Tracing Scars (KORT #3)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

TY

A im. Fire.

Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.

Not one, but four shots. They strike so swiftly that Balzano never sees them coming, his body jolting from the force.

She fucking did it. My heart swells and shatters within a single beat. Because it’s finally over, and yet this may always linger for her.

Nevertheless, my wife is brilliant, issuing a simple sentence that meant nothing to most and everything to the three of us. Axel, Jax, and I were on our feet and shooting with her by the time the N in corn fell from her lips.

For me, it was justice. After what Balzano stole from Rena, the penalty was mild. Maybe that’s how she views this too. If I’d been granted the opportunity to end Steve for what he did to my mom and sisters, not a speck of remorse or guilt would have followed me. But Rena is purer than I am, despite her upbringing, so I suppose we’ll see.

Cheers abound, shrieks of joy now that the big bad witch is dead.

Rushing to Rena, I sweep her into my arms and breathe her in, replacing the bitter scent of myrrh with her butterscotch aroma. “You did so good, baby girl. So good. Jesus, I love you so much.” I pull back, threading my fingers into her silky tresses and cradling her face between my palms, my eyes stinging from both relief and the pressure of my lungs finally filling. “I couldn’t breathe.”

“Me neither,” she whispers, her green-hazel eyes brimming with unshed tears. “But you came through, sailor. Delivered my true north.”

I dip my chin, pain lancing through my sternum at the sight of her anguish. There might be a tinge of vindication in her features, but there’s also distress.

This is the darkness I feared would drown her. The no-turning-back events that chip away at a soul. They’re far too plentiful in this life. Just because she’s treading well doesn’t mean she isn’t on the brink of letting go. Whether she hated the man or not, she helped kill her father. That’s a scar I can’t erase.

“How much of your soul did they take?” I ask.

Still rattled but brushing it off with her nonchalant bravado, she shakes her head within my hold. “I left my soul with you, Ty, so it was perfectly safe.” She glances to where her brothers and I were sitting. “It was there in that pew.”

I press my lips to hers, kissing her with abandon in the midst of one of our most harrowing days, which is saying something, considering the hellfire we’ve trekked through. Always content to live in the moment, she fists my shirt to urge me closer and opens for me, allowing me to fill her with every morsel of hope and light, love and joy she’s gifted me.

She pulls back, a subtle smirk playing on her swollen lips as she nips once more at mine. “And you gave me a freaking theme song. If that doesn’t spell soulmate, I don’t know what does.”

A chuckle pours out of me, which seems wholly inappropriate for our current setting, but one thousand percent fitting in the presence of my wife. At the sound of our mellow exchange, Axel and Jax storm us, unwilling to wait another second. Knowing how sick they must have been, confined to that pew, helpless, I release her.

In less than a beat, Wells and Ivy are on us too. And as though it’s merely a mess of spilled juice at the knights’ table, dutiful soldiers emerge to dispose of the body.

Ivy kisses my cheek and blows out a jagged breath. “Last night was one of the worst nights of my life. I mean, Liam wrote that you were okay in that report, but not being able to hear your voice, to see all of you … I—”

“I know, Freckles. I’m okay.” Curling her into my embrace, I peck her hair.

She buries her face in my chest—a fleeting sign of vulnerability for the O’Reilly boss when KORT is in session, but at the end of the day, she’s just Ivy, the spitfire who first made us a family. “Celeste is beside herself with worry, so hopefully, we can get out of here soon.”

“I’ve missed Lettie, missed you all. I’m more than ready to go home.” I squeeze her against me, and her eyes coast over to my wife, so I give her a nudge to go steal Rena while I pull Wells aside.

As soon as I have his full attention, my heart crashes with the torment that coursed through my veins during every excruciating second of that final test. “And if Balzano had shot back? Tell me his weapon was disabled.”

“Of course.” Wells’s eyebrows furrow as he grips the back of my neck. “We wouldn’t have brought her in here otherwise. I personally took care of it—filed down the firing pin and tested it myself. And Ivy and I both had shots on him.”

