Page 58 of Mistress Mayhem

“My employees are staying in the old Bass mansion for now. I’ll be meeting with them in the morning to let them know what we’re planning to do. Some of them will return home to their families, but for many of them, thisistheir family. Once the guys and I decide where we’re going to stay, I’ll probably move them there with us. Until then, they’ll be here. I guess we’ll leave tomorrow sometime.”

“That soon?” My mom’s face drops.

“Not if you don’t want us to. We can stay for a few extra days. Right, guys?”

All three of them are quick to jump in with their agreement.

Thinking of the future used to be scary because I couldn’t look beyond seeking my vengeance, but with the three of them at my side, it doesn’t feel nearly as bad. They’ll be by my side for all of it, and that’s all I can ask for.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Fox

February 2285

Thedooropens,andmy head pops up. The game I’ve been playing is now completely forgotten. A smile takes over my face as Sage looks around the waiting room until her eyes meet mine. She manages a small smile as she walks toward me.

I slide my phone into my pocket as I stand, moving across the room to meet her halfway. I pull her into my arms, loving the way she relaxes into my embrace with a sigh. I keep holding her close, never letting go until she pulls away. Not only do I love the way she leans on me, but I also know after these sessions, she needs the comfort.

She leans back, her smile much more genuine as she stares up at me. “Thank you, I needed that.”

“You always do.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Are you ready to go?”

“I am.” She turns to wave at the receptionist. “I’ll see you next week, Heather.”

“See you then, Sage.”

I take her smaller hand in mine and lead her out to the waiting car. I open the door for her, doing up her seat belt once she’s settled. As usual, she huffs and rolls her eyes, but secretly, I think she likes how I take care of her.

I hurry around the car and slide into the driver’s seat, entering in the address for our home. As soon as I push the engage button, the car starts the drive back home. While cars require someone to be in the driver’s seat, it’s really a misnomer because we don’t actually drive anymore. Apparently, back before the Last War, they had to steer and use a gas pedal and a brake? I don’t know. Austin’s really into that shit and has tried to explain it to me on numerous occasions, but I always end up zoning out because it doesn’t make sense.

Making sure my seatbelt is in place, I turn back to my girl. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She smiles, shaking her head. “No. Really, I’m okay. I’m not just saying that. It’s still hard to talk about it with Dr. Vincent, but we’re getting there. She keeps insisting it’ll get easier with time, and I think she’s right.”

“I’m so proud of you. I know how much you didn’t want to do therapy, but I really think it was the right decision. Even after a few months, you seem to be doing so much better.”

“I really am. I’m glad the three of you talked me into it.” Sage smiles as she leans back in her chair, her eyes falling closed. “Though I wish her office was closer to the compound.”

I laugh at that, but I understand her frustration. Sage fell in love with Oak Vale the first moment she laid eyes on it so we decided to stay there. The only problem is that it’s a really small town—though, there’s about to be a boom in population in a few months. Because of this, there’s only one therapist practicing in our new hometown, and he doesn’t specialize in trauma. Not to mention, none of us felt comfortable with her seeing a man. Hence why we have to make the hour-and-a-half drive to Dr. Vincent’s practice in Fairview, which just happens to be the closest city to Oak Vale.

“Well, maybe when all your little psychos move to town, she’ll realize how much Oak Vale needs her, and she’ll relocate.”

Sage snorts at that. “I don’t want to traumatize my trauma psychologist, Fox. Plus, you know I want to get her onboard for the victim program.”

I smile, loving the way Sage lights up when she talks about the victim program she’s working on. Shortly after deciding to stay in Oak Vale, she really started thinking about what she wants to do with her time outside of Mayhem. It didn’t take her long to come up with the idea for a program for victims of Mayhem.

So many people find themselves victims during Mayhem, and she wants to be able to help them in any way she can. The program is still in the beginning stages as none of us have ever done anything like this, so we’ve had to call in help. It probably won’t be up and running closer to Mayhem next year, but that hasn’t dulled Sage’s enthusiasm.

We spend the rest of the ride back chatting about the compound that Sage is turning our house into. Because she chose to stay here, she came up with a plan to bring all of her psycho employees—I mean family—here with us. Construction immediately began on our property as houses were built for those who stay with her year-round.

We’re also having our own house built, and once it’s ready, we’ll use our current one as a meeting place. Sage had wanted to stay close to the others, but we had to put our foot down on that one. Our new house is only a few miles down the road, but we wanted to have our privacy. Especially since Austin keeps trying to convince Sage to get pregnant—an idea that both Cooper and I are firmly behind.

The car pulls up in front of the house, and I jump out before it stops moving—ignoring the fact that it’s yelling at me like usual—so I can make it to Sage’s door before she tries to open it herself. She’s shaking her head as she allows me to help her out.

“You really need to stop doing that,” she tells me.

“I will when you promise you’ll wait in the car for me to open the door for you.”

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