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His lips find mine and it’s a searing hot kiss that leaves my lips numb. One hand is gripping my hair, pulling slightly, while the other finds itself around my neck. He smiles against my lips and whispers to me, “I love you, Princess. Fuck do I love you.”His lips crash back into mine, swallowing any words I was going to say.
When he finally lets me come up for air, I cup his face and tears fall from my eyes. “I love you, Xayden. I fucking love you.”
“Hey, Firefly? Where did you go?” Seven startles me out of my thoughts. “Are you ready?”
I shake my head out of the fog. “As ready as I’m going to be. I really can’t believe this is happening.” I turn around and face the two of them.
“All of us will be right there with you. Are you sure you want to say something?” Xayden rubs the small of my back.
I nod. “Yeah. I need to say what I never got a chance to. I know it will just be us, but she needs to hear all this.”
Dekker comes up behind Seven, “Let’s go, Angel.” He holds out his giant hand, and I take it, mine being swallowed up in his.
By the time we reach the funeral home, my stomach is twisted and there’s a ball of emotion stuck in my throat. My leg is moving at a fast, jittery pace, and Seven places his hand on my leg to try stop it from shaking.
“Relax. You are going to work yourself up into a frenzy before you even get the chance to say goodbye.” He cups my face and softly places a kiss on my lips. I let out a sigh and feel myself relax just a tad. “There you go. You sure you don’t want one of us up there with you?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I need to do this myself.”
Seven doesn’t say anything, he just bites his lips and nods.
We leave the vehicle and make our way into the funeral home. The funeral director, Perry, greets me at the door. It’s not a place I ever thought I would be visiting. The air smells stale, but with a hint of floral from the arrangements I am sure that get moved in and out of here daily. It’s quiet and somber inside the funeral home. The furniture is old but well taken care of. Thewalls are an off white, but the colors of the paintings on the walls and plants keep it from being so drab.
“Miss Dawson, we uh, had to put out a few more chairs,” he says as he looks toward the room we are holding the service in.
“Um, what do you mean? There was only us.” I look back at the guys and they all shrug.
“Well, it seems your mother had more people that wanted to say goodbye to her.” He holds out his hand and gestures for us to head into the room.
With trepidation, I walk slowly inside, not having a clue as to what is going on. When I get past the threshold, my mouth drops and tears spring from my eyes. “Holy cannoli.”
There were way more than a few chairs put out. My eyes scan the room, and I can’t believe what I am seeing.
Addy sits in the front talking to our friends, Jason, Scarlett, and Morgan. Behind them are some of the brothers from the Sigma Xi Delta Fraternity. And when I say some, there are like twenty of them. Holy shit.
On the other side of the room, I spot Agent Bradley and some of the other agents from the day they rescued us. Caden sees us and heads over in our direction.
“Rory.” He offers me a hug, and I take it. His arms wrap around me as he pats my back. “I am so sorry. So sorry I?—”
“Stop,” I cut him off. “None of this was your fault. You did what you could to protect me. And I can’t thank you enough for that. And honestly, knowing my mom, that’s what she would have wanted.”
“Promise me something.” He looks at me as he purses his lips.
I nod. “Sure.”
“Live. Go get your degree and live. Go on to build the life you deserve. The one your parents would be proud of.”
My eyes start to water again. I’m left not able to say anything, so I just nod. I watch as he returns to his seat. Looking back, I meet the eyes of the three men who have found themselves in the shitstorm no one expected to be involved in.
We walk in, accepting hugs from some people and condolences. A sea of black throughout the room. Finally, we take our seats and allow the service to begin.
About ten minutes into the service, I am called to the podium to say a few words to my mom. When I originally planned on doing this, it was just me and the guys. The room is packed with people to say goodbye to a person they didn’t even know. But they are here to support me.
With a bit of hesitation, I make my way up to the podium and lay out my speech in front of me. My palms are sweaty, and I can feel my heart racing. I look out in front of me and see the three of them sitting there with concerned looks on their faces. I slightly shake my head to let them know I am okay.
And then I begin.
“First, let me say thank you all for being here. I-I honestly didn’t expect this, and I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you are here. And while she isn’t with us, I know it means the world to my mother too.