They buried Tristy on a Saturday morning.
No one attended the graveside service except Tink and me. We brought Fighter along, so he could pay his last respects to his biological mother, but the windy day kept taking his breath, so Eva carried him to the car, and I was left alone to say goodbye to my oldest companion.
I knew I should've mourned her loss, but mostly I just felt relieved. She didn't have to suffer anymore, and I didn't have to worry about her anymore.
"That witch was wrong," I told her as I tossed a handful of dirt into the hole on her casket. "You didn't die alone. You had your beautiful little boy with you. I can't think of any better company in the world than that. I swear, Tris, I will bring him up right and teach him to love the memory of you."
Then I turned away to join my family at the car.
I made love to Eva that night slowly, worshiping every dip and curve of her body. She held me afterward, stroking her fingers over my heart tattoo, and I kissed her hair. I knew I should be happy. We were finally together without breaking any marital vows. But uncertainties continued to plague me.
What would happen to Julian when the state finally realized I wasn't any kind of legal guardian to him? How much longer did we have with him? And what about Eva's father?
She'd expressed her concern about him more than once, but I'd told her everything would be okay. What could he really do to us? Her uneasiness made me antsy, though. She knew the douche bag a hell of a lot better than I did. If she felt certain he'd try to get back at us for the way I'd kicked his ass, then I couldn't discount the idea either.
Unfortunately, the next day, one of my worry-filled questions was answered.
When the boss's daughter Jessie called all the Forbidden employees in for a Sunday afternoon meeting while the place was still closed, I hoped to God she was going to announce that her dad was ready to return to work and take over running the place again. Gamble had pretty much taken charge since the owner had been out of commission, and I hated having Gamble boss me around.
I arrived about ten minutes before the conference. All the other bartenders, plus most of the waitresses, as well as the two cooks, had already arrived and were loitering around the back of the club by the bar.
Needing my fellow bartenders to lift my mood, I bumped my arm into Quinn's elbow when I approached him from behind.
I nodded my chin at him and grinned as he turned to acknowledge me. "How's that tongue of yours doing, kid?"
He flushed. "Good."
Next to him, Ten laughed and jabbed Quinn in the belly teasingly. "Aww, look at that humble little grin, while I know for a fact his girl can't keep her hands off him. Always begging to stay the night, unable to stop kissing him. He's turned her into a fucking nympho."
"And he keeps saying she can't stay over." Quinn scowled at his new roommate. "But I don't care if he brings women in overnight. It's not fair."
"Hey, life's not fair," Ten said, completely unrepentant about refusing Quinn more time with his girl.
"Maybe you should tell him he can't have any women over until he agrees to let your—"
"Save it," Ten cut in, scowling at me for putting in my two cents worth. "I don't care if he bars them from my bedroom; I'll just take them somewhere else to fuck . . . like he's going to keep doing with Cora."
"See," Quinn told me. "He won't budge on the issue at all."
When I noticed Ten shift uncomfortably behind Quinn's back, I decided Ten probably had a damn good reason for saying no, and I had a bad feeling it'd leave me pissed at him. But I didn't get to think about it much because Jessie strolled out from the back hall.
"Everyone here?" she asked. "Good." Before waiting to hear that a handful of waitresses hadn't arrived yet, she kept talking. "Dad got an offer to sell this place, and he took it. Meet your new boss."
Just like that, she dropped the big news. No easing into it, no foreplay to soften us up and tell us what good workers we'd been to her family. Just . . . boom. New boss.
What the hell?
Gasps and questions flew around me as my jaw fell open. But damn, I hadn't expected this to happen. I glanced at the other guys, and they returned the same puzzled glances before Mason glanced over and his eyes went wide.
"Oh, shit," he whispered.
I turned and froze.
Bradshaw Mercer strolled out of the hallway behind Jessie, looking as rich, polished, and pristine as ever. When his gaze met mine, his smile grew.
"Good afternoon, everyone." He nodded pleasantly, breaking his gaze with me before looking at all the others as if he were some kind of honorable businessman.