Cassidy slapped her hand over her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh.
“Thank you for calling, Dr. Chen,” Declan said, leaning toward the phone.
“Of course. If you or your family have any questions ...”
Declan ended the call. “Holy shit. That stupid bastard googled his symptoms.”
Cassidy giggled. Bella did, too.
Then we all laughed.
“He’ll probably live for years in prison,” I said.
“In a wheelchair,” Mitch added. “We couldn’t have asked for a better punishment if we’d tried.”
“He deserves to rot in hell, and I think he’s going to get exactly that,” Cassidy said. Xavier wrapped his arm over her shoulder, and she leaned against him.
“So, he wrote his confessions for nothing,” Sapphire said.
“Not for nothing.” I shook my head. “You’re going to use them to take down Bob and solve a heap of crimes.”
She shook her head. “Not me. Aria took the notes, remember?”
I curled my arm around her waist and pulled her to my side.
“Aria will get him, Sapphire. I’m sure of it,” Mitch said. “And thanks to you, Frank’s locked up. His paralysis is his punishment. Now, we can focus on moving forward as a family and making things right again.”
Rose entered the room and began clearing empty bowls, but something about her felt off.
Cassidy yawned. Followed by Declan.
“Seems to me that you lot need some rest,” Rose said.
Mitch pushed back from the table. “You’re absolutely right.” He clutched Charlie’s hand. “See you all tomorrow.”
We all stood, said goodnight, and left the table. Mitch and Charlie headed to the old homestead. Declan and Bella went to his cabin. Cassidy and Xavier went to her room at the end of the homestead.
I reached for Sapphire’s hand. “Will you stay with me tonight?”
She frowned. “Will I get much sleep? ‘Cause I’m really tired.”
“Absolutely. Cross my heart.” I did the cross sign on my chest.
“I don’t know if I believe you.”
I gasped in mock hurt. “I told you. One hundred percent honesty from now on.”
She giggled. I bloody loved the sound of her laugh.
We said goodnight to Rose and headed back out into the darkness. The stars were even more brilliant across the sky. As we walked to the loft, Sapphire and I swung our arms like a couple of giddy teenagers.
“Now, you do remember I usually sleep in the nude, right?” I said.
“Ahhh, you didn’t last night.”
“Well, last night was kinda extraordinary.”
We took turns in the bathroom, and by the time I climbed up the ladder, Sapphire was already in bed with the sheet pulled up to her chin.
