Page 30 of Rex
“Are you happy?” He asks.
His question takes me by surprise, but I have no issues answering him.
“I’ve never been happier.” I reply honestly.
“Me neither. I never expected you. I’d resigned myself to being alone for the rest of my life. Meeting you and feeling the instant connection between us was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You’re going to make me cry.” I say as I feel my eyes beginning to well with tears.
“That’s not my intention. I just want you to understand what you mean to me.”
“It’s not a bad thing. I meant happy tears, not sad.”
“Okay. That’s good. I don’t think I’d be able to cope if you were upset about how I really feel about you.”
“I could never be upset about how you feel about me, Rex. We’ve only known each other a small amount of time, but I already know you care deeply about me.”
“It’s more than caring deeply about you, Dre. I’ve fallen in love with you.”
“You love me?” I ask in shock. Maybe I shouldn’t be as shocked as I am after seeing what I thought I did in his eyes earlier, but I’m utterly flabbergasted at this moment.
“Yeah. I really do. How could I not? You are one in a million.”
“Thank fuck because I love you too. I was so scared it was too soon.”
“To most people it probably is, but this is our life, and we get to choose what is too soon. Fuck the rest of the world and their unwanted opinions.”
“I’ve got to ask, are you okay with the fact I come with Immy? I love you so much already, but I love her too. She’s my daughter in every sense but blood.”
“You can stop all those thoughts right now. I love that little girl to death already. She wormed her way into my heart even before her daddy did. I’d love nothing more than to help you raise her and maybe one day be seen as her parent too.”
Those tears I managed to hold back break free. There’s no holding them back, the worry that’s lived in the back of my mind lifting with just a few heartfelt and honest words from him. I didn’t think this moment could get any more perfect than it was. I was so wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rex
It’s been a few days since I had that first night with Dre. That downright perfect, life-changing first night. Not just because I finally got to feel how amazing it is to be inside him, and don’t get me wrong, I fucking enjoyed every single moment of that. It was beyond my wildest dreams but also because of the conversation that followed. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a fantastic person loving me, but you’ll never hear me complain or take it for granted. I know I’m a lucky son of a bitch to have him. I will forever thank my lucky stars that he entered my life and wanted me just as much as I wanted him.
The days that followed have been just as amazing as that night, just in an entirely different way. We’ve spent time not only with both our families and The Reapers but also as a smaller family unit too. We took some time for ourselves, despite everything that was waiting for us to deal with. We deserved that. The rest of the world could wait. It still hasn’t quite sunk in that I have a family of my own now. It blows my mind each and every time I think about it. Maybe one day, probably fifty years from now, it won’t feel like such a shock to me every time I think about it, but I very much doubt it.
Dre has gotten to know everyone so much better these past few days, and I can tell he just feels more comfortable around them all. He seems to get on extremely well with Wraith and Seth. I think on some level he knows they both need someone like him in their lives. Even Micah, who had a shock when he got home to find there was now a baby in the house, seemed to fall into an easy rhythm with Dre. I know after Dre found out the way Micah had been treated by his parents, he spent some time talking to him one-on-one, knowing his own experience could help the boy. It was such a sweet thing for him to do, and I also know it wasn’t easy. Their experiences might have been vastly different, but there was still a level of understanding the rest of us didn’t have with Micah. I know Flash and Jake were extremely grateful for Dre’s actions, as we all saw the change in Micah that followed. He just seemed to be more settled. There was no longer the constant feeling of him waiting for the other shoe to drop. Don’t get me wrong, he’d settled amazingly into his new life, especially when you considered how far away from his norm it was, but he still had a wariness around us all. Whatever Dre said seemed to help him tremendously, though. There’s just a new air around him now, a calmer, more secure one.
It’s been the best time of my life getting to spend uninterrupted time with Dre and Immy, but that bubble we’ve been living in, the one where the outside world didn’t exist, has just popped. Reality has reared its ugly head. I knew it was coming; there was no stopping my responsibilities, but still I’m not happy about returning to the real world.
I can’t put off what’s waiting for me in The Holding Facility anymore. Not only do I want to deal with Beau and Annmarie once and for all, ending the lingering worry Dre has where they’re concerned. He might not have said anything, but I can tell it makes him uneasy having them so close by. I can’t blame him for that either, not after all the pain and suffering they’vecaused him. They aren’t all that requires my attention, though; there’s also Richard for me to deal with.
Everyone else has spent at least a little bit of time over the past few days teaching him the errors of his ways. Each and every one of them wants to make sure a message is sent loud and clear to anyone else considering betraying The Khaos Group. I’m pretty sure that they’ve more than achieved that task if the cautiousness the rest of the Operatives are showing as I walk through The Holding Facility is anything to go by. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’ve either seen or heard what has been happening to Richard, and I know they won’t be able to not spread the word around to the other operatives that work throughout the world.
This morning there was only one person other than me who hadn’t had their turn with Richard, and they’re currently in there with him now. Richard’s condition was already deteriorating yesterday according to what Austin told me earlier this morning; I can only imagine the abysmal state he’s in now that Wraith has got her hands on him. If I want a chance to get any additional information out of him and inflict my own brand of punishment, it’s going to have to be soon. His chances of surviving much longer are slim to none. Not after everything his body has been put through.
I’m not even remotely surprised by the sight that greets me when I round the corner to my workroom, where Richard is still being held. Wraith looks like an extra from a slasher movie. There is literally no other way to describe how she looks. She’s covered head to toe in blood and doesn’t seem even remotely bothered by that fact at all. It’s not the first time I’ve found her looking this way after she’s had her fun with someone, and I very much doubt it’ll be the last. Sometimes she enjoys playing with her food a little too much. Especially when they’ve pissed her off.
“Well, you look like you’ve had fun.” I say in greeting.
“So much. Part of me wishes I’d have taken the first shot at him, though. He was so pitiful by the time I got my turn.”
“You’ll have to remember that for the next time someone pisses us all off.” I say, laughing. Sobering up, I continue, “Make sure you clean up here and not at the house. Dre will have a heart attack if he sees you like this.”
