“Mommy says you married my daddy,” she says accusingly, glaring at me.
I wince, not sure how to respond to that question, and look to Xavier for help, but he just chuckles quietly under his breath.
“Asshole,” I mutter before turning my attention back to Addison.
“Yes, I did,” I reply carefully, waiting for her to decide she hates me.
“Do you love him?” she asks. “Like you love Sage?” I flinch. I’m not sure how to answer that question yet. Do I love them? I mean, I have to feel something for them because otherwise their betrayal wouldn’t have hurt so much, and I wouldn’t have hesitated in getting rid of them, but is it love yet, or just raging lust?
“Maybe, I’m not sure yet,” I hedge, and when I look at the others, I see hurt in Tristan’s and Vienna’s eyes, but Colton doesn’t look too upset. He’s a little more understanding about everything and gives me a small nod. Xavier just gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, so I guess he understands the situation too.
Sage’s reaction is the one I’m most surprised by. He looks furious but keeps quiet, his mouth set in a straight line. I guess I’m going to hear about this later.
Addison taps a finger against her cheek. “And if Sage loves all of my daddies and mommy, then does that mean you are going to be my mommy too?”
Holy shit. How did we get to that? I feel a rush of panic and nausea as I push away from Xavier’s embrace, shaking my head.
“Ah, uh, um…” I stammer, not entirely sure how to react to that question. Thankfully, Colton finds it within himself to help me out, and he steps between us, blocking me from Addi’s view as he picks her up.
“Come on, let’s get you to the car so Sage and Mommy can take you shopping. We can talk about any of that stuff after we have taken care of Grandpa.”
“I hate Grandpa,” Addison says stubbornly, crossing her arms, completely distracted from the other question at the mention of Mario. “I don’t want to go back there.” She shakes her head, and her curls go flying, tears shining in her eyes.
“Oh no, my sweet. You are never going to have to see him again,” Colton assures her as they walk down the steps, followed by Vienna and Tristan, neither of them looking back at me. A wave of shame washes over me. Fuck, why is all of this being thrown at me now? I have so much more to deal with before I start to figure out my feelings. Sure, I enjoy being with them, and yes, I’ve forgiven them for what happened, but is that enough? I don’t have time to examine the softer feelings I have for them at the moment. I need all the cunning and skills of the angel of death.
Gio snickers gleefully, and Maeve and Mickey do their best to hide their amusement at my sheer terror, but they fail miserably.
“Tori, you have to be honest with yourself. If you are going to continue to be in a relationship with my cousins, Addi is going to be in your life. If you don’t think you can be what they need, then break it off now before it goes any further,” Casey warns coldly.
“You think it’s that easy? You don’t know shit,” I snarl, pissed off at her, but she shakes her head.
“None of this was or is easy for any of us. We each have our own demons, but only you can decide how you’re going to exorcise yours.”
“Casey,” Xavier growls. “Stop it. Mind your own business. You worry about your relationship and child, and we will worry about ours. Tori has every right to be cautious. She didn’t know about Addi when we got together, and we know children were not in her life plan. We will work it out. Addison has a mother, she doesn’t need another one if Tori doesn’t want it. She can be wicked Aunt Tori who kicks ass and takes names and always has her back if this relationship goes anywhere. I don’t want herfeeling uncomfortable.” And just like that, I think I take that final blind step over the cliff, falling like a stone. How can I not love someone who is so fucking understanding and gets me?
I turn to face him, cupping his cheeks with my hands. “Thank you,” I say, putting all the emotion I feel in those two words. I press a kiss to his lips, and Sage snickers.
“Now you’ve done it. You’ll never get rid of us.”
Xavier shrugs, unconcerned, before wrapping his arms around me and kissing me more soundly.
“Good thing I never wanted to in the first place. We will work it out,” he promises, not looking away from me, “and make it work for all of us.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Vienna elects to stay and go shopping with Sage and Addison, leaving me and the boys to go to the warehouse. When we touch down, Dan drops us off and returns to fish at the lake. I’ll call him once we are done. Xavier doesn’t bother sending Mario a message, knowing he is being questioned by the FBI for now. I’m sure he will try to contact us later.
Tristan studies the building as we approach it and whistles. “This thing is locked up tight. Only two entry points, and both of them look like they could withstand a missile blast.” He studies the front door and cargo bay door that is directly next to it. Both are made from reinforced steal, and the building itself is concrete.
“Yeah, that’s what appealed to my father. It was an old fireworks factory. The company went out of business and were selling off their assets to pay off some debt. He got it for a steal.” I push my hand against the biometric screen and hear the lock disengage. The door opens slightly, and Xavier pushes it the rest of the way, gesturing for the rest of us to enter before he pulls it closed behind him.
My sneakers are quiet on the concrete floors as I walk across the room, passing two trucks and racks of hotel supplies—towels, linens, paper supplies, stacks of cards, glasses, and cutlery, as well as other stock for the various businesses we own.
“What the hell is this?” Tristan calls, and I turn around and chuckle. Of course he found the stock for the brothel. He’s waving around a packet with a butt plug in it.
“Those are supplies for Intimate Indulgence. I take it Mario hasn’t had anyone infiltrate it yet?” I raise my eyebrows, and he shakes his head.
“No. He said we will just funnel the profits from the spa into our bottom line and not to place anyone in there. A bunch of rich old ladies getting beauty treatments didn’t interest him.”
