Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Michelle
I laid plates on the table and set the three pizzas I’d ordered in the center.
I couldn’t eat more than two or three slices, but I knew Kip could put away an entire pizza by himself if he was hungry enough.
Add in three other men, and it was just safer to order three.
Four might have been better, but the pizza shop was running a deal on three pizzas, so three it was.
“I’ll get Hudson and Corvus,” Kip told me. He pressed a kiss to my forehead then slipped out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with Kreed.
“You really didn’t have to buy lunch,” Kreed said. “Hudson and I could have grabbed something on the way home.”
I shook my head. “I don’t mind. It was as simple as ordering pizzas,” I assured him.
“Besides, I think this will be good for Corvus to have you two here with us for lunch. He won’t say it, but he needs your support.
And I think now would also be a good time to tell him your plans for his parents.
” Especially since my idea of beating the shit out of them had been shot down.
But honestly, they deserved a damn good ass-kicking for what they’d done to Corvus.
Kreed nodded but didn’t respond since the three other men appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. Kip had Corvus’s hand captured, and he led him right over to our side of the table, settling him into the seat between us.
“Take a seat and eat,” Kip said, dragging his own chair out. “I’m sure we’re all starving.”
Hudson grunted. “Someone got animal crackers and only let me have one.”
Corvus huffed in annoyance, watching as Kip set two slices of pizza on his plate then did the same for mine. I took my own seat, smiling gratefully at my husband. He was such a caretaker.
“You stole the animal cracker. I told you I wasn’t sharing.”
I laughed softly.
“Protective of your food?” I teased.
Corvus’s cheeks reddened, and he shook his head at the same time Hudson drawled, “No. He wasn’t sharing because Mommy gave them to him.”
I reached over and gripped Corvus’s chin, turning his face to mine. Leaning in, I smoothed my lips over his, and he sighed, leaning into me. I didn’t let the kiss last long, only enough to tease both of us, then released him.
“You’re adorable.” I nodded my head toward his food. “Eat, bub.”
“I made some phone calls while you two were outside,” Kreed announced, looking at Corvus.
Corvus stilled, his pizza halfway to his mouth.
I rubbed his back, hoping to encourage him to continue eating while Kreed filled him in on the plan.
While Kip and I wanted to have a bigger hand in dealing with Corvus’s parents because he was ours, this worked for us.
At the end of it all, Corvus would be safe and free from his parents, and that was what we wanted for him most of all.
“Eat, chibi,” Kip gently ordered.
Corvus shoved the pizza into his mouth, his eyes never leaving Kreed. Kreed wiped his hands on his napkin, and I saw Hudson reach under the table to grip Kreed’s thigh.
“A social worker will be making a stop at your parents’ house and doing a home inspection. Makes it easier for them to do so with them living in government housing.”
Corvus set down his pizza, looking a little green. I grabbed a napkin and reached over to clean his hands so I could hold them without them being greasy and us making a mess of anything.
“If they find what I’m assuming they will, they’ll be taken into custody and booked in county.
From there, a deep dive will be done into their finances.
If it can be proven that they got random deposits into an account, it will make it easier to prove that they had you sexually assaulted and raped in exchange for payment.
We’re going to attempt to pin every charge we can on them. ”
Corvus scrubbed at his face as soon as his hands were clean and flopped against the back of his chair. Kip gripped the nape of his neck, trying to help ground him.
“Does this mean I’ll have to testify against them in court?” Corvus asked.
“More than likely,” Kreed told him.
“If you can’t do that, chibi, we can just try to pin anything else on them, okay? We won’t force you to go through anything you’re not ready for. We’re just trying to get you justice and make sure they pay for everything they’ve done to you. That’s all.”
Corvus shook his head. “No, I can do it. I just… need to prepare myself. That’s all.”
“We’ll be here for you every step of the way,” Kreed promised him.
“You’re not alone in this, Corvus. I wish we’d known sooner, but I understand keeping trauma bottled up inside, even if I don’t agree with it.
” He looked at Hudson, the two of them having their own silent conversation before Hudson leaned in and softly kissed Kreed, almost seemingly apologetic.
“Can we just finish eating?” Corvus asked, frowning at his plate. “And then, I think I just want a fucking nap. Today has been too long already.”
“Yeah, bub.” I gently squeezed his bicep. “Eat then go on to bed. Kip and I will clean up and see Kreed and Hudson out then come to you.”
He nodded. Hudson frowned at him but kept his mouth shut, which I assumed was out of the norm for him if Kreed’s concerned glance toward Hudson was anything to go by.
Corvus finished his two slices of pizza, cleaned his hands, then pushed back from the table without a word, heading for our room. Hudson clenched his jaw, staring after his best friend.
“We’ll take care of him,” I promised them.
“He’s safe here, and he’s protected.” Even then, I heard him calling Mercy to get on the bed with him.
“He has his phone now, too.” Hudson had apparently given it to Kip before going outside, and it was on the charger in the living room.
“If he doesn’t answer, just call me or Kip.
He may want to disconnect for a while, and I think we might enforce a no-phone rule for a little while, too.
Just to give him time to rest and recenter himself. ”
“Understandable,” Kreed said, smiling at us, though it didn’t reach his eyes. He looked at Hudson. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home. He’s okay here.”
Hudson sighed.
“I don’t understand why he didn’t come to me,” he muttered, pushing back from the table and standing.
“He feels a need to protect everyone from his own issues,” Kip said as he stacked dishes and closed the pizza boxes. “We’ll be working on that.”
“Good,” Hudson grumbled then promptly turned on his heel and headed for the front door.
Kreed reached over the table to shake our hands. “I wish we’d met under better circumstances, but it was nice meeting the both of you. Please take care of him. He’s Hudson’s only family outside of me.”
“We’ll always take care of him,” I swore. “He’s quickly becoming the center of our universe.”
Kreed’s smile was more genuine that time. “Good. He deserves to be after so long of fighting on his own.”
And with that, he left, following his fiancé out the door.