Chapter 53
fifty-three
I wanted her to be here, but there hasn’t been any sign of her since that fateful night four months ago. Kenzi has all but dropped off the map. Matthias says that there is hope for her since she didn’t seem to respond fully to the built-in command she was been given over the phone.
A phrase word.
A trigger.
Fuck.
I still call her phone every day and leave messages. She has to be listening to them, otherwise her voicemail would be full, so at least I know she hears me. Which is why I am currently waiting for the nondescript beep to sound.
Beep.
“I know you’re listening to these messages, Kenzi.
” I sigh into the phone. “Please come home. You’re my sister.
You were my sister the moment I stepped into that horrible house after my mother died and you snuck cookies into my room and held me as I cried.
You will always be my sister, no matter what they did to you.
Growing up, I tried to save you from everything Elias did to me, but I didn’t save you at all.
You saved me. Every single day. And it breaks my heart that you aren’t here right now.
We talked about this day, remember? Made vision boards and laughed about who would be the lucky one. I miss you. Pleas…”
Beep.
The fucking machine cuts me off.
With a huff, I throw the phone down. This is the happiest day of my life, and yet the three people I always imagined sharing it with aren’t here. Libby is dead. I still haven’t managed to find Maleah, and now Kenzi is in the wind as well.
So much for that.
Still, even with them not being here, I can’t help but love that he did this for me. Giving me exactly what I’ve dreamed of and didn’t tell me until precisely six this morning when he dragged me out of bed after eating me out within an inch of my life.
Who needs an alarm clock when you have a husband who can’t get enough of you?
At least this one isn’t a fraud wedding.
Apparently, he even got a real minister.
One who wasn’t bribed this time.
“You look beautiful,” my mother whispers, tears shining in her eyes as she takes me in.
A vision in ivory. Matthias, the possessive, controlling asshat that he is, even picked out the dress.
It is, begrudgingly, exactly what I have always dreamed of wearing.
It is a delicate vintage lace ivory sheath with small, capped sleeves.
My red curls hang loosely around my face, which has only the slightest hint of makeup on it. Exactly how I have always planned it.
“So do you,” I whisper softly, my voice hitching slightly.
She wears a sage green maxi halter dress that clings to her developing curves.
She has taken on a good amount of weight now that she isn’t living off bottled nutrition.
Her red hair, which was chin length while she was in a coma, now comes down to just above her shoulders in gentle ginger waves.
A sob threatens to crawl its way up my throat at the sight of her.
I never thought in my wildest dreams that my mother would ever get the chance to walk me down the aisle, and now I not only have her, but my birth father as well.
A loving family.
A dysfunctional, loving family, but a family, nonetheless.
“No crying, now,” she chastises playfully. “You’ll ruin your makeup.”
“Totally worth it.” I sniff.
She smiles softly at me and holds out her hand.
“Come on,” she whispers. “He’s waiting for you.”
“Maybe we should make a run for it?” I smirk. My mother laughs.
“I looked into that option for you,” she admits. “He has guards on every entrance and exit. Good luck.”
We laugh as she leads me from the room and into the large foyer of our new home.
That is the other surprise he laid out for me.
The man went and purchased a Queen Anne Victorian that is, admittedly, built in 2008, but it holds a perfect old-world charm that blends perfectly with his need for modern structure.
“We’ll move in right after our honeymoon,” he whispered in my ear. “Our house. Our home.”
I smirk when I take in the three other smaller buildings spread across the vast property he managed to secure in the middle of Seattle.
Matthias shrugged and said, “Well, this specific house is ours. The other ones are for the guys. And your mom if she wants it.”
It is perfect.
With a small smile, my mother hands me off to my father, who waits by a set of double doors that lead into the large solarium. He is wearing a sharp black suit, his graying hair styled neatly.
“Well, lass,” he winks at me. “You sure clean up well.”
“So do you.” I laugh and take the arm he offers me.
He leans down until he can whisper in my ear. “Now,” he whispers seriously. “There are four exit possibilities by door. Seven by window. We could easily take out a few of the guards before he notices. The twins offered to provide a distraction if needed, but time’s a ticking, sweet girl.”
Throwing my head back, I laugh, long and hard, squeezing my father’s arm tightly in a hug. The doors swing open, and everyone turns to look at me while I laugh like a maniac.
Whoops.
Matthias narrows his eyes at my father, no doubt guessing exactly what he says, but when his gaze shifts to me, he freezes. The man has seen me in a wedding dress before, but something about this is different. We aren’t playacting or on guard, waiting for an attack.
It is just us.
Me and him and all the orgasms he still owes me for breaking my heart.
This is definitely a step in the right direction.
The music begins to play a soft instrumental rendition of “Without You” by Ursine Vulpine. This is our song. Our promise twisted into the words of the song like a creeping vine.
We are in this together.
Forever by each other’s side.
And that is all that either of us needs.
It is well past ten by the time everyone has said their goodbyes, and we are on our way to the airport. Matthias is finishing up some work on his laptop before we arrive at the airfield so that he won’t be required to work on our honeymoon.
Le sigh.
A honeymoon. Although the fucker still hasn’t told me where we are going. He even packed my suitcase so I can’t guess. I am hoping for somewhere warm and tropical, where I can drink margaritas all day by the pool and get a tan.
A real tan.
Not a Washington tan.
My phone beeps in my hand, and I turn it over to see who has texted me. I think it might be my mother, who I am still nervous about leaving on her own, but Matthias assures me everything is taken care of, and that Liam is going to watch out for her while we are gone.
That does nothing to assuage my anxiety.
She moved out of my father’s apartments over a month ago and into an apartment downtown. Matthias secured her a job as the assistant to one of the attorneys on his payroll. I told him she can be my assistant, but my husband has to go and be all logical about my mother needing her own space.
Whatever.
Guilt gnaws at me when I brush that statement off, because he is right.
She is my mother, but she needs to have her own identity and be her own person.
I am not a kid anymore, and I know that is hard for her.
Sometimes I catch her looking at me with a sad sort of nostalgic aura bleeding heavily around her.
She missed out on so much of my life.
Not that it was spectacular or anything.
Still, all of those firsts are gone.
Sighing, I look down at the text on my screen. It is from an unknown number.
A picture of me in my wedding dress walking down the aisle pops up, and under it is a message.
Unknown
I’m so proud of you, big sister. You will always be my hero, but it isn’t safe for me to be around anyone right now. Stop calling. I love you. -K
I snort. Like that is going to happen.
Looking back at the photo, I realize that Kenzi would have to be right out the front window of the solarium to get this shot. Is she close by or is this using a telephoto lens? Either way, she is there for me. Again. Watching from the shadows.
Typing a message, I press send and toss the phone into my bag as our car comes to a stop outside of the small, private airport. I am not giving up on her, and I won’t stop looking.
Fola roimh gach ní eile.
Blood before all else.
This war is far from over, but right now, I take the win and am happy for what it gives me.
A loving family and a man I can’t live without.