“My father has spirit power. He saw just a glimpse of the future and said that this was something you would need.” He shrugged as he fastened it to my wrist. It fit nice and snug, which was how I liked it.
“So, what does this do?” I pulled up the bracelet, studying it to see if it had any buttons or ways to trigger something. This was made by Easton, so you just never knew.
“It’s a barrier escaper.” My eyes flew open in awe at the little thing. “This only has enough magic for five uses, but if you tap this charm against a barrier, a floating screen will show up with the names of the people who can access the barrier.” When my stunned expression did not change, he continued. “Basically, it takes all the lines and runes for magic and turns it into a computer code. With the screen, you will not only be able to see the names, but you can add names, remove names, and change locks for those names.” I looked down at the delicate chain, wondering what would even cause him to make something like this.
I must’ve said that out loud because he responded in his normal, educational tone as he put his hands behind his back. “It’s usually used for getting out of traps. Since you are going out into the outskirts of society, I am guessing you are going to get trapped in one of those magical traps set out for animals, and you will need a way out.”
If he said it with a sneer or a laugh, I would’ve thought he was making fun of me, but as he was standing in front of me, face expressionless and relaxed, I couldn’t help but crack up at the utter seriousness. Did he not see that his last words made it seem like I was someone who would easily fall into an animal trap and not be able to find a way out?
I chuckled under my breath as I walked up to his side and slid my hand through his arm like he was a gentleman. “Since your dad had a vision, I guess I should just take it, right? Not take it as a slight on my capabilities?” Falcon’s eyes widened a smidge, and I knew that my earlier thoughts were correct. He was saying the most logical thing that came to mind with no ulterior motives.
His back went ramrod straight as he eyed my hand resting on his forearm. “Come. Walk me outside to the house barrier and show me how it works.” He snapped his head forward and gave me a curt nod.
“As you wish.”
It didn’t take long for everyone to collect out front and for us to get in our cars and depart. I was confident in everyone and knew they would give it their best. Especially since I threatened them all before we left that if they didn’t give their best, I would rearrange some body parts.
Everyone gulped, except for Rick, Cosmo, and the heirs. Avery gave me a sweet kiss on my cheek and whispered in my ear how excited he was about receiving either a reward or a punishment. I almost slapped him on his ass for that, but everyone was looking, so I smiled and nodded like it was nothing. Falcon nodded, going past me as soon as possible to get into his car. Rick gave me a high-five and then yelled at his guys like a drill sergeant, and I almost laughed. He always had a different side with me and Cosmo than with the rest of the Desmond clan.
Ax was next, swaggering up to me like he was a fucking god. He smiled down at me, scraping a clawed finger down my chin. He left behind a small, light cut, barely enough to draw any attention, but it was his honey-brown eyes focused solely on me like that that caused me to inhale. “After this is all done, you and I have unfinished business we need to attend to.” Then he leaned in, his lips barely touching the shell of my ear as he said, “It’s a conversation I would prefer to have in bed, for once, but maybe being out in the open is your thing... If so, I’m down.”
I smacked his hand away, scowling as he smirked. I needed to put on a show that I would not take any shit from him, and he knew it. I grabbed his shirt with two hands, yanked him forward and talked through my teeth like I was seething with anger as I whispered, “Any time, any place. As long as the work is done.” I needed to have some boundaries with these men.
He laughed as he ripped himself out of my grasp and swaggered off. As soon as he was out of my line of sight, there was my last one, Cosmo, his stance tight and his face pulled into a scowl that seemed like a permanent fixture on his face. I couldn’t help it as I smirked and went to his side, and turned to watch as Ax sped off.
“What are you so pissy about now?” I kept my tone light, trying to make peace.
He continued to glare off into the distance of where their cars had disappeared. He mumbled so low I could barely hear him, “I don’t like them. I don’t like that they get to be so... close to... us.”
“Well, that’s an inconvenience since we will be spending our lives together running this organization.” I smirked up at him, trying to get him to see some reason in a nice way.
