Chapter 32
My parents step into my hospital room. An avalanche of emotions crash down on me, but it’s the best kind of feeling. My eyes tear up and my mother takes my hand in hers.
“Are you in pain? How are you feeling?”
“I’m good, Mom. I should ask you that.”
Her eyes, even though they shine with relief, behind them are other feelings too. We might be alive, but we’re far from well.
My father comes to my other side, taking my hand in his. “I’m so proud of you.”
I can’t shake the impression that we are tiptoeing around each other, but I guess after all we went through, that’s normal.
My parents stay a while longer, and when they leave, Kaden rushes back inside. I feel his desperation, his need, his love for me as if they are my own. They are. Our souls are fused together.
When our friends walk inside, Abi, Bailey, and Mia stand to the left, the guys on the other side.
“We did it,” I say, just to shove away the heaviness permeating the room.
But we’re not free.
I hate the uncertainty. In the end, there will still be someone else deciding our future.
I look at Blake alone in the corner. His body is tense. The way he keeps a distance breaks my heart. I don’t even know if he does it consciously, not stepping into our bubble, or if the group is freezing him out, but I say, “You saved me.”
“No, you did that.” I get the impression that his words carry more weight. We are all broken, even if we didn’t share the same experience.
“I call for a girl’s night out. No, make that multiple,” Abi says, and the girls and I nod enthusiastically. Even if our relationship hasn’t been easy, similar experiences create the best bonds.
“How are you feeling?” Bailey asks.
“She’s drugged out of her mind. She feels great,” says Dane, and I chuckle.
“Don’t do this solo again, okay? I was worried,” Mia says.
Hunter looks straight at Bailey, arching an arrogant brow. “Were you worried all alone in your ivory tower, kitten?”
“Hunter,” Kaden and I say at the same time.
With a smirk on his face, Hunter comes to me, kisses my cheek and is the first to leave, followed by Blake who salutes me. Dane winks at me, and I say, “That was quite a show.”
“I’m good at blowing up things.”
Mia plops down on the chair and says, “From an orphan to having both of your parents back. That’s not weird at all.”
We burst into laughter. I look at my friends, vowing to have more moments like these.
“You can cut the crap now,” Abi says. “We have to talk, because you might say you’re fine, and you might try to hide it. But the memories will eat at you, and when you least expect it, they will resurface.”
“If this Family was good for anything, it was to make us stronger than we ever thought.”
“Promise.” She insists and I nod, but I need more time to process.
I am still forcing everything to the back of my head. She smiles at me reassuringly.
“So you and Hunter are not odd at all,” I turn to Bailey.
She fidgets with her fingers. “He sees me as weak and annoying.”
Mia places a hand on her shoulder. “You intrigue him, and he’s going to eat his words when he finds out.”
“Hey, we shouldn’t keep secrets anymore.” Abi pouts.
Mia says, “Yes. Agree. Girl power.”
We all nod and a yawn parts my lips.
Mia says, “We’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too,” they say back.
I try to keep my eyes open, but the fatigue drags me down in sweet blackness.
Darkness bathes the room when my eyes open. My heart rate spikes, making the machine beep quicker. My chest heaves with my rapid breathing as the sound thunders in my ear.
Kaden shoots up from his chair, taking my hand, instantly calming me.
“Hey, baby, I’m here.”
What is wrong with me? I am not scared of the dark.
“I feel pathetic.”
“Strange. I see a fighter and a survivor. Are you blind, Sky? I know my beauty puts you on your back and all,” he teases, lightening the mood.
“So arrogant.”
“Sky, I am talking based on solid facts.”
“It’s not over,” I whisper.
He cups my face in his hands and leans in to kiss me. “We’ll fight through everything. Together.”
“I’m tired of fighting, Kaden. But together sounds perfect.”
I pat the spot next to me. Concern lines those mesmerizing eyes of his.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Not you. Never you.”
“Should I remind you of all the times we fought?” he asks, carefully leaning on his side next to me.
“Foreplay.”
“Let’s settle for traditional foreplay from now on.”
“I wouldn’t mind following some traditions.”
“I’m all for that. You, a home, good friends, and a quaint life.”
“But no one wears the pants in our relationship.”
“No, I like us naked. Easy access.”
I slap him playfully on his shoulder, biting back a wince.
“That’s what happens when you hit me. It’s karma.”
“I’ll show you karma when I get better.”
He exhales deeply, kissing the tip of my nose. “I’ll miss you.”
