Page 14 of Blood & Bond (The Bouchers #2)

Less than two hours after we’d taken off, Chance spoke over the speaker, telling us that we were getting ready to land. Looking out the window, I couldn’t see anything but trees and a small river. There were no signs of civilization beyond a couple of empty two-lane roads.

“How long until we get to your parents’ house?” I asked Ambrose as we dropped closer and closer to the trees.

Barf. I looked away from the windows.

“What do you mean?” he asked as Charlie sat up in his seat. “We’re landing on the property.”

“It’s a five-minute walk to the house,” Beau explained.

The plane wobbled a little, and Charlie turned green.

“Don’t you dare,” I whispered to him.

He nodded, the air sickness bag clutched in his fist.

Then we landed with a small bounce, and I was thrown back against the seat as Danny hit the brakes.

“The seat belt was a good idea,” I said under my breath as we finally came to a stop.

Ambrose chuckled beside me.

The next few minutes were a little chaotic as Chance and Ambrose opened the door at the end of the plane. Beau was out the door and gone before Danny had even come out of the cockpit. Chance disappeared behind him.

Then Ambrose was reaching for my hand and leading me out into the damp air.

It was strangely quiet as we made our way down the stairs.

I was used to hearing traffic and noise in the distance.

We were in the middle of nowhere, and everything was green.

The trees, the grass, the ferns and bushes, everything .

It felt like the edge of the world. No wonder Zeke and his brothers were so sure that we’d be safe here.

I wasn’t even sure how anyone would be able to find the place if they didn’t know exactly where they were going.

“It smells exactly how Zeke described it,” Charlie said to me as Ambrose led us to a path through the trees.

“Like wet trees?” Ambrose asked, shooting him a smile. “Yeah.”

“Jesus,” I mumbled, looking up through the branches. The trees were so tall that you couldn’t even see the tops of them. They must’ve been hundreds of years old.

“You should’ve seen it when we first got here,” Ambrose said as we walked along the pine needle-covered path. “It was the wildest place I’d ever seen. It took days to reach the closest neighbor.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, glancing at Charlie. His shoulders were so tense, they were up by his ears. “You’re old. We get it.”

“Each of us has our own little apartment in the house,” Ambrose explained, ignoring me. “You can stay in Zeke’s, Charlie.”

Charlie nodded.

The house came into view, and my mouth dropped open. It was massive . Larger than the apartment complex Charlie and I had grown up in. It was a frigging mansion. I’d known the Bouchers were rich—they had their own plane —but for some reason I hadn’t anticipated the sheer size of it.

“Here we go,” I said as we reached the driveway. The gravel crunched under our feet as I let go of Ambrose and moved closer to my brother. His hand found mine when we reached the front porch steps. It was clammy with sweat.

I wanted to tell him that they would love him.

That he was the best person I’d ever met, and if they couldn’t see that, then they were swamp creatures that didn’t deserve to live.

I wanted to remind him that these people were Zeke’s parents, and if they’d raised the Vampire he’d so quickly fallen head over heels for, they had to have some good qualities.

Remembering that everyone would hear anything I said, I just gave his hand a squeeze instead.

Ambrose led us into the house and almost directly into a large living room.

It was less fancy than I’d been anticipating, but it still screamed money from the plush carpets beneath our feet to the wool throws artfully draped over the sofas.

I barely paid attention to the décor, though, because standing in the room was a group of people, and I instantly knew who Zeke and Ambrose’s parents were.

She was petite and blonde with wide brown eyes. Her mouth was trembling, but it was clear that she was trying to keep her shit together. She was wearing a pale pink sweater set, a long flowing skirt, and no shoes.

He was tall and dark-haired, with the same piercing blue eyes as his sons, whom I’d spent so much time with. Tattoos peeked out of his sleeves and the neck of his shirt. His hair was long and pulled back in a low knot.

A southern belle and a frigging biker. That’s what they looked like.

“This is Charles and Lucille Franklin,” Ambrose announced, putting his hand on the small of my back.

Charlie was shaking.

“These are my parents, Matilda and Erik Boucher. The couple by the window are Sven and Alice Christensen, basically our aunt and uncle.”

“Charles,” Matilda said gently, taking a few steps forward. “We’re so happy to meet you.”

My brother didn’t say anything. When I looked at him, he seemed frozen in place.

“Charlie, actually,” I said, for him. “He prefers Charlie.”

Matilda’s gaze met mine, and she gave a small nod of thanks. “Charlie,” she said softly. “Hello.”

“Zeke asked me to tell you,” Charlie said, the words raspy, almost robotic.

“Um…” He paused, like he was trying to remember.

“I love you. I’ll love you long after I’m gone.

” His voice broke, and he paused. “You once told me that family is worth everything. That the bonds we’re born with and the ones we build are worth any sacrifice.

” He let out a shuddery breath. “ Every sacrifice. Turns out you were right.”

I clenched my teeth together as I watched Charlie. He clearly wasn’t done, but he was struggling to finish. The room was silent around us.

“This is my mate, Charlie.” His cheeks reddened. “I love him.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Take care of him for me.”

I didn’t realize that tears were rolling down my cheeks until Ambrose wrapped his hand around the back of my neck.

Charlie wasn’t done. He sniffled and raised his chin a little. “And this is his sister, Lucy. She’s a pain in the ass, but she means well. Protect her too, I guess.”

I let out a bark of shocked laughter.

Charlie looked at me. “He made me memorize it,” he said quietly. “Just in case.”

“Sounds like Zeke,” Chance said from across the room.

“Yes, it does,” Zeke’s dad agreed. He stepped forward and reached out to shake Charlie’s hand.

“Mr. Boucher,” Charlie greeted.

“Erik,” the man corrected with a sad smile.

As soon as he’d let go of Charlie’s hand, Erik nodded at me in greeting. “Lucy.”

“Hi,” I said, distracted by the way Matilda grabbed both of Charlie’s hands and held them. She smiled up at him with tears in her eyes.

“We’re so glad you’re here,” she said, giving his hands a little shake. “So glad.”

“Me too,” Charlie replied, his voice a little wobbly.

“Ulf,” Erik said, meeting Ambrose’s gaze over my shoulder.

“My mate,” Ambrose said, his hand tightening on my neck.

And then suddenly, every eye in the room was on me. I wasn’t especially shy or anything, but it was seriously uncomfortable being the center of attention.

This was supposed to be Charlie’s moment.

“We’ll see,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Someone across the room choked and started coughing.

“Luce,” Charlie chastised.

“What?” I glanced around the room. “I barely know the guy.”

Chance started laughing. Loudly.