Kane
“L et’s go.” The Malone crew stalks onto the bus and finds their seats. No one mentions Minka’s thing. And no one stares too long. Except Soph . But everyone—from my crew, anyway—understands what the fuck we just witnessed.
We’ve seen Soph do the same.
Once, back when her baby sister was thought to be dead and the world, as Soph knew it, was ending.
Hell, if I don’t agree with Detective Malone’s volcano analogy.
“It’ll take just a few minutes to drive into town,” Jay announces, swinging his captain’s chair around and dropping into the bouncy seat with a smug grin. “Then we gotta get changed and head over for the wedding.”
“Uh, no.” Minka folds onto a chair beside Archer, half sitting on his lap and not at all shy about it. Though I figure, typically , she would be. “We’re not going to the wedding. We’re going to the airport.”
Jay leans over the steering wheel and presses whatever buttons start this thing. “Yeah. Airport after the wedding.”
“No. Airport first,” Fletch growls. “Then you lot can do whatever the fuck you want.”
“Did you fix that shit with my plane yet?” Felix leads Christabelle to a seat, holding her hands and helping her down until she docks with an exhale of relief.
“I’m gonna need a written fucking guarantee from the US Air Force that they aren’t gonna shoot us out of the sky because they think we’re enemies to the country. ”
“Soon.” Soph waves him off, sneaking a smile my way. Because she gets off on taunting them. “And just so we’re on the same page, I can get you a written guarantee that your name is Vladimir Putin and you’re the CEO of Clown College. Doesn’t make it a truthful document.”
Micah swings around and clicks his neck. His fingers twitch, like this motherfucker has to control his urge not to grab his knife. But a lot has changed in the space of twenty-four hours. Because none of us—not Jay, not Romeo or Spence or Corey, and not even me—worry he’ll actually start slicing.
Instead, I snag Jess before she can wander straight past and tug her onto my lap.
She lets out a yelp, her pulse thrumming and her eyes swinging to mine.
But her surprise turns to a hum of pleasure, and her smile notches up a thousand degrees.
Most stunning of all, her Caribbean eyes lock on to mine, and her plump bottom lip falls prey to her teeth.
“You’re sitting with me, Blondie.”
“Hmm.” She draws her long legs up, placing all of her weight on my cock and saying nothing when she feels me hard. Always hard. Always wanting her. “There are other, perfectly suitable seats, Bish. Besides, sitting on your lap is not road-legal, and we have two cops riding with us.”
“I wouldn’t care if the police commissioner was on the bus and he had an active warrant with my name on it.” I slide my fingers into her hair and pull her closer. Closer. Until I get to replace her teeth with my own. “I’m kinda sad our camping trip is over.”
She snorts. “You would be. Turns out you can relax, but only when we’re sleeping in the dirt and none of us are communicating with the outside world.”
“Makes it easier to relax when our camp is controlled, our guests are friendly, and your ass is on my cock, right where it’s meant to be.”
“This bus is not big enough for your nasty talk.” Spence presses his back to the wall and lowers to the floor. Drawing his knees up, he takes out his phone and starts typing and talking out loud, “ Dear Priss. I miss you so fucking much. I miss your sweet, succulent, rounded ?—”
“Hey!” Romeo snarls. “No.”
“Double fucking no,” Corey sneers. “It’s not happening, and you’re outgunned. Delete that shit and shut your damn trap.”
“ Heart ,” Spence continues. “I miss your massive, swollen?—”
“Dude!”
“Smile,” he snickers. “Break out the fine china, chill the lemonade, tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree. ‘Cos this boy’s coming home to his ladies. Coming home fo?—”
“Uh…” Jay mashes the control panel up front… but nothing happens. He tries again. Then a third time, before turning back and meeting Soph’s gaze. “It’s not starting, Sugar Plum.”
“Funny,” Minka drawls. “Start the damn bus.”
“No, seriously.” Jay tries again. Then a fifth time. “It’s not starting.”
Aubree shoves to her feet and stalks to the front of the bus.
She taps the same button he does, and fuck me, I catch the hand she places on his shoulder.
She touches him, and he knows it, too. She squeezes and stares into his eyes.
Then she turns to Minka and gulps. “There’s something wrong with the bus. ”
“That’s what I just said!” Jay brushes her hand off and pushes up from his seat. “Someone else wanna try? Because I’m not lying.”
“He’s gonna die.” Jess giggles in my ear. “If he’s playing, he’s gonna regret it.”
“This isn’t funny,” Minka growls. “Start the stupid bus so we can go home.”
