Page 32 of Diary from an Inked Throne

I looked up at Dax and then at Lynx. “For all of you.”

Dax’s eyes shone with the kind of understanding that only came from being so connected to someone it felt soul deep. There was no doubt in my mind he was my soul mate. That we understood each other on a level that went beyond what could be reasonably explained.

Because of that, he understood how I felt about Luca and Lynx. And how I could love Dax with all of my heart but still need Lynx and Luca in the same way.

Love didn’t have a limit. Mine was big enough for all three of them. If I’d learned anything from losing all of them, it was the love I had for them was strong enough to last me the rest of my life.

I wasn’t giving any of them up.

And none of them were asking me to.

Lynx and Luca showered in the clubhouse and put on fresh clothes from the stashes they’d left behind. Lynx came out of his room smelling of the cheap soap he liked, his slightly too-long hair tucked behind his ears and curling at the ends. My heart thumped at the sight of him in his club jacket, like it almost couldn’t believe that after so long he was actually home.

His fingers brushed mine on his way to Luca’s room, and I wanted to grab his hand and never let him go.

He knocked on Luca’s door, and he emerged a second later. Suit pants. Collared shirt rolled to his elbows. His dark hair slicked back into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck.

Stupidly attractive.

I could tell he had an effect on Lynx too. It didn’t even matter that Luca’s eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed. He was unfairly gorgeous.

Even Dax rolled his eyes. “Trust you to be held captive, then be on the road for six weeks, and still walk out like a GQ model.”

Luca snorted. “You saying you wanna fuck me too?” He grinned at me and Lynx. “’Cause I already know you two do. Stop ogling me.”

I rolled my eyes. “So all it took was a shower for the real Luca Guerra to return?”

He put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. “No. This version is a little more broken. But happy to be home.”

“Is home the Slayers’ compound now? Or Saint View?”

He shook his head. “Home is you.”

If swooning was a thing, I was pretty sure I was doing it.

Violet stuck her head in the door and gave me a smile. “How are you four doing? Hayden wants to know if you’re nearly ready or if he should bring out more food to give you all a bit more time? Nobody wants to rush you, so if you aren’t ready…”

Except I was. Dax and I’d had each other to hold during the nights while I cried and fell apart or raged at the world. Every day had felt like a battle, with him there to soothe me, but it had never quite been enough to settle the agony inside.

Today felt different. Today didn’t feel like anger or sorrow or despair.

Today felt like a celebration because the three men I loved were home, and our baby existed in this world, even if he wasn’t in our arms.

“We’re ready,” I told Violet.

She smiled at me in the way a proud mom might and then nodded. “I’ll let them know. Come out when you’re ready.”

Dax took my hand, threading his fingers through mine. “Are you sure about his name?”

I turned around and stared up at him. “So sure. Might have taken us a few weeks to get it perfect, but I’m sure this one is.”

He kissed the top of my head sweetly. “Then let’s go tell everyone and celebrate him.”

9

ENZO GUERRA

“Would you shut that kid up?”