A Night of Redemption (The Redemption Saga Book 5)

by Kristen Banet

“I asked them to keep…investigating at the prison for another couple of hours before coming home. I wanted to make sure you and I had some time together.”

  “Oh…” she grabbed his hand. “And what are we going to do?”

  “Honestly? I think it’s been too long since I’ve touched you.” He pulled her closer. “And I think we need to find that closeness again. We’ve been too distant. I’ll admit, it’s mostly my fault. I would have seen today coming if I wasn’t so…concerned about how you and I can be, how we have been on this case. I thought distance would make sure the team could deal with us better.”

  “You would be with a woman who did what I just did?” She let him pull her into the house.

  His response to her question? Laughter. “If I was going to not be with you, it should have been the first time, when I learned about everything else. Sorry, but I’m much too deep in this to let something like that stop me.” He yanked her closer as they passed the kitchen, kissing her hard. “I love you. And we all make mistakes. I’ve made plenty, and yet you’re still with me, knowing who I am. Knowing I’m just another Castello.”

  He slipped into Italian at some point and she continued in it, knowing the language was his first. He slipped into it when he was emotional and vulnerable. “You are so much more than just another Castello,” she whispered, touching his face. “You always have faith in me. Even today. I’m going to let all of them yell at me later. I’m going to beg their forgiveness, but you…You just took me out of there and talked to me.”

  “Well, we all have our own ways of dealing with things. I knew the moment it was happening what had caused it. I knew, Sawyer, and I pulled you out because I should have seen it coming. They’ll understand. They’re not going to yell at you when they get back, I promise.”

  She trusted him, but teasingly, she still asked. “Oh? Why are you so sure of that?”

  “Because they love you and they know you’ve been under an immense amount of stress. Zander will heal Naseem, then tell him to get over it. Jasper and Elijah will clear things up with the prison. Quinn will play muscle so no one questions it. They’re allowed to be mad at you. I’m allowed, but we’re not going to let anyone else do what only we should.”

  “Thank you,” she murmured, kissing him again.

  “Come with me. Let’s have the rest of the day to ourselves.”

  “It’s been too long since I’ve touched you,” she said, referring back to what he had said. And further back to something weighing on her mind. They hadn’t touched, loved, since before James’ death. Since before this endless night had dropped on top of them when Naseem showed up at their home to kill her.

  Together, they walked to her new room, kissing. She undid his shirt, messed up his hair, and unbuckled the belt of his slacks with a smile.

  He chuckled as he pulled her hair out of its ponytail. “Slow down,” he ordered. She wanted to scoff at him. “Let me enjoy this. It’s been awhile.”

  With a teasing sigh, she pulled her hands off him.

  He kissed her neck, wrapping an arm around her waist, holding her close to his body. “I love you,” he repeated. “Through all of this. I’m sorry I haven’t been saying it enough. I’m sorry I’ve tried to keep my distance through this.”

  Her playful mood melted away as she listened to him. “I’m sorry for hiding my problems.”

  “Come here,” he crooned, kissing her lips again. “We’ll make it through this. All of us.”

  Hearing him say it with so much conviction, she really believed it.

  Slowly, he undressed her. Her coat fell first. She kicked off her boots as he undid her jeans. She untucked his shirts while he slid his hands under hers, touching her skin softly.

  The shirts were discarded. Then everything else was. He kissed her all the way to the bed. Vincent had a unique way of making her feel beautiful with every touch. She knew he would always be this way, savoring and enjoying. It was purely him, how he enjoyed the world around him.

  She climbed onto her new bed first. He followed, rolling her over onto her back as she reached the pillows. She knew he liked having her in the middle of the bed and in the position she was; she was sure it was a view. He was on his knees between her legs, gazing at her like there was nothing more wonderful, nothing more beautiful.

  When he leaned down, he kissed her, their bodies sliding against each other like they were meant to be there, tangled up in sheets together.

