“Now.” He grips my hand tighter and glances between my cousins. “Are you sure you guys want to get involved in this part? You’ve already done so much to help. More than anyone else in my life ever has.”
“Don’t even worry about it, kid.” Jace tucks his phone back in his pocket. “All the investigating and intel gathering is like foreplay to us. We need the big finish, otherwise it’s like being edged. Tons of fun, but horribly unsatisfying.”
“It’s just…” Damon flicks his gaze to mine. “You guys don’t really know me, and you’ve already killed for me. You’re chartering your plane to fly across the country so you can kill the person who’s trying to take me out.”
“We don’t need to know you to protect you,” Killian says simply. “If you’re with Xave, then you’re one of us, and we always protect our own.”
“And we’ll kill as many people as we need to.” Jace flashes Damon a grin. “Remember, we’re not like you. This kind of shit is easy for us. We don’t feel the same things you do, so all that guilt and apprehension I can see rolling around in that noggin of yours is misplaced. This Michael guy deserves everything he’s going to get, and none of it is on you. We’ll do it because we can, and adding to our body count isn’t going to affect us in any way except to give us a chance to have some fun. And you don’t want to take away our fun, do you?” Jace adds, giving Damon some puppy-dog eyes.
“I definitely don’t want to take away your fun,” Damon says with a bemused smile. “And I know I should be terrified by what you just said, but I’m not.”
“You get used to the crazy.” Felix grins at the twins. “And there’s literally no one in the world I’d rather have on my side than the Hawthorne cousins.”
“I can see why,” Damon says, his voice thick with emotion.
I pull him in and press a kiss against his temple. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask quietly.
He nods. “I’ll be better when all of this is over.”
“Same.” I kiss his cheek this time. “And I meant what I said the other night,” I add, lowering my voice even more. “I’m done hiding. Once we know you’re safe, we’re going public, and fuck the consequences.”
“Are you sure it’s worth it?” he whispers. “I don’t want to cause more problems for you.”
“You’re never a problem, babe.” I press a kiss against the corner of his mouth. “And the sooner everyone knows you’re mine, the better. That way they know to keep their hands to themselves, and that I will end them if anyone fucks with you.”
“Correction, dear cousin,” Jax says. “We’llend them if anyone fucks with you,” he says to Damon.
“And we’ll have fun doing it,” Jace adds.
“Just don’t make us regret trusting you,” Killian says. “I’m not saying I think you will. I’m just giving you fair warning.”
“I won’t,” Damon promises. “It doesn’t matter what happens, I’ll never betray you.” The corner of his mouth tips up in a smile-smirk. “I’d have to be the biggest moron on the planet to cross you guys after seeing what you can do.”
“You really would,” Jace agrees and glances at his brother. “Is everything set up?”
Jax nods.
Jace glances at his wrist, but he’s not wearing a watch, so he grabs Jax’s arm and yanks it closer so he can read his brother’s watch. “We should get what we need, then get our asses to the airport.”
The six of us stand, and Damon grips my hand so hard my fingers crack.
I give him a soft kiss, and he’s smiling when I pull away. “It’ll all be over tonight,” I promise.
“Tonight,” he says softly. “Thanks.”
“No thanks necessary.” I kiss him again just because I can.
“Come on, Xamon,” Jace calls as he and the others head toward the door. “You can canoodle your brains out later. Right now we’ve got a plane to catch and at least one asshole to send back to their maker.”
26
DAMON
“Doyou want to text your stepmother now?” Jax asks as we walk across the tarmac and toward the small airport where their plane landed.
“Yeah, I can do that.” I pull my phone out of my pocket and unlock it.
Using one hand, I go to my text thread with my stepmom and type out a quick message.
