by KC Kean
“I’m okay,” is his response, but his voice sounds weak too.
Looking in front of us, the forest opens up to a break in the trees. A large black SUV is parked idly in the middle of it, with the driver’s door still open.
“I’ll drive,” Rafe calls out, opening the rear passenger door for us. Bryce climbs in, laying Luna across the seats facing the back.
Kai sits facing her, resting his head on the back of the seat, pain evident in his expression. Parker climbs in beside him, as Oscar rounds the car to sit up front with Rafe. Before Bryce can sit with Luna, I climb in, lifting her legs onto my lap.
Jumping in behind me, he shuts the door and takes the seat beside Parker. Without wasting a moment, Rafe’s in the driver’s seat and flooring it. I release the breath I didn’t even realize I was holding, as I look down at Luna. We need to have a chat about the inconvenient times she’s unconscious.
My leg feels cool, almost wet, and when I swipe a hand over it, my fingers feel the sticky substance of blood. Quickly glancing to Bryce, his arm is covered in blood too. Lifting Luna’s leg, I see the slice in her combat pants and the wound beneath it.
Before I can take my jacket off to wrap her leg, Bryce’s t-shirt is being dropped into my lap. I try to smile in appreciation, but my focus is on stopping the bleeding. Tying the shirt as tight as I can, I keep the pressure on, catching sight of Parker helping Kai.
What a complete shit show this has been, but we’re all here together, alive, and that’s what matters.
*****
(Luna)
A slight rumble beneath me tries to lure me back to sleep, but the pounding in my head is unbearable, forcing me to stay awake. Flickering my eyes open, the cream leather sofa in front of me makes me frown. Wetting my dry lips, I try to work out what the hell is going on.
Swiping a hand down my face, I notice the dirt and blood ingrained into the grooves of my fingers and nails, making me pause.
“She’s awake,” Roman whispers, and I glance down at the sofa I seem to be laying on. Where my legs are propped up on his lap. Well, at least I’m not alone. He smiles softly at me, his tired eyes checking me over, as he gently strokes my leg. “Hey, Princess. How are you feeling?”
I try to process how I feel, but everything is just one giant ache. The throbbing in my head and my leg slightly outweigh everything else, but overall, I think I’m fine. Trying to remember why I would be in this condition takes me a moment, but the second I see Totem’s face in my mind, back in The Slums, my heart starts pounding in my chest. Kai. Kai was bleeding, I need to make sure he’s alive.
“It’s okay, Princess. Kai’s fine, the doctor took care of him. He’s sleeping,” Roman answers, clearly I was talking out loud again. The grin on his handsome face tells me I still am.
Totem’s piercing brown eyes and slicked back dark hair flashes on repeat in my mind. I won’t be able to forget what he looks like, the scar that runs down the side of his eye, all of the way down to his chin, is unmistakable. Add to the fact, a thick black cursive tattoo covers his neck, completely one of a kind, reading ‘Totem.’
I scoff as a vivid memory comes to mind. “I had the craziest vision, baby. My Dad was there,” I chuckle. “It must have been all that talk last night, and this morning, hmm?” I say, glancing back at him, but he doesn’t meet my gaze.
Clearing his throat, he stumbles over his words, “Uh, about that.” He rubs the back of his neck nervously, and it sets me on edge.
“What’s going on?” I ask, but he looks across the room, panic in his eyes.
“I think he’s trying to find the words to tell you I wasn’t a vision, Meu Tesouro.”
My heart pounds rapidly in my chest, and I feel like I can’t breathe. I have the vaguest memory of that voice, and it definitely isn’t one I expected to hear when I woke up. An invisible weight sits on my chest as I struggle to process what’s happening.
Covering my face with my hands, I can’t hide the sob that passes my lips. I’m too scared to move a muscle to find out this is a fucking dream.
“It’s not a dream, Luna,” the voice murmurs, and I curse myself out for still thinking out loud.
“Shut up a minute, will you? You’re going to make her pass out again, dickhead,” Oscar grumbles, and it makes me snort behind my hands. “See, she needs to hear my voice. I make it all better. Right, baby girl?” Oscar continues, his voice right beside my ear, as he strokes my hair from my face.