  There wasn’t much more foreplay needed. Every kiss he gave her, every graze of his fingertips had gotten her ready. He slid in, making her gasp as a groan escaped from his throat.

  “I love you,” he murmured again, letting them sit there for a moment. “Through all of it, do you understand me?”

  “I love you too,” she promised back, meaning every word.

  “I promised you I would do anything. Loving you is the most important thing.”

  Another kiss rocked her to her core as he began to thrust, excruciatingly slow. Her body sang with pleasure as she found that physical piece of Vincent she had been missing. This, the slow, steady way he was with her. The way he was able to turn the rest of the world off. The way they found solace together.

  She loved all of them, every little piece of them, for hundreds of different reasons, and this was what Vincent gave her.

  It was a quiet event full of emotions. A homecoming that she had needed deep in her soul. Together. They would do this together. Together, they would face the world, full of its miracles, its unknowns, and even its horrors.

  Together, they would heal.

  When her orgasm rolled through her, it took him with her. They clung to each other, peaceful.

  “We can’t stay here all day,” he said quietly, running a hand over her ribs. “But I think we can until they all get home.”

  “We could stay here after that, too,” she reminded him. “We both know they won’t mind if we take the afternoon off too.” They shouldn’t, but she was willing to indulge the fantasy of it.

  “Hm, they’ll all want to join now. Thanks to you. I blame you for that.” He kissed her so she couldn’t make a response to his teasing comment. When he pulled away, he put a finger over her lips. “No, I’m not going to ever share this bed when I’m in it. So if you have any fantasies about that, I’m not interested.”

  She pushed his hand away, smiling. “I wasn’t going to ask. I know better than to ask for that. You’re a private man, Vincent. You all give me so much love in your own ways. There’s no reason for you to be overtly loud and passionate like Zander or free with it like Elijah and Quinn. You give me a quietness and a peace while they make their goals to give me anything but. I’m not going to ask you to do anything but be you for me.”

  “You’ll never leave any of us, right?” he asked, kissing her cheek and down her jawline. Then he moved to her neck. “This isn’t normal, but it’s ours.”

  “It’s ours,” she repeated. “It’s our family.”

  She should have trusted them to help shoulder her weight earlier, knowing they could take it. Because they weren’t just lovers and a team. They were her family, like Charlie and Liam.

  So she made a new goal.

  She was going to make it through this case, bury Axel and her past, and she was going to have all of them with her at the end. She refused to imagine a life without them. She refused to sacrifice her love for them and theirs for her in pursuit of Axel.

  “He doesn’t deserve it,” she said quietly.

  “No, he doesn’t,” Vincent agreed.

  25

  Sawyer

  “Look at these love birds. I think this is the best sleep they’ve gotten since Georgia.”

  Sawyer groaned, looking up from her pillow to find Zander standing at the end of the bed, grinning. Elijah was next to him.

  They looked like they were up to trouble today.

  “Well, the little lady is now awake. How was your nap?” The cowboy wiggled his eyebrows in that dumb suggestive way that mad
e her want to laugh. “We got home and you two were out, so we decided you needed the rest. We’ve been doing the work, no worries.”

  “You could have gotten us,” she told him, sitting up slowly.

  “I’m going to say no,” Zander replied, chuckling. “I mean, we’ve woken you up, but Vincent is still out. That says something. That man doesn’t sleep very deeply, but he’s unconscious still. It’s good. You’ve both needed a rest.”

  At that, she looked at the body next to her. His face buried into one of her pillows, one of his arms thrown casually over her waist. It was a sight. She ran her fingers through his hair, knowing that might wake him up.

  Sure enough, she was right.

  “What?” he asked, a mumbling groan of a man half asleep.

  “We’ve apparently fallen down for a nap. What time is it, guys?”

  “Dinner. Raid in Turkey begins soon.” Elijah leaned down and hit Vincent’s foot, causing the Italian to kick out. “Come on, fearless leaders.”

  “Get out so I can put my clothes on,” Vincent retorted.

