Chapter Twenty-Five
Romy
Two weeks later…
“D ad has gone dark.”
I jerk my head to see Theo frowning at his phone. Caius stiffens slightly, but not enough to alarm Nova, who’s nestled in the crook of his arm, sleeping and sucking on her pacifier.
“Dark how?” Koyn asks, glancing up from his laptop. “I thought you had him convinced you were looking for Caius.”
“I did,” Theo mutters. “I even spoke to him on the phone last night. It seemed like everything was fine with him.”
I rub at the ache in my temple. “You’re a terrible liar, Theo. He knows you’ve switched sides.”
He scowls. “He can’t. I was so convincing. I swear I didn’t say anything to make him think I was with Caius, or you for that matter.”
“He’s scared,” Caius offers with a small shrug. “Arrogantly putting everything out in the open is his natural way of doing things. For him to hide means he knows he’s about to go down.”
Everyone is tense and serious as we sit around the conference table. Even Dragon and Bizzy are focused. We all want to get this over with. I hate how long it takes to get justice, even the lawless vigilante kind.
Nova starts to squirm, which means she’s getting hungry. Caius passes her to me and I efficiently pop her onto the boob. Anytime I nurse in front of these men, Gibson never fails to turn red as a tomato and refuses to make eye contact. It’s kind of funny that it embarrasses him.
“Okay,” Bermuda says, sitting up straight and rubbing his palms together. “It’s ready. Question is, are we ready to push the button? There’s no withdrawing it once it starts.”
Koyn glances my way. “Your call, Romy.”
I look down at my little girl, relieved that she’ll never know the hell me and Caius went through as kids through adulthood. Even Kaitlyn and LuLu have known horrific things no kid should go through. Nova will be safe and have a normal life. We’re doing this for her and all the other kids who might become victims one day if we don’t.
“Do it. Burn it all to the ground.”
Bermuda clicks on his keyboard and then leans back in his seat. “It’s done. I’ve created a crawler virus that will interrupt broadcasting and force the video out. It’ll then start posting to thousands of dummy accounts across the web so when VEIL cuts the feed, people can run to the internet to see the rest.” He claps his hands together, making Nova jolt in surprise. “Who’s hungry for burgers? I’m about to get dinner started.”
He leaves us thinking about his fantastic cooking and what kind of damage our operation is about to do.
Last week, we created a compilation video where we laid it all out on the table. Our identities were hidden via a blur and voice changing software, but our stories were the cold, hard truth. The more I talk about my experiences and what happened to me, the easier it gets. Knowing I might save someone else by exposing the monsters was gratifying.
The video has my story, Caius’s, LuLu’s, Kaitlyn’s through what me and Caius know, Theo’s parts, and even Megan’s. It didn’t take much convincing to get her to do a video call and tell her story.
We dropped names of people and organizations, locations, and horrific details that will turn anyone’s stomach. Nothing was left out. Nothing.
And now it’s in the wild.
Dad and Bastian are most likely freaking out that their network has been hijacked.
“Oh shit,” Theo mutters. “Dad responded.”
“What did he say?” me and Caius demand at once.
Nova pops off my nipple to gaze lovingly at me after hearing her parents speaking at the same time. I grin at her and then help her latch back on.
“He said, ‘What have my sons done to me?’”
Theo, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, frowns sadly at his phone. When he came here, to me and Caius, he chose which side of the family he was going with. The first time, when he betrayed us, he chose wrongly. This time, it’s the right choice, but I can tell it still pains him.
Caius’s expression is cold and distant, but I know him well enough to pick up on tiny cues of his displeasure. The small crease in his forehead, the slight purse of his lips, the tightness in his jaw muscle. I reach over to take his hand, offering my comfort.
Theo and Caius were closer to Orion than I was to Gideon. But he was my father for all intents and purposes, so bringing down the hammer on his world he shares with my brother isn’t easy either.
Eva peeks her head in the conference room, a frown on her face. “Gid is trying to call me. You’re sure he can’t find me?”
Her question is for Koyn, who worked some tech magic on her phone.
“Nothing’s for certain, but you’re safe here,” Koyn assures her. “We just detonated the bomb.”
Even though Eva knows all about our plans, she’s still shocked into silence that it’s finally been done.
“It’s going to get messy before we can clean it up,” I say softly. “Maybe you should turn off your phone and go see if Bermuda needs help in the kitchen. Might take your mind off things.”
She flashes me a grateful smile that widens when she sees her granddaughter. “That’s a lovely idea, hon.”
Once she’s gone, Koyn cracks his neck. “I just checked and social media is already blowing up. It’s all over Twitter.”
“X, old man. It’s X now.” Nees grins at his uncle, earning a middle finger in return.
“What the fuck ever,” Koyn growls. “By the time dinner is over, the people of the internet will be dissecting the hell out of this shit.”
The files are all out there. The Crowne Unity Project—or CUP of lies as I like to think of it—and their CUP Star soldier program. We can thank Theo for that access, though I still haven’t fully forgiven him. There’s also a ton of information on Stem Lock that Koyn’s group stole from the facility when they came for me and Kaitlyn. That implicates Doc Junior and Huxley. Even everything about Solomon and Ava’s nefarious ventures were exposed, including their client list, which had people like Huxley and other important government figureheads on it. Every bit of it is being forced through the media channels my father owns.
It’s a lot.
