Chapter 28 #2
“Savvy’s made Braxton create an entire IT position solely focused on running background checks on anyone and everyone you’ve come in contact with for the last year,” Sterling says.
“I like how she thinks. And Elle?” He smirks.
“Well, she’s organized a town watch that’s more sophisticated than some of Valen’s programming at Styx and Stone Security. ”
“What?” I pull out the phone Roman gave me, but there are no new messages. “They haven’t said anything about that to me.”
“Because they don’t want to worry you,” Chase says. “But they’re concerned, and they’re preparing for anything. That’s what family does, Clover. That’s why we’re here too.”
Family.
The kind built on choice. On love. On showing up.
“Terra won’t expect Happiness for that exact reason,” Valen says. “She’ll assume Clover will worry about her friend’s safety, and Terra could never anticipate a group of people willingly stepping into the fire for Clover.”
“It’s a small town,” Chase adds. “Newcomers become gossip. They’ll see her coming a mile away.”
“And we’ll have backup,” Roman says. “Valen can pull our best men, and I’ll quietly organize a team on the ground to keep watch.”
“I can reach out to some…contacts,” Chief says. “People I trust within my law enforcement family. People who won’t ask too many questions but will have our backs if things go sideways.”
I glance around the room and at these men—these good, complicated, terrifying men who’ve inserted themselves into my life and decided I’m worth protecting.
Then I look at Valen.
“What do you think?” I ask.
“I don’t know what the future holds.” Valen glances around the room, but his words are spoken directly to me.
“But what I want is to be with you. I want to take you home and meet your friends, not as your bodyguard but as your boyfriend. I want to be part of your world, and not just the run-for-your-life part of it. I want my brothers to be your brothers. I want the fear and the nightmares to stop.”
Tears stream down my cheeks.
“We may not be able to outrun the decisions of our parents, Clover.” He squeezes my thigh. “But if I get to choose? I choose you now, tomorrow, and every day you’ll give me.”
I can’t see through the river filling my eyes. “You choose me?” A garbled giggle escapes my lips. “And you want to spend time with my friends?”
It seems like a ridiculous time for the conversation, but after waiting for fourteen years, I’m not about to stop him now.
“I want to spend time with everyone. I want to see this town that helped you become who you are without the constant fear of the unknown. I want—” His voice cracks, and I lean my head against his chest. “I want to live without constantly trying to fill in the blanks. If I can get that by always looking toward a future with you, then that’s what I want to do.
” He shifts below me, and I glance up to see him staring at his family.
“And if taking her back to Happiness is how we achieve all of this, then I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen safely. ”
Roman is the one who nods. He and Valen are always on the same page.
I look at the others. “You really all want to come back to the town that made me and get the full experience this time?”
“You look pretty perfect to me.” Chase smirks. “Why wouldn’t we?”
“Watch it,” Valen growls. “Cousin or not. Brother or not. I will end you if you so much as flash one of those fucking come-hither grins at my girl again.”
“Oh,” Sterling chuckles. “This is going to be so much fun.”
“You’re family, Clover.” Roman clears his throat. “The most important rule in our house growing up was that you always make time for family. We’ll hang out in Happiness for as long as you’ll have us.”
“Lord, help us. The ladies are goin’ to be in a tizzy when they find out four more billionaires are headed to Happiness.” Chief chuckles. “How are your line dancing skills? The women of Happiness like to be wooed, ya know? Ya going to woo them?”
“My wooing skills are top-notch, Chief.” Chase wiggles his hips suggestively, and suddenly I feel bad for every eligible person in Happiness. They aren’t going to know what hit them.
I take a breath.
Release it slowly.
Repeat.
Peeling myself away from Valen, I hug each man in turn.
I reach Grant last. I don’t understand this big brotherly connection I have with him, but I’m not going to fight it either. Wrapping him in a hug, I squeeze tight. “Okay,” I say, releasing him when I hear Valen growl. “Then we’re heading back to Happiness. As a family.”
“When?” Valen asks.
“Six hours,” Grant replies. “We have to assume that if Terra can get around the defenses of an FBI safe house in less than a day, then she’ll be able to find us here too, so we move fast and get ahead of her this time.”
“Everyone, get some sleep,” Roman orders. “It’s a fifteen-hour drive to Happiness, and we’ll only stop for gas.”
People start moving. Sterling and Chase head back to their room, thankfully taking the duffel bag of weapons with them. Roman focuses on his tablet as he follows them from the room, and Chief kisses the top of my head before exiting.
Grant lingers, then wraps Valen in a hug that slaps so hard their chests will likely have giant bruises on them.
I pull out the burner phone Grant gave me to give them a moment of privacy.
Me: SOS. Coming home tomorrow.
Madi: FINALLY. I’ve been stress-baking with a newborn for three days.
Madi: We have seventeen pies.
Savvy: We’re here. Whatever you need.
Elle: I’ll have the wine ready.
I stare at their responses.
These women.
These fierce, loyal, beautiful women who chose to love me without asking for anything in return.
Terra thinks she can destroy me, but she has no clue about the army at my back.
“Are you okay?” Valen asks, climbing into bed and spooning me.
“No.” In the safety of his arms, I let down my walls and tell him the truth. “But I will be. I’m beginning to think that I might be a fighter after all.”
“You are,” he says vehemently. “And I promise you—we will end this.”
Rolling over, I rest my head above his heart, listening to its strong rhythm, and eventually, I close my eyes.
We’re heading home in a few hours, but for now, I allow myself to be held.
Let myself be loved.
And somewhere, in the darkness, between one heartbeat and the next, I smell her perfume—sharp, pungent, wrong.
I feel the cold concrete of the basement beneath my feet. Hear her voice, not in the room, but inside my skull, whispering that I can run to Happiness, run to my friends, run to the ends of the earth—but I will always, always belong to her. She’s vowing that this is only the beginning.
Maybe it is.
But this time, I’ll write my own damn ending.
And that makes all the difference.