Chapter 24 #2
Damon. He’s sitting on a corner sofa, using the armrests to do that evil villain hands thing where they form a triangle.
Like this was some sort of plot twist where I don’t know which one’s worse.
My oldest brother, Damon, who’s trying to outmaneuver a deadly Adel.
Or Darius, who’s so deep in his sleeper agent mode and addicted to Kys that I don’t know if his sob story about his son holds up.
If I were him, I would’ve turned against my daddy handler a long time ago and fled with my family.
But honestly, maybe, I’m the worst. ‘Cause clearly I don’t give a shit about what they do either way. If Damon wants to attract trouble, that’s his problem. And if Darius is in deeper shit, then the hell am I supposed to do?
I got family of my own now. Lix, Em and I are expecting, and she’ll only pop more babies out for us from here on out. I’m gonna put ‘em first above everything.
Okay, so yeah, maybe I don’t get it. I don’t know why Damon and Darius are taking these messy routes in life, but I’m getting paid hefty for this job, so I keep lookin’ through my scope, making sure I shoot anything that endangers Damon.
He looks fine on his own anyway. The man doesn’t even look afraid. He’s talking like this is some chat over cigars and whiskey, not a lethal mission gone wrong.
Their mouths are moving. Darius’ lips are moving fast. No resting-funeral-director face here. He seems pretty damn angry.
Damon doesn’t look affected. He takes out his phone and shows the lit screen to Darius.
When I move my focus on the small screen, I can see a tiny human, all bundled up, who looks a lot like Darius. So I’m guessing that’s Darius’ son that Set’s been holding over his head.
Okay, I get it. Poor guy. I’d do anything to make sure my kid was okay.
Damon’s talking now. Still can’t hear him. It looks like a real serious conversation.
But I can’t handle all that seriousness, so I joke around, deepening my voice to mimic him.
“Darius, I’ve ensured your heir’s safety in exchange for trading in my soul to Set.
” I giggle in between mocking Damon’s stupidly deep voice.
“You don’t need to do this anymore. Also, I’m a prick, and Stan’s the best Song-Smith brother with the biggest dick. Not me. Kaye lied about that.”
I run out of things to poke fun at Damon, but they’re still talking. I think Damon’s trying to snap Darius completely out of Kys-nosis.
But who knows? And who cares?
I’m bored, so I just keep looking.
To be honest, now that I’m staring hard at them—since there’s nothing to do—it’s sorta unsettling how similar they are. Two older brothers from two different families, but they have like, really shitty responsibilities.
I notice other things too. Or maybe my bored-as-hell brain has nothing better to do than make stuff up, but…
Damon and Darius have those similar oldest brother genes, maybe? Different eye colors, sure, but the shape’s identical. Same sharp angles. Same cold stare. Same look on two men who probably learned too young how to carry too much.
Well, that must’ve been a bitch.
Then Damon lifts his hand, taking me out of my thoughts.
Yes!
That’s my signal, so I don’t give a fuck what happens next.
Chuckling to myself, I grin. Darius is giving himself up. Damon got to him.
And I’m done. Ready to go home. I want my people. I want their warm bodies. I want out.
So I start breaking down my setup. Time to call it a day and go back to the loves of my life.
After quickly stuffing everything into my duffel, I pull my phone out while I’m standing, joints crackin’ like they’re pissed at me.
My thumb taps at my phone until it finds Em. She picks up fast.
“Stan?” Em sounds worried.
Over me?
I could cry. So could my cock.
Down, boy!
“Hey, gorgeous,” I greet her happily. “Everything’s all handled. I’m comin’ home to you and Lix, safe and sound, and so ready for snuggles. Also, sex. Tons of that, if you could get ready for your good boy.”
She clicks her tongue. I press the phone to my mouth and smooch it like a complete idiot, not even ashamed about it.
I step into the elevator and hit the button to parking, leaning back against the mirror wall like my body remembered it’s allowed to relax. “So tell your man how your day went, doc.”
“Oh,” Em says, sounding surprised.
I can hear her shuffling around, in bed maybe? Thinking of me with her hand down her pants, I hope.
She talks, sounding so cute. “About an hour ago, I gave Lix a pill that Idris made for him. He’s been sound asleep since.”
Relief hits me so hard my shoulders sag. “Nice,” I murmur. “That’s really good news.”
She hums, amused.
