49. Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Forty-Nine
Luna
I’m walking around the cabin on cloud nine when Carver and Cole return the next day.
Carson made love to me the entire time they were away. Of course we slept. In increments. It seems we can’t get enough of each other.
And the good news is it’s just been him and me.
I don’t know what changed. Maybe it was simply time. It just felt right.
And once we started, I couldn’t stop.
“You made it back,” I say, watching Cole drop his keys and billfold on the counter.
“Of course we made it back,” Carver says, giving me a quick hug on the way to his room.
“Did you have fun?” I ask Cole, turning away from him when he looks at me.
“Yeah, I won two hundred fat ones,” he says, rapping his knuckles on the counter.
“That’s nice,” I say, humming to myself as I continue dusting the mantel.
“Why are you humming?”
“Is there a law that says I can’t hum? Or does it annoy you?”
He studies me, trying to figure out what is different about me.
“Because, if it annoys you, I’ll do it more often.”
His brows dip further, and I know he’s on to me.
“Oh my god. It happened,” he says.
“In fact, I think I’ll hum all through your football game this weekend,” I say, ignoring his accusations.
“It did.” He jumps up and down like a little kid. “Oh, my god, you did it.”
“Did what?” Carver asks, coming back into the room.
“She was humming,” Cole tells him.
“Oh, my god! I’m doing it, Cole. I’m going to hum until your ears bleed.”
Carson steps into the room and all three of us shut up.
“Hey, fuckers, how was Reno?”
“Cole won two hundred dollars,” I say, smiling tightly at Cole.
“Good job, brother. Did you have any luck, Carver?”
Carver walks over and plops on the couch, grinning at me. “Naw. What about you two? What did you guys do while we were gone?”
Carson puts his hands on his hips, finally realizing what’s going on. “I’m only going to say this once. I love that you guys joke with Luna and tease her like a sister, but some things are off-limits.”
Both Cole and Carver apologize to me, and then to him.
Carson crosses his arms over his chest. “You can make it up to her by taking over the pizza duties tonight.”
Cole salutes his brother.
Carson walks over, takes the duster out of my hand, tosses it to Carver and then he leads me upstairs.
The minute we’re out of sight, he pushes me against the wall and kisses me. “Your plan was perfect,” he says. “They fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”
I kiss him back, my hands sliding up his shirt. “Now we have the entire afternoon to ourselves.”
We laugh, running down the hall and locking ourselves in our room.
A few hours later, after we smell the pizza, we come back downstairs. I smile sweetly at Cole and sit down beside him at the table. We’re eating inside tonight. It’s been raining since Carson and I got caught in it yesterday.
We haven’t minded that we’ve been trapped inside.
“I can’t believe you got me in trouble,” he pouts.
“How did I get you in trouble?”
He curls his lips in.
My grin widens, because seeing Cole at a loss for words gives me great pleasure.
Carson greets his parents at the door, helping his mom with her jacket.
“You don’t seem very upset,” Cole continues.
Carver kicks him under the table. “Just drop it before Carson kicks your ass.”
Cole’s eyes narrow. “You two set us up.”
“What do you mean, they set us up?”
“They tried to make us do all the work this afternoon so they could run off to their room.” His mouth falls open like he doesn’t quite believe it himself.
“Tried to make you, or did make you?” I ask.
I’ll admit, I love having Cole and Carver around. I like that they tease me, and nothing makes me happier than getting one over on them.
“Luna, sweetheart, how has your day been going?” Dan asks, interrupting my fun.
“She’s been very busy,” Cole answers on my behalf before I get a word in.
I kick him myself this time and he laughs.
Dan looks between the two of us. “What have you been up to?” he asks.
“Well …” I begin, struggling to snatch an answer from the ether.
Carson places his hands on my shoulders and leans down. “Luna and I spent the day in bed, snuggling. Cole and Carver were nice enough to cover pizza night for us, so if you don’t like anything …” He pauses to point between them. “Take it up with the chefs.”
