Chapter 22
I woke with the sunbeams through the window and a song in my heart.
Was all this a gift from the gods? It had to be.
I was unnaturally happy. A grin spread across my face as I stretched my gloriously aching body, reaching for Grayson.
He was gone. In his place, was a tray with his chocolate chip pancakes, orange juice and a single stem of Blue Vervain flowers.
The Vervain had me giggling and kicking my feet.
I ate fast and got dressed. Then added some new soothing ointment and butterfly plasters over my cuts.
It was going to scar beautifully. Thinking of Grayson’s gorgeous face, those strong arms wrapped around me, moulding me against his firm body, had my hands moving extra quick as I braided my hair.
A quick dab of mascara for my pale lashes, some flashes of the previous night to redden my cheeks, and a broad, happy smile, and I was ready.
I took one last, deep breath to help settle the butterflies in my stomach, then flitted out the door.
Three steps and I stopped dead in my tracks, at the low urgent whispering.
I peered through the railing to where Grayson was leaning over the back of a dining chair, his brow furrowed.
It was Hunter who whispered in a frustrated manner.
He was sitting next to Gemma at the dining table with his back to me, but from his hand gestures it was obvious that he was about to explode.
Gemma was trying to calm him, or reason with him.
I couldn’t tell which, so I moved a bit closer to the railings to hear better.
“For someone so smart, you’re being a real rube, bro!” Hunter exclaimed in a loud whisper. “You’ve waited so long… fought so hard for this. We have worked too hard on this for you to throw it away over some pussy.”
Grayson’s head snapped up to Hunter, fury darkening his features.
“Hunter!” Gemma exclaimed in shock, leaning away from him.
Hunter threw his hands up. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Gray, okay?
I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.
I know you like her, and I respect that.
But she’s messin’ with your head. You’re not thinking clearly with her.
” He sighed and his shoulders sagged as he dropped back into his chair.
“I just think you’re making a mistake, man. ”
Grayson noticed me then. He held my gaze as he slowly straightened, anger still burning in his eyes.
My good mood had leeched away with every word Hunter had uttered.
With every tense emotion in the room, palpable like tendrils of dark, thick smoke swirling through the air, sitting heavy in my chest.
Hunter and Gemma turned to me as they caught Grayson’s stare. Gemma rose from her chair and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I just stared back at them.
“Why don’t you let her decide?” Hunter uttered louder this time for my benefit, looking back at Grayson. “If she wants to be with you, like she claims, let her choose for herself.”
Grayson’s grip on the chair tightened, his knuckles turning white. “Enough. Maybe you should get some fresh air.” From the tone of his voice, it was more of a command than a suggestion. My body reacted to that tone, hair raising at the back of my neck.
But I needed to know what Hunter was talking about. “Choose what?” I asked, staring down at Hunter, ignoring the daggers Grayson was shooting at me. Hunter’s eyes flitted up to me, looking pleased at my question, like he had won. It only lasted a second before it turned to confliction.
Hunter turned back to Grayson. “She’s either all in, like the rest of us, or not at all. You can’t pick and choose what she’s part of, brother. That’s not how this family works, and you know it.”
Grayson’s jaw flexed as he pulled a hand through his hair, trying to compose himself. Hunter’s words had struck a nerve. Grayson was battling with himself on what to do.
“What will it be, Ava?” Hunter turned his back to Grayson, dismissing him as he faced me, determination set in his jaw.
“Are you prepared to get down and dirty with the rest of us? Are you prepared to take a bullet for us? Because that’s what we do.
We’re ready to die and kill for one another.
And every other fucked-up thing in between.
Do you have what it takes?” He paused. “Do you want to be a part of this family?”
A chill went down my spine. My eyes darted to Grayson, then Gemma, while I tried to process Hunter’s words.
They only stared up at me. Each with their own emotions flitting across their faces as they waited for my answer.
I knew what I wanted, or at least I thought I did. Was I prepared to kill for it?
With the life they lived, Hunter wasn’t exaggerating.
He wasn’t being dramatic. It was a part of their reality.
