined their festivities.
As for the years prior, between college and the police academy, I didn’t make it home very often.
I usually reserved my leave for Christmas break.
But everything’s different now, and despite knowing that I have my sister joining us today–my blood–I’m keenly aware that even if she weren’t attending, I’d still be celebrating with family.
By some unlikely miracle, the four of us have put aside our differences–for the most part–and come together for a common goal: to take care of Andi and make her as happy as possible.
If someone told me that this is where my life would take me when I first moved to Chaplain, I’d have thought they were crazy.
The fact I’m even willing to entertain the idea of a polyamorous relationship speaks volumes about how badly I want a future with Andi.
I’m not sure there’s much I wouldn’t do to make that happen.
I know we’re on rocky ground, and that much-needed conversation with the guys still has to happen, but I can see it working so clearly in my head: this unconventional family formed under the direst of circumstances.
But we’d flourish, despite the odds being stacked against us, not because we’re bound by tragedy, but because five different souls were called to one another and refused to let anything separate them.
Not their own hang-ups. Not societal norms. Not a damn thing, because there are few things in life that you’ll risk everything for, and in the deepest depths of my being, I know that Andi, Hudson, and the baby in her belly would have the four of us waging wars on their behalf.
“Hey, you,” Mia chimes from the doorway of my borrowed bedroom. She’s dressed impeccably, as usual. I’d be willing to bet that a large portion of her law firm salary is allocated to her designer shoe fund.
“Hey,” I voice hesitantly. “I wasn’t expecting you until later.
” As thrilled as I am to have my sister here visiting, I know I’m not immune to her penchant for getting a person to spill their darkest secrets within the span of a five-minute chat.
She might’ve conceded over our lunch meeting the other day, but if Mia is determined to know something, there’s little that can stop her.
“I figured we could spend some time together beforehand, just the two of us?” she questions innocently, but I’m not the sucker I used to be when she’d first started carefully concocting her sentence structure, wording things just right so you’d think her intentions were pure.
It’s no wonder she turned out to be a lawyer; she’s been choreographing her every interaction since she was a kid, steering her victims exactly where she wants them.
“Sounds great,” I agree with a roll of my eyes, making sure she’s aware that I’m on to her. “Let’s head to the rooftop.” I opt for privacy, not wanting the others to overhear whatever it is she feels the need to say.
We have enough obstacles in our way; the last thing we need is for someone close to us to compound on that and plant more doubt.
Based on Colsen’s recent behavior, how withdrawn he’s been, and the cutting remarks he continues to hurl at Dayton, nothing about moving forward with this tenuous plan for us to all date Andi is going to be easy.
In fact, I think we’ll have to fight tooth and nail to reach a place where it’s no longer strange and awkward, but I’m certain it’s doable.
And it’s the only way that no one gets hurt, especially Andi.
The guys’ apartment is blessedly quiet as we make our way to the rooftop.
I’m fairly certain that Dayton is next door at my place, and I know for a fact that Briggs is.
He barely leaves Andi’s side. The early-morning chill is biting as we exit onto the terrace, the stillness of Chaplain feeling ominous somehow.
Even for a holiday, it’s too quiet. There’s no rustling of the deadened leaves scattered across the courtyard.
No church bells chiming in the distance.
No sounds of traffic or life of any kind.
It’s like the entirety of this place is holding its breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Or maybe it’s just my growing repulsion for living here, so close to where Andi was held prisoner while the rest of us went about our lives, none the wiser.
How many times did I think I was having a shitty day, pissed off at the universe for never giving me a break?
And during those moments, what was Andi enduring?
How did my shitty measure up to her shitty?
What about the other victims, who were never freed from that concrete fortress once they set foot inside of it?
Over two months later, and we’re still exhuming their remains.
The only relief I feel after hearing that a new grave has been unearthed is that their final resting place won’t be on tainted ground.
After standing in silence, staring over the brick balustrade at the utter stillness surrounding us, I finally heave a sigh and mutter, “ Say whatever’s on your mind, Mia.
But just know that no matter what you have to say, it won’t change anything.
” Her fingers tap together in a staccato rhythm, a clear indication she’s weighing her words.
“It’s not just the half-naked one that stumbled from your bedroom the other day,” she starts, finally turning to face me.
“It’s all of you, isn’t it?” Her perceptiveness still shocks me, though it really shouldn’t after all the times she’s picked apart what I’ve said and homed in on what I didn’t.
I press my lips together, the two of us at an impasse.
“Jesus, Raiden,” Mia swears, shaking her head as she begins to pace.
“Mam?e is going to have a coronary!” Her harsh assumption makes me flinch.
No one wants to disappoint their mother, but even the thought of her never speaking to me again isn’t enough to dissuade me from trying my damnedest to make this work.
“Keep your mouth shut, Mia,” I all but growl in irritation. “If and when I decide to speak to our parents about this, it’ll be on my terms, from my mouth,” I punctuate adamantly.
“So you’re admitting there is a this?” she retorts, looking me up and down, as if she doesn’t recognize her own brother.
“I’m not admitting to shit,” I snap. “Technically, there’s nothing to admit to…
yet. We all have feelings for Andi, and she has feelings for us.
We haven’t properly discussed what that means, but we’re aware that the only way Andi doesn’t lose everyone, and us her, is if we agree to something that’s deemed unconventional.
I can’t fathom my life without her, Mia.
I’d give up everything if I had to, so why can’t I share her affections with the other three men who are just as devoted to her happiness and well-being as I am?
” I implore, wanting her to understand, but knowing if she doesn’t, it won’t sway my decision.
No one but the five of us has to cosign this arrangement, and as much as I love my family, there’s no scenario in which Andi doesn’t come first. Always.
“Do you realize what this could do to your career, little brother?” she probes gently, as if a job warrants tossing aside the love of my life.
“And the big one; he’s a teacher, right?
What do you think the parents of this ultra-conservative town are going to say about their sweet little hellions being taught by someone who doesn’t share traditional family values?
They’re going to say they’re impressionable and it’s not appropriate.
They’ll make it a whole thing and rally the troops for the next Board of Education meeting, where they’ll proceed to rip apart your friend’s character and paint him as some hedonistic deviant intent on corrupting their children. ”
“Did your research, huh?” I snidely comment. “Or should I say, Belmont Astor did?”
“If you thought he’d take on Andi as a client without digging up every skeleton he could find, then you’re mistaken about the man you want to hire.
He’s a bulldog, Raiden. There’s a reason he wins every case he represents, and it’s not because he gets caught unaware, mid-trial, with damning evidence his client conveniently forgot to mention.
” She shakes her head in dismay, as if she knows something I don’t and doesn’t want to be the one to tell me.
“During Bel’s deep-dive into all things Andi, he discovered a sub-thread that was buried amongst a hundred others, discussing the four of you and your relevance to the case. ”
“Okay?” I retort, having expected this. It was only a matter of time before someone uncovered our identities.
“You don’t understand, Raiden,” Mia states, her worry shining back at me through our matching brown eyes. “That thread led to a private Discord that’s dedicated to the five of you. Bel was able to get in under the guise of having exclusive photos to sell, which I had to provide.”
“What the fuck, Mia?!” I growl menacingly, the threat in my voice something I’ve never even considered directing at my sister before. “You took photos of us without my knowledge?”
“I had to!” she exclaims, resuming her pacing. “And thank fuck I did, because we’d be clueless about their intentions if I hadn’t.”
“What does that even mean?” I ask, wanting to shake the answers from her.