Page 232 of Malice and Surrender
I pulled on my jeans, sneakers, and my Grimhead Crew T-shirt. Shockingly, Jace had added a small reaper to the artwork for Kai. He might be the biggest jerk of the bunch, but he could be a marshmallow that left you breathless and shocked. I turned my mind back to the ceremony next weekend.
We’d decided that I wouldn’t officially marry any of them. At least as far as the courts were concerned. But after much arguing, we decided on a fake lavish wedding for the social media sites and a promise ceremony with all three of my guys. The entire motorcycle club was invited, and Chase was handling the service. I’d seen him a few times at the clubhouse and learned almost everyone’s name. I was still scratching my head over how Chase ended up with Naomi. She was bit much and we all backed out of the room whenever she arrived.
Roach and I made up. I did end up punching him in the face and told him he would never cut me out again, but he deserved it, and luckily it made Kai laugh. I loved talking to Mannix. He was a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that touched my heart. Kai told me that Mannix helped protect him in prison, and I’d forever be grateful to him for that.
Kai was still just as broody and domineering as he always was, but it had shifted. He was relaxed at home, loved to cuddle, and was letting me in on some of the shit he never shared with me before. He joked around with Avro and seemed to enjoy the constant banter with Jace. I still didn’t want to know what he did as an enforcer. It was probably wrong of me to turn the other cheek and ignore it, but so did all the other wives. It was a conscious choice we all needed to make. If I wanted to be with him, I needed to decide what was more important to me, and it always came back to the same answer. I loved Kai more than I cared about my moral compass or my soul after I was dead.
We’d finally gotten Avro to cave and talked into selling his place, and now we were all chipping in to revamp a mansion where all of us could live. It was best to have neutral ground to start fresh and build new memories. I thought it might break his heart since he’d worked so hard to buy it, but since we found the ideal location and he was helping with the remodeling and interior design of the new house, he came around. Of course, we all knew everything was going to be overly labeled.
I’d decided to go back to school rather than work at Eclipse. It was never my dream job. I loved it there because of Avro. He decided he couldn’t go back once he got the all-clear, especially with the world knowing he and Jace were involved. Avro shocked me by deciding to be the band’s new manager. No one was more suited, with his organization, ability to tell people no—and still sound like it was a maybe—to talk his way into venues for performances, and come up with fun photo-ops and stunts for the band’s social media. You’ve never seen someone more protective, and he kept a tight hold and eye over Jace’s finances to make sure no one was taking advantage of him or the band. It was the perfect match, and Jace seemed calmer. His newest songs were all at the top of the charts, and he was home more than ever.
I had to do some serious self-reflection to understand what really made me happy. I wanted to help people, specifically those traumatized or in the system. I had firsthand knowledge of the struggles, and if I could help even one person, that was what I wanted to do. What that job looked like was still undetermined, but it felt right.
Jace and Kai were scaring me. I wasn’t sure I liked them getting along. They still sniped at one another and would take every opportunity to piss the other off, but I never felt like it would turn into a fight like it did before. There was an underlying respect now that wasn’t there previously.
I grabbed my purse and other bags from the mall and walked out to the front of the store.
“See you next week Emma,” I called out.
“See you later, Raine.”
I shouldered open the door and did the usual sweep of my surroundings. It always felt like I was still being watched. I was kidnapped twice and almost saw Jace killed, so I found myself looking over my shoulder again, and I hated it. Kai kept telling me it was normal. Avro told me to give myself a break. Jace…well Jace was always pushing me emotionally. But I still had the fear that Frank was hidden around every corner.
Avro was finally walking and working out now. He’d offered to come with me today, but I didn’t want him to see the dress and all the other purchases, like their gifts, I’d gotten for the ceremony.
Stuffing all the bags in the trunk, I wandered around the car and hopped into the driver’s seat. I couldn’t figure out why I’d waited so long to get my driver’s license. The feeling of freedom it brought was undeniable. Something thumped as I pulled out of the parking spot, and I jumped. I looked in the back seat, my heart racing, only to find that it was the container of windshield wash I’d picked up earlier and forgot was there.
“Shit, I meant to put you in,” I said to the blue liquid as I tried to tame my racing heart. My teeth ground together, the anger seeping in. Whenever I jumped like a scared rabbit, I was angry afterward. Smacking the steering wheel, I finished pulling out and drove to the exit.
“I need to find a way to get over this.”
I got over jumping at my shadow once, and I wouldn’t let what happened at the ranch hold me back or keep me scared. He didn’t get that kind of power.
My cell phone rang, and I hit the answer button, a smile already on my face at the sight of Jace’s name.
“Hey there,” I answered. “All okay?”
“Define okay,” Jace said as something crashed in the background. I could clearly hear Avro and Kai yelling at one another.
“Oh shit. I thought we were past all this. What’s wrong?” My heart sank thinking they would be on bad terms for the ceremony.
“Let’s just say I’m never agreeing to us doing any of the final renovations again. These two can’t make their mind up about anything, and now the brand-new faucets don’t work. Avro is blaming Kai ‘cause he bought them on clearance, and…anyway. I know it’s a lot to ask, but just to keep world war three from breaking out in here, can you please go and pick up a couple of new sets for the bathrooms?”
“I swear to god, Kai, you never listen!” Avro yelled, and I cringed. Avro never yelled, which meant he had to be pretty fired up.
“Yeah, of course, I’ll head to the hardware store close to home. I’ll get there before they close for the night.” I glanced at the time, knowing I’d be cutting it close since they closed at six, and it was already almost five, but I flicked on the turn signal and headed that way.
“Thanks, I’ll keep them from killing each other. Fucking children.” Jace hung up the phone, and once more, it was like the world had turned upside down. When had Jace become the calm one, and Avro and Kai argued? Men…
“Are you kidding me?” I grumbled when I saw the yellow caution tape blocking off a huge section of the parking lot for repaving. Of course, it was crazy busy, and I found a single parking spot around the corner of the building. “Unbelievable,” I said as I pulled into the lone spot at the end.
Sighing, I got out and did my usual sweep for the boogeyman, but there was only the sound of workers, birds, and cars on the road—no sign of any monsters lurking.
It took forever to find and match the right faucets to the images that Jace sent. I swear it was like they were hidden on purpose. Then I ended up stuck in a massive line to check out, and I swear if I got to the front and they said they were now closed, it wouldn’t just be Avro going postal.
Bags in hand, I marched for the car. Food was next on my list. The old kitchen was ripped out, and we still had weeks to go before it was functioning again, so I was picking up pizza. I still hadn’t found as good of a spot near us as Terry’s, but Jace was begging to invest in an expansion. He might get Terry to cave, which was amazing and dangerous. The last thing I needed was a pizza place I could eat at every day within walking distance from the new property.
My phone rang as I got to the trunk of my car, and I stuffed my hand in my pocket. It was like a trap as the rings caught, and I couldn’t get my hand back out. The gates to the back of the store opened, and I glanced over my shoulder as a large cube truck left with product.
