Chapter 28
Hook
It takes longer than I’d like to get things sorted out.
Fighting a pounding headache and bone-deep exhaustion makes dealing with Peter’s people surprisingly easy.
Exile, rather than a full purge. I don’t care where they go, but they are no longer welcome in my territory.
I know all too well what a charismatic and compelling asshole Peter could be.
They don’t deserve death for following him, but they can’t be trusted to follow me, either.
They’ll figure it out. Or they won’t. Either way, they’re no longer my problem.
I send Nigel back home to get checked out, which he only agrees to on the condition that I follow shortly. Colin handles the sweep of the surrounding area for any further problems.
Then, and only then, do I take Tink’s hand and go home.
She’s been silent since we left the apartment, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve damaged something beyond repair.
She knows what I’m capable of now. It’s not a new trait, but seeing it firsthand is something entirely different than knowing it in theory.
I killed Peter.
He might be an abusive asshole, a monster, but he was still a person. A person no longer drawing breath because of me. If she can’t handle that, if she needs to leave … I won’t stop her. I refuse to be a chain around her ankle, no matter how much I selfishly want her to stay.
I have every intention of going straight to our bedroom and washing off the blood coating my skin, but when we walk into the building it’s to the sound of raised female voices. Tink curses under her breath and I give her a mild look. “Is that Aurora I hear?”
“Um.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard her yell before.” She’s normally such a sweet little submissive, but admittedly I’ve never interacted with her outside of the Underworld.
Tink actually blushes. “I, uh, we should take care of this.”
“By all means.” I motion for her to precede me and follow her to the front entryway.
The scene we find there has me simultaneously wanting to laugh and also find a shield to protect myself.
Meg, Allecto, and Aurora are in my home.
At the same time. Meg has her arms crossed over her chest and watches things play out as if deciding whether to step in or not.
Allecto is caressing the gun in her holster the way children soothe themselves with blankies.
And Aurora? She’s in Edgar’s face, which is a feat since she’s barely an inch or two taller than Tink.
I don’t see a weapon on her, but appearances can be deceiving.
Aurora shakes a fist in his face. “Tell us where she is right fucking now, or I’m going to burn this place to the ground. ”
Holy shit.
I give Tink a nudge. “Your friends means you deal with it.”
“Coward,” she snarls.
“Guilty.”
She straightens, throws back her shoulders, and marches into the fray. “I’m here.”
“Tink!” Aurora stops menacing Edgar and rushes her friend. I don’t miss the way the big man slumps back against the wall, and I make a mental note to give him a raise and maybe a change of position. He’s dealt with more than his fair share of confrontations in the last couple days.
Aurora nearly takes Tink off her feet with her hug. “Your text messages freaked us all out and then you didn’t respond and I thought the worst.”
Meg and Allecto follow, though they don’t mob Tink the same way. Meg glances at me. “I trust we can keep this from being considered an infringement of territory.”
I hold up my hands and wince a little when the move pulls at my shoulder. “I’m going to assume you came to ensure Aurora didn’t literally burn my building to the ground.”
She gives me a knife-sharp smile. “She was packing containers of gasoline into the trunk when I found her.”
I really don’t know how to process this new information. I turn to look to where Aurora is whispering fiercely to Tink. “I always thought she was such a nice girl.”
“She is a nice girl.” Meg starts to turn away. “There’s also no lengths she won’t go for the people she cares about. You’ll do well to remember that in the future, Hook.”
I sure as hell won’t forget it. I carefully lean against the wall and watch as Tink assures the other women that she is, in fact, okay.
I don’t know if it’s strictly the truth, but she will be okay.
That’s all that matters. We have time to figure shit out now, to actually chase the future we tentatively spoke about …
Was it only this morning? It feels like it was a thousand years ago.
It takes twenty minutes and promises they’ll meet for coffee tomorrow for the three of them to finally allow themselves to be ushered to the front door. When Tink turns around, she’s got a soft smile on her face. “I have friends.”
“Yes, you do. Very scary friends.”
We head up to my suite, and once the doctor has checked me out and declared I have a concussion and need to take it easy for a while, we shower and clean up.
The whole time, she doesn’t say a word. I can’t tell if she’s still marveling over the fact she has friends, which seems to be a sort of revelation, or if the events of the last few hours are finally sinking in.
Maybe a combination of both. Either way, I don’t press her. She deserves that much and more.
Tink shuts off the water and turns to me. “I want a fall wedding.”
I blink. “This concussion is worse than I thought, because I could swear that you just said you want a fall wedding.”
“That’s because I did.” She hands me a towel and wraps a second one around herself.
“We’re married in every way that matters, but I want a real wedding.
One where we invite your family and our friends.
I want to design my own dress. I want the whole ridiculous spectacle of it.
” She crosses to me and cups my face in her hands.
“I want the world to know that I choose you and that this is real.”
I’m still having a hard time catching up.
She wants to stay married to me. She really does want the future we painted together this morning.
Still, I promised I’d be honest and so I have to tell her the truth of my plans.
“I was going to offer you a divorce in the morning. You were going to be free.”
Tink’s smile is sweet and the tiniest bit salty. “I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.” She stops short and frowns. Tink drops her hands. “Unless you really want a divorce, in which case ignore everything I just said.”
Oh no. Fuck that. If she’s choosing me, there’s no way in hell I’m letting her get away.
I grab her hand and sink unsteadily to my knee.
“Tink Petrov, would you do me the honor of marrying me? Again.” I clear my throat.
“You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known, and I love the shit out of you.
Marry me, and we’ll spend the rest of our lives bickering and fucking and raising a family of little hellions while we run this territory the way it should be run. ”
The shadows flee her expression, and she beams down at me. “Yes, Jameson Hook, I very much would like to do all of that with you and more.” She tugs me to my feet. “I love you. I want to live not-happily-ever-after with you. Yes, of course I’ll marry you. Again.”
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The Wicked Villains series continues in THE BEAST, which takes a look at what happens when Isabelle Belmont is forced to do whatever it takes to bring Gaeton and Beast back to her territory…even agree to a sex pact. Things are destined to get explosive!
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Gaeton kicks one of the chairs in front of the desk so that it is angled to see the entire room and drops into it. The man doesn’t know how to sit without sprawling, and even with fury darkening his expression, this is no exception.
Beast shuts the door and moves to lean against the desk, unconsciously mirroring the same position Megaera took when I spoke to her. He crosses his arms over his chest and watches me. Waiting.
Gaeton has no such patience. “What the hell are you doing here, Isabelle?”
Now’s the time to lay out my argument, but the words dry up in their presence. I lick my lips again, and give him the same answer I gave Beast. “I’m here for you. For both of you.”
Gaeton doesn’t look impressed. “Yeah, I don’t think so. We tried that and it blew up in our faces. I’m not doing it again.”
If I don’t talk fast, they’ll pack me up and send me on my way and this will all be for nothing. Failure is not an option. It can’t be. “Come back to the territory. Resume your positions. We need you.”
Beast raises an eyebrow, but it’s Gaeton’s cruel laughter that echoes through the room.
“I should have known this is all power and games. It always was with you.” He leans forward and braces his elbows on his big thighs.
“I don’t pretend to speak for this asshole, but there’s nothing in that territory for me now. ”
Nothing. Including me.