Epilogue Three

Epilogue Three Declan

About two years later

Why did I even come on this run?

I heave a sigh and run my hands over my face, wishing at least Luca or Noah were here too. No, instead I’m with the crazies. How did I even get roped into babysitter duty for Scarlett, Kade, and Ryder? It’s like trying to herd cats.

Pulling out my phone I send a text to both Luca and Noah to remind them they owe me for having to do this today. I thought they might grow out of some of their rashness after we finally settled old debts, but they seem to only get worse with age. More confident. More outlandish. Somehow, even more savage. Forever a game between the three of them to see who can top the others’ ridiculous antics.

At least today is a relatively easy run. All we have to do is clear out an abandoned warehouse. One of Josie’s teams already rescued and evacuated the visitors. All we have to do is go in and clean up the rest of the crew that missed the initial raid and have come back to salvage what they can.

It won’t be much. Josie’s teams are trained to be thorough. But since it was on our turf, it was obvious we could not only take care of this part, but also use it to send a clear message. We keep our city clear of the skin market. Publicly, we keep our noses out of it. As long as it stays out of our town.

Some brave soul thought to test that this week. Perfect time to set an example.

Which of course has the trio of psychos all excited as they come up with ideas for how to send a message. “We are not using intestines to spell out words, pretty girl. Absolutely the fuck not.” Why is she so obsessed with playing with organs? Kade opens his mouth to argue and I cut him off with a glare. Fucking cats, I swear.

“You guys are giving Declan gray hairs,” Noah laughs through the comms.

“That’s just his old age,” Ryder quips and I debate leaving them on their own and going back home.

“No, D,” Noah warns. “If you’re not there they really will decorate the warehouse with organs as Christmas decorations.”

Kade stops and looks thoughtful. “That’s actually a great idea.”

“No!” Noah and I both shout. Ugh. Fuck Noah for making a good point.

“What about painting the walls red?” Ryder asks. “With their blood. Obviously.”

I rub my temples as I motion for them all to start moving again. This run is going to take way longer than it should. I can already tell. “Why would you even want to?” The amount of work it would take for so little pay off. Make it make sense. “Just paint the rose like always.”

Scarlett huffs an annoyed sound. “We always do that,” she whines.

I eye her suspiciously. She’s always a brewer of chaos, a shit-stirrer, but why does she actually sound annoyed with me right now? Normally half the fun for her is that the three of us that are still somewhat sane become exasperated with her antics. She enjoys needling us. “That’s why it’s become your signature, pretty girl.”

“It’s boring.” She pouts, jutting out her bottom lip as she stops walking again. I sigh as I wrap my arm around her shoulders and kiss her temple.

“Would you feel better if I gave you the ax back?”

Her eyes light up. “Really?”

I nod. “Next run,” I promise her and am relieved when the annoyance in her eyes disappears.

“Do I get mine back?” Ryder asks.

“Absolutely not,” I answer at the same time Luca curses through the comms, “Fuck no.”

Now, it’s Ryder’s turn to stop walking and I force myself to take a deep breath. We should be jogging the route, but Scarlett didn’t want to. Which is shocking in and of itself. I narrow my eyes again as I study her at my side.

“If I suck your dick will I get it back?” he asks sarcastically. Luca doesn’t even bother to respond.

“Practice your pout,” I recommend. “When it’s as cute as hers, I’ll consider it.”

Luca snorts. “I won’t. She’s barely getting hers back.” He pauses as if remembering why the two of them lost them in the first place. “On a probationary period,” he warns her and Scarlett rolls her eyes but doesn’t argue.

“Don’t practice your ax throwing in the middle of a run next time,” I advise.

Ryder finally starts moving down the tunnels again and I check my phone. We should be close to the exit we need now. “He was going to die anyway,” Ry grumbles.

“We still wanted answers out of him but he bled out too fast after you accidentally hit his femoral artery.”

Scarlett leans her head against my shoulder and yawns, her pace slowing down a little bit. “If you let us practice more, our aim would be better.”

I kiss the top of her head. “When you learn not to get too carried away.”

“Friendly reminder,” Noah says softly. “Everyone is coming over in an hour and a half.” A not-so-subtle remark to get us moving. It wasn’t supposed to take us an hour to get there. It should have taken twenty-five minutes at most.

“You ready to pick up the pace, pretty girl?”

She sighs but straightens and pulls away from me. “I guess.”

Thankfully the rest of the run goes much more smoothly. Only running into a couple of disagreements with Kade and Ry about how to dispose of the bodies. Scarlett is at least content with just leaving the signature bleeding rose behind in a message. She’s always a bit more reasonable after being able to slit a couple throats. Coffee usually has the same effect at least.

“Pretty girl?” I call as I look over the final scene. Everything is how we want to leave it. And I was able to keep the mayhem to a minimum. Promising Scarlett her ax back worked better than expected. Where did she go? Maybe I spoke too soon. I call Kade’s and Ry’s attention before asking, “Where is Scarlett?”

They both shrug before looking around to realize she isn’t in our sight. The warehouse is a fairly open space, not many places to hide. I sigh and begin to move toward the back hallway. It’s the only place she could be where she’d be out of sight. Footsteps behind me let me know Kade and Ry are following me.

We find her crouched over in the corner, her back to us. “Pretty girl, what are you doing?”

She turns her head and looks up at me, her eyes filled with moisture. As she opens her mouth, the tears begin to spill down her cheeks. “Look how cute they are, Declan” she cries, holding up a tiny kitten. It squeaks a sound that can hardly be called a meow as she lifts it in the air. It’s barely the size of her hand. It can’t be more than a couple weeks old.

I crouch down beside her and see three more kittens just slightly bigger than the one Scarlett cradles in her hands. Their eyes are just barely starting to open. They must not be even two weeks old yet. “They’re very cute,” I pacify Scarlett, gently rubbing her back.

“Where is their mom?” She cries harder, hugging the poor kitten to her chest. I’m not a vet, but the kittens look even smaller than they should. If I had to guess, I would have to say something happened to the mother cat. But I can’t bring myself to say that to her when she’s already so emotional about finding them.

I have to tamper down my smile. The picture is becoming more and more clear throughout the day, but I don’t want to say anything too soon.

“How about we take them home with us?” I offer instead of answering her question.

She uses the back of her hand to wipe her tears from her cheeks. “Can we really?”

“Of course, pretty girl.”

She looks down at the small kittens, gently running her finger over one of their backs. They’re a mix of black and gray and white. “What about their mom?”

I huff a laugh. Time for a little payback. “Kade and Ry will stay behind and look for her.” The fact neither one of them argues is enough to tell me they’re thrown by her emotional outburst. I wonder if they’ve landed on the most likely reason yet. Ryder was just saying her boobs seemed bigger this morning. I hadn’t thought anything of it in the moment.

She nods slowly as she climbs to her feet. I help her scoop up the kittens and ask Noah to pick us up outside the closest exit to the tunnel. Scarlett doesn’t need to make the long trek back through the tunnels. Especially not with our new friends who seem to be starving. Maybe we can get a vet to come to the house as well.

As soon as we get in the car, I’m pulling out my phone to make it happen. I want to get Scarlett home for a very important test. Noah meets my eyes in the rearview mirror and his smile mirrors my own. He knows.

Roe’s about to become a big sister.