Chapter Twenty-Five
Jace
? “Cherry Waves” – Deftones ?
I place a kiss on her forehead and pull the blanket over her shoulders.
I walk to her desk, pulling my chip out of her computer, and place it in my jeans pocket.
I made a coding program specifically designed for her so that I can constantly see what she searches on the web.
With it, I’m able to see everything she does on the computer.
I like to make sure everything I buy her is exactly what she wants.
It was also how I was able to log into her school account and pay off her tuition.
Yeah, the coding program is too high tech for her computer, makes it run a little slow, and at times my program will pop up and show my codes to her.
But she doesn’t know what it is, and I doubt she is curious enough to research.
She just blames it on her computer being old.
I make sure to lock the window on my phone app after I climb out of it.
This is my third night in a row that I have been in her room, watching her sleep.
She has been doing well at pretending with Mateo.
He has been taking her out more often, but everywhere they go, I am there in the shadows, watching.
The sun will soon rise, and she will have a random lady at her door ready to attach a GPS chip in her pedicure.
I pull my hood above my head, walking to my car. When I get in, all I can do is sit there. Lily is about to marry someone who is not me, and I don't like it one feckin' bit.
Noah stands on Rowan's patio smoking a cigarette. “Back so soon? Couldn’t get enough of me, huh?”
“Careful, your ego is almost as big as mine,” I say,
walking to the front door. When I turn the knob, Noah jumps in front of me, blocking the door.
“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”
“Why?” I’m really not in the mood for games.
His points a thumb over his shoulder at the door. “They’ve been going at it for hours.”
I run my hands along my face, turning around and going to sit on the steps. I can hear Noah’s boots against the wood panels before he plops himself next to me.
“You look like shit.” He takes a drag of his cigarette, blowing it into the wind.
“Gee, yeah, thanks man.”
“You worried?”
I turn my head toward him. I swear this kid is getting bigger by the day.
I don’t blame him. All he can do is watch the property and indulge in the private gym that used to be Rowan’s basement—where we did most of our work.
Now I have to drag bodies across town to the abandoned warehouse.
We’ve been so focused on Mateo’s case we haven’t taken anyone else.
But this is big, bigger than what we are used to, and we have to focus.
This isn’t our typical PI case. This is something the FBI should be working on, but that could take years, and we don’t have years.
Women are going missing and the only ones who are ready for the action—is us.
I refuse to let this be another Joan case. But the dread that ate us alive for years on end, not knowing what happened, could have been solved if we just opened our feckin’ eyes.
Opened our eyes to see who was standing right in front of us, who knew more than we did.
I need another plan just in case the current one goes to shit. I can’t have Lily legally bonded to Mateo. I don’t want Lily bonded to Mateo.
“What do you know about marriages?” I ask.
“What kind of question is that?” He pulls out a joint
from behind his ear, sticking it in his mouth and lighting it.
“Fuck, I don’t know. Does there need to be witnesses and that man who speaks from the Bible and shit?”
Noah starts coughing, his bushy eyebrows scrunching together when he turns to look at me. “What the fuck are you asking me right now?”
I jump off the stairs and walk into Rowan’s house.
Noah following right behind me. I catch a glimpse of Celeste wrapped in bedsheets walking down the foyer into another room. Rowan cuts the corner, skipping down the stairs with his shorts hanging low on his hips.
“Jesus, ever heard of boxers?” Noah turns away, heading into the kitchen.
“Nobody asked you to be here.” Rowan flips a finger at Noah.
I know Rowan hates Noah here, but they are turning more into siblings, creating this fucked up Three Brothers situation we have going on. I grab onto Rowan’s shoulders from the back. “I’ve got an idea, and you might feckin’ hate it.”
“Is this going to require me to have a fucking cigarette?” he asks, turning around and scowling at me already.
My hands drop from his shoulders. “Oh, feckin’ hell.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, taking a deep breath. “Probably.”
“Noah!” Rowan screams, holding out his hand toward Noah, who is only two feet away.
After I told Rowan and Noah about my second plan, Celeste begged me to stay for dinner.
I knew I was going to like this girl the day she came and dropped off a feast for Rowan as a thank-you for saving her in Athens.
That night, she stared at all of us, scared shitless.
Her face was pale, and her brown eyes lost its color when she saw Rowan, John, and I covered in blood from head to toe.
She lost her appetite, and I gained mine for her delicious cooking.
We all sit gathered around the dining table, no one saying a word as we shove Celeste’s home-cooked meal down our throats. Celeste slowly eats with a smile on her face as she watches all of us eat like men on their first day out of prison.
“I’m assuming you guys like it? It was a new recipe, so I was a little nervous.”
Rowan stands from his seat, kissing the top of her head and heading to the kitchen for seconds.
“If I keep eating your meals, I am going to need more equipment for the downstairs gym,” Noah says with his mouth full.
“Good—” Celeste’s eyes go wide, her hand slamming against her mouth.
Her chair scrapes on the marble floor when she jumps out of her seat and runs to the stairs.
I turn around in my seat to see Rowan’s face stripped of color as his eyes follow Celeste’s movements.
His body finally unfreezes, and he runs upstairs to follow her.
I turn toward Noah and he shrugs his shoulders as he continues to eat.
Minutes later, footsteps echo on the stairs. I turn around to see Celeste peeking her head around the corner. “Sorry. I think I caught a bug. You guys finish dinner and have a good night.”
“Feel better,” Noah says as he pushes his plate away, rubbing at his stomach.
Rowan rubs Celeste’s back from behind and kisses the top of her head before she dashes away.
“Caught a bug, yeah?” I say to Rowan as he grabs our plates off the table and walks to the kitchen.
“Yeah, seems so.”
I stand from my seat, walking to the other end of the kitchen island.
“You think this bug happens to come with two legs, two arms, ten toes, and ten fingers?” A big smile spreads across my face when Rowan drops a plate, sending shards across the floor.
Behind me, Noah breaks into a laugh while coughing up a storm.
“Says things like ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa’?” I pinch my lips together, holding in my laugh as Rowan’s eyes turn molten.
He bends down to pick up pieces of the broken plate. “No. I’m sure she is just not feeling well.”
“You sure ‘bout that? Y’all continue to fuck like rabbits every day, sooner or later, consequences are bound to happen,” Noah comments when he finally catches his breath.
Rowan stands up, putting his hands on the kitchen island with his head between his shoulders. “I’m not ready,” he whispers.
I wipe the smile from my face, walking to stand by him and placing my hand on his shoulder. “Nobody ever is. But you guys will be great parents.”
“Actually...” Noah starts walking toward us, shaking his head. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. I’d rather not have to watch over Rowan, Celeste, and a mini-Celeste. I didn’t sign up for daycare.”
“Who says it won’t be a mini-Rowan?” I smirk at Noah, my mood changing again at the thought of our family growing. Rowan and I may not be blood related, but he is the only one I consider family. Now we have Celeste, Lily, and fuck, I have to include Noah too. Our family just continues to grow.
“Shut the fuck up, both of you.” Rowan storms out of the kitchen, the balls of his feet slamming against the stairs. Noah and I turn toward each other, shaking our heads.