I look at him confused. “Baby, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Tell that to your parents.”
The child in me who has cried night after night, missing my parents, who has suffered through excruciating longing for them, needs the time with them. “And I’ll come back. You’re my home. You’re my future.”
His face radiates with the brightest smile. We kiss gently until we fall asleep.
When I wake up, my heart warms. Kaden is still asleep. His hand is on my stomach, his body heat enveloping me. A clearing throat snaps me out of my reverie.
“Someone ought to tell him he shouldn’t be here,” my father grumbles.
A peal of laughter escapes my mouth and Kaden stirs awake.
He brushes his nose against mine, kissing me. “Morning, Sky.”
“Aww, aren’t they sweet?” my mom says.
Kaden’s eyes widen, realizing we’re not alone.
“Son, do you need an invitation to get up?”
With a groan, he gets out of bed, but doesn’t leave my side.
The doctor and a nurse enter the room to check on me. The nurse changes my bandage, and the doctor says, “You were lucky. The bullet went straight through, and didn’t cause any major damage.”
“Can I leave the hospital now?”
Three versions of “No!” ring out around me.
“We need to keep you for a few more days.”
I sigh but give in.
***
Three days later, the doctor discharges me from the hospital. I lift my face toward the sky and breathe in the fresh air. Rays of sun dance on the tip of my nose.
“I’ll see you there,” I say to my parents.
Kaden opens the passenger door for me and buckles me in, his brows furrowed in concentration.
“That’s quite the chivalry.”
He winks at me. “Get used to it.”
That sounds dreamy and I sigh contentedly, hope for the future filling my chest.
When we reach my father’s place, Kaden goes inside and chats with my father while I walk toward the backyard with my mother.
“I have been visiting your Grandmother.”
A sour taste fills my mouth.
“She told me everything, Celine. It’s difficult for me to forgive her. To be honest, I don’t even know if I want to or can. She was supposed to guide you, support you in case something happened to me. Instead, she blamed a child for an accident that wasn’t even an accident.”
“She loves you, Mom.”
While all the others are still jittery after everything went down, I am less worried. I know that her love and grief for my mother caused her to treat me like she did.
“She’s ill.”
“Oh,” I say, hoping to sound more sympathetic than I am.
“She’s dying. I don’t know how much time she has left.”
“Mom, she’s your mother, but I…”
“It’s okay. I’ll always be in your corner.”
We stay for a while longer, having lunch. Kaden and I say our goodbyes and drive back to the house.
After this weekend, I leave for the trip with my parents. I am excited even though I will miss him terribly.
“My mother called,” he says, dragging a hand down his face.
“And?”
“She cried for an hour.”
“It wasn’t her fault.”
“Yes. Well, aren’t mothers supposed to protect their children?”
“Imagine being married to someone like your father. Give her a chance.”
I can only see one side of his face as he looks ahead, focused on driving, but the vein in his neck throbs, a clear sign of agitation.
Placing my hand on his arm, I give it a little squeeze. “Do you think my parents would be this relaxed and planning a freaking vacation if they had reasons to worry?”
“Grandmother is still the matriarch.”
“And we showed her we don’t want to have anything to do with this corrupt legacy.”
Back at the house, the second the front door opens, confetti and balloons explode in my vision.
“Welcome home,” they all chime.
Our friends are all there in a circle, but it doesn’t escape me how Blake is in the corner, again keeping his distance.
“Haven’t you talked?” I ask Kaden.
“No.”
Why is he so stubborn?
Music pounds from the speakers and bubbly champagne fills the glasses. I give in and enjoy my welcome home party. It’s so good to unwind, to live in the present.
Hours later, Hunter crashes on the couch, right next to a sleepy Bailey.
He mumbles something under his breath, yet tucks her in. Mia and Blake are on parallel walls, their eyes doing a weird tango.
Dane storms outside with a panicked Abi running after him.
I dart to rush to them. The idiot better not drive after all the drinking.
“Baby, that’s their issue. Stay out of it.”
I tilt my head to the door, but he gathers me up in his arms, careful not to hurt my injured arm. A delicious ripple travels down my belly as he carries me upstairs. The hospital stay helped with something else: I was too high on pain meds to even feel the pain of my period.
He plops me on his bed, and I straddle his legs.
Desire ripples through me.
“What will you do to me?” My finger traces his six-pack up and down.
“Nothing, because you’re still healing. Believe me, I yearn to make love to you. I am burning to fuck you.”
“Kaden, please fuck me. I want you to give me everything you have.”
