Page 64 of Hartley

“Nonsense. We welcome the break. We’ve been at it all day. Elic baked cookies and Adria brought over scones. That’s Reed and Casper’s mom,” he told Ava.

“I know who she is. I know who all of you are.” She practically bounced when she walked beside Dash.

Cat let Ava walk ahead of her so my sister could loop her arm through mine as the people who came with us brought up the rest of our party. Actually, Oleander went inside whenwe weren’t paying attention to make sure the coast was clear. We knew it was, but they would always double-check.

“Thank you, big brother.” Cat put her head on my shoulder. “This was a nice thing you did.”

“I missed your smile.”

“Well, putting me near Dash will certainly bring it out. But more than that, seeing Ava happy does as well. Her smile is contagious.”

“It is. I’ll give her the world if she lets me.”

“You might have to fight Jordan for that honor.” She chuckled. It was the truth though.

Inside, we made our way to the studio in the house. The door was open and soft chords floated from the room, thanks to Slater’s or Casper’s guitar. I couldn’t tell which one. They stopped playing when Dash entered with Ava.

“I’d like to introduce you to my new friend. Ava, this is my brother, Slater, Reed, and Casper. Everyone, this is Ava. She’s going to play the drums for our next song.”

“I am?”

“Of course. Unless you don’t want to.”

“I do.” She spun to face me. “Oh my gosh.” Rushing over to me, she put her arms around my waist and hugged me. I embraced her back. Before I could say anything, she was off with Dash for a quick lesson.

I shook the guys’ hands and waited for my sister to choose who she was going to fawn over next. It was Casper, who sat on a stool with his guitar in front of him.

Slater put his down and came over to me.

“Thanks for having us,” I said.

“It’s no problem at all. It’s been a long day, so this was needed.”

While the idea was fresh in my mind, I asked, “Have you guys ever played a wedding?”

That was the start of a conversation and congratulations. Slater gave me the dates they’d be home next and, luckily, they lined up for an August wedding. We hadn’t set a date yet so we could work around their schedule. There was a two-week window we could take advantage of. I just had to clear it with Jordan and Hartley.

30

JORDAN

While certain parts of my life were a steaming pile of shit with the last name Everhart on them, the other part of my life was fucking glorious.

When I proposed on my knees, no rings in hand, I hoped they would say yes. I knew they loved me, but would they want that kind of commitment to me? My insecurity was a lump in my throat as I waited for them to respond.

For Vail to come home and tell me his sister agreed to officiate—not that I had any doubt—and that Ruined & Relinquished would be playing at the ceremony, it felt more real. More like it was actually happening.

I didn’t waffle when I made a decision. I stuck to it, listened to my gut. Plans weren’t made on a whim. Spur of the moment, yes, but always using my intuition. Next, we had to choose a date in August and pick out the rings.

That part of my life needed to overshadow the other. It couldn’t do that until I found Edison and Noel and killed them both. Edison, I had no desire to drag it out. If he was like Lane had said, he was on his deathbed or close to it. Whatwould be the fun in torturing someone who was about to die anyway? Noel, on the other hand, would live in pain as I flayed open his flesh and watched his blood run like a fucking river.

Lifting my phone from my desk, I sent a quick text to Albert and told him to meet me downstairs. It was Saturday but it might as well have been Monday. Vail was putting the finishing touches on his kitchen. Hartley was at his studio catching up on work. And Ava was staying the night at a friend’s house with Julia nearby. She didn’t hover, but she was close enough to react if need be. She couldn’t stay awake all night though, so Kayli was going to relieve her so she could sleep. Before Ava was ready to leave in the morning, Julia would be back. Kayli wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with a child.

My guns were already tucked close to my body as I slid my suit jacket on to cover them, buttoning it before leaving my office. Raiden stood by the elevator, his dark hair and equally dark eyes as sharp as the day I hired him and his brother.

“We’re going hunting,” I told him.

Raiden turned and hit the button for the elevator. This wasn’t the first time I’d searched the city and nearby suburbs looking for that fucking family so I could kill them.

---