She has a point with that, and if anyone deserves to revel in the destruction we’re heaping on Julian Maduro’s head, it’s River.
Eventually, the bottles are spent, and Gage steps back. He glances at Knox, who nods. We’ve done as much as we can here. The ring smells like chemicals, and all we need now is the fire.
Knox holds up a box of matches with a savage grin on his face.
“Who wants to do the honors?” he asks.
“I’ll do it.” The words are out of my mouth before I even really take the time to consider them, and I surprise myself by saying them.
The group looks to me, and Knox tosses me the box. I pull a match from the box, holding it between my fingers for a second. Then I strike it, and the flames leap to the little bulb. The scent of ash and smoke fills my nose, but I keep my head and flick the match right at a little puddle of accelerant on the floor.
It ignites immediately, and the flames snap and spread, following the trails of fluid on the floor to the walls.
“Fuck,” Knox breathes. “Okay, time to go.”
We hustle out of there, moving quickly. Our ride is parked a little down the road, and we only wait long enough to make sure the building is going to go up completely. And it’s pretty clear that it is. The flames are already climbing, bursting out the windows and licking at the walls of the building, engulfing it in flickering red and amber.
That’s all we really need to see, and we get into the car and peel out.
It’s a quick drive back to the house, and we strip off our masks and some of our gear once we get through the door. River hesitates once her face is free, and it looks like she wants to say something.
It’s so clear how attuned to her we all are because we all notice and turn to look at her, waiting.
She bites her lip, and then her face softens.
“Thank you,” she says quietly. “For helping with this. For putting so much of your own business aside to help me take on Julian.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “It used to scare me, how willing you are to do this for me. But it doesn’t make me afraid anymore. It just makes me feel…”
River trails off, like she doesn’t know how to put it into words. She shakes her head and looks up at us again, glancing around.
“Thank you,” she repeats. “For this, and for everything.”
I stride over to her and take her face in my hands. I look down at her, those dark blue eyes, her sliver hair. The soft expression on her face that we don’t usually get to see when she’s being so determined all the time. It’s new, and I’m coming to cherish it every time I see it.
I dip my head and kiss her, losing myself in it a little bit. River leans up into the kiss, giving back as good as I give her.
When we break apart, her lips are red and her eyes are bright.
“There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you,” I tell her, my voice soft but insistent. “I mean that.”
And I know the others agree with me.
I don’t look away or try to hide how I feel, and I can see it when River sees the truth in my eyes. Emotion passes through her eyes, something soft and a little bit fragile. I can guess that she hasn’t had very many people in her life who have vowed to take care of her and take up her causes as their own.
This isn’t her first quest of vengeance, but it is probably the first one she’s had where she isn’t doing it alone. Where she knows she has back up and protection and people who give as much of a shit about it as she does.
She can see that I understand that, and that emotion builds between us. River gazes up at me, and I try to put as many promises as I can into my gaze as I look back.
Of course, then Knox has to break the tension by clapping loudly and grinning. “This calls for a motherfucking toast!”
28
River
The moment with Priest breaks, and we all move into the kitchen where Knox has taken over pouring shots. My heart is still beating a little faster than usual, from everything I saw in Priest’s eyes. It’s hard to believe that he once seemed like the coldest of all the men. Now that I’ve seen the fire inside him, I can’t help but be drawn to that flame like a moth.
Getting to see more of him, to understand his pain and suffering and know that he understands mine too, has changed everything between us. I want to see more and more of who he is inside. I can’t get enough.
Knox starts sliding shot glasses across to all of us, and I take mine, swirling the dark liquid around. He raises his glass in a toast, grinning in a combination of joy and savage pleasure at what we just did.
“To putting Julian fucking Maduro in a body bag one day,” he says, his voice practically a snarl.
We all drink to that, knocking back our shots. The whiskey burns going down, and I lick my lips. In my head, I make an extra promise to Hannah that one day this will be done and she’ll be at peace.
Gage looks over and catches my eye.
“When this is all over, I’ve been thinking about some things you could do with our business,” he says. “It’s no secret that you have plenty of skills, and you’d fit right in for some of the things we need.”
He talks like I’m one of them. Like when this is over, I’ll be a part of their everyday life. A part of their forever. A permanent fixture in their little family.
“Yeah?” I ask, leaning against the counter.
He nods. “Yeah. We’ve never really thought about expanding our little gang to include anyone else, but you’re a shoe in. We know you. We trust you. We’ve seen you in action.”
I like the sound of that. Of waking up every day and knowing I belong somewhere. With people who know me and see me. I wouldn’t have to pretend to not be fucked up. All the guys understand who I am and why I am the way I am, so it would be so freeing.
“Sure,” I tell him. “I’m up for whatever.”
He smirks a little back at me. “I know.”
“My vote is sexy cage dancer,” Ash says, leaning casually against the counter. “I mean, we have some good ones already, but River in one of those little outfits?” He wolf whistles and grins at me.
“That means everyone else who comes in would get to see her, Ash,” Knox points out. “It’s not like she’d be our own private dancer or anything.”
Ash shrugs. “Sure, but think about it. She’s up there, dancing for everyone, and the whole time we know that she’s going home with us at the end of the night. Everyone else wants her, but only we get to have her. That doesn’t get you going a little bit?” He rubs his chin. “Although now that you mention it... having her be our own private dancer does sound really damn good. We could get one of those cages installed in the back office.”
“In your fucking dreams,” I retort. “Plus, you’ve never seen me dance. I could be terrible at it.”
“The dancing doesn’t really matter.”
“Oh, so you just want me in a cage then?”
“Got it in one, killer.” Ash waggles his eyebrows at me, and I roll my eyes.