Like a scared little girl, I peer through my fingers as I tilt my face to look at Oscar, who smiles down at me. “Is that my dad?” I whisper, and he nods lightly in response. “You just called my dad a dickhead.” The shock is clear in my voice, and he shrugs his shoulders.
“I’ll do more than that if he makes you pass out again, baby girl. I’ve been worried.” I grin like a madwoman at him, and he kisses my forehead. “No more of this hiding business,” he mutters, pulling my hands fully from my face and helping me to sit up.
Sitting beside me, Oscar sandwiches me in between him and Roman, who laces his fingers through mine. Finding the courage, I look around, finding us on a freaking plane. My eyes first falling to Rafe, refusing to glance anywhere else. His puffy red eyes surprise me and do nothing to calm my nerves.
“Hey, darling. At least you woke up in transit this time.” He grins, trying to lighten the atmosphere, and I smile at the effort.
“It’s the being awake when we enter the vehicle I seem to have an issue with, and a plane, again, really?” I murmur, catching movement beside him, begging me to look. My eyes well up with unshed tears, as I find the strength to look to his right.
My father, Bryce Steele, sits beside Rafe with his brown hair swept to the side just like I remember. Tattoos peek out from underneath his collar and trail down his arms. Meeting his stare, his green eyes glisten with unshed tears, just like mine. I crumble under his gaze, overwhelming emotions taking over, but he quickly moves to his knees in front of me.
Before his hand can touch me, Roman grips his wrist loosely.
“Remember what I said, only if she’s comfortable,” Roman mutters, no bite to his words, as he slowly releases his hold on him.
My father looks at me, trying to figure out what would be the best thing to do here, but I let my instincts take over, throwing myself at him. My leg throbs with the movement, as my knees hit the floor in front of him. Wrapping my arms tightly around his neck, I can’t believe he’s actually here right now.
He squeezes me back just as tight, the sense of home washing over me, just like it does with Rafe and my Aceholes. There is so much to talk about, but right now I allow myself the comfort I’ve craved all these years.
I don’t know how long we stay like that, but when we pull away, it doesn’t feel like it was long enough. Wiping my tears away, he smiles down at me.
“Hey, Meu Tesouro,” he says softly. “I know there is so much to talk about, and we will, I promise. I’ve already been warned papa bear’s going to pin me down so you can beat me up.” He rolls his eyes, amused with the whole thing, and it makes me smile. “The plane is descending, and we should be landing in about fifteen minutes. When we get home, we can do whatever you need, at your speed, okay?”
I nod in response, as Parker and Kai step through a door to my left.
“I’m glad you’re awake, angel,” Parker says, as he places a kiss on my head and sits down across from Roman. I’m so confused by the fact this is a plane right now, but I won’t complain at the luxury seating and not being packed in like sardines. At some point, I may even ask who it belongs to.
My father squeezes my hand and retakes his seat next to Rafe, and they instantly lace their fingers together. Kai slowly sits beside me, his injured shoulder on the other side, Oscar shuffling along to make space for him. Leaning my head against him, I look into his eyes.
“Hey Sakura,” he says with a tired smile, and I relax into him, happy he’s okay.
Now to get off this plane and figure out what
the fuck happened back there.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
(Kai)
The pain in my shoulder is irritating more than anything. The doctor said the bullet went straight through, so I’ll have an exit wound to deal with too. It beats the bullet being lodged in my shoulder and needing surgery though.
Sitting in the back of another SUV, my body wants me to sleep, but I refuse to while we’re in transit. Luna sits to my left, her fingers laced through mine, and the guys sit facing us. She’s just as tired as I am, her eyes struggling to stay open. So, I hope when we get to our destination, we can get some rest.
Rafe is driving with Bryce beside him as we make our way down a coastal road. The water's edge and the beach up above to our right, and small town buildings to our left. We have no idea where we are, putting all of our trust into Bryce.
“Where are we again?” Oscar asks, arms braced on his thighs as he looks out of the window.
