Chapter 28 #2
“Or someone she’s been working closely with.
” Madi’s a spitfire who doesn’t back down from a fight.
The expression she flashes my way tells me she’ll fight for Savvy the same way I’d fight for Braxton.
“I refuse to believe it’s a coincidence that all the shitty reporters were assigned to Savvy at the golf tournament.
That was deliberate, and you all know it. ”
“Kristen.” Her name slips through clenched teeth like a curse. “She’s been working for Omni-Reyes since before your wedding.”
“If I were writing this mystery…” Clover speaks up. When she finds all our eyes on her, she shrinks in on herself and lowers her voice. “The villain would be Kristen, trying to frame Quinn. What I would have to figure out though, is how Kristen is tied to Savvy’s past.”
“I’ve never met her before,” Savvy says.
“Maybe not,” Elle says. She’s frowning at Savvy’s plate too. Is this the first time she’s noticed that one of her best friends has a worrying relationship with food? “But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know you…or someone who wants to hurt you.”
“Maybe numbers four, five, and six are connected, then,” Braxton mumbles, staring at the list. “Savvy’s past, the snitch, and/or the mole.”
Could Kristen have a connection to the DeVanes or the Ashfords? Could Quinn?
“How good are the Harringtons at their job?” Pops asks. He’s been unusually quiet.
“They’re the best,” Braxton says, still staring at the list. “Easily top two in the entire world when it comes to private protection and global security. They can find a shadow in the dark at this point.”
“You’ve been quiet, Pops.” It sounds as though I’m picking a fight, but for once, I’m not. Pops has never been so silent in all the time I’ve known him, and something feels off.
“Mea lux,” he whispers, and I follow his line of sight. He’s staring at Savvy’s firefly tattoo on the inside of her heel that I’ve never given enough attention to.
But I look closer now, with his words in my head, and my skin heats as I narrow my focus, not on the firefly but the line of text that trails behind it, making it appear to glow, and it causes my brain to short-circuit.
The text is a delicate thread, so it’s easy to miss.
It’s just two little words—mea lux. My hand fists the same two words on my lucky coin so tightly, the ribbed edges of it cut into my palm.
“What did you just say?” I ask.
His murky gaze meets mine. “Mea lux.”
My light.
“Where did you hear that?” My breathing is labored.
“What does it mean?” Elle asks.
“It’s Latin,” Clover says, staring wide-eyed at Savvy. “It means ‘my light.’”
“It’s also what’s carved into the coin that Ace gave Grey.” Braxton’s worried expression is focused on the hand in my pocket that might now be bleeding.
“Where did you hear that?” I repeat, fairly confident that Pops wouldn’t have pronounced it correctly on his own.
“The last time Ace visited,” Pops says with a heavy sigh. “He was muttering it and mentioning you and Savvy.”
My finger reaches out and traces Savvy’s tattoo. She gasps and pulls away, but I had to confirm it was real.
“Geez, Pops. The last time you pulled out an old Ace story, you gave half my inn away to a near stranger.” Madi’s tone is laced with frustration, but the curve of her lips contradicts it.
Sure, Pops and Ace pulled a shady deal that could have potentially cost Madi her inn, but it all worked out in the end.
“Ace wasn’t a fortune teller. There’s no way he could’ve foreseen these events.” I’ll be the voice of reason if no one else will.
“But he likely knew that when he rescued Savvy in Vegas, he unwittingly put an even bigger target on her back,” Braxton muses, rubbing Madi’s stiff shoulders.
“When did you get the tattoo?” My question draws curious glances, and soon, everyone is peering down at Savvy’s heel.
“After…” She crosses her leg and unconsciously presses her middle finger to her firefly. “On the way home from Vegas. Ace said I needed to always remember to be my own light.” She shrugs, but I can tell she holds the memory close to her heart. “We made a stop, and I came home with this.”
“Did you choose it? My light?”
Savvy shakes her head. “Ace did.”
I’m glad she had Ace, but I’m irritated that even her best friends never inquired more about her inscription. I’m more irritated with myself for never looking closely enough.
Clover obviously knew what it meant, and I know what it means, but none of us bothered to ask what it meant to Savvy.
She gives, and gives, and gives until she has nothing left for herself. She needed to mark her skin to remember not to burn herself out.
How many times in this woman’s life have people let her down?
“That was around the time Ace gave Greyson his coin to replace the one he lost from his sister,” Braxton says.
Loudmouth can take his show-and-tell and fuck off with it.
It’s obvious that Ace was leaving a trail of breadcrumbs, but we’ve already eaten the candy and jumped into the fire. Whatever his intention was, it’s my future I’m fighting for now.
