Instead of parking in front of the actual destination, I always parked right in front of my mom’s and the Devils’ graves. I enjoyed coming to talk to her, to pay my respects to the Devils, and to tidy up their graves. Just because they were dead didn’t mean they weren’t Syndicate. They needed to look good and represent the organization, too.
I knew each boss took their wives’ bodies with them when they left. I remembered hearing from my dad that Manic had Ax’s mom’s ashes spread around in her favorite forest, letting her wolf spirit run happily. Syris had followed his wife’s wishes to have her body buried in Faerie. I don’t remember him telling me anything about Falcon’s mother’s remains, but that’s to be expected. They seemed like the private type.
I moved the gear to park and sat in silence for a second before speaking, “I’m going to go visit my mom and the Devils. It won’t take long, but I understand if you want to stay in the car.” When he didn’t say anything, and Rick’s gaze bounced between Avery and me, I said in a low tone, “Just give me ten minutes.”
I got out of that car as fast as I could, not wanting to feel bad about bringing them here. I should’ve talked to them about it ahead of time. Maybe gave them a heads-up, that way they would be prepared.Stupid. Stupid, Rayla!
My feet found their way, even if my head was all over the place, as I ended up right in front of my mom’s grave. I lifted my hand in an awkward wave. “Hi, Mom. I know it has taken me a little bit to come see you, but that’s because we have guests.” I giggled as I crouched down, talking to her headstone like it was her. “It has been a crazy couple of days, seeing the other heirs for the first time in twenty-two years.” I smirked, giving a half chuckle. “Knocking them down a few pegs. You would be proud, Mom.” I pulled at some weeds growing as I whispered, “And I found Lex.”
I felt her judgment from the grave and rolled my eyes. “Fine, it was more like he found me. Saved me, actually. From my worst fear.” My head tipped down as my heart dropped, and shame filled me as I whispered, “I’m trying to be strong. Strong like Dad always told me you were, but sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes these stupid feelings get in the way.” I gripped at my heart, telling it to shut up, that I had goals and things to do. That I wanted to be at the top and looked at as a boss, a leader, not just the daughter of a boss. I wanted people to fear me more than they feared any man, that way it didn’t matter who I fucked or if I had tits. I was the fucking man, and they knew it.
A renewed strength filled me, telling me to stay the course, put my all into everything, and I would achieve my goals. A soft feminine voice filled the air around me, telling me to let them in. A sense of peace and pride filled me, and I smiled as tears welled in my eyes but refused to fall. “Okay, Mom. I will do what you say. You know I always do.” I smiled at the headstone. “I need to get going, Mom. I want to have enough time to properly greet the Devils and then show the heirs my trove.” I placed my hands on my lips, putting them on the cold smooth stone with her name and date. “I love you, Mom. I will see you again.”
As I stood, I noticed five familiar figures behind me, all with their hands in their pockets and solemn faces. My face heated as I realized they had probably heard some of my conversation, and I didn’t realize I would have an audience, or I would’ve changed the subjects. Since I hated mushy feelings, I rested on my feeling of anger, letting it fill me as I glared at them and their sad faces. “How long have you guys been there?”
They all looked away, not wanting to answer me, all but Cosmo. He shouldered past me and stood right in front of my mom as he said, “Hello, Mrs. Desmond. It’s Cosmo, I’ve been a bad adopted son and haven’t been back to talk to you in a while. Your husband is driving me nuts.”
I didn’t know if he wanted to help me save face, was trying to distinguish himself from the others, or was just genuinely talking to my mom, but the smile on my face was pure and real as I watched him talk to her like she was right in front of him. I covered my mouth as I laughed while being eternally grateful to him for doing this.
I turned to the others with a grin on my face as I threw my thumb over my shoulder. “I need to visit with the Devils, and then I can take you guys to the trove, ’Kay?” They all mumbled it was fine, and I turned around, looking at the two headstones that were connected and doing the same as I did with my mom. Telling them hi, about their son, about what was going on, asking Boss Devil to lend us his wisdom in our current situation.
As soon as I was done, I stood and stepped back a few spaces. As I scanned the area, everyone was paying their respects to the dead in their own way. Ax was not a man of many words, but he walked up to my mom’s grave, put his hand on the stone like he was patting her shoulder and said, “Your daughter has grown up beautifully, and we will always protect her, so don’t worry.”
Then there was Falcon, who kneeled and bowed his head to each stone, reciting some rune words that made all the weeds and debris disappear. It was so kind that my heart skipped a beat.
