Page 104 of The Rogues

Her words cause my heart to swell. “But… didn’t it? Wasn’t there so much more bullshit after I left?”

“Oh, like you wouldn’t imagine.” She gives a humorless laugh. “But that’s not your fault. That’s theirs, and we have to keep on. Cy, you got out. You are living your dream. I know I can do the same thing, you just have to trust me.”

I nod even though she can’t see me, emotion running rampant in my body. “I do trust you,” I say. “And if anyone can, it’s you. You say I’m brave? You’re way more courageous than me.”

“I learned it from my big brother.”

I point my face away from the phone, trying not to lose it from the sincerity in her voice. All this time, I’ve been carrying this weight, this guilt. And all this time, Florence has been inspired by the one action that I felt regret over.

What a wild turn of events.

“The bus is coming,” Florence tells me. “I promise we will talk soon.”

“Please let me know when you get somewhere safe.”

“I will…” Another pause. “And Cy. Be brave. Tell the world about the two people you love. If you do, they won’t be able to hurt you anymore.”

“Where are you guys taking me?” Josie asks for the millionth time since we put the blindfold on her.

Jamie chuckles. “Patience, Petal.”

I can’t contain my smile as we lead her out into the parking lot where our bus is sitting idle, waiting for our next departure. Even when we were on a wild goose chase for Florence, Remi and Malaki spent most of today getting things ready for Josie. They stand outside the bus now, their smiles big and knowing as we step forward, not able to stall the surprise a moment longer.

Remi opens the bus while Jamie and I try to navigate getting her up the steps. She does it well, and we know why the second she speaks.

“We’re in your tour bus,” she states.

“Yes, how did you know?” I ask.

“Your scents,” she answers, a little breathless. “They’re stronger in here than any other room you’ve been in.”

“Do you like our scents when they’re all together?” Malaki whispers, earning a soft sound from her lips.

She grins. “That’s a rhetorical question.”

“Yes, of course. It’s like if you were to ask us if we liked your scent. You definitely already know the answer to that. But you like to be reminded, don’t you?”

Her mouth closes and a tiny flash of red appears beneath the blindfold on her pale skin. “Point taken.”

Jamie takes her hand and leads her to the back of the bus. I work on pinning up the new curtain that we’ve installed in the tiny doorway to the back resting space where our surprise lies. When I see the finished product, my chest swells with pride for all the hard work my pack mates did while Lennon, Jamie, and I distracted Josie.

And by distract, I mean gave her lots of incentive to stay in bed with us. I can still smell us on her skin, the heady aroma strong enough for me to bite my lip in temptation.

I can’t wait for her scent to fill this bus to the brim, embed itself into all of our stuff so we can carry a piece of her with us forever.

We pause in the small space, all of us silently fighting for a spot so we can see her reaction. She must hear us fussing about, because she huffs with frustration.

“Can you please take this off me now?”

Jamie looks over at me, his eyes lit with excitement as he asks for permission. He makes my alpha preen as I nod a confirmation and watch as he unties the blindfold, letting it fall without another second of hesitation.

At first, Josie blinks to adjust her eyesight, but then she gasps when she sees what we’ve done with the space.

The bed is covered in new sheets and blankets, all different shades of purple. The pillows are scattered, creating a border around the bed, all deep plums with different levels of softness. In the center are our clothes that we’ve been saving for her, making sure her nest is full of all her favorite scents.

I even slipped in a few of the clothes that I stole from her to throw her own scent into the mix.

“Holy moly,” she says. Lennon snorts behind us at her choice of words.