“I’m surprised Roman or Luna haven’t recognized it yet,” Bryce murmurs in response, turning to smile at Luna. I can see her brain trying to work overtime to piece together where we are until Roman interrupts her thought process.
“Holy shit, Princess,” Roman whispers, looking to her with wide eyes. “We’re going to the beach house.”
“Beach house?” She asks, her nose wrinkling as she tries to catch up. Roman searches her face, trying to think of something that might jog her memory.
“The peacock, Princess. This is where the peacock came from.” Her hand squeezes mine in response, eyes brightening with his words. “We must be less than five minutes away now.”
“Thank you,” she whispers to him, and he smiles softly back at her. Glancing around at the rest of us, she must notice that we don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s the first time they’ve really discussed something from their childhood. “Roman gave me a peacock brooch a few weeks ago, one that I used to steal for him. When he placed it in my palm, it jogged a memory of the place we’re going to.”
She smiles as she talks, but I can see the nerves in her eyes, and her grip on my hand hasn’t loosened. Feeling the SUV begin to slow, I look out of the window to my right, watching as a gated community comes into view.
“Well, when the FBI Special Agent, Dominic Bridge, mentioned you’d been sent to him for an assignment, it was agreed we had to move quickly.” He sighs heavily, emotion in his voice. “And this was where we were always at our happiest,” Bryce murmurs. I watch as Luna swallows heavily at his words, unable to respond.
Someone up front must press something because the black iron gates open before us. Driving down the gravel driveway, lined with trees, a house comes into view. It’s dark outside, but the house is fully lit up. Roman doesn’t hang around, sliding open the door and jumping out to stretch his legs. Parker and Oscar follow behind him, and I wait for Luna to step out before I do.
The smell of the ocean, and the sound of the waves crashing in the distance, has me shutting my eyes for the briefest moments. A little more of the tension in my body floats away with the sea breeze, and I finally feel as though I can relax.
“Luna, I need you to stay with Kai. He’s going to need you, Meu Tesouro.” I hear Bryce say, and I open my eyes to glance at him. Why would he tell her that?
Luna steps towards me instinctively at his words, but I can see the question in her eyes too.
“There is a lot to discuss, remember?” Bryce responds, squeezing Luna's shoulder in support, before looking at me. “I didn’t want to say anything on the way over, it wasn’t the right thing to do, because we couldn’t get here any faster, but…”
He doesn’t finish his sentence as a door slams open from the house behind him.
“Kai? Oh my god! Where is he, Bryce? You promised!”
My heart thunders in my chest as her high-pitched voice washes over me. This can’t be real, it just can’t. The soft smile on Bryce’s face doesn’t help as I push him aside, my movements frantic, and the pain in my shoulder long forgotten.
Everybody is frozen in place, as I finally see the entryway and the owner of that voice, without anyone blocking my view. My feet move on their own accord, my brain trying to play catch up with what I’m seeing. In a floaty blue beach dress and bare feet, she moves towards me. Her dark eyes search mine frantically, as she throws herself into my arms.
I wince at the pain to my shoulder, but it doesn’t matter, none of it matters because she’s here.
Mia.
Wrapping my arms around her, she sobs on my shoulder, holding me back just as tight. Fuck, I would take a hundred bullets if it meant being here right now. How is this even happening? My brain feels like it’s short-circuiting as I try to grasp at the fact my sister is in my arms. My sister, the one I have spent years searching for, is here with me.
Keeping her in my arms, I turn back to the others. I don’t know what I need from them, but I need something. I can’t control my breathing. I’m in too much shock. I think I’m hyperventilating. Everyone except Bryce is staring at us with bright eyes and slack jaws, just as shocked as I am. Luna has tears in hers, and I want to console her, but I don’t know how to move from this spot.
I can barely hear anything over the beating of my own heart until Mia pulls back a little, her smile wide.
“Hey, baby brother.” My tongue refuses to work, as I continue to stare at her in disbelief. Patting my chest, she makes me relax my hold on her as she drops to her feet before me. “It’s okay, Kai. We have so much to catch up on, but I’m perfectly okay.”
