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“I know, but I want to live life for them as well, because they never got the chance.”

“What else do you see in your future, Mama? Marriage? Kids? Or just a houseful of animals and a handful of lethal men that will do anything for you?”

“Would it be okay if that’s all I wanted?” I whisper, my voice trembling as I ask the one question I should have asked before I allowed all of this to get so out of hand.

“Chloe, you could tell me you wanted to open a zoo, and I would make it happen. You could tell me all you want for the future is to eat ice cream and watch shitty reality shows, and I would do everything in my power to make that a reality. If you don’t want to get married, if you don’t want kids, then that’s the end of it. You are my priority always, and giving you everything you’ve ever wanted is all that matters to me.”

Pressing my eyes closed, I desperately reach for my composure. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to get pregnant again. The first time was a miracle, and I don’t want to rest my future happiness on the shoulders of it happening again.”

“That makes sense.”

“And I don’t know about marriage. Our situation is…complicated, and I wouldn’t be able to choose between you as to who I would legally tie myself to. So it might just be easier if we don’t go down that route at all.”

“You don’t have to decide right now, Mama. We can revisit it down the road, and if you still don’t want to get married to any of us, then we’ll table it.”

I bite down on the inside of my cheek to settle the emotions rolling through my chest. “How can you be so sure all of this is going to work out?”

“Because I’ve seen the way those guys look at you. I’ve seen the panic when you’re in pain and adoration when you do something simple like sing in the shower. And I’ve spent a decade dreaming about making you mine. There’s not a single thing on this earth that could stop me from keeping you.”

I press a kiss to the skin above his heart, reveling in the steady beat beneath my lips, and for the first time in years, I allow myself to believe in the future.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

RYKER

NOW

As fucking tempted as I am to put a bullet between Damon’s eyes for lying to us and putting my girl in danger, I force myself to remain perfectly still as I listen to the brothers talk.

Ronan’s pissed. I don’t need to have known him for long to know he’s just as furious with his brother as I am, but he’s being calm and rational, two things we desperately need right now.

It’s obvious how broken up Damon is about this. He knows he’s fucked up. He knows he’s put Chloe in danger.

If shit is ever going to work out between all of us, I can’t pull a gun on them whenever they annoy me, even if it is tempting.

“If we kill him, we have to kill everyone,” Damon says at last. He’d been quiet for so long I almost forgot what they were saying.

“Then we kill everyone.” Ronan shrugs. “If it means taking him down and removing a threat from Chloe’s life, then so be it. I’m sure Ryker wouldn’t mind getting his hands dirty. He keeps talking about torturing people in his sleep.”

That does sound like me, I think to myself before frowning.

I hope I haven’t scared my siren with my sleep talking. She hasn’t said anything, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t heard it.

It probably doesn’t help that I sleep with my favorite knife beneath my pillow.

“So you’re really in this, huh? Sharing your childhood sweetheart with a serial killer and the man we’ve spent most of our lives hunting?”

“If it means keeping Chloe, fuck yeah, I’m in this. And Ryker grows on you once he stops threatening your life at every turn.” He chuckles.

I crack an eye open, making sure neither of them is looking my way, and take in the scene in front of me.

Damon no longer has his head in his hands, but his eyes are haunted with the weight of the decision he needs to make.

He shifts slightly in the uncomfortable chair I had while we ate our bland microwaved burritos, and something catches my attention.

A thin red beam cuts through the dimly lit room, and it only takes a moment to place it.

I leap out of bed, thanking past me for not bothering to get under the blankets.