Chapter 31
Sun streams through the windows, and Bailey stirs, her lashes fluttering. I had the best sleep of my life, rejuvenating every cell in me. After seven days, her absence became unbearable, and the last nail to my sanity threatened to unscrew.
She’s so beautiful it tugs at my heartstrings, my chest vibrating with this all-encompassing love. My hungry eyes sweep over her elegant features, those delicate freckles, defined cheeks, and full lips. Her strawberry long and shiny hair cascades around her like a river of flames. I am too weak to withstand her, so I lower my head and brush a kiss on the tip of her nose.
A smile grazes her lips, but she keeps her eyes closed. I move on to her cheeks next, trailing kisses all over her face before I reach her mouth. She opens for me, her arms crossing around my neck, and we kiss languidly.
Just as I am about to give in to my need for more, there’s a knock on the door.
“Good morning, Miss Fairchild and Mister Prescott. Breakfast will be served soon,” Samuel announces through the door.
“He’s such a cockblocker,” I groan, and she giggles, those heavenly sounds making me believe I am living in paradise while still being alive.
“A quickie?” I suggest, needing back inside my heaven.
“I like how you think.”
We lose track of time, so we dress quickly and hurry out of the room, but I wouldn’t change a damn thing.
Our friends sit at the dining table, breathing a sigh of relief. My chest lightens, knowing they have my back. While the guys sparred with me, the girls were there fussing over me.
“As you two were late,” Cassandra begins, and Bailey and I exchange a secretive look. Judging by the pointed stares we’re getting, though, we’re not being stealthy at all.
Not that I care.
She continues, “You’ll stay here over the weekend.”
“And afterward?” I ask, not wanting to go back to the college house if Bailey’s not there.
“We’ll figure it out,” she replies.
That sounds promising, so my good mood is at an unprecedented high as we sit next to each other, holding hands throughout breakfast.
“We should get used to living at the estate. Once I am the patriarch, each of us will have an apartment here,” Kaden says, and the girls share an excited look.
Dane places a hand on his chest. “Aww, are you getting emotional?”
“He can’t live without us,” Blake says to egg him on.
“I still have time to change my mind,” Kaden grumbles, and then he winces. Most surely, Celine did something to him under the table.
“Mother would have been proud of you. You’ve redefined what the Family has always strived to be but failed to achieve because of greed and a thirst for power.”
“I can definitely speak for the group when I say that’s the last thing we want,” Kaden says.
When we all nod, Cassandra shows a rare sign of emotion, her eyes turning glassy.
“Now head to campus. Samuel will prepare something for you when you return.”
Our friends trickle out one after the other, able to love each other openly.
Unable to resist, I back Bailey against the wall next to the front door and kiss her with such intensity that, by the end of the kiss, we’re both gasping for air.
I place one more kiss on the tip of her nose, missing her already. “See you after classes, love.”
“And in between.” But what she doesn’t say is even more clear. She knows I’m there, watching over her from the shadows.
“Do you mind me watching you?”
A radiant smile kisses her face. “No, on the contrary—it makes me feel close to you.”
She’s perfect, but most importantly, she’s perfect for me.
I don’t care when I spot the asshole at the gates. Eric’s jaw sets in a hard line as he glares at me.
Smirking, I wave at him from Kaden’s car.
“Sadly, we’re not lucky enough for him to burst a vein,” Blake says as he watches him and waves at him, too, sticking up his middle finger.
“Abigail and I had dinner on campus, and he was there trying to befriend us. I could so easily run him over,” Dane sighs as if sad he can’t do just that.
“He asked Celine if we can go on a double date. I want to piss off that guy and you’re fucking his fiancée so… I can’t wait to reveal that to him,” Kaden smirks.
“Still, we have to find fucking Felix first,” I say through gnashed teeth.
“It’s just a matter of time now,” Blake says resolutely.
I focus on that because time is ticking and not at all in my favor.
