Page 82 of The Secret of Pain

We pay the woman at the counter and then gear up. Glad I wore Chucks, shorts, and a T-shirt today, I don’t have any hindrances. I can't stop the huge grin on my face as I pull my hair back into a ponytail. Creek walks toward me, somehow rocking the chest piece, his eyes dancing when he reaches me. He pulls on my ponytail, and I sigh, falling forward to rest my hands on his chest as I kiss him softly.

"Hey you."

"Hey." He smiles. "How you doing?"

His voice is gentle and his smile soft, it melts my heart. That he can still look at me like this, love me like this, knowing what he knows. I feel so much lighter, closer to him, now that he knows.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"I told you, beautiful. Nothing in the world would change what you mean to me or how I feel about you." He cups my chin and kisses me softly, and I melt against him.

"I guess the love birds are teaming up." Colt laughs and I roll my eyes as I pull away from Creek, but he keeps me close, his fingers intertwined with mine.

"It’s us four versus the team already in there according to the guy who gave me the gear," Bauer says. "Poor fuckers."

"Yes!" Colt whoops and I laugh at them both.

"Is that even fair?" I ask and Bauer shrugs.

"Nothing is fair in love and war. You'd do well to remember that, Remy," he says, looking at me funny, but whatever it was disappears and he smiles. "Let’s get this done."

He slaps the laser gun against his shoulder and heads into the dark room, Colt bouncing behind him as I lead Creek behind them.

* * *

"I was right, not even close to fair." I laugh as we hand the gear back to the guy behind the counter, who just looks at us wide-eyed. After a few hours of decimating any team that came up against us, barely taking a hit, we decided to call it a day.

"So much fun though," Colt says, his eyes glittering, still riding the win.

"It's been a while since I had that much fun," Bauer agrees, looking more carefree than I ever remember seeing him.

"Oh, Mom will kill me if I forget to tell you, we're throwing a surprise party for your dad this weekend. At his house, because his place is bigger than anyone else’s, and we'll never get him out. Saturday morning. Be there by ten or face her wrath." Creek smirks, hugging me from behind.

"Dad hates surprises," Bauer says, eyebrows raised.

"You tell my mom that. It's his fiftieth—there is no way in hell she's letting it go."

"Didn't Dad say he just wanted a quiet night?" Colt asks Bauer, who nods.

"Yep. I'll hide in the back and make sure to stay there Friday night so I'm not late," Bauer says as he leads us out of the restaurant.

"I'll do the same," Colt agrees.

"Maybe I should too, and we can make him a small dinner?" I say, and they murmur their agreement. "Awesome, I'll shop before I head over."

"You guys need a ride?" Bauer asks Colt and me.

"Sure, just to Franco's. We walked here from there earlier," I say and climb into his truck. The drive to Franco’s doesn’t take long, and it’s only a few minutes until I'm climbing back out of the truck, Creek at my back.

"Can I come back over tonight?" he asks quietly, and I smile up at him.

"Yup. You can come over with me now if you like?"

"Not expecting any other visitors?" His eyes darken a little at the question.

"I'm never expecting visitors, they tend to just appear out of thin air, but no," I reassure him. While he might be okay with me being with them, he is still a Hunter. I don't expect him to just get over his prejudices overnight.

"Then yes, I'll come with you now." He kisses me before turning back to my brothers. "I'll catch you guys in a bit. Safe patrols tonight, boys."

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