by Leroux, Lucy
“It was two fucking stories, Peyton,” Liam snapped as the female EMT poked and prodded at her ankle. The swelling was obvious. The only question that remained was whether it was broken or merely sprained.
“I wasn’t going to let him shoot one of you.” Peyton sat up on the gurney to scowl at him. She was shoeless, her hair was a mess, and her face was red from too much sun, but she had never looked more beautiful.
“Two stories—” Liam began.
Matthias didn’t want to think about what might have happened if Peyton hadn’t decided to play Superwoman. He pulled his partner toward him, kissing him hard—almost desperately—before resting his forehead against his. “Just say thank you.”
“I…” Liam cleared his throat as tears pooled in his eyes. “You’re right. Thank you, Peyton.”
Matthias leaned over to kiss her, too, surprising the hell out of the EMT.
Peyton cocked her head to the side. “Yes, they’re both mine,” she bragged to the woman.
The EMT blushed. “Wow,” she said, putting her hand out for a high five. They clapped hands before bursting out laughing.
“Always making friends, this one,” Liam observed, leaning against him for support before scanning the crowd that had gathered in front of the house.
Mason was off at the other end of the yard, talking to the other agents. Not only were high-level Interpol directors present, but reps from MI5 and MI6 had shown up. He snorted. God knew how many other agencies were milling around out there…
The EMT excused herself to check on her partner. He was treating Travis’s injuries before they transported him to a holding cell.
Peyton rubbed her wrist. “I think they took off the charm bracelet when I was being transported here. I was so worried they had dropped it at the hotel, and you wouldn’t be able to find me.”
Matthias blinked. Oh, shit.
“You knew about the tracker?” Liam flushed guiltily.
“Of course I knew,” Peyton said weakly, gingerly touching the sore spot on her head. The EMT had wanted to do a scan for a concussion, but Peyton had insisted on waiting for Mason to give them an update.
“How?” Matthias asked.
“How do you think?” She laughed.
Both men shrugged.
Peyton cleared her throat, straightening her skirt as if readying for a long lecture. “See, there are these things called GPS bug detectors. I own several—”
“Why?” Matthias frowned.
“To scan your cars. I’ve been doing it for years. I started at the Caislean in Boston. I used to have all your vehicles scanned at least once a week. Maggie and Trick’s, too.”
“You did?” Liam looked stunned.
“Of course,” she said with a dismissive wave. “Well, technically, security did it, but since we’ve been traveling so much, I decided it would be a good idea to take over.”
They stared at her with identical expressions of disbelief.
“What?” she said. “I love Maggie and Trick like family. I couldn’t risk anyone kidnapping them—although, honestly, the groupies were the biggest threat. They used to lie in wait at the hotel, ready to ambush you and Patrick.”
“Liam had groupies?” Matthias asked incredulously.
“Well, that’s what happens when you are a bachelor with money and don’t hide away sailing the seven seas,” Liam said tersely.
Matthias lowered his head, trying to hide his chortle.
“You didn’t love me like family?” he heard Liam ask.
“I think for all concerned, that’s a good thing, especially as I was madly in love with you another way.”
Liam huffed. “Amen to that,” he muttered as Agent Ward joined them.
“Is the baby okay?” Concern made the man appear as if he had smelled sour milk.
“The baby?” Matthias sputtered
Peyton held up her hand. “I told those creeps I was pregnant to make myself seem more valuable, but I’m not.”
“Are you sure?” Matthias was dizzy, feeling as if he were the one who’d been hit over the head. He could only imagine how Liam felt.
“I’m certain. But it was a long wait up on that roof, and I got my—well, never mind. Let’s just say I know for sure.”
“Oh.” Liam’s disappointment was palpable.
Matthias took both their hands. “I know I’ve been saying I’m not ready for children, but it’s not true. I was just afraid of things going to shit again, but that’s not going to happen. If you two want to start trying—”
Mason smile was a trifle awkward. “Perhaps you’d like to postpone this conversation until later?”
