31. Andi
Andi
“The paperwork went through?” I ask, my eyes wide.
“The paperwork went through,” Everett nods. The relief is even visible in his expression.
The moment mine and Beck’s heats ended—or maybe during, I’m not too sure, some stuff is a little blurry—Everett had Charles file an emergency conservatorship petition ourselves, rather than waiting for Gina to somehow find out and build a case against us.
We notified the court of my dad’s diagnosis at the same time we turned in our official bonding paperwork to the bond registry.
And luckily? It all went through without a hitch. It was a surprisingly smooth process. I was sure Gina would try to block it somehow, but we haven’t even heard a whisper from her.
“Oh, thank God!” I cheer, reaching out to grab his hand and bouncing up and down as I make it down the front steps of the house.
The others cheer with me as we all make our way down the front path.
We’re going to the hospital to visit my dad, again. I’ve—obviously, given my heat—been preoccupied, so I haven’t had the chance nearly as much as I would’ve liked. I know he’s still unconscious, but I still feel bad that I haven’t been there.
Eli, who’s leading the pack since he tends to take the wheel of his SUV most of the time, freezes in place when we get to the driveway.
The immediate souring of his blood orange scent makes my heart leap into my throat. I cling to Everett’s arm, half expecting to see my dad on the concrete again, even though that’s impossible.
When I peer around Eli’s broad shoulders, my eyes go wide.
Stuart stands in the driveway, offering all of us a firm nod.
“Hello,” he says.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Eli bites out, radiating menace and strength.
“This is private property,” Everett adds, shifting his body to hide me from sight.
“I mean no harm. I just wanted to carry a message.”
“We’re not interested,” Beck chimes in, his voice hard and bitter.
“It’s okay,” I say, swallowing hard and steeling my spine. “You said the paperwork went through, right? There’s nothing he or Gina can do.”
“It did go through, but you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Honey,” Everett murmurs.
I’d be lying if I said curiosity wasn’t eating me alive. Why in the world would Stuart put in the effort to come here? He had no idea when we’d leave, so was he just planning on waiting until one of us did?
Whatever message he wants to share has to be important enough for him to do that, right?
“What do you want, Stuart?” I ask, stepping aside slightly so Eli and Everett aren’t blocking my view of him.
“I was hoping to speak to you earlier,” Stuart says, his expression blank. “Congratulations on your freedom, Andromeda.”
“Like you ever cared about her freedom,” Cameron growls, an uncharacteristic bite to his words.
“I truly didn’t care one way or the other, to be frank,” Stuart shrugs.
“Then why did you do all the shit you did?” I bite out.
“For her.” There’s something hard about the way he says those two words. He’s obviously talking about Gina. It betrays a deep-rooted, almost fanatic obsession that I’ve only ever seen hints of. “Which is why I’m here. I have news.”
Cameron’s phone chimes from his pocket.
It’s a chime I recognize. Probably because my body is strangely attuned to anything that has to do with Gina. Cameron has different alerts set up for various keywords in media headlines, and this particular chime is the one he uses for updates that have to do with Gina.
He immediately whips his phone out and lets out an audible gasp.
“I wanted to tell you before the headlines were released, but I guess this is a good alternative,” Stuart comments.
Cameron’s breath punches out of him as he passes the phone to Everett, whose eyes widen in shock.
Leo and Beck lean over Everett’s shoulders and manage to catch sight of the headline before I do.
“Let me see,” I huff, tugging Everett’s arm down so I can read the headline.
“Holy shit,” I breathe out.
“Care to share with the class?” Eli growls, never taking his eyes off Stuart.
“Gina Sterling, Hospitalized on 51-50 Hold, Court Grants Emergency Conservatorship.” The words leave my lips robotically. The shock is so numbing I can barely feel my tongue.
“You were the one granted conservatorship over her, weren’t you,” Cameron says, his voice tight. “Because technically, you guys are married now.”
“Yes, indeed,” Stuart says, his lips quirking up into a chilling smirk. “I wanted to let you know that she won’t bother you anymore, Andromeda.”
“Wh—why?” I stutter, my jaw clenching. “Just like that?”
“Yes. You draw her attention away from—more important things—namely, me, and I think this is a rather fair arrangement. You get your freedom. Freedom it seems, you’re enjoying thoroughly.
” His gaze drops down to my bond marks, exposed by the spaghetti strap tank top I’m wearing.
“And I get the thing I’ve always wanted. Gina.”
Unease roils in my gut. It’s hard to untangle. On one hand, I’m hesitant to believe him. He’s never been a liar in the same way Gina has, but it all seems too good to be true.
Well, too good to be true if you’re me. Less so if you’re Gina.
Part of me feels bad. This feels deeply wrong. Probably because I know the hell of living under a conservatorship.
But maybe this is karma. Divine intervention for what Gina did to me and all the other people she hated with her own obsessions. It makes an ugly sort of sense that she’d attract someone with an equal amount of obsessive cunning.
“Well, then…” I say, clearing my throat.
“Well then,” Stuart echoes, that eerie smirk on his lips. “This will likely be the last time we speak, Andromeda. For what it’s worth, thank you.”
“For?” I snort. I never did that man any favors.
