Page 293 of Second Sets Omnibus
I point each of them out to Rad, adding in a little wave when Jericho narrows his eyes at me and then grins, waving back. See? For being the head of a gang, he sure is pleasant and polite. Maybe a little crazy, but that’s a whole other book I can’t dive into right now. Too much to tell and not enough time to explain the dynamic between my sister and those three. Let’s just saythey purposefully got her arrested, then bailed her out, and then… Handcuffed her to them so they could keep her forever.
Totally normal stuff. But she’s happy. Even when she tells the story, she laughs her ass off.
“I’ve heard stories from that town…” Rad trails off when Callum snorts.
“Are you afraid of the Briar Cove Devils?” Callum asks in a soft voice, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “They’re nice. You should talk to them.”
“Yes. Yes, I am. I’ve heard what they do. They…they…pluck eyeballs, remove fingers, and?—”
“Shut up,” I mumble. “They’re here to enjoy Ly’s birthday party. They brought their kid.”
I swear Journey hasn’t beennotpregnant since I met her two years ago. Including now. Her guys make a circle around her as she sucks on a large, chocolate ice cream bar like a protective entourage. They watch her every move with love in their eyes. Every once in a while, they gaze at their two-year-old toddling around, following his older cousins—Roman, Axel, and Dash—around with a grin. Ly giggles as the boys chase her, squealing when one of them taps her shoulder. Grabbing her cousin Maggie, she drags her away with a loud yelp as they all continue to run around.
“Miss West!” Kat, my assistant, calls out from behind me, hurrying along at a quick pace.
Turning, I raise my brows as she saunters forward with a grin on her face, holding tight to a large white box filled with Lyric’s cake.
Perfect.
It’s amazing to see how well she’s come into her role as my PA. Not even a few months ago, I wasn’t sure if she was going to make it. I’m not sure what happened in her life, but she wasa trembling mess. Now, I’m more confident than ever that she’s going to continue to help me in my department as the Fixer.
“Kat,” I laugh, shaking my head. “Please, I’ve told you a thousand times to call me River.”
She blushes when Rocco saunters up to her side and carefully helps her with the white box filled with Lyric’s sparkly unicorn birthday cake.
“Hello, Doll,” he says, kissing my cheek. “Mullet. Cal,” he says, nodding a greeting.
“Rad. It’s Rad. Hell, call me Ashton. But don’t disrespect the mullet,” Rad quips, fluffing his curly hair in his hands. “The mullet is sacred, dude.”
“Sacred in the early 90s, maybe,” Callum quips quietly under his breath.
“Heard that!” Rad hisses, lightly shoving Cal as he belts out a laugh while stumbling over his feet.
“I’ve got the cake,” Kat beams, tapping the box. “It’s perfect. Just like you ordered. Ly is going to love the unicorns!”
“Thanks so much for picking it up for me,” I say with sincerity.
“It was no problem. Now, where do you want me to put it?” Her eyes dart around the enormous amusement park we’ve rented out. The only people admitted are the ones standing around this large, open courtyard.
The park graciously supplied a few security guards at the gates, turning around customers trying to enter. And keeping us all safe. Not to mention the plethora of Veritas agents wandering around and enjoying the party. They’re no doubt packing heat under their shirts just in case anything happens.
Large roller coasters sit off in the distance, darting into the clouds and then plummeting to the earth. But those are off-limits with no attendants running them. The only rides we’ll have access to are the small ones for the kids. Unicorn planes,the carousel, the fun house, and a mini-roller coaster make up our little Unicorn hell hole.
I’m not sure what it is about these magical horses with horns on their heads. She loves them, though. More than loves. She’s mildly obsessed with them. Even that’s putting it lightly. So much so we’ve had someone redecorate her room with the exact colors and unicorns she wanted as part of her birthday present. The moment she sees it tonight, she’s going to flip her lid.
“We have a spot over there,” I say, pointing toward a group of picnic tables nestled under a large pavilion.
“Thanks! I’ll get it over there. Trevor is in the parking lot, grabbing the cooler of ice cream treats.” She shyly grins, looking away at the mention of his name. Her boyfriend. The one we’ve only heard about and never seen.
My brows raise. They must have made up from the last time he went away without a word.
She’s never brought him around. He’s always working or busy when he’s invited to places. Office Christmas party? He was out of town. New Year’s party my brothers threw? Sick. The list goes on.
He’s so damn elusive, and we’ve never even seen his picture. According to Kat, he hates having his photo taken. Seems odd to me in this day and age. Who hates their picture being taken? Or who doesn’t have social media?
Joe fromYou, that’s who.
“We finally get to meet the ever-elusive Trevor,” Rocco quips, with interest flaring in his eyes as he walks in front of us.
