Page 137 of Crave Me

We made it to my office and I walked to one of the safes in the corner. It was where I’d taken to keeping alcohol and any narcotics in the house now after what had transpired with Bastian two years ago. Although he was doing so well now, I’d taken to keeping it that way.

I unlocked the safe then pulled out a vial that my doctor had given me after the farmhouse assault. I popped two, then placed it back inside and locked up.

As I turned back around to Caleb, I saw him shifting uneasily with a deeply pensive expression etched into his handsome features.

“Lovely?”

His gaze shot to mine. “I need to kill him, Cas.”

I rounded my desk back to him. “I understand the urge, believe me, but—”

“I know you always intended to be the one to do it.”

“It’s not that. I just can’t allow you to go it alone when it comes to that.” I slid my hand to his cheek. “We’ll do it together.”

“Yeah?”

“I swear it.”

“Thank you, Cas. Not just for that. For everything. For fighting so hard for me.”

“That’s what family does for each other.”

He smiled up at me, then we headed out of my office.

“I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that Dante Mancini falls under that umbrella now.”

“Believe me, I am too.”

“You’re handling it well.”

“I didn’t at first, but I’m starting to come to grips with it now.”

“You can roll with anything, huh?”

“Not anything.”

As we made our way through the kitchen toward the patio doors, he eyed me quizzically. “Really?”

“Not losing the three of you. I can’t roll with that. Ever.”

“You won’t. You won’t have to, Cas.”

“It came too close for all three of you that night.”

“I know. But we’re all still standing here with you. It worked out and it will continue to.” He fingered my pendant. “We’ll overcome this shitshow like we’ve always overcome everything. And like Skylar is the queen of declaring now—together.” He had me smiling as he pressed his pendant to mine. “That’s how we’ll do it.”

I nodded, his words rolling over me.

We headed out onto the patio and he fired up a smoke.

I joined him against the railing, the two of us relaxing and looking out at the expansive grounds covered in the blanket of night.

A loud, booming thunder abruptly cut right through our reverie, ripping right through the area.

As we both jolted, a blindingly bright flash of light akin to a lightning strike lit up the area in a sudden burst, and had the both of us shielding our eyes.

“What the shit?” Caleb cried as he dropped his smoke and stubbed it out on the railing.

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