Page 97 of Sins

“We have a first.” He kissed me gently then ran his fingers down my back and held me there. “We fell in love.”

A tear slipped down my cheek. “Yeah,” I blinked a few times, “I guess we did.”

Grim

Nine months later…

“Hey, Callan, it’s okay, little guy. Daddy’s here.” I gently lifted my son and held his tiny, swaddled body to my chest. “What’s going on?” I rubbed his back as I eased into the rocking chair. “Are you hungry?” His face turned away when I tried the bottle. “I get it. Nothing like the real thing.” I chuckled and stuck my finger into his little fist, and he started to relax. “There you go.” I used my heel to gently rock us.

Leal lifted his head and yawned from his bed next to the closet, and Zhar moved to my feet and sniffed at the baby. Since Callan was born, the boys had taken to sleeping in the nursery. I agreed, but every time he would stir, they’d come and wake us up. “He’s okay,” I assured him. “He just needs his daddy.” The little guy’s lip stuck out and his chin quivered. “Don’t use the lip.It gets me every time.” I kissed his little head then nodded at Zhar, who eased down to rest.

“Let’s see.” I spoke quietly and hoped he’d fall back to sleep. “Well, someday, you’ll learn all about the family you belong to. You have two grandparents who have paved a pretty impressive road for you to follow. You have two blood uncles, one you can see and play with, and the other that will be right here.” I gently tapped his chest. “He’ll be in your heart, and you can talk to him whenever you feel lonely. I’ll teach you how.” I sniffed and felt Leo next to me. “You have Uncle Jesse, who is Daddy’s best friend, and then you have all your DR uncles and aunts. They’re wild, but they have some of the biggest hearts I know.”

I rocked him a little. “Then there’s me, and I’m going to teach you everything you need to know about running a business and how to rope in our kind of woman.” I smirked. “I’ll even teach you the keycard trick.” I paused, remembering the day when I went through Kenna’s art book and was so drawn to her designs. I couldn’t understand how such a beautiful woman with so much skill, so much talent, would keep it to herself. Her use of all things dark and sexy completely piqued my interest.

“I don’t know why I gave her that card at the time. It was a risk. It gave her full access to the whole hotel. Deep down, I must have known she was the one. And, well, here we are.” I smiled down at my son. His eyes had grown heavy. “Daddy’s gut was right, hey?”

Leal’s ears twitched, and he rolled onto his belly and looked up at me. I knew they enjoyed story time just as much as Callan did.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I shifted carefully to fish it out.

Elio: Just touched down. Looking forward to tomorrow. Followed that one lead and dealt with him. No more concerns there.

I felt a sense of relief. Since Sonny’s death, we all had worked tirelessly to ferret out any possible Potens members. If there was even a hint of suspicion, we let them go. Though we still had no clue who their leader might be, we had purged the city of them, and I was confident we’d be ready if they ever came back.

As I rocked my son, I thought about Knox. He had really stepped up to the plate and proven that he was ready to take on a bigger role. Leo would be proud. Cameron wormed his way into my head, but I shook it off. I channeled my rage differently now.

“You and I have a lifelong job to do, little guy,” I said softly. “Mommy lost everything, her entire blood family, and though she’s strong, we need to make sure she knows we’re always there for her.” I rubbed her name that I’d had threaded through another tattoo on my left ring finger. “She deserves the world.”

“Grim.” I wasn’t sure how long Kenna had been standing there. I was guessing our nanny ratted me out. “You left your own party early.” I admired the tiny piece of silk that Yen Hong called an evening dress as she stepped into the room. She patted Zhar, and Leal jumped to his feet.

“I just needed a moment.”

She leaned down and kissed me. “May I?” I lifted our son to her, and she closed her eyes and breathed him in. “My sweet boy,” she whispered. “Time for bed.” I watched her as she laid him in his cradle.

She stood just outside the door with her back to me and undid the string behind her neck, and the dress fluttered to her feet as she walked toward the bedroom.

“Night, boys,” I whispered to the pups and rushed into the bedroom.

My parents asked us,so for them, we honored their wishes to have a church wedding. The little chapel we had built at Secrets was the perfect place to marry Kenna the way I felt she deserved. Neither of us practiced traditional religion, but we did have it blessed by my parents’ priest the night before to even the scoreboard between good and evil.

“Fuck you, you got nothin’!” Rail tried to read my mind from across the table. His cigarette bounced between his lips as he called my hand.

“Really, boys?” Mom rolled her eyes as she took in the fact that we played poker in the dressing room before the ceremony started.

“You look like honey on a warm bagel.” Rail grinned at her, and she playfully gave him a huff. Mom had such a soft spot for him. “I promise we’re all ready to go. I’ll personally make sure he gets up there in time.” He winked at me, and I arched a brow.

“Hello, Minnie,” Mom called out the door, and Brick jumped up from the table.

Rail grinned. “But not until he shows me what he’s got.”

“Seriously!” Minnie crossed her arms. “For fuck’s sake, it smells like a bar in here.” She grabbed the trash can and tossed some beer cans inside.

“Winning looks so good on me,” Rail bragged.

“Grim’s got a full house,” Minnie whispered from behind me to Rail. I didn’t say a word; I just looked at him. The shit needed to fold first.

“Oh!” He pushed his chips forward. “All the fucking way in, son!” He dropped his cards and raised his hands with a flourish.

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