“Yes, please,” Peyton said, widening her eyes for emphasis. “I want to know the English bastard’s name.”
“It’s FitzGeorge—Clyde FitzGeorge, the twelfth Earl of Osbourne,” Mason said, slipping his hands into his pants pockets.
“Really?” Peyton asked, clearly skeptical. “He’s an honest-to-God earl?”
“Oh, yes.” Mason sighed. “But the earldom has been bankrupt for some time. Nevertheless, FitzGeorge has connections at the highest levels of society all over Europe. They furthered his career quite a bit. When he started spending more lavishly, he claimed to have found a cache of family antiques that he was selling to finance an early retirement. He even waved some auction catalogs around the office, pointing out things he was supposedly selling to establish a backstory.”
Matthias leaned forward. “I don’t care if he’s the fucking king of England. Be aware—I’m going to be using my network of connections to make sure the son of a bitch pays for what he has done.”
“Have at him,” Mason said. “I’m not going to stop you.”
“Is Travis at Interpol, too?”
“Not to my knowledge. He seems to know the ins and out of the agency. However, he came up as an independent contractor. So did the third man you clobbered.” His weary air dropped away. “Well done, by the way. It appears you broke his collarbone by dropping down on him like that.”
“Hmm. I thought they were both agents,” Peyton said, ignoring the praise. “Do you think you’ll find proof of FitzGeorge’s involvement with the Belarus incident?”
“I think I can do you one better,” Mason said, smiling for the first time. “He’s already talking, trying to broker a deal. He’s giving up everyone and their grandmother. If the intel is good, we may be able to trace the group if we move quickly.”
“Then what the hell are you waiting for?” Liam snapped. “Go get them.”
He tossed the keys to the Lotus to the agent. “Return these when you can.”
Catching the set in mid-air, Ward grinned like it was Christmas morning.
“Will do.” The agent hurried away before Liam could change his mind.
“But Mason just saved us,” Peyton pointed out. “We should at least invite him to dinner.”
“He didn’t save anyone,” Liam countered. “You saved yourself, then you saved us. Now we’re going to the hospital to get your head scanned. Then you’re going to stay in bed for a week,” he ordered.
Matthias didn’t argue with him. He, too, wanted to make sure Peyton didn’t have any permanent damage. “Don’t worry,” he added. “I’m sure we’ll see Agent Ward again.”
“Yeah, you can invite him to the wedding,” Liam said as he signaled the EMT to come back.
“What wedding?” Matthias asked, feigning ignorance as his heart sank. It had only been a matter of time before Liam decided he wanted to make his union with Peyton official.
The other man’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“Liam?” Peyton was trembling.
Liam straightened his shoulders, whipping something out of his coat. He held up a ring box, opening it to reveal three platinum rings. One had a large emerald, Peyton’s favorite stone. All were engraved.
His hand shook as he reached out for the one with the most letters. MFLR. Those were his initials.
“I didn’t think—�
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“What?” Liam frowned. “You didn’t think I was going to leave you out in the cold while I married Peyton, did you?”
Matthias wanted to respond, but he found that his throat was a little too tight. Peyton was watching him with her hands clasped in front of her.
“It won’t be legal,” he said when the lump in his throat finally let him. Neither Norway nor the United States recognized polyamorous unions.
“So?” Liam scoffed.
“I don’t care. It doesn’t have to be legal to be real,” Peyton said. “Now give me that damn ring!”
They laughed as she wobbled to her feet, throwing her arms around both of them and squeezing tight.
Clapping broke up their embrace. Matthias shifted to see the EMT holding her hands in front of her, her eyes shining.
“Pardon,” she said, flushing in embarrassment. “I’ll drive you to the hospital now. But congratulations!”
“Thanks,” Matthias said as she shut the door. A minute later, the ambulance pulled away.
