Page 70 of Mafie Trials

I grab his arm and pull him into my room, moving to sit on the bed with my legs pulled under me as I undo the ribbon, not wanting to ruin it. I grin as I see the name it’s addressed to.

Unicorn is written in a poor attempt at swirly letters. He calls me that a lot, and I’ve found I really like the nickname. We’ve gotten fairly close during our training, and I love having his attention. There’s something about the strongest, fiercest man in the room looking at you like you’re the only girl in the world that gives me butterflies.

I carefully open the box and a bright pink crop top sits inside. ‘Only badass assassins wear pink’ is written across the front along with a gold necklace that has a unicorn charm hanging from it.

Havoc moves beside the bed and I launch myself into his arms.

“It’s perfect,” I say while giggling like a schoolgirl.

His arms wrap around me and a sense of rightness fills my chest, up until the moment his lips crash to mine. I’m stunned, confused, and even though I kiss him back, I don’t know why I do it.

We pull away from each other, and the corner of his mouth tilts up.

“Had to have at least one kiss before I left. You never know when a day in the mafia could be your last.”

My mouth falls open but no words come out.Nothing. I stare at him with a mixture of shock and longing. I thought I was Arrow’s girl, but more and more during this trip, I find myself wanting to be Havoc’s too.

He helps me to my feet and kisses the top of my head affectionately. Still, I’m speechless.Me. This does not happen.What in the hobgoblin is going on right now?

“See you soon, my Unicorn,” he says as he closes the door behind him. My fingers come up to touch my lips…where he kissed me. They feel numb, yet full. Like the memory of that kiss is still there pressing into them. I find myself not wanting to move or break the trance I’m in.

Then, I remember the present I have sitting under my bed and all thoughts go out the window as I snatch it and run down to the giant Christmas tree at the center of the house. I start grabbing pillows and blankets and create a setup for all of us.

I make some coffee in the kitchen, bringing with me a tray carrying an extra pot and a giant carton of creamer over to the couches. By the time I settle down into a spot and get the first sip, I hear Evie coming down the stairs with Damien.

“Just because you can’t sleep doesn’t mean I’m ready to get out of bed, Little Shadow.”

I hear a soft thud like she hit him in the chest just before they come around the corner.

“I’m ready to enjoy today, plus I smell coffee.”

“If it’s coffee you need, next time I’ll make you a cup to sip in bed while I tuck under the covers between your legs and make you come so…”

“Nope!” I shout to announce my presence. Evie gasps, but Damien stands there with his arm around her shoulders and mouth right up against her ear smirking at me like he already knew I was here.

“Sorry,” Evie says with a blush, and I shake my head at them.

Eventually, everyone filters downstairs and we all sip on coffee and share stories about the holiday. I tell them about how my parents made Christmas a huge deal. We always had a giant live tree. In the evenings we would take our leftovers to the shelter and help feed the homeless.

Lev talks about a Christmas with his mother when his father was out of town, and they both sat and painted the entire day together while munching on all their favorite snacks with Christmas movies playing in the background.

Evie opens up about her father and how he would hide a big gift that she had to hunt down every year. One year, she walked into her room with the final clue and found a horse in there. We all crack up laughing when she tells us it was on the third floor and how he had to have someone help them bring the horse down.

Boris joins us eventually, and while there’s tension in the air, he tries his best to lighten it. I can see he’s trying, so I give him a grateful smile when he passes us all gifts and lets us know he ordered something for Nessa as well. He videos her in so she can unwrap with us.

We all open our gifts to find bracelets in them.

Boris clears his throat. “I know you all are ready to set up this trap that will likely go down in history as one of the best trials to ever occur for The Society, but that also comes with a level of danger. These bracelets all have military-grade trackers inside of them. They are undetectable and work so long as you’re above ground. It’s the best thing I was able to offer you. I know I can’t play a large part in this, but at the very least I can offer you a small measure of safety if anything were to happen.”

His words are so gentle. I think the whole room is stunned. Although, not as stunned as we all are when Evie walks over to Boris and hugs him. I swear Alexi’s jaw actually touches the floor.

It took her nearly a month of me being her best freaking friend before she ever hugged me, and even then it was out of sadness, so what the actual heck?

I put my jealousy aside as I watch the men in the room melt into a puddle of freaking glitter glue at the sight of Evie letting down her guard. This girl has walls upon walls. The fact that this man was able to earn a place in her heart at all, much less a freaking hug, is a miracle only parallel to that of the resurrection of Christ.

I guess I’ll just have to learn that we can widen our little family circle a smidge. But just this one time.

We decide to exchange our shirts next. Evie declares we’ll open them one at a time, and when all of them are revealed, we get one guess who it’s from. Nessa goes first because she needs to go on her run soon.

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