“I love you,” I whispered against his lips.
He nuzzled my nose before he pulled away.
“I love you too, sweetness.”
His arms fell back to his sides. I stepped up to Francis. The way his silver-grey eyes glittered as he took me in had my heart soaring.
“Let me guess, you chose the colours and the furniture.”
“How did you know?”
“Because it’s you, Frankie.”
He took my hand and tugged me against his chest.
“Me, eh?”
“Yeah, my sneaky deviant who knows me so damn well, it’s scary sometimes.”
He rested his forehead against mine and cupped the back of my neck.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It’s a compliment of the highest order because I’m so in love with you, I don’t know what to do with myself.”
His smile could have lit up the whole damn room. Francis deserved all my love, praise, and compliments. He was my safety in all the madness of our lives.
“My beautiful little whore, I love you to the stars and back.”
I didn’t want to leave his embrace. Never wanted to be apart from him. And I had him for life, along with the others. What more could a girl ask for? What more could she want? They had given me everything and so much more.
Francis pressed a kiss to my lips and let me go, stroking his hand down my arm. I looked around and frowned.
“Where’s West?”
He appeared at the top of the stairs just as I spoke. I watched him descend them and come right up to me. In his hands, there were a bunch of papers. He grabbed my hand with his free one and tugged me back into my new room. I found myself deposited in his lap on the sofa a few seconds later. He set the papers down next to me and cupped my face in both of his hands.
“My little Scar.”
“What part of this room is your input?”
He smiled and nodded up at the painting of Nyx and her horsemen. I couldn’t help grinning.
“It’s perfect.”
“No, you’re perfect. My little warrior.”
“And you’re the love of my life.”
West kissed me, reminding me of why I’d fallen in love with him all those years ago. And the breach between us was healed after all these months of being in a strange sort of limbo. Repairing what had broken between the five of us was tough, but every second had been worth it. I wouldn’t change our lives for the world.
Francis, Prescott, and Drake joined us on the sofa when West released me. It was big enough for the five of us to sit comfortably. They’d made sure we could all be in here together whenever I wanted.
“We have one final thing for you,” West said, picking up the papers he’d set aside. “These are the deeds to your mother’s flat. We were able to buy it after we made Fortuity a success. We’ve taken care of it for all these years, and now, we want to give it to you.”
I took the pages from his hands and looked them over.
“When you’re ready, we’ll sort out transferring it into your name, but it’s yours, little Scar, to do with what you wish.”
I remembered when I’d gone there to search for my mother. The guy next door told me someone came to visit it regularly. It had been the boys all along. It made me happy to know they’d done this for me. They’d made sure I had a home if I wanted it. The home I’d grown up in. Was there anything they wouldn’t do for me?
“Thank you… I don’t know what I’ll do with it but thank you. I appreciate it so much.”
I set the pages down and curled up in West’s lap, holding him close, and kissed his neck. He pressed his lips to my forehead.
The five of us watched the sun setting over the city together. There was a certain sort of peace in knowing all the things and people who had caused your suffering were gone. One that left you content and safe. And I couldn’t have asked for more from the taxing day I’d had to come home to these four, surprising me with such a beautiful space.
Forty Five
Scarlett
My hand tightened in West’s as we trod down a path we’d been along before many times when we’d been younger. I tipped my head back to look up at the night’s sky. It would be dawn soon, but for now, the moon shone above us. There were a few stars out, but most were obscured by the light pollution in the city.
Perhaps this was an absolutely crazy idea, but neither of us were known for taking the sane route in life. We’d always played by our own rules. Done things our own way. This was no different.
West and I had come here with one specific purpose. To fix what had broken almost eleven years ago after the most traumatic event of our lives. Because, really, both of us were deeply affected by the night of my accident in the worst possible way. We’d lost each other. The person we thought we would spend our life with. And, although we were together now, it was our own personal trauma related to what happened we wanted to address.
West led me into the shell of the building and up the three flights of stairs to reach the place where it had all come to a head. Someone had cleaned away the sick from when I’d thrown up here last time. I’d learnt from Drake this site was owned by the same man who ran the club Prescott had taken me. Zayn Villetti, the son of the mafia kingpin, Gennaro. A man I wasn’t sure I wanted to be properly introduced to.
Before I’d come back into the boys’ lives, I had no idea what lurked beneath the surface of polite society. The criminal underworld was not something I ever expected to be involved with. I guess from the moment I became a killer, it became a part of my life even if we were done with that side of things now.
It had been a couple of months since the fire at the estate. The police had wrapped up their investigation last week. It had been deemed an accident, and the case closed. I was pretty sure if it had been fully investigated, they would have opened a homicide and arson case, but it never got that far, thanks to the commissioner. He made sure any evidence of foul play wasn’t brought to light. We were in the clear. Not that they would have had evidence of our involvement as we’d been thorough, but you could never be too careful.
West set down the bag he’d brought and kissed my forehead. He left me to look out over the city whilst he prepared things. Being here made me feel all sorts of things, but I kept a lid on it. Having West there helped me stay in control. His presence was my grounding force.
We’d talked about this for weeks before making the decision to return to the scene of my accident one last time. Some places had the power to keep you captive in your own mind. I didn’t want to be afraid any longer. I wanted to take back my power and set myself free. It was lucky West felt the exact same way.
“Little Scar.”
I turned to find he’d set out a blanket on the concrete along with several items we would need. Now we were here, there was no going back. I had no qualms about doing this with him.