Page 110 of Diluted Truths

I scooped her up in a hug and held her tight. “You saved me.”

She smiled before sobering quickly.

“What’s wrong, Vi?” I asked, concerned by the change in behavior.

“Are you going to save me?” she asked quietly.

“Of course.” I responded without hesitation. “I’ll always save you.”

She gave me a kiss on the cheek and wiggled out of my arms onto the floor before running to play with Sarah again.

“What was that about?” Will asked as he threw his arm around my shoulder. His beard was a bit longer than usual and his hair had grown out longer as well. I liked it. He seemed more relaxed like this.

“Not sure. I think me going missing was just hard for her.”

“It nearly killed me,” he whispered.

I wrapped my arms around his torso and hugged him tight. “I promise I won’t get kidnapped by a psychopath and cult ever again.”

I felt his chuckle. “Sounds perfect.”

“I’m going to have to get used to all of this gross PDA, aren’t I?” Kai asked as he entered the living room and dropped on the couch.

“Yep,” I responded with a smile. “At least while you’re here.”

“About that…” he began.

“What?” Theo asked as she came in and sat next to him.

“You know how I put in those transfer papers?” he asked. I nodded, urging him to continue. “I got approved.”

“That’s incredible!” I beamed, still hugging Will. “Where are you going?”

He smiled at Will for a moment before answering. “Here.”

“What?” “How?” Theo and I asked in unison.

Will cleared his throat before answering. “That was me, I guess. On the flight back from New York he mentioned how he wanted to be closer to you and Theo. Especially now that Theo is moving here as well. So I made a few calls.”

“You called the US Army to make sure my brother got transferred here?” I asked in shock.

“Jack, your boyfriend over there could probably call anyone, drop his name, and get whatever he wants,” Kai explained.

“It helps when I don’t specify if I’m William Bly Sr. or William Bly Jr.” Will chuckled out as he looked down at me. “Are you mad?”

This man may be powerful, but I held the power in the relationship.

“Not one bit,” I responded as I went on my tiptoes to kiss him.

“Wait…” Sarah interrupted. “So Ophelia, Theodora, and you, Malachi, will all be here? In Eugene?”

“Yeah?” Kai responded. “And why the long names?”

She waved his second question off. “You’ll get used to it. Does anyone realize the potential significance here?”

We all shook our heads no. Sarah just sighed.

“Ophelia, did they tell you the street you were found on?” I shook my head no. “It was the same street Joey was found on.”