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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

NASH

“I can’t wait.” Vale wiggles in her passenger seat, excited like I’m taking her to Chuck E. Cheese and not preparing for two nights of taboo sex. “Test and initiate me … like tomorrow. Or the next day.”

We just met with Nadine about it, but I have strong doubts I won’t murder anyone who touches Vale. I can’t always control my rage, especially over her.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm,” I pull out of the parking lot of the club, “but can we pace ourselves on the orgy plans?”

“Orgy?” She perks up even more. “It’s not a gangbang or a double peno-anal?”

“No one is gangbanging you,” I clench my teeth, “and no double … whatever the hell. And yes, technically, it’s an orgy.”

“You’re aware that means other couples having sex, too?”

I huff a sarcastic laugh. Fuck my life; I can’t believe I’ve agreed to this.

Have I?

“Yes, Dr. Sex,” I answer, “I know what an orgy is.”

“So … that means other women will be there?”

I hear it in her voice. Suddenly, Vale sounds worried, almost jealous. I’d give her hell about it, but I won’t toy with her heart. Not about this. To her, I’ll always be faithful.

“Yes, the other queens will be there, and no, I won’t fuck them. I fulfilled my obligation. I’m a second king. That’s it, and never again. I’ll only be with you.”

“Phew.” Relief fills her sigh. “Fit of jealousy avoided.”

“What about my jealousy?”

“Are you jealous? I mean … will you be?”

“No, Vale. I’ll be perfectly fine with it after I murder everyone.”

She giggles. “You’re cute when you’re sociopathic.”

“Yeah, I’m going to be real cute when someone touches you.”

“Is that the test?” she asks. “Others touching me?”

I’m about to crack my molars. “If you consent.”

“Only if you’re there. Only if you’re touching me, too.”

“Oh, I’ll be fucking you while I strangle necks, don’t worry.”

“Erotic asphyxiation is a big fetish for some.”

“The way I do it … it’s big murder for all.”

“Nash,” she huffs, throwing her chin up. I catch it in my side-eye. “If you don’t want to make me your queen, then don’t. I’ve made it clear: I want to do it. From what I gather, it’s going to turn me on, but not if you’re suffering. That only limps my pickle and breaks my heart. I’ll always annoy the shit out of you, but I’ll never hurt you.”

This is the part changing my mind. The part willing to do this.

I love Vale. I love her goddamn mouth and gothic heart. I need her in my life forever, which means I need her protected, too.

Would my brothers still protect her if she weren’t my queen? Of course. They already have.

But I can’t look in the mirror and see a traitor staring back at me. I can’t reconcile what one of the brothers has done for me if I’m not willing to do the same.

This isn’t about sex. It’s about a sacred bond, an unbreakable vow. In most worlds, they’re easy to keep.

In ours, bonds can break when bullets fly. You need to trust your brother’s vow to protect the one you love, even if that means sacrificing himself.

That’s the oath.

We will die for a queen, any queen.

“I’ll find a way to accept it,” I tell her as I check the rear-view mirror, noting the same LED headlights two cars back.

“I don’t want your acceptance,” she says. “I want your happiness. If you can’t be happy about it, don’t do it.”

“Vale,” my heart rate climbs, “I will never be happy about you, even for a ritual, with someone else. But I’ll allow it, and that’s as good as it gets.” I change lanes. The car behind me does the same. “Now get ready. We have a tail.”

“A what?” She turns around, glaring through the back windshield. “Are you sure?”

“Sure as shit.” I call out to my Bluetooth, “Call One.”

After one ring, Axel answers, “Did she approve?”

“Yes.” I focus straight ahead. “But we were followed out of the club. Secure it and find out by whom.”

“Fuck,” he grumbles. “What about The Queen?”

“She’s fine. No one spotted us with her. Turner must have eyes there.” I smirk at my pun. “Or one.”

I make Axel huff, amused. “Now what?”

“Is the captain on duty?”

“Yes. It’s third shift.”

“Tell him I’m headed his way.”

“Copy.” Axel ends the call.

“Captain?” Vale pipes up. “What captain? Please don’t say it’s another boat.”

“It’s the captain at the police station.”

“The police!” Vale shrieks. “But you’re mafia! They’ll arrest you.”

“For what?” I smirk. “Being devilishly handsome?”

“Nash!”

“I’m serious. I’m not wanted for any crimes. None of us are. A few captains in town love the services we secretly provide. You think they care if we take out men like Turner? It only saves them paperwork. And the last place Turner or his men want to be is pulling into a police station. They’ll drive right by, and no one will stop us as we switch cars. We keep one parked there.”

“My god,” she sighs. “You’re like the Bratva Boy Scouts: always prepared.”

“Not always,” I admit. “We’re human. We make mistakes, and we’ve learned some tough lessons.”

“Like?”

“Like Sire, Nadine’s oldest, is the reason I joined their family. He made the mistake of breaking into a drug store at seventeen, and that’s when I met him in juvie.”

“So, he made the mistake of being an addict ?” She sounds sympathetic.

“No. He made the mistake of trying to steal Epi-Pens for his best friend’s little sister. Their family couldn’t afford them, and she had a deathly allergy to bee stings. So Sire and his big, dark heart thought it was a smart idea to break into a pharmacy covered by cameras to get some.”