Filing down the firing pin is about the only way he could have accomplished that. Blanks are risky because if Balzano had checked his gun, he would have known immediately. And depending on the range of shot, they can still cause damage. But if the firing pin can’t make contact with the bullets, the gun is nothing more than a prop. Useless .

Once I saw Wells and Ivy face the wall, I pieced things together, so I figured Balzano’s weapon was out of commission.

“I know this was hell, but Ivy and I were on top of things. There were a lot of aspects unfolding at once.” His eyes flick down to my shoulder even though the wound is concealed in my suit. “Last night was unexpected. You scared the shit out of me.”

I drag my hand over my scruffy jaw as the faces of those imprisoned young girls slam into me. “That was a complete mess. Once I saw those girls though … Was that Balzano’s place?”

“Yes,” he confirms. “How much did you figure out?”

“Some, but not everything,” I confess. “I had a hunch why Jax was involved, which was further confirmed when you all came in the room and I realized that Balzano was the one being executed. But Axel … every time I think I understand it, more questions arise.”

“That’s because it was all unconventional,” he starts. “I had already been working on ways to take Balzano down when you went after Rena. You certainly escalated matters by killing his men and claiming her, but it also provided an opportunity for me to get Axel on board.”

Before he can expound on what Axel being on board means, Jared summons us all back to our seats so we can wrap up.

Leather chairs are brought in for Axel, Jax, Rena, and me, which I far prefer to occupying that pew again. It’s chilling to see the empty spot at the knights’ table, even with as much as I loathed the man who held it. I’m eager to discover what it all means. Even more eager to be done and know for certain that my wife isn’t haunted by her decision. So, I thread our fingers together as Jared unravels it all.

“First, let me say, that was an odd sentence, but clearly a shrewd choice. Not a moment of hesitation in any of you or an inkling of cognizance in our traitor. Impressive.” He strokes his chin, surveying the four of us. “I’m sure there are a lot of questions, especially from you, Tytan. Due to complicated circumstances, we went about things in a tangled manner. As you uncovered, Johnny Balzano was involved in a plethora of below-board dealings, none of which had been approved by KORT. Of course, your findings coincided with our need to loyalty-test Rena and Wells submitting the torn-out page from the black ledger, which contained damning evidence regarding Balzano’s affair and his misconduct against the Noires.”

“It created the perfect storm,” Payne adds. “Especially once you demanded that you be present for your wife’s loyalty test—an exception we had never made.”

He sets his gaze on me, but it isn’t a rebuking leer. It’s one of respect. Payne always appreciates our steadfast dedication to protecting the people in our sphere. It’s what impressed him during Ivy’s trial as well.

“It did, however, open some doors for us,” Jared interjects. “Once we were privy to the nefarious operations within the Balzano empire, we immediately moved to absolve them. But that wasn’t a simple process, as you can imagine. Finding a suitable, trustworthy replacement within his line after such a breach of the bylaws would be next to impossible.”

“Except, as luck would have it, the offspring that Balzano cast aside are also hospitality moguls.” Payne laughs. “Of course, it still wasn’t simple because they are uninterested descendants.”

“Let’s pause there actually.” Jared lifts his hand, palm up in a gesture toward my wife. “We haven’t officially heard your answer, Rena. When we called Jax in and discussed the position, he was adamant that this was not a proposition he wanted to pursue. After much deliberation, we concurred that it wasn’t the best fit at the current time. We were informed by him and Axel that you would also not want to assume this role. Wells and Ivy echoed that as well. But I’d like to hear it from you.”

Rena squeezes my hand and glances at me. I’m not sure what she’s looking for—encouragement, approval, a way out. If I’m honest, while I believe she could handle it, I don’t want her to. It’s an extraordinary amount of stress and danger. We’ve all found a way to manage it, but carrying a third seat in the family would most certainly be draining. Not conducive to the carefree, live-in-the-moment life my girl prefers. But if she wants it, we’ll figure it out. If nothing else, she needs to see that they haven’t disregarded her.