  “We’ve all seen Sawyer naked. What’s you to add to it?” Zander was now snickering. She waved them away, shooing. “Fine!”

  “We’ll be down soon,” she promised. She watched the two troublemakers leave then went back under her covers, pushing against Vincent’s warm body. “You were right.”

  “I know,” he mumbled.

  “They didn’t yell at me.”

  “I know,” he repeated. “You think I don’t know them just as well as I know you?” His dark, olive-green eyes opened.

  “I think you know me in a very different way.” They both smiled. He pulled her closer with the arm he had over her. As he began to kiss her neck again, she tried to push him away, but half-heartedly. “We need to get up.”

  “They would have given us enough time to do this,” he murmured.

  “Oh, I know, but I bet those two are outside the door, waiting to burst in and give us a hard time.” She knew they were. She could feel them there. They hadn’t gone far, literally standing on the other side of the door. Probably silently snickering to each other.

  He lifted his head and narrowed his eyes on the door.

  “How did you know?” Zander called inside. “Damn! Ruining all our fun!”

  “There,” he said, turning back to her. “None of that anymore.”

  “Oh no. We’re getting up. We’ve slept the day away,” she reminded him. “Come on. They’ve been working all day. I have a feeling they’ve set everything on fire.”

  Vincent groaned in exasperation. “Why do we never get a good morning after?”

  “Considering it’s evening, that might be why.” She pulled away and slid out of the bed, feeling lighter than she had early in the morning. Something about breaking and letting Vincent pull her back together made her feel better. “And you know, I’m ready to see this case through.”

  “Really?” he asked, following her every move with his eyes as she began to walk around her bedroom, finding clean clothes to take to her bathroom.

  “I’m ready to see what’s after it,” she explained, smiling. “He has my past. He doesn’t deserve my future.”

  Vincent’s answering expression was like a breath of fresh air. It was beautiful and full of emotion as he left her bed. She didn’t move as he came closer and kissed her deeply.

  “Can I shower with you?” he asked, pulling back for a moment. “I don’t want to see what Elijah has done to our bathroom.”

  “Doesn’t he share one with Quinn downstairs now?” She frowned.

  “Oh, yeah, but he told me he wasn’t going to stop messing up my bathroom, just so I know he’s always thinking of me, or something ridiculous like that.”

  “Oh, you poor man. Yes, you can come with me. Don’t try anything.”

  She was still laughing as she got out of the shower, dressed, and went downstairs. Especially since Vincent didn’t think to get anything to wear before the shower, so he had to walk in a towel to his own room to find clothing.

  She found the rest of the team before Vincent made it down. There was a sudden awkwardness as she walked into the dining room to find them putting out dinner for everyone. Charlie was nowhere to be seen, probably hiding until the meal was called.

  “Hey guys.”

  “There she is,” Zander exclaimed, grinning. “Come on, sit down and we’ll do this now.”

  She collapsed into a seat.

  “So, you talked to Vincent? You aired all that out?” Elijah sat closest to her. “You going to be okay?”

  “I’m going to be okay,” she promised. His hazel eyes didn’t leave her face. He was waiting to see if she broke. “I’m sorry. I should have told all of you how I was feeling, I really should have. It would have stopped what I did to Naseem.”

  “Yeah,” Jasper agreed.

  “But I healed him and told him to get over it, so it should be fine.”

  She snorted at Zander’s comment. Vincent did know them well, and she should have really believed it. This was Zander they were talking about.

  “In the heat of the moment, we were mad at you, but really? We should have been watching out for you better. You took on everything after James died. We knew this case would be hard on you and we missed it. For that, we’re sorry.” Jasper reached out to her, taking one of her hands. “We’ve been a mess for the last few weeks. I’ve been worried about me so much that I forgot you. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” she mumbled, squeezing his hand. “We’ll be okay.”

  “Yup, we all made our mistakes and we’re not going to make anymore.” Elijah clapped his hands together. “Quinn?”

