Page 27 of Bloody Seven

"Yeah, about that. I didn't have time to eat it. It's still in my purse."

He brings his hand to his mouth, covering up a horrified look on his face. "You being a serial killer, I can excuse, but wasting a perfectly good bagel is criminal!"

"What can I say? I may be certifiably insane. You better watch yourself, considering you agreed to let me live with you." I sit up and cross my arms over my chest.

"Having you close just means you can't get away from me, pretty girl. I'm just protecting my assets."

"Oh, yours?" I raise a brow.

"If you want to be." He shrugs.

"I definitely want that," I say, making him smile as I slip away to go to the bathroom real quick.

When I come back out, he's lying on the bed, patting the spot next to him. Without hesitating, I crawl up and lay down, letting him pull me into the safety of his hold.

If you had asked me a year ago what my future would look like, it certainly wouldn’t be this. Things are so different now. Corbin and I may not know everything about one another, but he feels like home.

He squeezes me tighter as if he's thinking the exact same thing, and I pull back a little bit to peer into his eyes, which are full of nothing but vulnerability. "It's you and me, right?"

"You and me, cupid. We're in this together," he reassures me as he leans in to press a kiss to my forehead.

I don't know what taking down The Collection will look like, but I know that with him by my side, they will feel my wrath. I've never felt more sure about anything in my life.

Epilogue

Poppy - 8 months later

"Are you sure this is a good idea? We should just go to the warehouse alone and check things out." I tilt my head in Corbin's direction for some reassurance because we've been driving for what feels like forever.

"No, we need help, and my initiation brothers are just as invested in taking down The Collection as we are."

"I told you I’d figure out how to handle them." I gruff in annoyance. The idea of trusting other people to assist with something so important makes me uneasy. "Do you really trust them?"

"I do. Not to mention, it's taking too long. We've been trying to get a solid lead with no luck for months. The only reason we got this one is because of Raiden. I want to be free of their hold so we can start our lives together. Don't you want that?"

I take a breath, knowing he's right. We've been inseparable since I showed up at his sandwich shop for the second time eight months ago. We got a new place, and things have been good. The only thing keeping our lives from perfection is this incessant need to destroy The Collection.

I want to be able to relax, settle down, maybe start a family, but I can't allow my mind to even think about that until I make them pay. They can't be allowed to continue ruining people's lives.

Finally, our destination comes into view, and we park next to the porch. It looks like a normal house. There's nothing that really screams "we're hosting a meeting about uncovering a secret society.”

Corbin turns to look at me, bringing his hand up to cup my face, and I lean into it. "We're close. I can feel it. Let's do this so we can start our forever."

I smile as he leans in to press my lips to his, and I let all of my doubts slip away. We deepen the kiss, getting lost in one another before I pull back to catch my breath.

"I love you, cupid."

"I love you too, bagel boy. Let's get this over with. I'm dying to get back home so I can try out that new ball gag."

"If you're using it on yourself, then yes, but I already told you I'm not putting that thing in my mouth."

"I'll wear you down. You know you can't resist being a good boy for me." His nostrils flare, and I smile, knowing he can't deny it.

We walk hand in hand inside the house without bothering to knock or ring the doorbell, which I find a bit odd. Once inside, Corbin leads me to a living room with four people whose eyes all land on us at the same time.

"Poppy, these are my brothers," he says before pointing at each one and rattling off names.

Raiden, the brown-haired guy who oozes your typical alpha energy.

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