Overwhelming, in fact.
But it’s necessary.
They’re all going down some way or another, starting with their reputations.
“I think that’s all we can do for tonight,” Koyn states, fatigue in his voice. “We’ll see what the fallout looks like tomorrow and pick it up from there.”
I can’t believe this nightmare has an end in sight.
It’s weird to have a date night.
Caius and I haven’t ever dated. Our lives were woven together, completely out of our control, and we just went with it. But tonight, it’s just us, good food, music, and cool drinks.
“You look horny,” Caius says, smirking from behind his bottle of beer. “Stop looking at me like you want me to put another baby in you.”
“We can’t have sex yet,” I grumble. “I was just thinking this is a weird, and really late, first date.”
He snorts out a laugh. “Until Nova was born, you had a date every night with my dick.”
“Funny guy.” I roll my eyes and sip my sweet iced tea. “You think the girls are okay? What if I don’t have enough milk bagged for Eva?”
“They’re fine,” Caius assures me. “Come here.”
I abandon my chair and drink to crawl into Caius’s lap. He smells like smoke from the campfire. I run my nose along his neck, inhaling his masculine scent.
“We could do other things,” I tease as I nip at his flesh. “With our mouths.”
He tightens his grip on my ass. “You’re obsessed with my cock, love. Can’t a guy just wine and dine his woman without having to put out?”
I giggle at his words. When he’s relaxed, Caius is exactly the type of man I’d have wanted to date. It’s crazy to think I hated him at first and would’ve preferred Theo over him in the beginning. My, how times have changed.
Speaking of Theo…
I sit up and scan the group around the fire. It’s still hot during the days, but the evenings are definitely cooling off as fall is upon us, so the fire is welcome. Dragon has Cove straddling his lap as they make out in front of everyone. Theo sits awkwardly beside them, his eyes on me.
A flash of guilt surges through me and is followed by anger that snuffs it out.
Theo chose to do the things Theo wanted to do. He has no one to blame for himself. If only he’d asked me out rather than kidnapping me, maybe things would have gone differently.
Caius rubs my ass over my jeans. Sure, Theo is attractive, but he’s not him . Not my Caius—the man I can’t seem to ever get out of my head or my heart. I don’t want to either.
“I love you,” I murmur softly.
“I love you too.” He shifts so he can shove his hand into his pocket. “Figured I’d do it in a more romantic way, but I don’t think it gets better than this.”
I marvel at the ring that glitters in the fire light. It’s different than the fake engagement ring he gave to me months ago at the fancy event we went to. He slides the simple solitary diamond ring on my finger. It looks good there. After everything we’ve gone through, it’s more meaningful to wear his ring now.
“I love it,” I whisper. “Yes. The answer is yes.”
He chuckles. “I didn’t ask.”
“Not that you would have anyway. You’re more of a guy who tells rather than asks.”
“But you don’t like being told what to do.”
“Except for with you. I trust you, Caius, so the answer is yes.”
I twist so I can see his handsome face. As Gibson strums a country song on his acoustic guitar and Nees’s laughter can be heard not far away, I admire my soon-to-be husband’s handsome features.
It’s hard to remember him from his stone-cold, stiff, suit days. This jean and T-shirt wearing, scruffy jawline, and overgrown hair thing he has going on is totally working for him. He’s unbelievably sexy.
His hand slides into my hair at the back of my head as he draws me to his lips. The kiss is sweet at first, but then he’s devouring me like I might not be here tomorrow. I’m keenly aware of the fact we’re now the dopey couple in love who makes out in front of everyone. Still, I don’t care.
I yelp when he rises to his feet with me in his arms. “Where are we going?”
Someone whistles and we hear a few catcalls.
“I need privacy with you, love.”
He takes me around to the front of the house and sets me down on the top step. The sultry look in his eyes tells me what he wants and I’m glad to give it. I yank at the buckle of his jeans, eager to pull his cock out. He grunts when I finally free it, grabs onto the railing, and leans toward my waiting mouth.
I take hold of his thick, hot dick and lick the salty tip. The sound he makes sends heat waves rippling through me. I’m not one to tease, going straight for my goal of swallowing his length. He lets out a string of curse words that makes me giggle once I’ve stopped the gag reflex.
His hand caresses my head as he slowly bucks against me. I’ve learned how to relax my throat so he can easily slide down it. It’s a bit uncomfortable, but I love how quickly he comes. It feels that good to him.
“Oh fuck,” he groans. “I swear you kill me when you do this, love. I want to last, but it feels so fucking amazing.”
My nostrils flare as I bob up and down, encouraging him to fuck my throat. It only takes a few more of his thrusts and he’s over the edge. Spurts of salty heat gush into my throat. I swallow them and his spasming cock over and over until he’s spent.
He staggers away from me and all that’s left of him is a string of cum that runs down my chin. I watch him as he puts himself back in his pants and make a show of using my finger to push the remnants of him back into my mouth.
“Tell me when I can be inside you again,” he growls. “Not just your mouth. You.”
I rise to my feet and fling my arms around his neck. “Not soon enough.”
It takes every ounce of self-control in me not to beg for him to fuck me anyway, doctor’s orders be damned. Thankfully, he keeps his desire in check.
“Come on,” Caius says, pulling away and taking my hand. “Date night isn’t over. You owe me a dance.”
I flash him a stupid, lovestruck grin.
And he gives me one back.