I turn right, not increasing my speed; I don’t want to lose this tail. I want them to know I know they’re following me, and secretly, I have the law on my side. Sometimes.

“That’s sweet,” Vale sighs. “You all make the mafia sound moral.”

“We’re not moral,” I correct her, “because we’re not mafia. Think of us as ex-mafia. If you saw the scars on Nadine’s back, as her sons have, you’d understand why they vowed never to be like their father.” I turn left and left again. “But you can take the men out of the mafia, but not the mafia out of the men. The brothers just use their talent for brutality and blood for good, not harm.” The memory of Turner’s gaping eye hole makes me confess, “ Sometimes. ”

“So that’s how you met Nadine? When you were in juvie?”

“Yes.” I check the mirror three times. There they are. “Sire was my cellmate, and he told his mom I was about to lose Alena to the foster system. Lainey couldn’t afford to take care of her alone, and my dumbass was in jail. So Nadine stepped in. She gave them free rent, groceries, everything. When I got out, she even paid for my college. She babysat. She?—”

“And Lainey never knew how you knew Nadine? She was just ‘Ms. Faye: the nice neighbor’?”

“She still is to Alena,” I reply. “Nadine didn’t force me to join them. I wanted to. I never knew my dad, and my mom bailed on me when I was four. I went through the system and don’t wish it on kids. Some homes are safe. Many are not. So when I finally got to choose my family, I chose them.”

I slow down, letting the tail catch up. They’re right behind us.

“Hang on.” I make a sudden right turn into the parking lot of the police station. My tires screech as the tail squeals its brakes, not anticipating my sudden move. Then it almost slows to a complete stop, watching as I pull up to the front door.

“Stay in the car,” I order Vale, taking my gun from the console.

If those fuckers get out and come after her, there will be a shootout in the parking lot; I don’t give a fuck about the police.

But they don’t. Quickly, they speed away.

With my gun in hand, I command Vale, “Stay,” praying for no snark. I bolt out of the driver’s seat, grab our GO BAGs from the trunk, and rush to her passenger door, swinging it open. “Come.” I reach for her hand, and shockingly, she obeys.

I guess we’re getting good at this old game. I’m usually the hunter, not the hunted. It makes me clench my jaw; this is fucking bullshit.

Holding her hand, I tuck my gun into my waistband, reach into the bag with my other, and find the key fob to a black Chevy Tahoe parked amongst the unmarked cars in the lot.

All the cameras on the lot record us, but the captain owes us some favors. The footage will disappear.

Besides, the department can consider the Dodge Charger my yearly donation. They won’t be able to trace the car, and soon, they’ll add it to their unmarked fleet.

The lights beep as I unlock the doors. Vale races to get in on the passenger side while I open the driver’s door, set my gun on the console, and toss our bags in the back.

Bonnie and Clyde would be proud.

“We can’t go back to the boat,” she says, thinking ahead. “What if it’s been burned?”

“Look who’s sounding like a queen already.” I grin, pulling out of the back entrance of the lot, still scanning for those LED lights in my mirrors.

“Can this queen go back to The Mercier?” She puts her cute shoes on the dash. “I want a do-over on our nights there.”

“I’m not watching The Exorcist again. You know I used to like pea soup.” I check the mirror. “Besides, it’s too late to book a room.”

“Fine,” she sighs. “Just take me where I can have a cheeseburger.”

I take the ramp for the interstate. It’s time we visit my eldest brother.

“Just what is it with you and cheeseburgers?” I ask to pass the time, checking my mirrors two more times.

“You’ll laugh,” she answers softly.

I glance at her. She looks sad.

“Poison, I won’t laugh. I promise.”

After a heavy sigh, she shares, “When I was little, I always ordered the cheeseburger Happy Meals because I wasn’t happy. I missed my dad, and my young, naive heart believed if I ate them, I would magically get him back, and I’d be happy.”

“Fuck,” I mutter. “I want to kill him. You know that, right?”

“Please don’t.”

“I won’t.”

“I think that’s why I want this so much. I want a big family with you.”

My heart hitches. I can see it too. “A family?” I raise a brow at her. “You mean with me and my brothers? Or just me and you?”

“Both.” She turns toward me, resting her cheek on the seat. “Nash, we can make it work. It won’t be as bad as you think because I trust Jace to help us. And I think it’s sweet. When you and I have a family, Jace will protect them, too.”

A smile lifts my lips, hiding the goddamn fireworks bursting in my heart, imagining having a baby with Vale. Yes, it stirs my cock, too. “So, we’re having a family together? Me and you?”

“Yep.” She pops her lips. “It’s not like we just met. It’s not like we just fell in love. Remember? You’ve always been home for me.” She rushes, “But not yet. I want lots of orgasmic sex with you first, and changing diapers may get in the way, but when we do, we’ll name our daughter Wednesday and our son?—”

“We are NOT naming our daughter Wednesday Allen.” But I’m laughing because Vale gets her way. S ometimes. “And no son of mine will be Pugsley or Lurch.”

She bats her eyelashes. “Gomez?”

“Nope.”

“Fine,” she sighs. “To be negotiated.”

We drive for minutes, swimming in happy silence, while I dream of diapers, bottles, and baby carriers.

I missed a lot with Alena.

But if I get my dream of a second chance? If Vale makes me a father again?

I’ll carry our baby in a front carrier and holster my Beretta in the back.