Page 1 of Fight

Chapter One

Idon’t know what to say. I mean, the polite thing to say would be something along the lines of, hello, grandmother, glad you’re not dead. The problem is I know that the second I open my mouth, polite words are not what’s going to come out of it, not even vaguely.

My very much alive grandmother watches me closely, sympathy in her eyes, which is great; at least she appears to be nice, but she also appears to be a-fucking-live. I know I keep getting stuck on that point, but it’s a pretty fucking big point, I feel. I’m going to need more than two seconds to get over it and come to terms with it.

“Did you say our granddaughter?” Rome asks in the silence of the room as he steps up beside me, putting his hand on the bottom of my back.

My head whips around to look at Gerald. How the fuck did I miss that? Oh, I know how, my dead grandmother is standing in front of me.

All thoughts come screeching to a halt as the implications of Rome’s words and Gerald nodding in agreement hit me.

“Wait, just wait a fucking minute,” I say, unable to phrase that politely even if I wanted to. I look at Gerald, “You’re my grandfather?”

Gerald nods, his eyes filled with concern. I mean, it’s not hard to see that I’m not really dealing with this new revelation very well. “Yes, Jynx, I am. There are a few reasons why I couldn’t tell you and why it was best that everyone thought your grandmother was dead. So, when you’re ready, let me know, and I can explain it all to you.”

I nod, “Alright, wow. That’s, I mean, that’s really something. Just give me a minute to wrap my head around this?”

“Of course,” my dead grandmother says kindly.

I nod and then do something that I don’t think any of them expected; I turn around on my heel, walking past my guys, who look shocked and worried, and straight back out of the front door.

It slams behind me but quickly opens back up as the guys follow me out. I take deep breaths of sea air, hoping that it will help clear my head and help to make sense of what the fuck is going on in that house right now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, so I resort to my old favorite coping mechanism and start pacing. I really wish I had a joint right now, but I haven’t had one in fucking ages, and I don’t think that it will actually help make sense of anything that’s just happened. It’s just going to chill me the fuck out to the point where none of it is going to bother me as much.

It's not actually going to help fix the issue, and I know that.

I decide, in my infinite wisdom, to walk past the guys who look even more confused now and open the front door again; I peek my head around it, looking back inside and seeing Gerald and my grandmother still there, standing together and looking concerned as they glance back to the door when I open it again.

I shake my head and mutter, “Nope, still there, not seeing things.”

Before they can say anything, I promptly shut the door behind me again and then give the guys a fleeting glance before I stride past them and once again start pacing. That seems safer right now.

“Are you okay?” Malachi asks, the concern loud in his tone. He then adds, “Of course, you’re not. What I mean is, how can we help?”

I shake my head as I carry on pacing, “She’s supposed to be dead, and Gerald is supposed to be a butler, not my Grandfather. Why? Why was it necessary to fake her death? Is it because of this town? I mean, it must be, but then I don’t know why I couldn’t know that Gerald was my Grandfather?”

“That might have been to keep you safe,” Rip suggests, and I turn my head to look at him while still pacing and hoping that I don’t fall over because I’m not looking where I’m going. “Think about it; D has kept your identity and your skillset as closely guarded as he can, and even with Demelza’s skills and the reach she has, she might not have been able to find out much about you. So, until she knew for certain that you were going to be safe in her world, she had Gerald watch over you.”

“That would make sense, I suppose,” I reply reluctantly. I still don’t understand why it was necessary.

“There’s only one way that you’re going to get the answers that you want, and that’s to go back in there and talk to Demelza and Gerald; only they have the answers for you.” Rome points out.

I stop pacing and look at him; he smiles gently, “I hate it when you use logic against me.”

He strides over to me and pulls me into his arms, mumbling into the top of my head, “I’m sorry, Koroleva. Do you want me to leave you to pace for a while longer? I don’t want to force you to do anything that you’re not ready for.”

Wrapping my arms around him, I sigh heavily as I reply, “No, you’re right. There is only one way to get answers, and as much as I want to carry on my little breakdown, I’ve done that now, so it’s time to pull my big girl panties on and actually get the answers that I need.”

“Are you sure? We can stay out here for a bit longer if you want to,” Ace adds, moving closer, and I turn my head to smile at him, still in Rome’s arms.

I nod, “Yeah, I’m sure. Kiss me though?”

“Who?” Rome chuckles, his chest vibrating under my head.

I shrug and smile as I say, “All of you, I feel like I need as much courage and good feelings as I can get, and you guys always make me feel amazing.”

Rome’s fingers tap under my chin so my head tilts up, and I smile at the gentle look in his eyes. His lips slowly lower to mine as he kisses me and then spins me around so I’m caught by Ace. The guys don’t rush; they all take their time kissing me so that I feel like I'm floating when they finally let me go.

“Better?” Rip asks me, the concern still evident in his expression.

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