“Let me try.” With a huff of exertion, Spence jumps to his feet with surprising agility, considering his size. Slipping the phone into his pocket, he strides past the Rosa brothers and flicks the shell of Troy’s ear as he passes.
When he reaches the front of the bus, he very carefully, very respectfully grabs Aubree and moves her to the side. But for every second they touch, he grins. For every moment her eyes hold his, he smirks and plays her game.
“What do you see, Doc?” He drops into Jay’s chair and fusses with the control panel. “Wanna share with the class?”
She firms her lips and folds her arms. But there’s no animosity in her gaze. No rage or distrust.
“She saw nothing,” Soph jabs. “Because it’s all fake. We were bamboozled.”
“Kind of like how we were bamboozled and brought here in the first place. I hate when that happens.”
“Prove me wrong.” Soph leans against the wall of the bus, on the opposite side to where Minka sits. Just in case . “Tell me something you couldn’t know. Wow me.”
“Why would I? I have nothing to prove to you.”
“Because you’re a fake. Let’s not forget that, if your gift ,” she air quotes with her fingers, “was real, you wouldn’t have been bamboozled in the first place. Mayet was so focused on the headset, she didn’t even realize my test was complete the moment you sat your asses on that plane.”
“Guess you’re right.” Aubree lifts just one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug, then she walks toward Tim and cuddles into his side, pressing her body to his ribs and beaming when his arm comes down to sandwich her in.
They’re not so different from us at all. Not really.
Different families. Different cities. Different backgrounds.
But for every moment I sit here with Jess on my lap, and I’m treated to an unrestricted view of Archer holding Minka, Tim standing with Aubree, Even Felix, the fucking don , fussing over Christabelle, they become more human to me.
Not machines to be wary of. Not mafia I have to protect my family from. They’re just people, and at the root of it all, they’ll do whatever they’ve gotta do to protect those they love.
Same as me. And Spence. And Jay. And every other person on this bus.
“You don’t get to doubt her.” Cato moves toward the front of the bus, scowling at Soph. “You don’t get to call her a fake.”
“Why not? She’s yet to prove me otherwise.”
“She doesn’t have to prove anything! She knows what she is. She knows what she’s capable of.”
“Look at you, standing up for your sister,” Spence teases. “Kinda forgot you were still a kid. But there you go, spouting off because you can’t see the long game.”
“It’s not spouting off to demand an apology when an apology is due. You don’t get to call my fuckin’ family out for lying when they’re not.”
“Cato.” Aubree shakes her head. “Stop.”
“I’ll stop when these assholes acknowledge their betters.”
“Their betters?” Spence throws his head back, laughing. And because she’s smart, Jess slides off my lap, allowing me space to stand if the kid escalates. “Boy, just because you were born rich doesn’t make you better. It just makes you shinier.”
“Say sorry for calling her a liar, and we won’t have a problem.”
“Cato,” Archer growls. “Enough.”
“Yeah, Cato. Enough.” Spence rises from the driver’s seat and turns to face the rest of us. “Also, the bus is fucked.”
“The hell you mean it’s fucked?” Felix leaves Christabelle behind and shoves between his baby brother and mine. “This bitch cost more than the average American home. It’s a day old!”
Spence turns to him, too fucking arrogant for his own good. “Step down, Capo. The bus ain’t starting, and you bitchin’ about it won’t change anything.”
“Sophia.” Minka’s eyes burn with fierce intolerance. “Stop screwing around. We have a flight to catch.”
“Why are you blaming me? I didn’t do anything.” She strides through the growing group and flops into the chair. “It was fine yesterday.”
“It was fine an hour ago,” Troy rumbles. “Are we going, or not?”
“We’re definitely going.” Minka stands, snarling.
Though I don’t miss the hand Archer keeps wrapped around hers.
Nor the way he sits forward and curls a finger through the loop of her pants.
“I’m ready for this bullshit circus to be over, Sophia.
It stopped being funny three days ago, before it even began. Cut the shit already.”
“I’m not faking this.” She slams her foot to the gas pedal, flooding the engine like a total newb. “This is a nine-hundred-thousand-dollar bus. This is a quality engine! There’s no reason for it not to?—”
“Open the door.” Rolling her eyes, Aubree turns to the exit. “We’re not going anywhere.”
“Yes, we are!” Minka snaps. “We’re driving to the airport. I refuse to miss that flight.”
“You think you have it bad?” Sophia quips. “I’m gonna miss the wedding between two people I don’t even know. I had money on the fight, dammit!”