“It will still be a PR disaster,” Dane says.
Kaden shrugs. “We’ll make the news disappear. And if people want to stay in our circle, they’ll have to never mention the engagement again.”
“What better way to show that if you betray us, we’ll ruin you,” I conclude.
***
Samuel outdid himself. When we come back from campus, the ATVs are lined up in front of the estate. He hands us a map of the compound, explaining that whoever brings the flag home will earn a carte blanche from him—a favor everyone wants. Samuel knows everything that happens around here.
As we take off, it becomes clear that he hasn’t made the quest easy for us. Every time we reach a point marked on the map, another riddle awaits us. What starts as a fun scavenger hunt quickly turns into a competition.
Hours pass as we speed across the estate, chasing after the flag.
I hear the other ATVs nearing, and Bailey says from hers, “We have to hurry.”
Revving up, we’re the first to reach the flag planted in the middle of a meadow.
“Ugh,” Celine whines when she reaches us, always the competitive one.
“I knew that quickie would cost us,” Abi huffs.
But I have my eyes on my sister because she’s a master thief.
“Don’t even think about it,” I tell her. Just to make sure, Bailey and I ride back to the estate, where Samuel waits with refreshments at the foot of the entrance stairs.
“Congratulations,” he says, dipping his head.
To make it official, he gives us a certificate with our names handwritten on it and his signature.
Celine crosses her arms. “I want a rematch.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Langley. This was a one-time thing.”
“It’s obvious you favor them,” Abi mumbles next.
“Stop being sore losers, you two,” Mia says, congratulating us.
Bailey gives Samuel the flag, and then I pull her to my side.
“We make a good team,” she smiles, tipping her chin up to me.
I arch an arrogant brow. “Did you have any doubts about that?”
“When we’re together, it feels so perfect that there’s not a single one.”
“I’ll have a lifetime to obliterate any. Our connection runs deeper than the physical and surpasses the emotional. Our souls are irrevocably interlinked.”
I palm her chest, and she does the same, our hearts beating in sync, thumping with the undeniable truth.
Moving toward the second floor, we gather around the lounge area. Abi gestures from the left to the right wing. “There won’t be a problem turning it into four apartments, but who’s taking which side?”
By the end of the discussion, Bailey and I, along with Kaden and Celine, claim the west wing. Mia, Blake, Abi, and Dane take the east wing.
As Abi starts sketching potential renovation plans, I nudge Bailey toward our room.
She looks up at me with hopeful eyes, but there’s a hint of fear in her voice. “It feels good, doesn’t it?”
I hate that, so I quickly assure her, wanting to obliterate her fears. “It is. We’ll be fine, angel.” I can’t even entertain a different outcome.
After we shower, I change and wait for Bailey to get ready in the walk-in closet. You just had her , I remind myself, but she’s too damn tempting to stay away from for long. As if she has a telescope pointed at my thoughts, she says, “Not that I am complaining, but everyone will know why we’re late again.”
“They didn’t suffer from withdrawal like me.”
“You poor baby.”
“Poor cock.”
She bites her bottom lip, giving me a once over. “I think I am taking fabulous care of that.”
“You surpass what taking care implies.”
A proud grin tugs at the corners of her lips as we walk out of the room. We are the first to arrive for Friday night dinner. The group follows next, arriving just in time. Being punctual has been ingrained in us to where we can’t behave any differently.
As dinner is served, a light atmosphere engulfs the table.
Cassandra sweeps her gaze over us and then says, “Felix is in England.”
The clatter of knives halts as we all stare at her.
“Rebecca had him on the phone long enough for us to intercept the signal,” she adds.
“This is great news. We can finally put all our focus on one country, and not the entire damn planet,” Kaden says in obvious relief.
“Why England, though?” Abi asks.
A very good question, but it’s irrelevant. I just care about going after him already.
She clears her throat. “There’s more.”