“Do what feels right. I’m behind you, no matter what you decide,” I tell her, and she beams ear to ear, gaping at me over her quirked shoulder.

“Look at you, Reynolds, driving without your hands on the wheel.” She whispers the bratty reference in regard to me relinquishing control before she addresses Jared. “Thank you so much. I certainly appreciate the consideration, but I’m not sure that’s where my gifts are best suited. And I don’t think I’d enjoy running everything. I’ve watched the toll it takes on Axel to keep La Lune Noire as a premier destination, and”—she peers at the man who raised her with so much admiration that a lump swells in my throat—“not just anyone can do that. It takes a certain finesse that very few possess.”

A smile blasts across Payne’s face. “That was the perfect answer. Jax’s response was quite similar. So, with his consent, we offered the seat to Axel. But Axel had a few stipulations. The first was that you also be considered as a candidate.”

Rena’s chest sinks as she peers at Axel, like that knocked the wind out of her. “You believe I could do that?” she rasps.

“Of course,” he reassures her, rubbing her back. “You could succeed at anything you wanted to. And this empire belongs to you, just like La Lune Noire does.”

Axel has spent so long coddling Rena that I’m sure insisting upon her being offered the seat came with a slew of inner conflict. He may not realize how badly she craved that sentiment from him. But after what she said in the shower last night, it was clearer than ever that she wanted everyone to trust her enough to let her leap, even if that meant she fell. My girl is bold, brave, and wise.

“The second stipulation,” Ivy says with a bright grin directed at my wife, “is that you and Jax be cleared as his seconds-in-command—the workload is negotiable, but the title will remain regardless. And it comes with the option of stepping into the lead role in the future, should your interest change. ”

“That was the reason for the trial,” Jared explains. “We tried all three of you. Jax and Axel dismantled some of Balzano’s unregistered operations: a brothel located in an illegal county—the workers were relocated to one within the legal limits; a call center used to garner credit card information; and holdings in some subpar seedy motels. Jax obtained the shipping information and customer lists from the ecstasy warehouse that you destroyed. The hard drives you secured were filled with an abundance of stolen identities and credit card numbers. And Axel transferred management from several of Balzano’s unregistered nightclubs to Noire ownership.”

Last night, when I remembered that Ivy had mentioned the black ledger when we were discussing Rena undergoing a trial instead of a loyalty test, I realized she’d done it on purpose. As a clue. She couldn’t divulge the details, but she could allude to the fact that Balzano’s underhanded affairs had been brought to light.

That’s when Rena spotting Jax started to click. Honestly, it was a hard sell in my mind—the notion of Jax, with his blue hair, colorful tattoos, and gauges in his ears, being welcomed as a seat of KORT—and Liam shared the same reservations when I mentioned it to him this afternoon. Jax certainly doesn’t look the part. Of course, Ivy doesn’t either—due to both her gender and age—and she weaseled her way past their judgment. I’m not acquainted with the business side of Jax. He may be perfectly capable, but I do know from years of friendship with the Noires that he doesn’t take much seriously. So, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. I figured Axel’s involvement was tied in somehow, but the connection was lost on me because KORT positions are awarded based on a familial component.

Wells was right. Every aspect of this has been unconventional, which leads me to a vexing detail.

“Were you aware of what was happening in Temptress?” I chime, still salty about how close things came last night. “Because we would have approached that far differently if we’d been afforded the intel that innocents were being held captive.”

“There were several bumps we hadn’t counted on,” Wells responds, scrubbing a hand over his mouth, failure marring his features. “We unearthed that the club dabbled in trafficking, but we didn’t realize they were kept on premises. Our belief was that the illegal brothel was the holding ground, as we had uncovered a few underage girls there and brought in a team to handle their transfer to a shelter. We never intended to blindside you.”

