“Eh, broke my arm when I got hit by a blast,” Jamilla shrugs. “I shot the guy when he rappelled down from the helicopter, though.”
“Well-played, my friend, well-played,” I said admiringly. “Go sit down, for god’s sake. We’d like to catch up later, all right?”
“Sounds good,” Günter nodded politely and they limped out of sight.
Tatiana and I wearily tread past Tansey Marchand. She’s filthy and it looks like some of her giant hair got burned off, but she’s wielding a fire extinguisher like a pro, putting out stubborn little blazes along with Jun and Meiying, who would ordinarily rather be eaten by a shark than spend ten seconds in her company.
“You’re alive!” Meiying gives me a rare hug as Jun squeezes Tati. “Have you found Lucca and Kon yet? What about Mala and Athena?”
“We spoke to them right after the signal jammer was disabled,” Tati said, “just for a minute but they’re okay. Mala’s helping patch people up in the medical clinic, and I saw Athena bossing around some freshman by the Armory.”
Tansey’s watching us, still clutching her fire extinguisher and I smile, gingerly patting her arm. “You look like you leaped through the fire a couple of times.”
“Oh, this?” she flips a charred chunk dismissively. “My hair grows a foot a month, I swear. I’m madder about my boots.” She holds up one foot to show her muddy, battered boot. The heel’s broken and the toe has peeled away from the sole. “These are fucking Gucci’s.Gucci’s!”
I burst out laughing, I can’t help it. It’s hilarious. This ancient and prestigious monolith was just bombed clear back to the stone age and yet here I am, totally understanding Tansey’s emotional turmoil over these Gucci’s. “I’m sorry,” I said, “I have always secretly coveted those boots.”
She sniffs a little. “Well, thank you. Daddy better buy me three pairs to make up for this mess.”
“Agreed,” Meiying said crossly. “How the hell are they going to grade this? I better get top scores in every class after this cluster fuck.”
“I think the school year is over,” Tati said, looking dubiously at what’s left of the gym.
All the crime families’ vows to aid the Academy in times of crisis did come in handy after all. Flight after flight landed at the overworked island airport that day with workmen, medics, building materials, and supplies. On the bright side, one of the few buildings not badly damaged was Student Housing. Tati and I moved in with Lucca and Konstantin so some of the cooks and dining staff could stay in ours.
“This plan has the added advantage of me having you within arm’s reach at all times,” Kon said, soaping me up as I watch the filthy water circle the drain.
I manage a smile, but standing here, safe in this little tiled cubicle with the man I thought I might never see again… it’s all hitting me. Surging forward, I bite his bicep. I don’t know why. I’m unhinged but gripping that firm muscle in my teeth grounds me. He’s here. I’m here. He’s flesh and bone and real and we’re okay.
His arm slides around me and I feel his chest shaking. Is this smug prick laughing? “I take it you missed me?” he asks, trying to not openly burst into laughter and likely knowing I would stab him with the soap dish. “You said you loved me too.” He kisses my shoulder because my mouth is currently affixed to his arm. “Before you ran off to be a warrior princess.”
My teeth loosen and I pull away, just a fraction. “I wanted you to know. Just in case.”
His mouth slams down on mine and we both give out a groan of relief that echoes around the bathroom. Giant hands slide down to my ass and hike me up like I’m no heavier than a bottle ofshampoo and then he’s inside me, that enormous dick of his and I wasn’t ready but who cares?
This heat between us flares brighter and brighter, like this is how it should have always been but it’s there now. The love we feel, the solid weight of him inside me and the smooth tile rubbing against my back as he pounds in and out of me.
“I am never leaving you,” Kon whispers in my ear before biting it, “I am never leaving your snug little cunt. The way it shapes around my cock.” One of his hands moves to the small of my back, pushing forward, hard and my clit rubs against the hairy base of his shaft and I’m coming. Coming already and I want to come again and remember that this is real, and we are here.
Together.
Chapter Thirty-Four
In which Dean Christie reveals all.
Dean Helen Alexis Christie…
My students are clustered in the center square in front of what used to be my seat of power. The Dean’s Building is nothing but piles of crushed stone and shards of glass. We recovered Larry’s body this morning, buried deep under the remains of his beloved arboretum.
I suspect he was pleased with where he took his final stand. It was fitting.
There are heated tents erected around the square, but my students are standing out in the elements, the wind whipping through their hair and jackets as they move around the craters torn into the grass.
Straightening my spine, I step out on what remains of the granite podium.
“Good afternoon, students.
“The thoughts running through my mind distill down to three things. Fury, shock, and pride. Fury that these lesser crimefamilies would not only seek to destroy this school but all the students here as well. The faculty. The guards. Those who keep the Academy running.
