30. ONSET
THIRTY
onset
Pippa
The weekend settles over the mansion like a deep exhale. Morning light pours through the tall windows of Enzo’s bedroom, gilding everything it touches.
Or—I guess I should call this our bedroom now.
We moved fast. Literally and figuratively.
Hudson and I will still keep our properties in the city, but we packed the belongings we needed over the past few days and made it official.
We’ve moved in together in the quiet, intimate ways that matter most. Clothes migrating into shared drawers. Toothbrushes multiplying on the sink counter. Late nights tangled on the couch. Mornings waking wrapped in warmth and certainty.
I look over at the two of them as they sleep. Hudson’s hand rests absentmindedly in the curve of Enzo’s shoulder. My eyes sweep over to the beautiful and masculine arch of Hudson’s neck as his head rests on my shoulder.
I take in a deep breath and I feel…happy. No longer alone in a world that seeks to destroy. Claimed by two men who love and protect as fiercely as I do.
Love—steady and unafraid.
I feel whole.
Hudson stirs. A few chaste kisses later, Enzo joins the morning wake up call. Kisses, I love yous, reverent touches, and daily plans discussed.
We’ve invited Luna and Jules over, and we agree to rise and get ready before things get carried away. I get out of bed and shoot off a quick message.
Looking forward to seeing you both today. 11 still work?
Jules
Yes. Wrapping up a few things at the office and leaving soon.
Luna
Same.
I feel a little guilty. I stepped away from DC with a simple phone call, but they are still locked into everything that is going on with the mess of Troy’s death, the media take over, and the lead on Sophie.
We’ve kept each other up to speed the last couple of days about the plan for this upcoming party at DeShawn Crown’s place.
Eva, Enzo, and Niko have been helping out, even.
Meanwhile, I’ve been packing, unpacking, sleeping, baking, and having an extensive amount of sex. Actually, no. I don’t feel bad at all.
If they need my help, they’ll ask.
Luna and Jules have been nothing but happy for me. They are glad I’m taking this time to recoup and nest. Everyone is supportive of our goals to all step away later this year.
I identified a local medical school and even talked to Doc. She was so great with me the night she treated me. She was very encouraging of my plan and even offered to let me shadow her and her team. I’m excited.
An hour later, Enzo is at the stove, sleeves rolled up, hair slightly damp from his shower. He felt like cooking today. I didn’t even know he knew how to cook—I assumed Marco had been cooking for them since birth.
I like that our relationship is solid enough to all live together, but still new enough to discover each other. And I’m very drawn to this domestic side of Enzo.
Hudson sits at the island with his tablet, pretending to read something while watching Enzo with that soft, private look he never bothers hiding anymore.
We catch each other’s gaze and exchange a knowing look. Our man is fucking hot.
Eva came to the kitchen around the same time we did.
She’s perched on a stool next to Hudson with a mug between her hands, hair pulled into a loose knot.
She catches my eye and smiles. Real, unguarded.
It still hits me how far we’ve come, from suspicion and fear to this new normal.
She rolls her eyes and teases Hudson when she catches him ogling Enzo. It’s sweet.
“Niko just texted, Jules is here,” Enzo announces while flipping something that smells like heaven.
Jules steps into the kitchen, expression sharp and familiar and comforting all at once. Her gaze lands on me. “Look at you,” she says softly. “You look…peaceful.”
I smile because I am. The word fits so perfectly it almost makes my chest ache.
Hudson pours her a mug of coffee, and I steal a few minutes alone with her near the windows while Enzo finishes. Jules leans against the windowsill, arms crossed loosely, eyes studying me in that way she has since we were girls, like she’s checking for cracks.
“I’m good,” I tell her before she can ask. “Really good.”
She nods, relief easing the tension around her mouth. “I can see it. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, Jules. And you?” I ask gently. “You haven’t shared much about Jax. How’s it going working with him again?”
Her mouth doesn’t quite form a smile. “Complicated,” she answers honestly.
We share a quiet moment of understanding.
Her calm, steady energy is great in a pinch or under pressure, but in moments like this, when she’s contemplative and guarded, I want to push her.
Force her to let me in. That’s my nature, but I’ve learned over the years, it’s not hers.
She’ll tell me when she’s ready—she knows I’m here for her.
Enzo announces the food is ready and we all move to the dining room.
Hudson slides into the seat beside me. Jules sits across from me.
Enzo sets plates down and Eva moves to the table with a graceful confidence I have come to admire.
Everyone settles in, and the hum of domestic normalcy wraps around us.
I love it. I love sharing normal, everyday things with the people I care about. It feels suspiciously like family. I never had that. I never thought I’d find it, but somehow it found me.