“I’ll call the Harringtons,” I say, my voice gruff as I wrangle with the untethered emotions crawling up my throat.
We need to get back on track. “Let’s also step up our game and offer Kristen and Quinn different information we know the mole won’t keep secret to catch them in the act of treason.
We’ll need to fill in our attorney while we wait for all the pieces to come together. ”
I attempt to maintain eye contact with Braxton, but my gaze keeps drifting to Savvy’s foot.
“If this were a story I was writing…” Clover has taken the notebook I wrote my list on and is scribbling so fast she’s smudging the ink with the side of her hand.
“I’d probably have the hero and the heroine carrying on as though nothing were amiss.
Let the town see you in love. Show the world how well you work together. ”
“That’s your plan?” Disdain drips from my words, and I immediately feel like a rotten dick. Even Wrecks wraps himself around her legs and growls in my direction.
Clover might be the most gentle human on the planet, and I just shat all over her.
When Savvy elbows me in the gut, I know I’m right.
“Sorry, Clover. That was…rude. I’m on edge, and I apologize for taking it out on you.”
Savvy reaches over and places the back of her hand on my forehead.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Monroe. I’m not sick. I’m also not a monster.”
“To anyone but me,” she mumbles.
I lean into her space until my lips press against her ear. “I didn’t hear any complaints about my monster cock taking care of you last night, Monroe. Is that the monster you’re referring to?”
Color rises high on her cheeks, and I pull back with a smirk.
“Okay,” Elle says. “So, you call the Harringtons to do their thing, and in the meantime, we focus on the fair. Everyone in town will be there—it’s as good a place as any to put on a show.” She smirks, and Cian rolls his eyes.
Savvy yawns, and she sways with exhaustion on her stool. I place my hand on her back and rub small circles there, pleased when she doesn’t push me away.
“How about we call it a night and reconvene in the morning,” Madi suggests. “The fair is going to take a lot out of Savvy and Grey, and we’ll have a lot of work to get them ready for it.”
Jesus. What now?
“I agree,” Braxton says. “Let’s meet here at nine, and we can fill Grey in on all his…duties.” He smirks, and I know instantly that I’m going to hate everything about this.
“I’ll do whatever I need to do,” I say, then take Savvy’s hand in mine. My gut wants me to force her to eat the sandwich, but my heart tells me she needs a break—even from me. “Come on, Monroe. Let’s get you to bed.”
No one stops us as I lead my future wife out of the room and up the stairs.
Neither of us speak as we climb into bed, and I hold her to my chest to ease the fears that have settled there.
I don’t know what the future will hold, but I do know that happiness will only come for me if Savvy is by my side.
“Goodnight, Monroe.”
“Goodnight, Patch.”
Savvy falls asleep the second she closes her eyes. Sleep doesn’t come so easily for me, but I do lie still, counting her breaths like sheep and savoring the calm that only comes when she’s in my arms until the sun comes up.
I groan when I enter the kitchen to find everyone’s already here. It’s not even seven yet.
“Trouble sleeping too?” Braxton asks.
I nod and head straight for the espresso machine.
“Any word from Riley?” he asks. I finally take in his appearance, then glance around the room. Everyone looks like hell. “We’re all just as worried as you are, Grey.”
“She was mine long before she was yours,” Madi jokes, then removes a quiche from the oven.
“She’s not yours,” I mutter under my breath.
Braxton chuckles, and I go back to my espresso.
“We might as well get started on the fair,” Madi says just as Savvy enters the kitchen, grumbling about caffeine.
“Is the fair anything like the Cozy Cup Festival?” I ask. It’s too early for this shit. Everyone’s awake and nodding as if they’re excited for another damn festival, but there’s a heaviness to the air that doesn’t belong here in Happiness.
Apparently, Riley’s sudden appearance has everyone on edge—hence the family meet and greet at the crack of dawn.
Mornings are for silent workouts and planning sessions, not crowded kitchen clusterfucks. But the more they speak, the faster my mind works out all the ways that Savvy and I could annihilate a competition.
“The Cozy Cup is about bringing everyone together with friendly competition. The town fair is about…” Clover bites her lip, and I swallow down a groan. “Celebrating love.”
“Celebrating. Love,” I repeat as though I can’t compute the two words. “Celebrating what about love, exactly?”
“Just shoot me,” Savvy grumbles right before her head hits the kitchen island with a dull thud. I’ve never met anyone who despises mornings more than Monroe. I slide her my espresso, then turn to make another.