Page 307 of Heart So Hollow

“I’m going to marry you,” I whisper over his lips.

His aquamarine eyes fly open as I straighten up and he keeps them trained on me as I head toward the steps. He looks down at his hand, at the solid black band tattooed around his ring finger. Even if I wasn’t going to wear a ring, he was.

“Since when?” he calls after me as I descend the steps.

“Since we both won,” I call back over my shoulder, leaving him in shock on the front porch.

Maybe it’s macabre, some might say unhinged, but we all have our reasons for doing what we do. Colson can function with low-key rage in the background, but he knows I can’t. He knows I need neat little boxes. I need one for me, him, and the family we’ve created without worrying that it’ll be set on fire one night with all of us inside. I needed to start a new chapter. And, in this case, starting a new chapter meant destroying the entire book—again.

“Well, if it isn’t the Tomb Raider herself…” I stroll toward the truck, beaming at Dallas’s thick black hair pulled up on the top of her head and her immaculate cat eyes even in the heat of the summer.

“The town is in shambles!” Dallas cries, throwing her arm in the air dramatically, “A grand conspiracy by the socialists to dismantle law and order in peaceful smalltown America!” she wails before breaking into giggles.

I cast a glance over her shoulder to Sydney as she slams the passenger side door of the Range Rover, “Congratulations on taking down an entire law enforcement agency,” I flash her a grin, “I saw the video. It was pretty sweet.”

“It was utterly exhausting,” Sydney sighs, stretching her arms above her head, “which is why I’ve booked a spa day for the four of us tomorrow.”

“Really?” Tyler squeals as she steps out of the Wrangler, “That’s great, my nails are a mess…”

“I wonder why…” Aiden quips as he rounds the front of the Range Rover.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she turns up her nose at him smugly.

“I think he’s jealous,” Mason calls to her as he slams the driver’s side door of the Wrangler.

“Jealous of her man and his fleet of private jets,” Aiden drawls salaciously as he gives Mason a once-over. “When are you going to let me fly one of those, or do I have to let you fuck me in the cockpit first?”

“That’s rich, coming from you,” Alex chuckles.

“Did you forget?” Aiden turns to Alex, “I’ve been disowned—well, half disowned…kind of. Regardless, I have to make my own dirty money now.”

“Poor baby…” Alex coos with a roll of his eyes.

Dallas shakes her head with irritation, “These boys…” she murmurs, reaching into the truck and grabbing a few grocery bags.

“You know, it’s no wonder you like Lara Croft so much,” I plant my hands on my hips, “why limit yourself to Dragon Con when you can dismantle the establishment one video game campaign at a time?”

“Angelínaaa…” Alex calls softly as he trots around the front of the Raptor.

Dallas whips her head around, “Don’t even start,” she shoots him a look over the hood of the truck, and as soon as she does, there’s a subtle movement in the corner of his mouth.

Angelina? Angel? No, Angelina’s a name…

Watching them together is fascinating in ways I never noticed before. Alex is like granite; patient, stoic, and immovable. But Dallas is the exact opposite; her face has a million expressions, her big dark eyes constantly moving, searching like she wants to see everything in the universe. I wonder if both of them were always this way, or if they used to be different. Was Alex always so serious? Did Dallas’s zeal for life ever falter? Or did Colson carry the burden of loss for everyone?

But I get it. Sometimes you don’t even need to speak, because sometimes you find someone who can carry on a conversation with their own secret language.

Dallas envelopes me in a tight hug and then pulls back, squeezing my shoulders, “How are you feeling?” her face falls and she exhales, gazing down at my ever-growing belly, “I still feel terrible. I could’ve done more, I could’ve—”

“Stop,” I cut her off, she’s already done this too many times, “you did what you were supposed to do—what I asked you to do. And we’re all still here.”

“Where’s Serg?” Alex nods to Colson as he walks up behind me.

“Picking up more supplies,” Colson stretches his arms behind his head with a yawn, “he said something about pretty colors and loud noises.”

“Shit,” Alex sighs as he gazes across the grass toward the forest.

“Ray Marcum, the fire chief, is coming,” Colson waggles his eyebrows with excitement, “said he has a fresh batch of rookies in need of more training. I told him we’d oblige him.”

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