Squealing, Peyton lay back on the gurney, holding up her hand to admire her ring. Liam put on his. Both eyed him expectantly.
“Oh.” He held up the ring, then slipped it onto his finger. “This feels weird,” he said with a laugh.
“You’ll get used to it,” Peyton promised.
Epilogue
Peyton pried her best friend’s hands from around her neck. “I can’t believe we’re legally sisters now.” Maggie sniffed, crying all over her neck.
“Well, strictly speaking, the union isn’t legal in America. Or Europe,” Peyton pointed out with a laugh. Sipping champagne, she leaned on the balustrade next to the stairs that led to the beach, admiring her two gorgeous husbands as they talked and laughed with all their friends.
She hadn’t seen most of them since her ill-fated graduation party. But today, the only tears she was going to shed were tears of joy.
Peyton had married the two loves of her life in the gorgeous courtyard of a brand-new Spanish-style villa. Matthias had built it especially for their new family. It was on the private island he had purchased during his partying days over a decade ago—a decision he’d regretted immediately until recently. He’d never done anything with the place, but the formerly uninhabited isle was being repurposed now.
“Screw that,” Maggie said, swiping a fruit-laden cocktail from a passing waiter. “You’re my sister now. No damn court will ever convince me otherwise. But I can’t believe Matthias bought this whole island just so he could declare it a country.”
Neither could she, but her Norse god lover had declared that if they were going to marry, it would be legal somewhere.
“Well, it’s not actually the reason he bought it, but I’m pretty damn happy he never sold it. The island was the impulse purchase to end all impulse purchases… Can you believe it was easier and faster for Matthias to set up an entire country with its own judicial system than it was for you to pick the flowers?” she asked, her face deadpan.
Maggie pretended to punch her. Peyton grabbed her hand instead, twining their arms. “Everything is perfect. I don’t know which is better—the flowers or the food.”
Trick and Maggie had outdone themselves. The entire villa had been transformed. Every room had been filled with fresh flowers and candles with the most interesting antiques nestled in between. The courtyard had been built around tall proud palms that had been there for hundreds of years. New flowerbeds filled with native blooms provided the finishing touches.
The food had been prepared by Kari Jones, the celebrity chef Liam had hired to work at the Caislean New York. The restaurant there had just earned three Michelin stars, the highest honor possible, so the food was amazing.
“I think that dress is the best thing,” Maggie said, eyeing Peyton’s gown. The silk confection was stunning, its light gossamer skirt perfect for the heat of the island.
“Then thank you for choosing it.” Peyton laughed.
Maggie leaned forward. “I’m glad Ethan is here. I didn’t think he was going to come.”
“I knew he would,” Peyton said. Ethan might have been a little disappointed since she had announced the engagement, but in the months that followed, he hadn’t shown any signs of a broken heart. And she would know. For years, Peyton had considered herself the world’s foremost expert on them.
But not anymore. It was a title she was happy to relinquish.
“I should go say hi to him,” she said, spotting the dark-haired FBI near one of the hors d’oeuvre stations.
“Want some backup?” Maggie asked.
“Not necessary,” Peyton assured her with a smile.
Ethan was wearing his ever-present Aviator sunglasses, so it was hard to gauge his reaction as she approached with two champagne glasses in hand.
He accepted the glass, studying it briefly. “Got anything stronger?”
“I have always believed in having a full bar, regardless of the occasion,” she said. “Some of the bat mitzvahs we had at Caislean got very colorful as a result.”
Smiling, Ethan sipped the golden brew. “I’m glad to see Tyler finally got his head out of his ass,” he said with a nod in her grooms’ direction.
“Me too,” she said with a grin. “But seriously, I’m so happy to see you. Thank you for coming all this way.”
“Well, this was something I had to see—I mean, attending a wedding on a new country, not your…err…arrangement,” he said, raising a brow as he gave Liam and Matthias a once-over. “Although, I gotta ask. How will this kind of marriage work exactly?”