  “Packs sometimes have problems. We will prevail. We’re strong survivors.” Quinn looked between them. “As long as we remember what makes us better than them. As long as we remember what makes us stronger than them.”

  “You said it yourself, Sawyer.” Vincent walked in at that moment. “The difference between us and Axel’s people? We stand by each other. We don’t leave each other out in the cold. We’re not competing against each other. We’re a team, a unit, and we care. They don’t.”

  She nodded. “So, what’s next?”

  “Next? We’re going to eat dinner, once someone finds Charlie-” Elijah was trying to explain.

  “He’s on his way,” Zander announced. “I already sent him a quick message.”

  “Perfect.” Vincent sat down on the other side of the table from her.

  Charlie walked in a minute later, looked around at all of them, then his eyes fell on her. “Did you forget I was here earlier today?” he asked politely. “We used to have a rule-”

  “Oh shit, Charlie, I’m sorry!” She began to laugh. “I’m so sorry! No hanky-panky when anyone else was home, I know. My bad!”

  Charlie just glared at her. She couldn’t stop laughing.

  “After dinner, we’re going to bunker down and talk the case while we wait on word about the last raids. Jasper, Elijah, and I will all be hooked up to the communications, each listening to our own team to get a live idea of what’s going on.” Vincent dished up his own food as he spoke. Sawyer realized she was going to need to get some herself if she wanted to eat tonight. Everyone looked like they were starving. “That way, we can know our next move as soon as possible. Sawyer, any ideas on what we’ll find tonight?”

  “I don’t think this will be like the last couple of nights.” She sighed, dropping her plate in front of her. None of the food flew off, which she was thankful for. She hadn’t wanted to be asked about this just yet, though she was only stating the obvious. “I think after his play here in New York, he’s going to call his people to him and hide, let it blow over.”

  “He’s going to try and get ahead of us again,” Jasper commented. “Fits his MO.”

  “Exactly.” She nodded, sitting back down.

  “Is this really what he does? He makes a big hit, shows himself, then disappears while everyone scrambles to try and fi
nd out where he went?” Charlie took a bite of food when he was done talking, looking between everyone on the team. “Coward.” His mouth was full.

  “It is. He’s not the type to do too much publicly unless it’s very personal, which is normally when he gets very sloppy. He’s also not one to ignore the actual threat, but I would say he’s absolutely avoiding the team right now. He hit you, Charlie. He hit the prison.” Vincent looked at her again, waiting for her to continue.

  “But he hasn’t come for us,” she finished. “Normally, when someone is a big enough threat, he hits them directly. Whether it’s by assassin or his own skills, he deals with them. But…”

  “But he always fails to kill little miss, which probably means he would rather distract you and just keep you off the trail.” Elijah pushed his food around with his fork.

  “Which is only a deterrent.” Jasper groaned. “He knows it’s going to stop working one day. One day, we’re going to catch him.”

  “Which we know as well,” she agreed. “Which means this game is different.”

  “He’s laying a trap, you think?” Vincent frowned at her.

  “Yeah, but I want to see what we find from the raids first. Just to make sure I’m not wrong.” It only made sense. “He’s got everything he wants on the criminal front. We can take out his underlings as much as we want, but if we don’t catch him soon enough after that, he just replaces them and it’s business as usual. He doesn’t want to keep losing good people. He knows we’re never going to stop.”

  “We could wait it out for another four and a half years,” Zander suggested.

  She shook her head. “No. The world isn’t big enough anymore for me and him to both exist in it. And I don’t think he’ll ever leave us alone, even if we leave him alone. We can’t do that, Zander.”

  “I know. I just wanted to make sure. You can’t deny this mission sucks.” Zander shrugged, letting his wayward idea fall again. This wasn’t the first time someone had brought that consideration up. Legally, the WMC owed her a pardon in a set time period, regardless of anything else. She wouldn’t be able to take it in good conscience if Axel was still out there.