Page 109 of The Beat of My Heart

“Knickers? In a…” Lexi yells, but I interrupt her.

“Hold on,” I bellow. “There is no other option. You two will have to learn to get along for at least a few months.”

“A few months,” they both squeal at the same time.

“Yes, a few months,” I repeat.

“Why can’t I just stay with you?” Lexi asks.

“Yeah, that’s a brilliant idea,” Preston says. “He lives a few floors down, you can stay there,” he says happily.

Raising my hands to shut them both up, I say, “That apartment has been sublet. As I was telling Lex,”Fuck, there it is again, “this fucked-up situation is not over. I’m only here to drop Lexi off, then I’m back in the field.”

“Loki,” Preston says, his voice already filling with concern. “You don’t have to do this on your own, let us help.”

“I love you, Preston, but this is what I’ve trained for. Until all of Black’s organization is taken down, none of you are safe. I can’t live with that, so let me do what needs to be done. Alone.”

“Fuck, Loki. Why are you so fucking stubborn?”

“This is my fight, Pres. I need you to do your part by staying with Lexi. That goes for both of you,” I say, turning my attention to Lexi, whose face is almost purple with anger. “The best thing either of you can do is find a way to get along for the next few months, so I’m not worried about you while I’m in the field. Can you do that?” I ask.

“Fine,” Lexi grumbles.

“Preston? Can you at least try to be happy about this? We’re all alive, and there’s an end in sight,” I say.

“Oh, I am. I’m as happy as a dead pig in sunshine,” he says before turning on his heel. “Come on, your room’s this way.”

I watch as Lexi reluctantly follows him. For the second time today, I find a tiny piece of me wishing I could have what all of my friends have found—happiness and love. Unfortunately, they were written out of my life the day my mother conceived another son of Jonathan Black.

Epilogue

Preston

“Trevor, I know this is your wedding, but there has to be another option. I’m already living with Lexi. If we have to partner up for this entire wedding, we will kill each other,” I tell him.

“Sorry, man, it is what it is. Grow a pair and deal with it,” Trevor replies. “Dexter will cut your sack off before he lets you walk down the aisle with Lanie, so that leaves you and Lexi.”

We both grow quiet, realizing we are down a man. No one has heard from Loki in weeks, and the more time that passes, the more disheartening it is. Loki has never gone more than a month without checking in with someone. We’re getting dangerously close to that month marker now, and my gut roils with worry.

“I hope to God Loki isn’t dead,” Julia says, walking into the room. “Because I’m going to fucking kill him myself when he comes home.”

It’s a thought we’ve all had, but Julia might be the one to act on it. She was madder than a wet hornet when she found out Loki dropped Lexi off with me and then vanished.

“Come on,” she says, grabbing both our arms, “we have choices to make. The first one will be the specialty cocktail.”

Julia is the least girly-girl I know, but she has taken to wedding planning like the beast of Waverley-Cay.

Allowing her to drag me through the house, I follow her to the tables set up in Dexter’s yard. “Are we cake-testing too? Please tell me we are?” I say, trying to lighten my own mood.

“There will be cake,” Julia says happily before breaking away to meet the girls.

Eyeing the bartender standing alone at the table, I am about to take my chance to speak to him privately when Trevor says, “I found Erick.”

“Erick, like Julia’s ex, Erick?”

“Yup,” he says, obviously satisfied with himself.

“Ah, do I want to know what you’ve done?” I ask.