“Learning how to to file your paperwork meant that filing your mother’s went incredibly smoothly,” he states plainly.
“Uh, huh.” What the hell else am I supposed to say to that? You’re welcome?
All six of us watch, frozen as he walks into his own car and drives away.
“Did that actually just fucking happen?” Beck gasps, clutching at his chest like he’s been holding his breath the entire time.
“I think—I think it did,” Leo mutters.
Everett squeezes my hand, directing my attention to him. His gaze darts across my face, performing that usual diagnostic he does to try to gauge how I’m feeling.
“I’m okay,” I say in answer to his unspoken question.
Strangely enough, I mean it.
I’m sure Nancy and I will have a field day dissecting this at our next therapy session later this week, but right now? I at least feel like I’m standing on steady ground.
“I’m okay,” I repeat, sounding a bit more sure of myself.
“Good,” Everett murmurs, pressing his lips against my forehead. “Then shall we go?”
“Yeah, let’s,” I nod.
The drive to the hospital is silent. I’m sure we’re all processing this new information in our own ways. Either that, or the guys are giving me space to process this new information.
When I take Everett’s extended hand as I step out of the SUV, I shake out my free hand, trying to shed all the mixed emotions from earlier.
“Today is going to be a good day,” I murmur to myself.
“It will!” Beck says, grabbing my other hand and squeezing it.
When we make it to the familiar floor of my dad’s hospital room, Dr. Abel is waiting for us.
“Andi!” he says, glancing up at us from his clipboard. If it weren’t for the broad smile across his face, I think I’d be a little concerned that he’s waiting right outside my dad’s door. “I have some wonderful updates, but I think you’ll probably get the gist of them when you see for yourself.”
His words make my heart stop in my chest. Maybe I should get my heart checked out too, because I swear it just skipped a couple of beats.
Everett gives my hand a gentle squeeze and nudges my shoulder with his.
That’s all the encouragement I need to leap forward and throw open the door to my dad’s hospital room.
He turns from looking out the window, his expression immediately melting into a soft, warm smile.
He’s thinner than he was before the hospital stay, the skin on his neck carrying the most notable of changes, but I don’t give a shit about the skin on his neck. I care about him. And the fact he’s awake and smiling at me.
“Andi,” he says softly.
“Dad!” I sprint forward, stopping myself at the last minute before I tackle him like an NFL linebacker, instead settling for just throwing my arms around his shoulders. “You’re awake!”
The moment his arms wrap around me, still strong despite the obvious thinness to his frame, I break down into tears.
“I’m awake,” he murmurs. “And it seems you have some new adornments.”
When I pull back to wipe at my cheeks, he gestures to my shoulders.
I break out into a bright smile, looking over my shoulder at all five of my guys. Beck is dabbing silently at his cheeks. Cameron has tears in his eyes, too. The others are all wearing stark expressions of relief and happiness.
“Yeah,” I say, reaching up, my fingertips brushing against each one of my bite marks.
Everyone but Eli chose to bite along the crook of my neck or my shoulders.
Eli was a weirdo and decided to bite my right tricep because—in his words—he wanted his bite mark to be visible even when I’m wearing short sleeves.
“Dad, I’d like to officially introduce you to my mates! ”
“I’m so happy for you, Andi,” my dad murmurs. He scans my expression, seemingly trying to find any hint of anxiety or negative emotion. “I take it... everything with the conservatorship hasn’t caused you trouble? I understand I was out for a while.”
“It definitely gave us a scare! But... us bonding managed to work everything out. As of this morning, my mates are in charge of the conservatorship. I’ve been meeting with Nancy every week and Dr. Brennar, so I’ve been keeping up with the court orders.
So when that 90-day review court date comes up, the conservatorship should be dissolved, according to Charles. ”
“That’s fantastic,” my dad says, his shoulders slumping with relief. He turns his gaze to my guys. “I hear from the doctors that I was found in my car by one of you?”
“Yes, Sir,” Eli nods.
“Leo, Eli, and I were coming back from work when we saw you slumped over in your car,” Beck says.
“Eli immediately started CPR,” Leo adds.
“Thank you all,” my dad says. “I wouldn’t be here without you. Truly. You’ve saved my life.”
“No skin off our teeth,” Eli nods, his voice thick with emotion. “Just—we’re just glad you’re okay. Sorry about the broken ribs and stuff.”
“My body will heal with time,” My dad says with a firm nod. “I’ve considered you family ever since I saw how well you treated my daughter.” He reaches out and pats my head gently. “Doubly so, now that you’re bonded to her, but... You’ll never be able to get rid of me now that you’ve saved my life.”
“You’re joking, right?” Cameron chuckles. “I think that should be our line.”
Small chuckles echo around the room before a comfortable silence replaces it.
“I love you so much, Dad.” The words explode from my chest.
Something ripples in my dad’s expression. Like decades-long pain washing away with a few simple words.
Except they’re not simple words.
They’re words I might never have had the opportunity to say to him.
“I love you too, Andi,” he says.
Surrounded by all the men I love the most in the world, something settles into place in my chest.
There’s nothing anyone can say to me, nothing anyone can do to me, that would tear me down now.
Because I’m loved. Deeply. I can handle anything life has to throw at me.
THE END