Her eyes fall to the blood seeping through my fresh t-shirt from the plane, and panic sets in. “It’s okay,” I whisper quickly. “Nothing that won’t heal.”
She glares at me, a crappy job at that, but I see the worry in her face. “You should have told me before I jumped at you, shit-for-brains.”
I hear Oscar laugh behind her, and I’m sure he’s adding that to his own list of creative insults. “Don’t you start with the swearing, I don’t use those words because you never liked them,” I grunt, and she laughs at me.
“Kai, that was when we were small children. I’m a grown-ass adult. If I want to swear, I motherfucking will, okay?” She smiles up at me, and it breaks my heart that we lost out on the transition from small children to adults together. Now she’s an adult, but I still recognize the little girl who left.
Squeezing my arm, she looks around to the group who are all watching us.
“Oh my god,” Luna murmurs, wiping tears from her face. “Mia? Shit. Mia!”
They throw their arms around each other, holding on for dear life, and I’m confused with what is going on.
“Wait, what’s this?” I call out, waving my finger between them, and the pair of them smile through their tears.
“She’s as confused as you,” Mia says with a grin, keeping hold of Luna. “When Daddy sent me away, I spent the first year living with a couple named Moira and Francis, who have a son, Jake. Jake had a friend at school named Luna, and she became my forever family too. Until people began searching for me, and it wasn’t safe anymore. Then, Maria Steele brought me to Bryce, and I’ve been keeping his ass safe ever since.”
I shake my head at everything she just threw at me. We’re going to need to go a lot slower with all this information.
“How about we take this inside?” Bryce asks, and I stare at him with new eyes. My sister stands before me happy, care-free, and alive. It seems I have this man and Maria Steele to thank for that, although there are definitely more details needed.
“Thank you,” I say honestly, with every ounce of gratitude I have. Smiling at me, he approaches, minding my injured shoulder as he pats me on the back.
“There is nothing to thank me for. I’m only sorry we’ve all had to suffer apart,” he murmurs, steering me towards the house, and I go willingly. The sound of stones crunching behind us, tells me the others are following, but I’m too lost in everything that’s just happened.
Looking over at my
sister, I still can’t believe my eyes, but she’s right. This is it, this is our forever family.
*****
(Luna)
Mia.
Mia is here. When Rafe and I ran, and he finally set me up in school, I made friends with Jake. One day he showed up with a girl who befriended me too. What does Jake know about this world? How far did Rafe and I actually run, if she was placed so close to us anyway?
There are always more questions, no matter how hard we fight for answers.
Twenty-four hours ago, I was relaxed on the sofa with my Aceholes, and now we’re in the same room as my father and Kai’s sister. Two people we never thought we’d see again. I have so many fucking questions, but I don’t know where to begin.
“Princess, I can see your brain working overtime. Let’s go inside and get cleaned up. I think we’ll need to plan and organize our questions into categories before we go in demanding answers,” Roman murmurs, throwing his arm around my shoulder as we step into the house behind Kai and my father.
Stepping through the large glass doors, I gape in surprise at the wide-open entry, opening straight into the lounge. An arched partition leads into the open lounge, with stairs leading upstairs at both ends. Glancing up, the glass panel balcony leads off in different directions. I can see the sea from here, through the floor-length patio doors on the other side of the lounge, while the kitchen is off to the left.
My feet instinctively step away from Roman, moving to the doors leading out back. The grassy garden comes into view, leading down to the beach below and a small dock reaching out to sea. A strong sense of home, and belonging, washes over me as I take it all in.
“Where are we again?” I ask, lost in my surroundings.
“New Haven, Meu Tesouro. New Haven, Connecticut.” How the hell do I feel at home here? I shake my head in disbelief, as I look at my father’s waiting gaze. “Would you like anything to eat or drink before I show you to your room?”
“I’ll take a water, if you have one, please,” I answer, struggling for words as I process the mundane conversation I’m having with Bryce. He smiles as he goes to step away, but my hand reaches out on its own accord, checking to make sure he’s real.