‘And my father?’I asked, glancing over at the remnants of the exploded van.
‘Gone. Dale turned him and the rest of those assholes into barbecued meat,’Nico said as he wrapped a scratchy blanket around my shoulders.
I grimaced at the visual.
An older man with dark hair approached, his gold eyes almost glowing in the dimmed lighting of the clearing.
He was Edison King, I realized with a jolt. I hadn’t seen the head of the Keane clan since he had crashed my pack’s first wedding.
He was handsome in a dangerous way. Like an ornate hunting knife or a chrome pistol. I could see why Peregrine Chandler had easily fallen head-over-heels for him even if he wasn’t quite my type.
‘Hello,’he signed.‘You must be Luscinia.’
My pack stared at the man in shock.
‘When the hell did you learn ASL?’Elio asked, his hands moving quickly like he was trying to trip the other alpha up.
Edison shrugged a nonchalant shoulder before lifting his ring-covered fingers again.‘I had a lot of time when I was laid up after getting shot. I pick things up pretty quick.’
“Do you need something?” Elio asked out loud, still talking slow enough so I could follow the conversation. The alpha was jealous of me talking to Edison and it made me squirm with satisfaction that even now, covered in dirt from rolling around in the forest, he was still possessive of me.
Edison shook his head. “I just wanted to let you know I’m heading out. I’ve got a wife and a pack mate to pick up from their vacation.”
With that, the man put two fingers to his mouth and it must have made some kind of a noise because all of his men began packing up and loading into the black Humvees that were crammed into the clearing.
‘Where are Travis, Dale, and Howard?’I asked once they were all gone and were alone again.
‘Travis and Howard insisted on getting Dale checked out. The damned rocket launcher laid him out and he probably threw his back out,’Dante explained as we all got into the SUV.
‘I hope he isn’t hurt,’I said, worrying about the old man who had been nothing but sweet to me.
‘He’s fine,’Ranieri reassured me as he snuggled in close to me and closed his eyes.
‘Yeah,’Nico said from the front seat.‘The guy now has a story to tell for the next ten years. He’s on Cloud-9.’
Elio, who was in the driver’s seat, turned on the car before turning to me.
‘So,peanut, where to.’
I thought about it for a moment. Going back to the Amante estate didn’t sound like something I would ever want to do if I could help it.
‘Do we have to live on the estate now that you guys are in charge?’I asked hesitantly, not wanting to hurt their feelings.
‘Of course not,’Elio said, reaching back so he could give my knee a squeeze.‘We’ve got houses all over and our favorite here in the city. We can stay in any of those if you want.’
Relief coursed through me at the realization. I wasn’t stuck in the cage my father had made for me anymore and could finally make my own decisions.
I nodded, smiling for the first time since I woke up in Ranieri’s arms.‘Okay, let’s do that.’
The SUV pulled out of the clearing.
‘Is it okay if I bring my reptiles with me though?’
Nico’s answering look of horror made me laugh as we drove away from the wreckage of our old lives and into a new chapter.
Epilogue
6 months later…
