Laughing a little at the realization that my twin brother died to protect me, and I haven’t had the decency to cry for him yet.Man, he was right.I really am a shit.
Addressing Vaughn with what I hope is a pleading expression, I take two slow steps toward her before dropping to my knees and basically crawling the rest of the way until I hold her hands in mine.
“Vaughn, I want to tell you everything. All of it. But first...I realized something earlier today. When I thought that you’d never speak to me again over my not real wife and family.” She’s listening. Her expression is wary, but she’s listening. “I love you. I THINK I started falling the moment I saw you. I think I took another cliff dive when you shoved your hand down my throat, and I know that I’ve fallen a little more each day since.”
Her expression changes at this declaration. It’s not softer, it’s ...confused. Is she surprised that I love her?
“What? You look confused.”
Vaughns eyes scan the room apprehensively. “No. Well, yeah. It’s just that...I know.”
“You know?”
“Yeah. I’ve known for a while that you love me. It’s just...I was waiting for you to figure it out and then I met your wife...eh, well, your sister, and I thought that you were going through some stuff, and I was part of that and...I don’t know. Things got messed up, but I thought when you showed up to get me and started killing everybody-”
“Damn it, Eli! Who?! Who have you killed now?!
My eyes scrunched shut the moment Vaughn started talking about...the incident. I mean it’s no secret that something bad happened. Just looking at the condition of the four of us there’s no hiding that.
“Bad guys, Ma. Promise. They took Vaughn. I had to go get her back. And they had the twins, too!”
“What twins?”
Vaughn and I both point to Jax and Marshall. Abbi and Mama cock their heads to the side as if to examine the truthfulness of my statement.
“Well, not biological twins, but...you’ll understand when they start talking.”
“So these men...they kidnapped your girlfriend and your best friends?”
“Yeah, Ma. Promise.”
“My word! Did you get all of them?”
“Every one.”
“Good boy. That’s my baby.” The last part is said to our guests with a measure of pride in her voice.Navy wife. Navy mom.
Turning my attention back to Vaughn, I see that she’s stricken. “Do you kill a lot of people?”
“No. Not a lot. Some. Definitely not a lot. What qualifies as a lot, exactly?”
Vaughn’s eyes widen, and I scramble to get back on track.
“Okay, so I want to tell you everything. I’m going to. I swear. I just...I’m on my knees here, and I just need to know...can you give me another shot?”
“You want to start over?”
“No. No, I don’t. I don’t regret any of the days I’ve spent with you. All I’m asking for is more. More days. More nights. More meals. More chapters of your story and the chance to tell you all the chapters of mine.”
This is the face I’ve been hoping for. Vaughns lips tip up into a smile, and her beautiful, big brown eyes fill with unshed tears.
“I think we can do that.”
Chapter 26
Vaughn
Well...this has been both the worst and best day of my life. On the one hand, I was abducted and held hostage for several hours. Being tied up was no picnic. Add to that, I was forced to listen while several people were murdered in what sounded like some pretty gruesome ways. Not to mention all this happened while the weirdest playlist I’ve ever heard blared somewhere in the background.
