Page 224 of Lawless God

“Three weeks.” It comes out strained, like it hurts to say.

“Is that why you have this horrible beard?”

He chuckles, turning to me as we keep walking. “Yes. But now that I feel alive again, we’ll shave it off.”

I smile at him. “The girls. How are they?”

“They miss you. And Lia calls me Daddy.” There’s a smile in his voice. I wonder if that’s another feeling we could try to name.

“Of course she does. You’re her dad.”

We climb stairs that feel like they go on forever, and when we finally get to the top, my mouth drops open.

Everyone is here. Everyone. Nate’s enforcer, Sam, of course. But Rose and Jake White are here too. I can already imagine what happened. Rose wanted to come because she will always have a vendetta against the Wolves. And because no one can tell her what to do, her twin had to follow to make sure she came back in one piece.

The people from my crew are here, Ethan and Elliot. I can’t help the tears when I notice NSC is here too. Xi and Lik came, and I know why. The Wolves didn’t just kill their boss. They killed their stepsister.

Caden is here. My overprotective little brother who must have been suffering for weeks.

And Billie. With blood splattered on her clothes and face and a gun in her hand. Tears mix with the crimson on her cheek.

“Billie.” I run to her, taking her small form in my arms.

She lets me, her shoulders sagging before she wraps her arms around my waist.

“I’m sorry,” I cry. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t do anything.”

She shakes her head in the crook of my neck, trembling words stumbling past her lips. “It’s not your fault.”

I take a deep, staggered breath, and tell her something I hope will help her. “She was going to call you. She wasn’t mad at you. I promise. She loved you so much.”

When we step back from each other, Caden takes me in his arms.

“Tell me you’re okay,” he rasps in my ear, his voice weak.

“I’m okay. I’m not hurt.” I pull away slightly, my hands on his shoulders. “I’m okay, Cade.”

He nods. “I’ll kill them all over again, Kay. Again and again.”

I shake my head, chuckling. “Once will do.”

I step away, nodding at the others as Nate comes to wrap an arm around my waist.

“Let’s take you home, little sunflower.”

I probably take the longest shower of my life once we’re home. The girls jumped on me the second I walked past the door, and now they won’t leave the bathroom. Lia is talking a hundred miles an hour, gushing about dancing and reading with Daddy, how his waffles are disgusting, and that he gives the second-best hugs in the world after Mommy’s.

I’m holding Livie in my arms, and Lia is in Nate’s, when we walk into the dining room downstairs. Everyone is with us, spread around the long table, and eating from the countless Chinese takeout boxes.

I stand at the end of the table, my husband wrapping his free arm around my waist.

Everyone turns to us, and I take them all in one by one. Sam, Lik, Rose, and Rachel sitting together at the other end.

Caden and Billie not far. Alexandra sits on Xi’s lap as he forces a dumpling into her mouth. Jade, Elliot, and Ethan share two chairs for three. The closest to us are Jake and his fiancée, Jamie.

One person is missing. Emma Scott, head of NSC. My enemy who became one of my closest friends just because some psychopath went a step too far and she felt bad for me.

Tears come to my eyes. The emotions are too raw to handle.

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