The only one that looked out of place was Avery as his eyes flicked to each side, not knowing what to do as he wrung his hands together. He was nervous, but he didn’t need to be. I made my way next to him, grabbed his hand, and gave it a little squeeze. I kept my eyes on the sky and the trees, even as I felt his eyes on me. “It’s nice just to be outside on a night like this. It’s usually hot as fuck here, but there is a light breeze that makes it cooler, more peaceful.”
He didn’t say anything for a while, just held my hand while the others did their thing. Then he whispered, “I don’t know what to do or say.”
This time, I turned and looked at him while smiling. I was just happy this didn’t turn into a shitshow of them hating me. “You don’t have to do anything. Just being here means something, and that’s enough.”
Once the guys all started to gather around me, I let go of Avery’s hand and rubbed mine together like a kid about to do something naughty. I hoped they liked what I did. “Are you guys ready to see my trove?”
Rick pumped his fist into the sky. “To the batcave!”
I giggled as I led them over to the mausoleum that we went into as kids. I put my hand on the door, and Avery jumped out. “Wait, are you sure we can go in there?”
My smile widened so far it hurt. “What do you mean? I own this plot of land and any structure that is on it.” All three of their expressions went wild with emotions, ranging from stunned, to confused, to impressed, back to confused and then settling on disbelief. That was okay, it would be hard for me to believe, too.
I waved at them to follow me as I stepped into the room. “I kept most of it just exactly how it was before, not wanting to tip off to anyone that it was something other than a mausoleum.” They all looked around as Cosmo and Rick moved to my sides, as they’d already been here a few times.
“This place is not just where I keep all my goodies, but also acts as a safehouse and a second headquarters in case of emergency.” I pushed the stone slab on top of the coffin, pressing the same button that Falcon did when we were kids. I was giddy with amusement when their eyes bugged out and old memories resurfaced on their faces. When the staircase leading down opened, I raised my hand to Ax. “Wolves go first since they see so much better in the dark.”
He cracked a smile at my joke about our past. The chubby wolf that couldn’t dry up his tears was now a bulky man who could rock my world hard and fast. Goes to show you never knew what the future held.
I motioned for them to lead the way. Ax was the first to head down, getting his chance to prove his six-year-old self was right. Then went Falcon, who was already inspecting the mechanics and how it all worked with each step. Avery gave me side-eyes full of unease, but I pointed down the stairs, telling him to get his ass down there. Rick and Cosmo followed without question, and I brought up the rear to hide from their reactions, just in case.
Someone gasped, and I didn’t catch who it was, so I sped up. The three heirs were bottlenecked at the bottom of the stairs, taking it all in as Rick slipped between them and went to the left where I had a large L-shaped couch and a seventy-five-inch TV hooked up to the Playstation he was starting up.
Cosmo shouldered his way through, going for the kitchen straight ahead. He pulled open the refrigerator, picked out a beer, and popped off the cap that clanged against the marble countertop. Something about him leaning on the counter with a beer made him seem so at ease, like this was a second home for him.
The rest of the guys kept swiveling their heads, trying to take everything in. I didn’t know if it was nerves but I started to blabber. “So, when I first came down here, it was only a ten-by-ten room. Not anything as special as I always dreamed it would be.” I chuckled at my six-year-old imagination of crypts and lost treasure. “So, I obviously expanded on it quite a bit, wanting to make it comfortable and useful.”
Cosmo said, “Ray, why don’t you give them a tour.” Then his gaze darkened and, in a lower tone, he said, “You originally made this for them, after all.”
I wanted to throw something at him to shut him up for his snarky comment. They didn’t need to know that small detail. Hell, I forgot I even told him that little detail. I frowned at him as the three heirs turned to me with their brows raised. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I guess I should be honest. “So, you see... I thought we were going to start hanging out together when I turned thirteen, and I wanted a place for us to hang out, then when that didn’t happen, it turned into a hideaway for me and Cosmo from my dad and his crazy antics.”
I turned to hit the button on the wall that closed the crypt door, not wanting to see pity or confusion in their faces. They didn’t know I begged my dad to invite them all to my birthday party, and my dad couldn’t deny my wishes and asked their dads for them to come. Invitations were refused, and it ended up just being Cosmo, Rick, my dad, and me. I had been crushed that all my plans to make them my friends went down in flames. They didn’t need to know any of that.
