The simple statement carries the weight of everything the club represents.Family, loyalty, protection.The bonds that hold us together when everything else falls apart.
"There's something else," I say, my voice rougher than I intended."When this is over, when Ethan's dealt with, I want her to know the truth about everything.About how I feel, about what she means to me."
Ghost's expression is knowing but not unkind."And if she doesn't feel the same way?"
"Then at least she'll be alive to make that choice."
It's not much of a plan, but it's all I've got.Keep Evangeline and the kids safe, build a case against the bastard who killed my sister, and try not to lose my mind in the process.
Simple.
Except nothing about this situation is simple.Not the investigation, not the danger, and definitely not the feelings I've been fighting for years.
But as I think about Evangeline at the funeral today, about the strength she showed standing up to Ethan, about the way she looks at those kids like they're her whole world, I know I'd do anything to protect that.
Even if it means keeping secrets that could destroy us both.
"Alright," Ghost says, closing the file."Let's go hunting."
CHAPTEREIGHT
evangeline
Hades'house is nothing like what I expected.Instead of the bachelor pad I'd imagined, it's a sprawling ranch-style home with six bedrooms and a huge backyard.
"Where do you want this?"Hades asks, carrying one end of a heavy oak dresser up the front steps.Tempest has the other end, both men moving with the kind of easy coordination that comes from years of working together.
"Emma's room," I say, leading them through the front door and down the hallway."She wanted her parents' dresser.Said it still smells like her mom's perfume."
The admission makes something soft pass across Hades' face.He understands what it means to cling to small pieces of the people you've lost.
We’ve been at this for hours.Each kid has their own room, and Hades even built the swing set he promised Lily.It should feel awkward, living with a man I barely know, but it doesn’t.It feels right.
Natural, even.
"That work?"Tempest asks, settling the dresser against the wall where Emma requested it.
"Perfect.Thank you."
He nods and heads back downstairs to grab another piece of furniture from the moving truck.Which leaves me alone with Hades in the intimate space of a teenage girl's bedroom.
Silence stretches between us, loaded with awareness I'm trying hard to ignore.He's closer than he needs to be, close enough that I can smell his cologne mixed with motor oil and something uniquely him.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?"he asks quietly."Living here, I mean.It's got to be hard, being surrounded by all their memories."
"It's what they would have wanted.What the kids need."I smooth my hands over the dresser's surface, running my fingers along wood that Calla touched every morning for fifteen years."Besides, the good memories outweigh the painful ones."
"Still.If it gets to be too much..."
"It won't."
But even as I say it, I know he's right to be concerned.Last night, Lily crawled into my bed crying because she kept hearing footsteps in the hallway.Sophie refuses to eat anything that isn't exactly the way Calla used to make it.Jake has started hoarding food in his room like he's afraid there won't be enough.
They're all struggling, and I have no idea how to help them beyond just being here.Being present and consistent and hoping that's enough.
"Hey."Hades' voice draws me out of my worried thoughts."You're doing good with them.Better than good."
"I don't know what I'm doing."
