by Naomi Martin
Slowly, our laughter fades, and we’re left standing in a circle for a long moment, processing what just happened—left to face reality and what we escaped from. And what it all means for us now.
Gray clears his throat. “So, I hate to be the asshole of the group—”
“No, you don’t,” Zane says. “It’s a role you seem to relish, actually.”
Gray gives him the finger but laughs. “Eat shit, bloodsucker.”
“You first, bear boy.”
I realize now their ribbing is the way they show affection to one another. At least, now it is. Gone is the tension that marked their early interactions, tension that bordered on outright hatred. Zane and Gray have come to respect and admire one another. I can see it in the way they relate to each other. They’ve come through the fire and are brothers now.
And, like brothers all over the world, they’ll be immature jerks to one another.
“Anyway, as I was saying,” Gray continues. “Now that this is all over and we’re free… are we really doing this? Is this going to happen? Or was it more of a ‘what happens in a supernatural prison stays in a supernatural prison’ kind of deal?”
I turn and look at all of them, reading their faces. For me, there was never any question about it. It didn’t occur to me that maybe once it happened, once we were freed from the prison, they might have questions. The very thought of losing any one of my boys feels like a kick to the gut and sends a lance of pain straight through my heart.
“It was true for me then and it’s true for me now,” I say. “I love all of you. With everything in me. And I don’t want to spend my life with anybody but you. If you have doubts—”
“I was only asking because El here needs to break his threesome cherry,” Gray cuts me off with a wink and a smile. “And I just don’t want to get stuck on that duty.”
“Shut up, Gray,” Elliot says. “I’ve had… lots of threesomes.”
“Using your left and right hands don’t count as a threesome, bud.”
Elliot launches himself at Gray and the two of them fall to the ground, wrestling and laughing together. Zane laughs softly and I roll my eyes.
“Children,” I say.
Zane nods. “In a lot of ways, they are. We are,” he says. “We never got to be children, really, if you stop and think about it.”
I purse my lips and nod. “That’s true,” I say and then fix him with an earnest stare. “I am going to find Villa. I’m going to find him, and I will kill him. I will not show him mercy like I did Sherman.”
He laughs softly. “I’m not so sure Sherman would see that as a mercy, but I take your point.”
“I want to be with all three of you,” I tell him. “But this is going to be my life’s work—I cannot stop until I have that man’s head.”
Zane steps closer and pulls me to him, wrapping me in a warm and gentle embrace. I melt into him, grateful for this man—for all three of them. They’ve shown me what real love feels like. They’ve shown me how to be open and caring with another person. How to be vulnerable.
And, yeah, how to be a badass when I need to be.
Each of them completes a different piece of me and together, we truly are greater than the sum of our parts. I couldn’t have asked for better men to come into my life. To be with me, to walk beside me. And to love me.
“If that is where your path leads you, we will all follow,” he tells me. “We are all connected. Where you go, we go. We would not have it any other way.”
Gray and Elliot, panting and out of breath, catch up to us. They’ve both got goofy smiles on their faces and it melts my heart to see them actually and genuinely happy for the first time since I’ve known them. That’s what freedom does for a person—it tends to make them deliriously happy.
“So, what now?” Gray asks.
“We should probably find a place to live,” Elliot says. “I assume we’ll all need to get jobs at some point, too, if we want to eat.”
“We’ll just throw you on the grill,” Gray says. “Ain’t got much meat on his bones, but I’m sure he’ll be tasty.”
Elliot laughs and gives him the finger. “I’ll be a lot better than your bitter, salty ass.”
I step back and take them all in. My boys. Each of them a piece of my heart and a piece of my soul.
“We’ll figure all of that out soon, El,” I tell him. “Tonight, we need to have a little fun.”
“And what do you consider fun?” he asks. “Hopefully not a foursome.”
“We’ll get there at some point. It is on my list, after all,” I say, and I shoot Gray a wink. “No, tonight we’re going to just have some good, old-fashioned, wholesome fun.”
I turn and weave spirit into the amusement park behind us. Everything lights up and starts to run. I laugh and clap my hands before I turn to them.
“Ready to go be kids for a night?”
“Race you to the fence,” Gray says and gives Elliot a shove as he takes off for the park.
I walk hand in hand with Zane and we watch Gray and Elliot clamber over the fence and into the park. I know that, sooner or later, the cops will come check this place out, since the lights shouldn’t be on this late at night. But until they show up, we’re going to have some fun.
I don’t know what the future holds for us. We’ve escaped from prison, and I have no doubt Villa and his men will be searching for us. But at least for now, I am happier than I’ve ever been. With these three by my side, I feel like I can do anything. They’ve shown me that all I have to do is believe in myself and I can do amazing things.
Our future is uncertain, but my present is pretty incredible. It’s filled with more joy and love than I had ever expected to see in my life.
And for now, that’s enough.