His grin is composed of both mirth and pride. “Always.”
Our parents died when Axel was twenty-one and I was nineteen. We raised Maddox, Cash, Jax, and Rena in the penthouse here. They were fourteen, twelve, eight, and six, respectively. We also stepped into the owner/operator roles at La Lune Noire. Talk about trial by fire. It was a lot, especially for the first few years. But despite that, seventeen years later, we’re a tight family. Fucked up? Sure. But tight nonetheless.
Maddox: Nah. He’s got this. He’s been in bulldozer mode for years.
That one catches me off guard. Not a playful pun or idiom.
Me: WTF is bulldozer mode?
Cash: Your approach to, um … everything.
Me: You’re all full of shit.
Jax: You really don’t know how intense you are, man?
“They have a point.” Axel’s forehead wrinkles with concern. “What’s your plan?”
This is a worthless discussion. Who needs a goddamn plan?
“To get her and bring her back.”
“And if she refuses?” he volleys.
“Too fucking bad.” My hand cuts through the air. “She’s had years of her way. We’re doing things my way now.”
“Right. Where the hell did they get that bulldozer shit?” He pauses for effect, but when I don’t bite, he forges ahead. “Just remember, you’ve been here nail-biting, hyper-focused on finding her.Waitingfor her. And she’s been off living her life, raising her son, hoping to stay hidden. Surviving. You’re probably not in the same place.”
Yeah, well, I need to fix that. Starting with geography.
I took our private jet and landed an hour from Sinclair, Canada, at dawn. Once I knew the town, it didn’t take much effort to collect the precise address.
By the time I rented a car and made my way to the neighborhood Mercy is currently calling home, it was after eight. She’s renting an apartment above an elderly woman’s garage.It’s small, but from what I can tell, it seems to be in decent condition.
For a good hour, the lady bustled about getting coffee, reading the paper, and watching TV. But Mercy’s space was still. I waited, eager to glimpse the first hint of the life she’s been leading. It took so long that it made me wonder if she was there. Mercy had always been an early riser. A go-getter.
When she finally emerged with Jett in her arms and bags slung over her shoulder, I froze.
He’s so big, so perfect. And she’s … everything.
I’m still stuck in that headspace, still frozen, following her all over this Podunk town. Spying. It shouldn’t be this hard.
Since we were teens, she was my best friend, my person. My hope.
But that asshole broke her, and she turned around and broke us. I don’t know what I expected to feel when I finally saw her, but I certainly didn’t anticipate this much distress or confusion.
It’s nearly seven now. The sun is setting. And Mercy just parked at some small street fair. The whole event could be placed inside one corner of the New Orleans French Market, but whatever. I’m sure it has its charm.
While waiting, I rotate my seven-sided, polished-bronze dice in my palm. They’re an inch long, an oblong heptagonal shape. I had them specially made off a thirteenth-century design a few years ago. They soothe me.
She scurries across the road, and I drink her in. Her hair swishes, and her cool sand complexion shimmers with a tinge of blush on her high cheekbones. She’s dressed in jeans and a fitted, long-sleeved top that hug every inch of her curves. Black boots give her a little height on her five-foot-five stature. Casual but extraordinary.
Christ, she’s stunning. It’s not like there was ever a day that I was unaware of how radiant she was. It’s as impossible to ignoreas her brilliant mind. But to be away from that beauty for so long and suddenly have it in front of me again is jarring.
She makes it hard to breathe. With her. Without her.
And yet I know one whiff of her cherry-cake scent will be like coming home.
Jett isn’t with her, so at first, I assume she’s working here. Although I already sat outside a pub where she seemed to waitress or bartend for the lunch and early dinner crowd. While she was there, I put a tracking device on her car for peace of mind so I could grab some groceries from a nearby store. No need though. She was in there for several hours after that. It was unquestionably her place of employment.