I’m sure the report last night was devastating on a myriad of levels. Wells is meticulous when sending us into any type of battle, so a miss like that, especially when he wasn’t there to help shoulder it—pun intended—probably wrecked him.

Jared glances at Wells with an empathetic glint and decides to take over. “What made it particularly dicey was that Balzano caught wind that he was being messed with earlier than expected, so we purposely allowed him to uncover Axel’s involvement. That’s who he believed was at the warehouse and why he had the whole city after you. He was on high alert. That’s also the reason his security was so stacked at Temptress. We attempted to draw the bulk of the security down to the main club with Axel showing up, but once they got wind of someone in the back room, that all went to hell.”

“We had wiped out most of his electronic data—even at some of his legitimate businesses, which really threw him off our scent—so he had a difficult time getting ahead of the attack,” Payne says, arching an eyebrow at me as he adds, “Not to mention the lack of resources with so many foot soldiers dead. We essentially hit all his holdings in a three-day span.”

Ivy bites her lip, enthusiastically tying it all up. “But what really sold it was the loyalty test we proposed for Rena—my suggestion, although Jared presented it to him. None of you were ever in real danger tonight; you’d already passed, but it had to appear genuine. That’s also why we had refused to let you research the tasks and kept you in the dark. Balzano was, of course, unaware that any of you were being tried. He believed today was Rena’s loyalty test, and because Axel and Jax had messed with KORT—since we’d presented evidence of Jax’s involvement in messing with his holdings too—Rena would be forced to choose between the three of you or fail. And the smug asshole bought it, thinking he’d take you all out at once.”

Wells holds a butterscotch candy between his fingers, flashing it at my girl—a silent commendation from him. “Another notable accomplishment is that we infiltrated the Balzano will. All his resorts and casinos have been turned over to the Noires. So, congratulations. You are now among the largest hospitality tycoons in the world.”

“Holy shit,” Rena gasps to which Jax utters an under-his-breath, “No fuck,” and Axel and I both laugh.

Payne taps his fingers on the table, his lips twitching in amusement even though it’s clear he’s ready to move on. “I think that about covers everything. You all four performed impeccably, with valor and unwavering loyalty to one another, the organization, and your tasks. Tytan, we appreciate your fight and commitment to go the extra mile when you saw something beyond what you had been called to deliver. Your team did an exemplary job of upholding KORT’s values—honorable work. I don’t know about all of you, but it’s been an exhausting week, so let’s get Axel inducted and embark on a new era with the Noire empire.”

Once the induction was finished, we all met at the private airfield. Celeste and her guards were waiting in a nearby hotel suite with Felicity and Natasha—Ivy’s mom—so Liam went to retrieve them during Rena’s final test in case something went awry.

Axel and Jax are flying back with us too. While we had four planes there between us, we all piled into one, instructing the flight crews to take the other planes home.

Celeste passes a glass of champagne to Rena, who is lounging in the seat between Jax and me. “So, you’ve been through hell. I thought being kidnapped for a few hours was rough, but what do I know? I hear you nailed your final test.”

“Kettle corn, girl,” Jax boasts, nudging Rena’s shoulder and lifting his cocktail into the air. “She killed it.” He pauses, drawing out the moment. “And then we all did.”

Rena sips the champagne and nods. “It was a boss-level finale, for sure.”

He belts out a boisterous laugh, rubbing his forehead. “I actually fucking thought that. Those words went through my mind while we were shooting.”

Rena’s giggle flows out of her as she flips her index finger between her temple and Jax’s. “We’re always right there, big bro.”

Celeste shoots me a look—a mixture of bewilderment and awe—before stooping down and gliding a hand over Rena’s leg. “So, you’re okay? I mean, I kind of get that because when my brother’s murderer got what he deserved, I felt vindicated. Even though he was someone I’d once cared about. But this was … I’m not sure how to phrase it.”