“Aw, that’s so nice you boys helped out,” Lily says.
I smile at Cole.
He rolls his eyes.
After everyone leaves, the four of us work together to clean up the cabin.
Cole bumps into my shoulder as we stand side by side doing the dishes. “All kidding aside, I’m really happy for you. You’re glowing.”
I dip my head.
“It looks good on you, and him.” He nods to the living room where Carver and Carson are putting the table and chairs away that we set up for our family.
“Well, thank you for the compliment. I think.”
He chuckles.
Carver leans over and pulls something out from under the couch. “This is cool.” He looks up at the colorful origami characters hanging above him. “I didn’t know there was a ten-dollar bill one. It must have fallen down.”
I wipe my hands off on a towel and round the island, joining them in the living room. “I swear this was on my dresser. Carson made it for me when we met.”
He looks over at us. “Yeah, it’s on your mirror.”
I jog upstairs, plucking the one I have from the place I left it. “How the fuck are there two?”
Carson looks up when I jog back down the stairs. “Did you find it?”
“Yeah.” I hold both of them in front of my face.
Carver falls to the couch. “Craaazeee. It’s a glitch in the matrix.”
“Wait. I folded one of these in the bar the night Dad told us about Mom,” Carson says, sitting down on the couch. “I gave it to the woman who doesn’t speak. She was drawing a butterfly on a napkin. I thought she might like it. She seemed sad.”
“Did she give it back?” I ask, sitting down beside him. I set mine on the coffee table, not wanting to get them mixed up.
“Evidently, since I brought it home. It must have fallen out of my pocket.”
Cole joins us, grabbing the remote. “Maybe she didn’t like your stupid butterfly.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re just jealous because you can’t fold one.”
“No, but thanks to you, I can now sign one.” He shows us, and it makes me smile. Cole has actually gotten quite good at ASL. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say he’s better than most everyone else at it.
The guys begin to argue over the movie we’re going to watch and I unfold the bill, folding it again just like I used to spend hours in the closet doing. I’m not really paying attention to what I’m doing, but then I notice a flash of red writing.
“Wait. There’s something written on it.”
Cole shuts the TV off, and the three of them give me their full attention.
These men have worked endlessly trying to find Nova and Nyx. I’ve watched how disheartened they get every time they hit a dead end.
“There is a new trafficker in Trap. He’s here tonight. We’re going to let him take us. Tell Jesse we’ll be back,” I read out loud.
Carver jumps from his seat. “They knew, and they let him take them!”
“Sounds like the same thing they did to get to the congressman,” Carson says, shaking his head.
Carver storms to his room, not saying a word.
Cole reaches over and takes the bill from my hands.
“We need to pass this message on to Jesse,” Carson says, rising from the sofa to call her.
I move over to Cole. “Do you want me to show you how to fold it?”
He looks over at me and offers me a sad smile. “Sure.” He watches how I do it, and then I unfold it and hand it back to him.
“Now you try.”
He gets it right the first time.
“I’m glad you were here. None of us would have unfolded it. Well, maybe to go buy a six-pack.” He laughs.
Carson comes back into the room. “Maybe I shouldn’t have called her. Jesse seems more worried than she was before.”
“It’s because they’ve been gone too long,” Cole says sadly. “I’m just going to bed. I don’t feel like watching a movie tonight.”
He stands, gives me a kiss on the cheek and then his brother a hug.
Carson pulls me close after he finds a movie for us to watch.
But my mind goes back to the butterfly note.
Carson tips my head back and looks at me. “Luna, this is not your problem to solve.”
“Ugh, I’ll never be able to focus now. My brain is going a hundred miles an hour.”
He smiles at me as he pushes me against the sofa. “I think I can be of service to you there.”
I reach up, wrapping my arms around his neck, already feeling the outside world slip away.
“I love that you want to help. But my job is to protect you …” His fingertips brush over my brow. “And your mind.”
His head dips to my neck. And my soul takes flight as his warm lips brush against my skin, taking me somewhere safe. Somewhere far away.