“It’s notthat.” I tilted my head, trying to understand what he was saying. He tightened his fists before he spat out in a low tone, “If you marry one of them...” He stopped as if he couldn’t fathom speaking the whole sentence out loud.
I looked off toward the heirs, and a hollowness filled me. A feeling I hadn’t had since that day I drank from him. I’d thought I had a mate before my eyes closed, and when I woke up, it turned out to be just blood addiction. “I wouldn’t worry about that.” I sighed, not looking at Cosmo for fear he could see the void inside me, something I wanted no one to know. “I told you a long time ago, I would only marry my mate, and while they are some great contenders in that endeavor, I still don’t feel that bond.” I lifted my hand to my chest, tapping my fingers over my heart. “That connection to each other’s souls that they say mates have.”
I laughed it off, trying to make light of the situation I felt would never come for me. Maybe it was for all my cruel misdeeds or the life that I had led that fate decided I wouldn’t get a mate, but I didn’t want to settle for anything but the best, and having a mate was the best you could have. I was an all or nothing kind of gal.
I turned toward my car, then patted him on his shoulder. “So you got nothing to worry about.” I glanced up at him, wishing with all my might that he didn’t look at me with pity in his eyes. If he did, I would need to do something a little murdery to get myself right again.
As our eyes connected, I didn’t see pity, but what I saw was equally concerning. His eyes shifted away from me as he bit his lip and ran his hand over his head, all clear signs he was feeling guilt, but I had no clue what for.
We didn’t have the time for a conversation like this one, so I gripped his shoulder, reminding him we had other things to worry about. “Let’s finish this, entertain some of our new friends for their stay, and then go back to our everyday life. Okay?”
He nodded while whispering, “Everyday life. Right.” He turned away, stalking off to his car, leaving me wondering what he was hiding. He had never acted this way before, and warning bells were going off in the back of my mind. I normally didn’t ignore them, those bells have saved my life, but this was Cosmo we were talking about. Whatever he was hiding would not be life-changing, just some mild thing I would get mad about and get over. I didn’t need to worry about it.
I had four guys with me, two in each car as they trailed behind me on my bike. Once we got out of the major city, we took Highway 147 to make a loop around the Frenchman Mountains and hit some of the smaller communities to see if they saw anything or if anything was out of place. There were only a few stops, but they were deep in the mountains.
My hair sailed through the wind as I drove down the road, letting all my worries and fears slap away with the wind. There was a sense of freedom being on a bike. Feeling like at any moment I could go anywhere and do anything. No responsibilities, no fears, no one to connect me to the Desmond name. No one to feel sorry for the girl without a mother.
It was nice to feel this way, which was why I kept driving it, even as my dad and Cosmo begged me to drive a car. It gave me all the things I wanted: freedom, exhilaration, violent winds whipping me in the face, and control of my destiny.
I knew I could never do that. I didn’t have it in me to just leave everything behind. My dad, Cosmo, Rick, hell, even the other bosses and their sons, they were the only people I had in this world. The only ones I could count on to be by my side. I wasn’t the type to ditch those who were loyal. No, I was the kind of person that doubled down, wanting to prove my loyalty in spades.
There was a comfort in that permanence, which was why I was working so hard to find Lex.
I remember those sweet, tear-filled eyes that stared into mine for the first time. The overwhelming sadness and pain that radiated off him that day in the funeral home. I hated that look of despair on him. I knew I was feeling sad, hurt, a little mad at the world, and even a little mad at my dad at what he did for a living that would cause something like this to happen, but I still had him. I still had one parent alive who loved me to pieces. Even if his pieces were weird and unconventional, it was still his way of caring deeply for me. Lex lost all of that in one day.
When he ran off with his uncle, I couldn’t understand. Why would he leave? I told him he could stay with me and my dad. I used to run those thoughts through my head as a kid, especially in the beginning stage of the search for him. My dad and all the bosses looked for him high and low and spent gobs of money trying to find him with no avail.
