Page 115 of Darkness Falls

"Seb?"

The sound of my name pulls me from the memory, and I glance over at Callie to see her eyeing me with worry. The tree has a heart with Maxton's initials carved into it, and it reminds me so much of the heart my mother carved.

"Seb, are you okay?" she asks, but I'm laser-focused on the heart. My eyes finally trail over to hers, and I pull her into my embrace.

I hug her, feeling more grateful than I ever have for anyone in my entire life. She is so gentle, patient, and kind. No matter what I put her through, she has been the one constant who has beenable to pull these emotions out of me. She gave me the gift of my mother again, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life.

“I need to tell you something,” I say, ignoring her question again.

This is the perfect moment to confess how I feel. I take her hand and look her in the eye, making sure she knows the truth and sincerity of these words.

“I love you, trouble. I don’t know how else to say it besides being straightforward. I’m not romantic like my brothers, but I'm in love with you, Callie. You have every single piece of me if you want–.”

“I love you too,” she interrupts and reaches up to grab the back of my neck to pull me in for a kiss.

Our tongues tangle with one another, and she melts into my arms. The taste of her isn't something I’ll ever get enough of. I want to tangle my fingers in her hair, but I hesitate. This place is for Maxton. It doesn’t need to be soiled with my pent-up urges.

“You belong to me tonight, in my bed.”

When she pulls back, her eyes land on mine. "Finally." She smiles.

"You keep mocking me, and I’ll punish you for it."

"Is that a promise, sir?" She grins devilishly.

Fuck, this woman knows how to push every single one of my buttons. "Yes, fuck toy. And if your mother wasn't in that cabin, I would throw you over my shoulder and march right in thereright now to tie you up and tease you until tears fall from those beautiful brown eyes."

She beams up at me, eyes darkening over my words. She blinks and then blurts out the last thing I expected her to say. "I think we should all move down here to be with my mom. It doesn't have to be permanent, but I want to help her get things situated with The Maxton Foundation. I’ve spent so long without her. I don't want to be away from her again. I’m going to try to convince Avery to move here, too. It’ll be good for her to have a fresh start."

I pull her in close and kiss her on the forehead. "If this is where you want to be, then this is where we will be. Barrett and Ky will agree with me. We just want you to be happy."

"Are you sure? What about your house? Where will we live?"

"We will just have to buy land nearby and build a new house, one that you have a say in, too. Barrett will get his gym so you two can do some kickboxing, and we will put in a big inground pool for you and Kyler to swim in."

"And a library?" she questions.

"Yes, and a library for you. I will pull some strings and get the ball rolling as soon as I talk with the guys about it."

"Thank you, Seb."

"Anything for you, trouble." I grab her hand and pull her toward the direction of the cabin. "Let's go see what everyone else is up to. You know leaving Barrett and Kyler alone for too long isn't always the bestidea."

She giggles as the two of us walk back to the cabin. I don't know where things are going to lead the four of us, but what I do know is that we will go through it together. When one struggles, the other will lift them up. We are a unit, and that will never change, no matter what.

Epilogue

Callie – One year later

Iturn on the TV while prepping food for the party outside and notice the reporter talking about the fire at what used to be Rogue's compound. I can't help but smile when they show the images of the decimated buildings. The walls around the compound kept the fire from spreading elsewhere, making it the perfect way to safely destroy my father's entire legacy.

I turn the TV up briefly to hear what they have to say.

"It's been one year since the fatal fire at the mysterious compound near Nashville. Authorities were able to confirm this was a mass suicide performed by a group of men in a cult composed of high-standing political officers and members of society. The website left behind indicated the leader was a man with no name who referred to himself as the chosen one and often spoke from behind a mask. He instructed members to join him in ascending from the darkness in hopes of a bright new beginning.

The FBI was able to recover remains and confirm the identities of several prominent politicians within the destruction. Even one year later, many of us are asking the same questions. How did this cult go unnoticed for so long, and how many actual members were there? A foundation that has chosen to publicly remain anonymousin order to protect the integrity of its work was able to help the families affected by this disaster start new lives.

We have been unsuccessful in our attempts to interview any of the wives of the men who took part in this mass killing. Tonight at seven, we will take a deeper dive into some of the positions of the men identified in the rubble and..."

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