Page 29 of Taking It Off

“Anything that makes you happy is what we want,” Luke says.

“It won’t feel weird living in the house where your dad died?” I’m not trying to talk him out of it, but I don’t want him to be stuck, either.

He grabs my hands and drags me down onto his lap on the couch. “I understand that you’re worried. It’s okay. I grew up in this house. This will always feel like home to me, especially with the three of you here. So, unless you don’t want to move in here, let’s just be happy that we now own a house that we didn’t exactly have to pay for.”

Will laughs, “She kinda already paid for it though, didn’t she?”

Jeremy punches his arm and shakes his head. “That’s not what he meant, and you know it. We should go back to the apartments and pack up before time to be back for dinner. Then we can get everything moved tonight.”

“Do you think the landlord will be angry that we’re moving out so quickly without notice?” I ask, considering making the offer to pay for another month or two of both apartments to smooth things over.

“We’ll only be moving out two months early. I already called him when you finally told us you bought the condo. Henry is fine with us moving. He’s already got two different couples interested. The way I see it, this makes things easier on him.” Jeremy’s explanation makes sense, but also surprises me. I had no idea he’d called our landlord about this.

“How did you know we’d be moving?” I press.

Will takes my hand, drawing my attention away from Jeremy. “Because we started looking for houses outside of the city a couple of weeks after we left for vacation. You need more privacy for your work—both jobs, and we need more space for all of us. We were gonna surprise you, but you beat us to it.”

I feel bad for ruining their surprise, but I’m glad we can settle into Luke’s family home. I love the idea of making this enormous house our own. And I’m pretty sure there are enough bedrooms and office spaces that I can have an even better set up than I do at the apartment.

“How are we going to get everything packed and loaded up before dinner?” I ask, suddenly on board for the idea. The sooner we get settled, the better.

“Well, one of the companies my family owns is a moving company. As soon as Kate told us, I sent a text, and the truck is on its way. They’ll have boxes and packing material for us, and will help pack if we want,” Will explains with a smirk.

“We need to get moving, then,” I insist, jumping from Luke’s lap and dashing into the kitchen to let Kate know about our plans.

The moving crew is awesome. The guys give them carte blanche to pack their entire apartment, leaving Jeremy, Will, and Luke free to help me pack my stuff. I’m glad they understand that I like to keep my jobs private. I let Jeremy and Luke pack up my costumes and wigs, while Will and I pack the secret room.

“You have so much computer equipment. This is some amazing stuff. Do we need to figure out which room to set it up in tonight? Or do you still have some vacation left?” He’s teasing, I know, but it’s still cute.

“I think it can wait until tomorrow. I’ll have to plug the laptop in just in case there’s an urgent message, but jobs come through a different way, so that’s not an issue.” I realize that I never told them about the guild or how I get assignments from them. That’ll be a conversation for later, then.

No more secrets between us, ever. I will tell these men everything, no matter how big or small. We’ll figure it all out together, one step at a time.

Once we have both apartments packed up and loaded onto the truck, we head back home. Home. That’s always been such a foreign word to me, until I met these guys. I feel like I’ve been home ever since we started dating, and now that we’re moving in together in a house that we own together, it feels even more right.

I know I’ll have to get back to work soon, with my cam job and assassinations. I can’t put it off forever. I’m sure the guild won’t be happy about how many jobs I’ve turned down while we’ve been gone. Those little black cards just kept popping up everywhere.

We pull into the driveway and start unloading everything. Luke instructs the movers where to stack boxes so they’re out of the way and we can start organizing tomorrow.

ONE YEAR LATER

EMILY

The past year and a half has been crazy. Somehow killing three men brought me closer to their sons. We split our time between the condo on the beach and the house outside the city. My guys helped me set up an office and cam room in each.

It should feel weird that they help me with my jobs now, but it doesn’t. The small, black business cards continue to find me, no matter which home we’re at. I have twice as many wardrobe and wig choices between the two houses.

I consider everything we’ve been through as I finish a private call with my next mark. Mr. Day is a freak for sure, and he’s trying to reconnect with Franklin’s circle that I disbanded. I won’t let that happen. “Same time next week?” I ask with a soft smile.

“You mean our time is already up?” He pretends to be clueless, but I refuse to let him push me.

“It is. And I do have other clients, so I have to go. I’ll see you soon.” Sooner than you think, even. He begrudgingly agrees and I disconnect the call.

“I hate watching you on these calls. Just thinking about those pervs wanting to touch you makes me want to eat their faces,” Jeremy growls.

“I know, and that’s why you’re not supposed to be in here while I’m on the private calls,” I scold him, then focus on his expression. He’s upset about something that has nothing to do with my camming. “What’s up?”

“We’re gonna have to head back to the city earlier than planned,” he says, holding up a black card with blood red writing on it.

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