The darker side to what they did. Yes, they were free.
They travelled the world, did as they pleased, sought thrills and acted on their impulses and desires.
But it was a dangerous life. One they had to do the unthinkable to protect one another from.
I stared at Grayson’s stunning face, my mind going silent. His eyes were soft and a little panicked as he searched mine.
Yes. I could do it. For Grayson, I would do anything. Had I not given up my life already? To be a part of theirs?
I opened my mouth to answer, but Grayson interrupted me. “Before you decide, Ava, I need to show you something. You need to know all of it, exactly what you’re getting yourself into.” Grayson’s eyes bore into mine. “Who you are dealing with.”
Gemma took in a ragged breath and nodded her agreement, not looking up from the floor.
I swallowed hard. By the look on his face, it was something bad.
Was he going to show me the graves of all the people he’d murdered?
It was still a mystery as to what those X’s on the map were.
Grayson was right. I knew him, the beat of his heart, how tender his touch could be, but I still had no idea who I was dealing with.
It was time I found out.
I made my way down the stairs where Grayson waited, fighting hard against the childish urge to run and hide in my bed.
To pull the blankets over my head and pretend none of it was real.
To hide from Grayson’s eyes that couldn’t meet mine as I took his waiting hand.
To pretend I didn’t feel the way he tightly caged my hand in his own, like it was a bird he was afraid would fly off.
He pulled me through the front door and down the porch steps.
We went around the cabin, Gemma and Hunter on our heels.
Just a few steps outside the clearing, at the edge of the woods, Grayson stopped in front of a large, round, iron hatch in the ground.
It was rusted, blending in almost completely with the dirt and fallen foliage around it.
It was opened recently. It wasn’t littered with dead vegetation like the ground around it.
“Anything else you’re hiding in these woods?” I asked, my voice trembling a bit as Grayson opened a compartment on the hatch door, revealing a keypad. First the helicopter, now this.
No one answered, everyone being suspiciously quiet.
Grayson pushed in the code. 28882. A light on the keypad flashed green and a lock released.
He lifted the heavy door, and I watched, dumbfounded as the lights flickered on inside, one by one, revealing a steep staircase, disappearing down into a chamber.
“What is this place?” I took a nervous step backwards.
A hand clasped around mine, squeezing gently. “It’s an old bomb shelter. The reason we bought this piece of land.” Gemma gave me an almost smile, trying to reassure me.
Grayson disappeared down the steep stairs with an ease that only came from familiarity.
I took a deep breath and released Gemma’s hand, following after him.
I kept my eyes on my feet, taking each step down carefully, trying hard not to think about what I would find when I reached the bottom.
The air smelled musty as I descended the steps.
The stifling air reminded me of the closed off section of Bentley Cove’s little library, deep in its basement floor.
As I stepped off the last step, I looked up. Grayson was standing in the middle of an enormous dim-lit room, leaning against an island table, littered with stacks of papers and files and other objects. One of which I noted was a solid gold bar, acting as a paperweight.
Grayson’s eyes burned me as I took in the room around me.
There was an assortment of old wooden tables and shelves pushed against the left wall, cluttered with different objects, ranging from paintings to scrolls to an assortment of antique objects.
From vases to what looked like a treasure chest to a golden sword and the most beautiful dragon carved out of the largest piece of flawless jade I had ever seen.
The back of the room was a stark difference to the left.
The steel shelves were adorned with bright white lights, lighting up the assortment of equipment and weapons, the likes of which I had only seen in a James Bond movie.
Some of it left me dumbfounded as to what they could be, or what it could be used for.
These people were definitely professionals.
The right side had a large screen in the middle.
To one side stood a desk with three computer screens and file cabinets next to it.
On the other side of the screen, was an even bigger bulletin board.
On it was an assortment of paper and photos pinned, red and green twine laced throughout, creating a web of information that made no sense to me.
This must be what the inside of Grayson’s head looked like.
I tore my eyes from the board and looked back at the two iron doors at the back of the room. One on each side. Both were closed.