Page 84 of His Reluctant Savior

When I heard talking behind me, I looked back to see Sid step out into the lounge area, alive and well, and I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. All that crushing weight just slid off me.

Thank god, he was still alive. They had been in Malik’s office for too long, and I kept imagining all the pain he was doling out on mySid.

He gave me a wink, and I rolled my eyes. Fucking typical of him to make light of such a dramatic moment, not appreciating my near-panicked worry. But it also filled me with hope everything was going according to plan.

“Everyone, gather around. I would like to talk to you all,” Malik announced.

All the men entered the lounge area. As soon as Dante sat down in a leather club chair, Luca climbed onto his lap, playing with a strand of Dante’s hair. Then Sid came to stand behind me, placing protective hands on my shoulder, letting his family know I was not to be touched.

Shortly after, a petite woman with brown hair in a pixie cut, wearing wide glasses that made her eyes appear larger, entered the room. That must have been Layla.

“It’s good to see you,Pookybear,” Sid said with a smile in his tone.

Layla raised a brow. “You still alive, Sid? I’m surprised they let you live,” she clapped back, but a small smile played on her lips.

“As you can see, I’m still breathing. So how did you come about that name?”

“If I tell you, I’ll definitely have to kill you.”

Sid’s laugh was thunderous. No doubt things went well for him to feel good enough to make jokes. Then again, he made jokes when we were near death, too.

Layla pointed at everyone. “If anyone calls me that again, I’ll gut you. Remember, I know more about each of you better than you know yourselves.”

“Can we get to business now?” Malik huffed.

When it was quiet, he nodded. “As you can see, Sid has… not been punished. He has convinced me of why he chose his path.”

“Psht… You’re just as compromised as Sid is,” Sully said much too calmly while eyeing Sid, giving him a death glare.

“As are you, Sully,” Malik retorted. “All your decisions revolve around me, as mine revolve around you. Dante also went against orders and saved Luca. Let us all be honest with ourselves and admit we have made personal choices in life that went against business and family. Had we not, we would not be here today as a family of The District.”

Sully leaned against a wall with folded arms, not hiding his irritation.

“Sid made a decision to protect someone instead of killing them and has chosen to come back to us. But he also did not trust us… me, specifically, not to…” Malik glanced at me, then at a sleeping Owen. “Not to take him off the job and give it to someone else. Dalton Reed and Sid have an important background together. Knowing the full story, I have chosen to forgive him, as will you. And that goes for you, too, Sully. You would have done the same were it me instead of Dalton.”

Luca clapped. “I’m so happy Sid gets to live! I knew he wouldn’t hurt us on purpose.” His eyes suddenly went wide, and buried his face in Dante’s throat, a blush creeping around to the back of his neck. Poor thing. He probably wasn’t used to being so outspoken. He was a prime example of why we needed to fight the evil of the world. You could see the residual effects of his pain that would never fully heal.

“Anything else?” Maverick said, standing like a sentry.

“Yes. Dalton is coming on board.”

“What?!” Sully screeched. He was the only one who was the most outspoken, which was strange for a psychopath. But the rest of the men either glared at me or eyed me with mistrust, except for Layla and Luca. No doubt Layla understood the full extent of my life by now.

Malik raised a hand. “Sid has convinced me Dalton will be a valuable asset of someone who has knowledge on the inside of the FBI.”

“We cannot trust him,” said Khai, who hadn’t said a word until now.

“You can,” I finally said. “I’m not going back to my old life. They stabbed me in the back. These powerful men have helped cover up the abduction, rape, and murder of a sixteen-year-old girl. These people run our damn country. When they learned I had video evidence, they forced me to run. Do you truly believe I will ever be able to trust them again?”

“So you’ll trust us?” Maverick asked dubiously.

“Hell, no. I don’t trust you at all, but I trust Sid. I didn’t at first, and Easton is growing on me because he, too, helped save Owen’s and my life.”

Maverick nodded. “Works for me.”

“What?!” Sully exclaimed again. “You cannot tell me you’re falling for this bullshit!”

Maverick and Khai both shrugged.

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