With every fiber of my being, I sense that I won’t like this part.
“Eric asked my permission for a weekend away in London,” Cassandra announces.
“No,” I say, gripping the knife so hard it might snap.
Bailey places her hand over mine. “It’s okay. This is what we have been waiting for.”
While she focuses on the freedom we’ll gain, I focus on the hazards and everything that could go wrong.
“We have a week to plan it,” Kaden says, glancing over the group. They all nod in unison.
I want to say no; I want to use my veto and keep Bailey as far away from danger as possible. But each of us has a role to fulfill, and this is hers.
Watching her, I see resolution oozing from her. All those months of training flash before my eyes. She’s come so far. My kitten has grown into a full panther—strong, capable, and ready to take on this mission, even if I don’t like it.
I am terrified of losing her. But I am even more terrified of smothering her with my protectiveness. She’s my equal, my partner, and I will never clip her wings. Instead, I’ll help her build them—strong as steel.
“The decision has been made, and we can all put this behind us soon,” Cassandra says.
Blake’s jaw tightens. “Don’t ask us to bring him back alive.”
“I won’t. The hardest part is upholding morality. Once you make an exception, you can never change it.”
“Ma’am, with all due respect, you are the best matriarch we could have wished for,” Mia says.
Cassandra smiles fondly at her. “I want you to promise me that you won’t allow darkness to consume you. That’s another type of power, and its dark allure is magnetic. I am asking you not to kill out of anger or spite, but because you’re defending yourself.”
“With one exception,” Kaden says, and no one is against it.
We endured too much shit because of Felix. Not only are we motivated by revenge but also by the promise of peace of mind and ultimate freedom.
As I glance at my friends, it’s clear—the competition of who will get to Felix first has officially begun.
Every one of us has our reasons for killing him. And one of us will.
When Cassandra retires for the night, a pregnant silence falls over the group for a few seconds. We watch each other, the weight of everything we’ve been through thick in the air.
“One more week,” Bailey says softly, and a reverent yes follows in response.
“We have lived looking over our shoulders for months now. I’ve forgotten what it’s like living at ease,” Celine says in a small voice.
“To freedom,” Kaden says, and we lift our glasses in a toast. That has always been our ritual when something big happens.
“To life,” Celine says.
“To love,” Mia says.
“To hope,” Blake says.
“To dreams coming true,” Abigail says.
“To the future,” Dane says.
“To peace,” Bailey says.
“To Family,” I end.
While time is not on our side, we have to ensure nothing goes wrong with our plan. I am so close to getting my hands on Felix, my body vibrates with energy.
But as soon as Bailey places her cheek on my shoulder, my attention returns to her. She yawns softly, and I carry her upstairs.
“I’m not that tired,” she murmurs.
Sure . “I just love carrying you.”
She looks me straight in the eyes. “Promise me it will always be like this.”
“I promise, angel. Every heartbeat of mine is a testament to that vow.”
“And also promise me we’ll grow old together.”
She’s nervous, which is understandable. There’s always risk involved in a mission. I feel her like I do myself.
“I promise to do whatever is in my power and beyond to fulfill all your dreams.”
“Because you love me?”
I palm her cheek, and she leans into my touch. “I not only love you, I adore and am obsessed with you. I am selfish, Bailey, wanting you only for myself. Wanting for you to love me the most. Mad to have you every way I can get you. My life is irrevocably intertwined with yours.”
She places a soft kiss on my mouth. “I love you like I’ll never love anyone else.”
“Maybe our children. You can love them just as much.”
She giggles. “Thank you. That is very generous of you.”
“Smart ass.”
I place her on the bed and tug at her clothes, discarding them on the floor before I climb under the covers with her. Skin to skin, where every inch of mine is in contact with hers, is addictive.
“Now let’s practice making those kids of ours.”
“I think we have that mastered.”
I gasp in faux horror. “We can never practice enough for something so important.”