My words unleash a dormant beast. He rolls me over, getting on top of me, yet he stops.
“No, Sky… please…” Looking at his tormented face between giving me what I want and doing what is right turns my desire into understanding.
“Kiss me then.”
And he does. Bye bye, reality. When he’s done, my lips are swollen and my heart is full.
“I love you.”
“Today. Tomorrow. Always.” He finishes our love declaration and I cuddle myself to him.
***
I wake up before Kaden and contemplate him in his slumber. Grazing my finger over his jaw, he stirs awake. He whispers my name so reverently and deep with love, my heart overflows with feelings.
Rolling out of bed with him right behind me, we go in the shower where we do nothing more than kiss as he washes me, being careful of my bandages.
I lucked out in the husband department.
As he changes, my eyes fall on the nightstand where my necklace rests. I thought it was forever tainted, but it was a reminder to keep fighting. I pick it up, aching to have it back on my skin where it belongs.
Kaden takes me in, almost shyly, and I say, “Would you help me put it on?”
He gulps, deep blue eyes and notes of gray swimming with emotions. His fingers tremble to lock it.
“Are you sure? Most people have rings,” he asks.
“We’ll have them as well. But before them, we had these. And today we’re getting yours back as well.”
He kisses me and I lose myself in his passion-filled mouth for a few divine seconds that pass way too quickly.
After I put on a pair of high waist jeans and a black lace blouse, I tuck it in my waistband and slip on matching ballet flats.
He gestures for me to take a seat. He threads a comb through my hair and splits my hair into two sides, creating two cute fishtail braids. Memories flash before my eyes. I was never good at doing my hair, so he learned from a young age to do it.
“I missed you doing this.”
“Me too.”
When we go downstairs, my mother steps inside, hugging me. It’s strange not seeing my father next to her, but I find her more at ease. I understand that. My father expects her to crack any second.
When we’re in the car I ask, “How are you, Mom?”
“Too much. I know how it sounds, but it’s just too much.”
“Maybe we should postpone the trip.”
“No, I am fine.”
“You know you can talk to me.”
“When you start talking too, sweetie.”
“So we’re still not talking about the trainwreck.”
We smile at each other knowingly.
“I’m acclimating to life at forty-three… that’s scary.”
“Of all the things that happened that night, peeing my pants felt the worst… like I’d lost my grip on control.”
Silence follows, but as we exchange a glance, I think this is how we will get better. Step by step. One small confession after the other.
When we reach Grandmother’s mansion, she says, “This never ceases to impress me.”
“Will you stay here?”
“When the time comes. I talked to your father, and we decided to stay, to be near her.”
“You’re a good daughter.”
“And you’re the best daughter I could have wished for. Your father broke down yesterday. We’re cracking like old glass. He told me everything.” A deep sigh parts her lips.
I place my hand on top of hers. “Mom, him loving you like that made it all okay.”
“I don’t know what we did to deserve you.”
Thomas rushes to open the door for us, and Mom asks, “How is she today?”
“Today is a better day, ma’am.”
We step inside the foyer. I expect him to show us to her office. Instead, we take the stairs to her room. I’ve only been in there once, right after the accident.
Grandmother’s resting on her bed, dressed immaculately in a black dress and her pearls, but looking pale and fragile. My stupid heart twitches. When her eyes find mine, I see unmistakable regret in them.
She pats the side of the bed, and I approach her. Maybe it’s the trained instinct to follow her orders, or maybe it’s wanting to have one genuine moment with her.
She grabs my hand in her wrinkled one, putting something in it.
“This belongs to you.”
It’s Kaden’s necklace. Her returning it means more to me than having to take it back.
A fit of coughing rocks her chest. My mother rushes to her side and Grandmother’s eyes light up. I watch them interact while my mom steals glances at me, silently asking if I am okay with that.
I nod. Feeling the weight of the necklace in my hand eases me, putting me instantly in a good mood. I can’t wait to give it back to Kaden.
I walk toward the window and prop my hip against the windowsill, watching the roses. Everything feels surreal at the moment.
“Celine?” Grandmother calls me.
I turn my head to her, and she says, “I’m sorry.”
Unable to give her a response, I only dip my chin in acknowledgment.
Out the window, I see cars start to line up outside of the house. “They’re here. I’m going to greet my friends.”
I rush down the long, curved stairs. The moment the door opens, I jump into Kaden’s arms, hiding my face in the crook of his neck, squeezing my eyes shut.