“It’s weird. Technically, he was my father.” Rena glances at Jax and tacks on, “Our father. But that’s just DNA. Other than that, he was the face of everything we’d lost. So, maybe I’m coldhearted, but I don’t feel bad. Axel is the man who raised me. Balzano was nothing more than a monster.”

Celeste clinks her glass to Rena’s with a devious grin and stands back up. “Well, you’re officially ours and certainly fit to be a queen.”

“Aww, thanks, girl.” Rena pops her shoulder and flutters her lashes.

Jesus, she’s adorable. And fierce. And fucking sexy in her sleek, curve-hugging black-denim jumpsuit. Cleavage on display. Legs for days. Lethal.

But my erotic imaginings flit to something else with Jax on the other side of her, so I lean around my wife and eye my brother-in-law. “I have a bone to pick with you.”

“Yeah,” he sighs, swilling his drink. “A tiny redhead warned me.”

Rena smirks, but her face is nearly crimson, her eyes ping-ponging between us as Celeste covers her own grin with her champagne glass .

“You gave me up,” I snap in jest, regarding his gossip about my piercing. “Doesn’t that break a million codes?”

He rests his head against the seat, his eyelids growing heavy. “Bro codes and professional ethics don’t count with Ivy. That girl just gets me to spill, man. Dangerous. Like a therapist. You got off easy. Plus, since you married my sister, trust me when I say, karma’s a bitch. Wish I didn’t know.”

“I actually can’t argue with any of that,” I concede.

And speak of the petite, freckled devil …

Ivy sidles up beside Celeste with her own champagne, clanking her glass with a celebratory cheers. “We’re finally going to be able to do Wine Wednesdays. For the rest of our lives.”

“Or we could make it Wine Week,” Celeste counters, which has Rena whooping before Celeste embellishes. “Why limit it to one day? Balzano is dead. No one’s being hunted. Trials have been passed. We should live it up. We might finally be drama-free.”

“Christ, Ace,” Liam scolds with a mischievous twinkle as he tows his wife against him. “You know better than to declare that shit out loud. It’s like if you announced you were going to win every hand, that would be the game you finally lost.”

“Doubtful,” she argues, pecking him on the jaw. “But point taken.”

Something about that sparks a concern I pushed aside, so I grab Wells as he passes me on the way to fetch a drink. “Hey, what happened with that girl that Vargas sent you to pick up?”

He squats beside my chair, and an expression I can’t decipher washes over his face. He peers around the plane and takes a breath. “I’ll fill you in later. Since we had all this going on, I had to stash her. It’s a temporary station—two more weeks at most. She’s okay. A rough one. But nothing to worry about tonight.”

He squeezes my right shoulder and struts away, but I can’t shake the feeling that there is a whole lot more to that story. I’m not sure if a rough one was in reference to her case or her demeanor.

Brushing that aside, I wink at Celeste, who can always read a simple gesture, so she ushers everyone to another area of the plane. I unbuckle Rena, hauling her out of her chair and onto my lap, needing to hold her.

“Watch it, sailor. You need to take it easy, old man,” she teases.

As I whisk her hair behind her shoulder, my eyes meander all over her gorgeous face. “I’ll never be too old, too injured, or too worn out to have you wrapped around me.”

“Good.” She sprinkles kisses along my neck and jaw until she ends with a nibble on my ear. “Because I’ve got no problem busting you out of a nursing home or sneaking in at night so I can sleep with that monster cock inside me.”

I chuckle, gliding my hand over her cheek to angle her face to me, my thumb dusting over her silky skin. “Thank you.”

“You never have to thank me for that,” she says, and I can see in her blueberry-field gems that she knows that’s not what I’m referring to. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

“You’re allowed to break with me,” I assure her even though she appears to be a pillar of strength. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah.” She smiles, entwining one of my curls around her index finger. “If I fall apart, you’ll be the first to know. But I don’t need to. Do you think it’s weird that I don’t feel bad?”

“Not at all. It’s your experience. Whatever you feel is yours alone to decide.”