“And what about you, huh?” I ask. “You holdin’ up okay?”
“I am,” she says, all soft and pretty. “A lot better now after hearing from you. I suppose I’m not used to not having you around, so I missed you.”
“Yeah?” I say, chuckling like a schoolkid over his crush. “Missed ya too.”
The elevator’s moving down fast. My eyes track the floors I’m passing, seeing a missing thirteenth button.
“But for real, Em, how was your day? What’d you do today?”
She tells me all about it. I tell her dumb shit about mine. She flirts with me. I make her laugh. I kiss the phone some more like a goddamn idiot and don’t even care how sappy I’ve become.
Well, sappier, really. Guess love changes a guy.
“I can’t wait to see you,” she says like she didn’t just shoot straight into the heart.
My chest tightens in the most diabolical way. “Give me like, ten minutes,” I tell her. “I’ll drive like a maniac, so you can see me as soon as possible, Em.”
She sighs. “Please do not speed.”
“I make no promises,” I say.
The elevator dings, and I step out, feet moving fast.
“Um, Stan?” she asks.
I grunt in response, popping my trunk and tossing my bag in like muscle memory’s running the show while my brain’s elsewhere. On Em, really. On her body. Her brain too. And her heart.
“Certainly you must be aware that I’ve been rather hormonal, so forgive me for being forward,” she starts saying.
Holy hell, she sounds so serious, so I stop whatever I’m doing, including thinking altogether. I listen real close, knowing what she’ll say will wrench my heart some more, but I don’t mind it. I love it when she wrecks me, in any way she wants.
She takes a deep breath before letting it out, long and loud. Then she says, “Lately, I’ve appreciated honesty more and more.”
She keeps going, voice even, like she’s not about to completely rearrange my internal organs with just her words. I can tell whatever she’ll say is gonna mean a whole hell a lot.
“When I was administering Lix’s dose today, I told him it has been irrevocably moving to receive his affection, as well as yours, so…” She clears her throat. “I told him I love him.”
I stop dead with my hand on the trunk lid.
“And I’d like you to know that I love you too,” she says.
The trunk closes louder than I mean it to. It just dropped when I went reaching for my heart, tracing the tattoo that’s been there before I met Em. Before I knew someone as magnificent and smart and incredible and sexy as her could’ve ever existed. E for her, all along.
I stand there for a second, phone on my ear, staring at absolutely nothing while my heart forgets how to do its job.
My chest feels too full, like someone shoved air into it and forgot to let any out.
I swallow air once. Then again.
But it’s useless.
My brain fires off around a hundred responses at the same time, and none of them make it to my mouth.
She said she loves me…?
And it’s because she’s knocked up and hormonal?
Fuck, I gotta keep her pregnant all the time.
All. The. Time.
Breeding kink unlocked. Never going back.
I drag a hand down my face, fingers digging into my jaw.
“Jesus, Em,” I mutter, sounding rough. “You can’t just drop that on a guy.”
She giggles so damn adorably. “My apologies, Stan.”
I start walking again, because if I stay still too long I might actually have to deal with how hard this is hitting me.
“I love you too,” I whisper super quick when I realize I haven’t said it back. “I’ve loved you, Em. You’ve been the final boss of my damn nervous system since the second I saw you.”
Laughing at my own dumb pickup line, I run my fingers through my hair, realizing I’m sweating worse than when I was sniping down dummies.
“I sound like an idiot, don’t I?” I joke.
“You don’t sound like an idiot,” she says.
“Strong disagree,” I snort, rubbing at my chest like that might calm it down. “I feel like my heart just did a backflip and forgot how to land. Got any recommendations to fix me, doc?”
She smiles. I can hear it. “I wouldn’t fix a single thing about you, Stan, except perhaps your promise to speed. For my sake and Lix’s, please come home but drive safely.”
“Yeah, sure, gorgeous, just wait for me,” I say, opening my car door and sliding in, still grinning. “I’m coming home to you, okay?”
“Okay, Stan. See you soon.”
She gives me the tiniest, faintest smooch, and then she hangs up.
But I’m sitting here for a few more seconds, chuckling quietly to myself like I’ve completely lost my damn mind.
I might’ve, but I don’t care. I have the loves of my life to come home to, and yeah, Em said I should drive safe. Still, I drive as fast as possible to get back to ‘em.
‘Cause I just can’t wait.