Kaden shields me. “We’ll be there in a few,” he tells the group.
He strokes my back as I cry, soothing me. Cradling me in his arms, he sits on the bench in the rose garden, holding me tightly.
“I don’t even care if she dies,” I whisper.
He lifts my chin, his eyes boring into mine.
“Never question if you’re a good person. What we went through was not normal.”
“My mom, I…”
“You feel betrayed.”
“I don’t even know what to feel.”
I take the necklace from my pocket, watching his eyes take it in. Melancholy and relief transform his face.
I lock it around his neck, and I pluck mine out of my blouse. He makes a fist of our hands around them.
“I know just one thing, one more vow: Us. The two of us together, Sky. Forever.”
His lips sweep me away in a dreamy kiss. His touch brands me. His love anchors me. His presence consumes me until everything else is a flicker in the back of my head.
When we come up for air, I say, “We should go inside.”
I will miss him so much. Nothing short of my reunion with my parents would have made me stay away from him for weeks.
“We have all the time in the world.”
Hand in hand, we step into Grandmother’s office. I find my small tribe congregating in the corner. My father stands next to Cillian. The second my father and mother see each other, their eyes light up, giving me confidence they will be all right.
Grandmother holds herself up on a cane as she limps inside. When she’s seated, the senior members of the Family look from us to her in stiff silence.
Guards bring Felix and Caleb inside, and she says, “This is your process.”
Caleb casts his gaze down and I catch the pure hatred glinting in Felix’s. He seeks the eyes of the others, looking for allies. “You fear her. She’s got one foot in the ground, anyway,” he snarls.
“Silence.”
One word. She didn’t even raise her voice, and no one dares utter a word.
“The Family has prided itself on one thing. Loyalty above everything else. It went well for generations until times changed and values shifted. Instilling fear is nothing when we cripple the next generation to the point of fighting against their own family.”
I gasp.
Her eyes find me, and she adds, “In my time, the initiation was a vow. Family comes first. Nothing and no one else. That’s all you needed, and it became your credo. I would have never condoned these types of barbaric initiations. But again, these youngsters became people you could have never been: resilient and devoted. A new generation will restore the right order. They are smarter than all of you together and have followed one simple rule: love. None of them want this legacy, and that makes them worthy leaders.”
Jaws drop. Kaden and I lock gazes while murmurs buzz around the room.
“The legacy is tarnished anyway, but I will give the next generation all the tools they’ll need to rebuild it from the ground up.”
Grandmother looks at Kaden and says, “What do you say?”
“I’m not speaking for the group. We are a unit.”
She smiles, pride etched in the wrinkles around her eyes.
“This is what you all forgot. Sadly. An acute selflessness and sacrifice comes with upholding a dynasty.” She turns her sharp gaze to Felix. “This is your punishment. You will spend the rest of your time in a cell for betraying the Family, and for giving orders that were never yours to give.”
“I did everything for this family.”
“No, you did everything to steal the leadership of this family. Greed is a snake, and you drank its venom until you became one.” She turns to Caleb. “And you.”
His eyes widen into pools of fear, and she adds, “You lived for one thing. For your research, for your projects, and revolutionizing the health industry. But passion without balance is madness. I will put you in the cell right next to Felix so you can keep each other company for the rest of your days.”
She looks toward the other senior members. A reverent silence falls among them. The shackles have been cut. Caution takes residence in their eyes, but I am still watching Felix. It might be intuition, it might be morbid curiosity, but I can’t take my eyes off him.
He glances at a security guard, who makes a slight dip with his chin. He’s going to attack.
Split seconds decide your life. I snatch the letter opener from the desk and ram it straight into the guard’s arm.
“You fucking bitch. You’re too late,” Felix roars.
When I yank it out, I notice the time ticking down on his watch.
“Everyone out,” I yell.
Ruckus erupts. Kaden tries to get to me through the crowd. “Celine?”
“Grab Felix. We need to find the bomb.”
“This house is not fucking worth it.”
“I’m doing this for us, so we never forget.”
I drive my elbow into Felix’s face, and Kaden keeps him in place.
“Son, no. You can’t leave me here.”
I grip his collar, shaking him. “Where is it?”
“You’ll never find it.”
He inches toward the bookshelves, but glances at something on the opposite wall.
So that was his escape route.
“Celine, one more minute. We have to go,” Kaden yells.
I look in the opposite direction, toward the massive family crest on a round golden frame.
“Nooo.” Felix explodes with fury. “I’ll kill you. You’ll never escape my wrath.”