“Exactly the same as the kind between two people,” she said, then reflected it wasn’t the whole truth. “Just…more.”
“More what?”
“Everything.”
Ethan chuckled. “That’s what I like about you, Peyton. You never do anything halfway. Congratulations on the expansion of yours and Thalia’s program by the way.”
Ethan was referring to the vocational training program she and Trick’s wife had set up the previous year. Their focus had been on women who had escaped abusive relationships, but now they were growing beyond that.
She nodded in satisfaction. “Yes, we’ve partnered with some well-respected charities that help sex-trafficking victims. We’ve been focusing on the States, but we have started rolling it out in other countries—all known trafficking hotspots. The vocational training programs are going strong, but my new learn-to-code course has already discovered some genuine talent.”
“That’s great. And it’s good to know you’re putting your new husbands’ cash to good use. They have enough of it.”
“I’ll hit them up for donations soon enough. For now, though, I’m using my own funds,” Peyton corrected.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you had any.” Ethan’s expression filled with chagrin.
“It’s new.” She smiled. “Some of the irons I had in the fire paid off recently.”
“Bank heist?” He waved the waiter over, then requested a whiskey.
“No.” She giggled. “I just hit five hundred K in bug bounty rewards,” she said, explaining the various program designed to help white-hat hackers fix software and websites.
“Five hundred K as in half a million dollars? Damn, girl.” He shook his head. “You are unbelievable—in a good way.”
“Thanks,” she said, tapping his glass with her own to toast her achievement.
Liam and Matthias materialized by their sides soon after. Peyton hid her grin. It didn’t matter that they had just gotten married. Liam still wasn’t keen on her spending time with Ethan. And after meeting him, Matthias had seemed to catch his overdeveloped sense of caution around the handsome FBI agent.
“Congratulations,” Ethan said, putting his hand out to shake.
Liam hesitated, but he took his hand. “Thank you for coming. I know it was a trek.”
“Like I was telling Peyton, I wouldn’t have missed it.” Ethan turned to Matthias. “Nice country, Mr. President. Or are
you prime minister?”
“Neither,” Matthias said, putting his hands in his pockets. “We decided on a feudal matrilineal system.”
Ethan frowned. “Wait, doesn’t matrilineal mean…”
Peyton held up her glass of champagne. “That’s right. I’m the queen.”
The FBI agent nearly doubled over laughing. When he recovered, he held his glass high. “Well then, long live the queen!”
“I’ll drink to that,” Liam said, joining in with his own glass.
For the first time in her memory, Liam and Ethan talked like two normal human beings. Peyton wasn’t sure they would ever be friends, but it was nice to see them being cordial to each other.
Eventually, the conversation turned to Interpol and the mole. “I heard you offered Mason a position,” Ethan said, turning to Matthias.
He nodded. “Ward’s done an excellent job of bringing the perpetrators of the Belarus incident to justice. That, and he brought down most of the ring that took Peyton.”
“Well, he had some help,” Ethan observed. “FitzGeorge kept meticulous records on the people who paid his bribes. We didn’t even need him to testify. He’d recorded so many details in his books that the agency had plenty to work with without his direct input.”
Both David Travis and Clyde FitzGeorge had both tried to make deals, but Matthias and Liam used their clout to make sure neither man got what they asked for. Both were facing long prison sentences.
“I heard you were at that raid,” Peyton said after a moment. “Mason told us. Thank you for that.”
He waved her thanks away. “They made the mistake of doing their business on American soil. I’m just sorry the one you call mega-bitch got away.”
“For now,” Peyton said. “She’ll make a mistake sooner or later. I have faith she’ll be brought to justice.”
Ethan nodded. “Yeah. Mason’s on it.”
“Unless he accepts my offer,” Matthias observed.
“Well, you’ve got competition now. Interpol offered him FitzGeorge’s old job.”
“I see.” Matthias raised a brow. “Perhaps I need to make a counter-offer.”