She glances around, drawing my focus to the victory of warmth surrounding us—the family who shows up for us again and again—before she plants her grateful gaze on me. “I’ve said this before, but you weren’t the only one who needed to heal. And certainly not the only one who found it here. You’ve given me as much as I’ve given you.”

“I know, baby girl.” My chest tightens. I’m relieved that’s the case—that she’s healed with me—but also loathe that she’s had any pain at all. “It’s been a long road for both of us.”

“It has,” she agrees. “When you found me in Vegas, it was more than my location that you had tracked down. You helped me find a deeper, more independent side of myself. You opened the door to your home, your past, your pain, your family. And you, along with that family I get to be a part of, even compelled my brothers to see me—not as the shiny, impulsive Noire princess, but as a worthy partner in our endeavors.” Her eyes well with a heartfelt gratitude. “So, I’m not broken, Ty. I’m free.”

So much wisdom conveyed through simple words.

My attention catches on the open window across the plane—the dark moonlit sky, cushioned by clouds and speckled with stars—before returning to the gift in my arms.

“Do you have any idea how spectacular you are?” I choke back the emotion threatening to burst from me with a hard swallow. “You were always my compass. Always my true north. I just didn’t want to see it. I hate that I waited to claim you and wish that our beginning was smoother. But now that you’re mine, I’m going to love the hell out of you. Spoil you rotten. Deliver your dreams. Make up for every moment of hesitation, every scar that blemished our story.”

She throws her head back in an animated cackle. “That is so sweet. And yet so flawed.”

I’ll never tire of that—the way she brightens every breath, shatters chains, leaps into life.

I chuckle, tightening my grip on her waist and nudging her closer. “Well, please, enlighten me, my brilliant wife .”

“First of all, ‘Love The Hell Out Of You’ is a fitting song and exactly what I’m going to do to you too.” She hooks her arms around my neck and nuzzles her nose against mine, her pink-and-blonde strands cascading over my shoulders to shroud us in a curtain of her satin locks.

“You have nothing to make up for,” she goes on, “because we came together at the perfect time. And in the perfect way. I always felt like I was yours, but it’s the one thing I didn’t jump at. I held back, as if some inner voice inside me was shouting that the right time would come. And it did.” Straightening again, she inhales and exhales slowly, as though she’s willing me to absorb this, to soak in every syllable. “Not when things were easy or the planets aligned. When our wounds scabbed over, so rough and bristly that they couldn’t be ignored or covered up or glossed over. Because that was always going to be our map to finding each other.”

There’s a part of me that wants to reject the direction she’s steering us because I can’t in any capacity accept that what Ella, Audrey, and my mother endured was something that I gained from. It’s hard enough to permit myself to be happy. But the woman in my arms has hammered these sentiments into me so much that I’m finally ready to embrace whatever this life has for me. To view it as honoring their lives through mine rather than commemorating their deaths through my self-inflicted torture.

So, I nod, uttering, “Our scars,” to acknowledge that I’m following her train of thought.

“Yeah, Ty. You said it from the beginning. A garden upon graves. The flourish after the burn. Blooms in the desert. And, Jesus, it’s even in your tattoo—the tree growing out of skulls. A beautiful life that blossomed from sacrifice and pain and death. That’s our story. Our moms, your dad, your sisters—they were the soil, the seeds.” She waves her hand around the plane as evidence. “Everything we have is a gift from them. Us and this family—we’re the branches, the fruit.”

“Right,” I agree, struck not only with her profound perspective, but also with precisely what is flitting through my wife’s beautiful mind. “Some people would say that means our love was predestined—written in the stars—but those aren’t the lyrics you’d choose for our love song.”

Her whole face is alight with awe as her fingers rise to her lips. “God, you really freaking get me.” She shakes her head, her radiant hazels teeming with so much emotion when they finally latch on to mine. “That’s right. We fought for each other so much harder than that. We fell in love by Tracing Scars.”