“That someone who looked a lot like Grant came after him and then disappeared into the night. They’ll buy it. Brioni already threw him under the bus with her testimony,” Enzo said.
Seven looked around then. “Uh, where is Brioni?”
Enzo followed his gaze. He’d been so worried about Seven, he’d forgotten all about her.
“Adam and Noah came and got her while you were out. They got her and her mother out of town in case some of the donors got wind of what was going down and tried to take her out,” Zane explained.
Seven nodded. “Oh.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Enzo suggested. “We need to go home and clean up first. We smell like blood and gasoline.”
“It won’t be suspicious if you go home first?” Elio asked.
“We’ll be even more suspicious if we go in like this,” Enzo countered.
Seven looked up at him with tired eyes. “Let’s go home.”
Once they were outside, Enzo gulped in clean air, welcoming the smell of salt and the stench of rotting seaweed. The tide whispered against the pilings, the rhythmic sound lulling him, quieting some of the night’s panic. He opened the passenger door for Seven, but couldn’t bring himself to let him go.
Seven wrapped his arms around him, pressing his cheek to his chest, just letting Enzo hold him, the two of them swaying as those not in charge of clean up drove away one by one. When they were alone, Enzo tipped Seven’s head up, brushing his thumb along his jaw, trying not to focus on the bandages.
“You scared the hell out of me,” he said quietly.
Seven’s lips curved faintly. “I knew what I was doing.”
Enzo growled. “You could have died.”
Seven looked exhausted, but still, he tried to appease Enzo. “I had to protect your brothers. You’re mom really likes me. I didn’t want to ruin that by returning her two youngest in body bags.”
“It’s not funny,” Enzo said, chest so tight it hurt to breathe. “If you had died…” He couldn’t even get the words out, tightening his grip on Seven until he yelped.
“Ribs…possibly broken,” he wheezed around a pained gasp.
“Oh, fuck. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Enzo said, touching him gingerly “Shit. I don’t know if I can handle you getting hurt like this again.”
Seven smiled. “Is this the part where you give me an ultimatum? Where you tell me I have to choose between being a vigilante and being with you?”
Enzo scoffed. “Don’t be stupid. An ultimatum only works if you’re willing to live with either choice. I hope by now it’s clear that I cannot live without you.”
Tears formed in Seven’s pale eyes, but he tried to blink them away. “Don’t make me cry, you dick. Do you know how bad tears sting an open wound?”
Enzo captured his mouth in a raw, excruciatingly slow kiss, attempting to catalog every gasp, every sigh, the sound of their lips meeting and parting. “Please, just…promise me you won’t make me spend every night wondering if you’ll make it home?” he begged between kisses.
“I promise. I can’t say I’ll never have to patrol. I owe Jericho that much, even if he’d say it wasn’t true. But I won’t volunteer to take other people’s shifts anymore. Not now that I have someone waiting at home for me.”
“I know I said it earlier, but I just need to say it again. I love you so fucking much. I can’t believe that I almost lost you…again.”
Seven cupped his face, forcing him to meet his gaze. “You never lost me. Even when I wanted to strangle you, I was still so crazy in love with you. That’s why it hurt so bad.”
“I swear on my life,” Enzo said, “if I ever break your heart again, you can hand me over to Avi as fodder for one of his bucket list items.”
Seven blinked up at him, horrified. “You have no idea what you’re saying right now…”
“I do. I really do,” Enzo swore, peppering Seven’s jaw and throat with kisses. “I can’t wait until I put a ring on your finger, until you’re mine in every way.”
“I’m already yours…in every way. But you’re not getting out of proposing to me. And it better be a spectacle. I’m talking a trip-to-New-York-billboard-in-Times-Square big, buddy.”
“Hell, I’ll buy you Time Square if I have to,” Enzo promised, scraping his teeth against Seven’s throat until he hissed.