We are laughing and chatting for a few minutes when Eva says, “The heat is officially off me for TruthDrop.”
“That’s great news,” I say. “How did that happen?”
“With the complete media takeover, they are now pointing fingers to an inside job. The general public believe TruthDrop must be a group of disgruntled government employees who have reach and access to do something at this scale.
“Ironic how when I actually join the effort and make a bigger splash, no one thinks I have the access to pull this off.” She rolls her eyes in faux annoyance, but I know she feels relieved.
“I’m just glad you’re not in danger anymore,” Enzo says.
Eva scoffs, reminding him that any of us can be in danger at any time.
I chuckle at the sibling banter.
“I’m really impressed,” Jules says. “You and Luna working together is…powerful. Troy’s funeral came and went and not a single news outlet was able to cover it live and once they got back on air, the narrative shifted to TruthDrop, trafficking rings, and government failures. It’s brilliant.”
“That man didn’t deserve fanfare and now the world knows it,” Enzo says with finality.
I love that we can all talk shop around the table, easy and normal. Everyone an open book, no more secrets.
When I catch the time on the clock above the stove, I see more time has passed than I realized. It’s strange that Luna isn’t here yet. She’s hardly late and always reaches out if she’s running behind.
“Anyone hear from Luna?” I look around the table, then check my phone. Everyone shakes their head.
Eva shoots off a text. When Luna doesn’t respond after a few minutes, the air grows heavy. This isn’t like her.
Jules calls her, then reports, “She’s not answering.”
“Check her location,” I instruct Eva. We’ve all been sharing our phone locations since the night of the gala.
“It has her at her house,” Eva says slowly.
“Didn’t she say she was at work?” Jules looks to me.
I nod.
“Why would she be at the office today?” Hudson asks.
“I don’t know—I just assumed, but you and Jax aren’t at the office today,” she says. Hudson looks at his plate, deep in thought.
Eva tries calling Luna next, still no answer.
Hudson tries her work phone, since the rest of us are using the burner. He has no luck either.
“How did you guys find Pippa the night at the biker bar?” Eva finally asks.
“That’s right,” Enzo says. “You said it wasn’t her phone, but we never came back to it.”
Jules and I look at each other. “Sorry, guys. Yeah, it slipped our mind. It’s not a secret.
” I look around the room, making eye contact with everyone, assuring them we aren’t hiding anything.
“I guess it just hasn’t come up. When we started on this path and things grew increasingly dangerous, we needed a way to find each other that wasn’t reliant on a phone or piece of tech,” I explain.
“The three of us have surgically implanted trackers at the base of our skulls, in our hairline. They are imperceptible, undetectable,” I tell them, lifting my hair to show the spot mine is located.
“It’s a GPS tracker that we can access from our devices or a browser,” Jules says as she pulls out her phone to open the app Luna created for us.
“Okay, that’s a little intense, but I get it. You three have always been so careful,” Eva says. “So, what does hers say now? Where is she?”
Jules’s face goes pale. She looks directly at me, her eyes wide.
My heart lurches. I stand immediately and go to Jules’s side so I can see what our app says.
Eva, beginning to panic now, asks again, “Where is she?”
Everyone crowds around Jules’s chair, looking at the phone.
“I’m not really sure,” Jules says in a measured tone. “It’s not HQ, it’s not her place or the warehouse. She’s on the outskirts. It looks like Embassy Row, maybe… Shit…”
Enzo's expression hardens. “That’s the Volkov estate.”
I look to him, then Hudson.
Hudson’s gaze sharpens in recognition.
“Wh—Why would Luna be at the Volkov estate?” Eva asks.
“Jules and I are just as surprised as you, I promise.”
Enzo and Hudson look nervous, but Eva is near panic.
Our phones vibrate at the same time. Jules and I both have a message from Luna.
Eva’s pings a moment later.
My hands tremble as I open my phone to read it.
Luna
I need to confront Junior. Alone. I found overlap in Malin’s files and the bug we’ve been running on Vale. The Hollywood parties, Sophie…the FBI is looking in the wrong place. Please don’t follow me. I need to do this on my own.
My heart seems to stop.
Jules gasps.
We lock eyes then look at Eva.
Her face crumbles as she reads her message. She sinks into the chair, tears welling, voice barely a whisper. “She says to please trust her.”
Silence crashes around us.
Luna is gone. She’s walking into the lion’s den.
Alone.
She found something that she doesn’t want us to know. Which can only mean that whatever she’s walking into is bigger, darker, and far more dangerous than any of us were ready for.
We don’t care what Luna says. She knows better than to think that we won’t follow her into danger.
I take a deep breath. “Jules and I are going to Junior’s.”
TO BE CONTINUED…