Page 153 of Kill for a Kiss

Later, once the food’s mostly gone and the sun starts dipping low, Lukas, Naomi, and Kai approach Elle and I together, moving with the old muscle memory of a unit that survived more than its fair share of wars.

Lukas shakes my hand with a stoic face that could mirror mine. Naomi hugs Elle, whispering with a warm voice that makes my wife smile. Kai smirks, holding out a heavy, black key hanging from a dark silver chain. “For Darkhaven,” he says. “It’s yours, son.”

I stare at the key for a long moment. I thought Kaye would inherit that city. She deserves it after carrying the Knights on her back for so long.

When I glance at her, she’s leaning into Damon’s side, a flute of fizzy soda swinging lazily from her fingers. She’s smirking like she saw this coming a mile away.

“Better you than me, my dear broody half-brother,” Kaye says. “I’m retiring hella early. Gonna find a beach somewhere with this charming fella.”

She throws a thumb at Damon, who smirks like her and kisses her cheek before whispering something I’m glad they’re not saying it out loud with how filthy Damon’s gaze looks.Ugh.God.

Across us, Stan hoots with laughter. “I call bullshit, Kaye. You’reallergic to boring.”

Kaye smiles wide, one hand brushing lightly over her stomach before she snags Damon’s spoonful of fried rice. “Not boring,” she says, chewing. “Just switching things up.”

I close my fingers around the key and turn back to Elle. She’s already looking at me, the glow of the slow sunset in her hair, her smile easy and whole.

Darkhaven was built on blood and betrayal. Now I can rebuild it to be better. For her.Withher. The way she rebuilt me.

Elle and I can build the city better. Make it stronger. Make it another home for us and for others. So long as she wants to.

It’ll be a new safe haven. For us. For our family.

Yeah… We can build a family there. Our very own.

The plan’s solid in my mind. A smile stretches across my face, earning a surprised look from my father. Guess he’s never seen me smile.

“Thanks,” I say to Kai, then turn to the Knights. “I’ll take care of Darkhaven.”

It’s a tender moment, one I never expected with my biological parents. Only it’s ruined by the sound of Stan wincing loud enough to turn heads. “Yikes,” he hisses. “Being a bad guy in that city’s gonna suck so much ass.”

I would’ve punched his smirk off if his ridiculous comment didn’t make my wife giggle.

***

The evening stretches long under the setting sun. The reception’s still buzzing. The humid air in the tent is heavy but tolerable, the air-conditioned section is still packed with guests trying to escape the heat and indulge in replenished desserts.

Damon doesn’t stray far from Kaye, hovering like a soldier guarding a stronghold. Staring at them, I wonder if that’s what I look like around Elle. Never more than an arm’s reach away and ready to rip the world apart if she so much as frowns.

Kaye, meanwhile, is brandishing the cake knife at Stan. “If you take another slice,” she warns, “I’m going to carve your name into this table, using your bones.”

Stan grins around a mouthful of cake. “Hot.”

Damon silently glares at him. Stan chuckles and scurries back to his table where I’m sitting.

He’s balancing two plates, stacked with tons of food. His abandoned frozen coffee is dangerously close to his end of the table. I eye it, pushing it a little closer to the edge with one finger.

Stan catches the movement. “You knock that over, Silver,” he says, pointing his fork at me, “and I’m telling everyone you’ve got black cat energy.”

I push it a fraction further.

Stan raises an eyebrow. “One more inch, and you’re getting a spray bottle to the face.”

I groan and sit back, leaving the coffee teetering dangerously at the edge but still upright on the table. Barely.

“Nice try,” Stan mutters, smirking as he sips his drink. “But look, you got the girl. Let me have this shitty consolation prize.”

I grunt, almost smiling. Then I reach the inside of my jacket pocket.