Kaden stares him down, pinning him to the wall with such a force, he gasps.
“You have forty seconds. But even if you succeed in walking out, you will be caught,” I say.
Kaden and I lift the crest and run down the stairs and outside with it.
“How sure are you?”
“Ninety-nine percent?”
We throw it in the fountain and scurry away. An explosion ensues, throwing us onto our backs. Water gushes, splashing all around us, drenching our clothes.
One second I smile, looking at him, the next, another explosion follows. When I lift my eyes, the office’s windows are blown, shards flying in every direction and flames erupt.
What did I miss?
Kaden cups my face. “Look at me.”
I do and he says, “That was his diversion. You couldn’t have known there were two bombs.”
Felix can’t escape. I move to stand up, to convince myself he didn’t escape, only for Kaden to hold me back.
I watch as the right side of the building is engulfed in flames. “It’s ruined.”
“Not quite. This is what we do. We rebuild and make something new out of what has been shattered: stronger, better, and everlasting.”
An hour later, the fire is contained. We stare at the black lines marring the building.
“There is just one body. It belongs to the guard,” Hunter says,
Kaden balls his hands at his sides. “Felix couldn’t have gone too far.”
My father reaches us. “Maybe you should come with us tonight.”
Kaden’s body tightens, and I say, “No, I am staying with my friends tonight.”
I climb into Kaden’s car and rest my cheek on the window.
How much hate can a person harbor to want to kill his own son? Kaden’s grip tightens around the wheel as we speed away.
“He would have killed you. All of us. And for what? I don’t want to have to do anything with this.”
His phone rings, and he connects it to the speakers. “Did they catch him?”
“Not yet,” Thomas says. “The matriarch insists that we proceed with the dinner as always.”
He drags a hand down his face and hangs up.
I thread my fingers with his. “Felix is just one man while we have all the resources in the world. This is not ideal, but we are here, free, like we wanted. We worked hard to get here. Our sacrifices won’t be in vain.”
A reverent silence fills the house. We walk into the living room to find the group gathered around the table, a bottle of whiskey sitting prominently on it.
“Wanna join the fun?” Hunter uncaps it and drinks straight from the bottle.
We drop on the couch, passing the bottle around to one another.
“We could have died today,” says Abi.
“To family,” says Hunter.
“To friendship,” says Mia.
“To new beginnings,” says Blake, not looking at us.
“To teamwork,” says Bailey, at which Hunter rolls his eyes.
“To second chances,” says Dane.
“To life,” says Kaden.
“To ending the corrupt legacy. To us.” I end the toast and put the empty bottle on the table.
Laughter erupts, followed by music. We all move in sync with the rhythm. Sweat rolls down my neck in this light atmosphere, a moment I wish I could bottle up and preserve.
I grind my ass into Kaden’s erection, and he bites my earlobe.
“Tell them goodnight,” he whispers.
A delicious shiver runs down my spine, awakening me from my stupor and throwing me into another.
I wave goodbye to everybody. They roll their eyes at us.
After stripping me down and pushing me onto the bed, he crawls between my legs.
“We should shower.”
“No, just like this. You want to remember, then remember how this feels. We’re alive.”
He pushes inside of me. Traces of ashes, blood, and wetness mingle together on our skin.
“Just like that.”
He yanks at my hair and nips down my neck. His rough touch contradicts the gently thrusting, sliding in and out of me so agonizingly and tantalizingly slow––a delicious torment.
“Don’t tease me, Kaden.”
“How do you want it?”
“You know.”
“Say it.”
“Fuck me. Hard. I need it rough.”
And he thrusts back inside of me, leaving me breathless. My toes curl up and my back arches. Everything else disappears as we chase the ultimate pleasure, falling straight into sweet abandon.
When we come down from the high, I lay in his arms. “I should postpone the vacation.” I feel it in my gut.
“Hey, no. You need this.”
He kisses the top of my head, caressing my arm. “And I’ll be here, waiting for you.”
And truer words have never been spoken. I feel him tense next to me.
“Baby.”
“Two weeks. We’ll manage that, but afterward, no more separation.”
I don’t even care if we’re codependent. I don’t want to change that.
“Promise.”
He backs me into the mattress and says, “I promise.”
He pulls my bottom lip through his teeth. “I love everything about you. I am irrevocably crazy about you.”
“Good, the feeling is mutual.”
We both smile. It’s a small, thoughtful one.
We might have won our freedom, but the demons are still lurking around us.