“You’re with three men. You should be preparing to deal with a lot forever. We’re your monsters, for better or worse,” I say, thenkiss her forehead. “And we all deserve a hell of a lot better than what we’ve had in the past.”
“Only better in the future,” she says.
Squeezing her hand, I pull it up and kiss across her knuckles. I’ll be gentle with her, for her, as long as she needs it. I won’t demand sex, even though my entire body craves it. We’re going to find the normal that works for us. The normal we can all tolerate, then we can explore.
There’s no point in reminding her that we still have to wait for some kind of police answer before we can start ruling things out. My phone buzzes and I slide it out of my pocket.
I forgot I asked the real estate agent to put me on a list for penthouses up north and some fixer-uppers.
Opening it up, I scroll through the pictures. Two-story house, a full backyard, a pool, gated, plenty of room without there being too much, and it’s currently listed at a steal because there needs to be some renovations, like a new roof, and it’s not exactly the best looking from the outside. We can fix curb appeal easily and the bare bones of the place are good for us. It’s right what we need, something we can build up. Create our home together.
I send an auto message to the real estate agent without bothering to tell Hope or the guys. I’ll talk to Dimitri about it. He’ll understand.
We’ve outgrown apartments—we’re no longer running. It’s time to put down roots.
Thirty
JAXON
Iglance at Dimitri, who’s scrolling through food options. He’s determined to find the right one for Hope, who’s taking hertime in a shower. Knox is flipping through TV channels. It’s normal.
The apartment feels bigger now that all the threats have been dealt with. It feels… good, actually. Shockingly easy. Breathing feels right.
I slide Knox a beer. “Enjoy your sweet nothings with Hope?”
He flicks me off, but pauses.
My eyes flick to Hope walking around in just a towel. I groan appreciatively and she bites her bottom lip, but Knox swats my shoulder and nudges to the tv as he calls out to Dimitri.
Hope comes over and sits next to me, kissing my scar again before her eyes catch on the TV. We’re all immediately drawn in to the report and Dimitri’s father on the screen.
“You said that a cabin owned by Coach Harbaugh has burned down. Has there been a full investigation on who may have done that?” the female reporter asks.
Dimitri’s dad looks haggard, tired, like he’s worked himself to the bone. I have a feeling that’s guilt and fear of being linked to everything going on in this case. I grit my teeth all the same.
We’re an easy excuse after all.
“I can’t go into details since there’s an open investigation going on, but I can tell you that the cabin burning down was arson,” he says, looking from the reporter to the camera. “However, we assume that was to clear evidence based on some additional information that has come up.”
“Do you mean evidence that could suggest that Coach Harbaugh was murdered?”Again, Dimitri’s dad hesitates.
Hope presses herself closer to me, but stares at Knox, who’s now leaning forward, his attention entirely on the news report like he’s waiting to see if he needs to jump into action.
My gaze slides to Dimitri. He seems suspiciously calm from the outside, but the grip he has on his phone reveals how tense he is.
“We don’t know if he was murdered. Currently, he’s considered missing, though it’s suspected that he’s on the run based on some additional facts that have arisen,” Dimitri’s dad states.
There’s no waver in his voice and no hesitation. No one would ever believe he’s lying. Hope lets out a soft breath and starts to relax a bit. “I didn’t think he’d actually… be decent, I guess.”
The woman almost smiles at the opportunity to speak again. “Speaking of those additional facts, can you comment on rumors about this… illicit website that Coach Harbaugh was a part of? Many have hinted that it may have involved underage participants being forced to—”
“I’m not able to discuss that. I can share that the right authorities have been assigned to the case and arrests have been made in accordance with evidence that has been found. If or when the trial goes public, everyone will know the facts rather than the rumors surrounding the case.”
Dimitri scoffs. “Dad’s still playing it safe. Can’t risk his job once we gave him the chance to secure it.”
“Did he… I mean, did he see…” Hope clearly doesn’t want to finish the thought.
“No,” Dimitri murmurs. “His name wasn’t on the list. I checked. He knew what was happening and took a cut to stay quiet. He never got details. Never looked, at least never downloaded.”
