“That’s a whole lotta love,” Aiden taunted.
“Aiden,” Thomas warned, though amusement crept into his voice.
Aiden smirked, utterly unrepentant. “I’m just saying, if she rolls over, the gravitational pull might take out half the dessert table.”
“Which is exactly why she’s being locked away,” Atticus shot back, clutching the carrier closer.
Thomas shook his head, laughter rumbling low in his chest. Even standing in the middle of what was, effectively, a death trap, they could still joke like this. It made the darkness of the evening almost…domestic.
As Jericho and Atticus headed toward the west corridor, the boys chattering at full volume, Thomas watched them go, his family, his strange, brilliant, terrifying family. He’d built an empire of killers and misfits, and somehow, they’d built something that felt like home.
He turned back toward Aiden, who was surveying the ballroom again, the faintest smile playing on his lips.
“They look happy,” Aiden said.
Thomas hummed in agreement. “They are.”
He let his gaze sweep across the sea of guests, trusted allies, dangerous friends, wolves dressed like royalty. All of them here for one purpose.
Tonight, everyone he loved was under one roof. Friends. Family. Colleagues. Monsters of his own making.
And tonight, they’d finally be rid of a problem.
He didn’t have to say it aloud. The air was already charged with the promise of blood.
Guests arrived in waves. August and Lucas came next, trailed by the twins dressed as gumdrops and little Alister as the world’s sweetest gummy bear.
Thomas’s lips twitched. He never worried about the girls—they had the self-assuredness of small tyrants—but Alister was another story. Such a quiet thing, always hovering close to Lucas like a shadow. He used to love visiting the estate, spending whole weekends underfoot in Thomas’s office, peppering him with questions. But the older he got, the more he began displaying the same abilities as his father, and with that came the shrinking inwards, the hesitance.
It worried Thomas more than he cared to admit.
But tonight, at least, the boy seemed in good spirits. He waved shyly at Thomas, then tucked himself neatly between his sisters as if they were his shields.
Lucas’s Joker costume was disturbingly accurate, the grin too wide, the eyes too alive. August’s Batman was dark, brooding, and maybe a little too on the nose for a man who preferred solving problems with a knife.
“These two will be keeping Ever on their toes tonight,” Lucas said, looking exhausted but fond. “I hope it’s as hard to breakoutof the new children’s wing as it is to breakin.The girls’ new obsession seems to be reenactingThe Great Escape.”
“They’ve already made two attempts this week while we were packing,” August added, tone resigned.
“We weren’t escaping, we were conducting an experiment,” Arabella corrected primly, glowering up at Lucas. “‘Sides, we knew you could find us ’cause you’re psychic.”
“We don’t use that word,” August corrected gently.
“You know what we mean,” Adelyn said, stomping her foot with tiny fury.
“Then say what you mean.” August’s tone was calm but his eyes sparkled. He winked at Lucas, who was clearly enjoying this.
Adelyn huffed dramatically and delivered a world-class eye roll. “Fine,” she said, drawing the word out into multiple syllables, before turning to Lucas with a look of superior understanding. “You can always find us with yourpsychometry.” Then she turned to her other father, sweet as sugar. “Is that better?”
Thomas bit his bottom lip, exchanging an amused glance with Aiden as August and Lucas traded a look that said everything words couldn’t. The unspoken conversation of parents who loved their children but occasionally fantasized about selling them to pirates.
He wasn’t sure who he was prouder of, his granddaughters for their sass in the face of a professional killer, or his son and son-in-law for showing the patience of saints.
“Yes,” August said tightly. “Let’s get you upstairs before your father and I reconsider our stance on gentle parenting.”
Aiden snorted a laugh, hand half-covering his mouth. Adi narrowed her eyes at August. “I know what that means,” she said accusingly.
August patted her head, deadpan. “Good for you, smarty pants. Keep it moving.”
