Chapter Thirteen

Priest

" Y ou want to do what?" Riley practically shouts, her eyes bugging out of her head as she paces back and forth across her office, her heels clicking against the hardwood.

"I want to—"

She whirls on me, cutting me off. "I heard you the first time," she mutters, exasperated. "I just wanted to be wrong."

"Yeah, well, you aren't." I strum my fingers against my leg, staring at her. "Can you make it happen or not?"

She plants her hands on her hips, scowling down at me. "Of course I can make it happen, Priest. But are you sure? I mean, once you do this, there's no going back." Her gaze flits to Mina, who is seated beside me, her fingers laced through mine. "It'll change everything."

"We're aware," I say, answering for both of us. We've discussed it at length over the last week, considering it carefully from every angle. We've even talked it through with a goddamn shrink, trying to make sure we know exactly what the fuck we're about to get ourselves into. And despite all of that…we still want to do this.

Back is the last goddamn place we want to go. I've spent the last six years chasing my past. She's spent them clinging to the ghosts of hers. Now, we finally have a chance to move forward.

We're ready. Christ, we're more than ready.

"Let's do it then," Riley mutters, throwing her hands up, seeming frazzled in a way she never has before now. She's always been unflappable to me, completely cool no matter what we've thrown at her since I joined Winter's band. But I guess even she has her limits. "Let's just pretend you died in Mexico and she's marrying Priest Alcalde, Winter's crazy new guitarist. Why not?"

"It's the best way to protect our daughter," I murmur, earning a nod from Mina. If we tell the world the truth, we'll start a media frenzy unlike anything we've ever seen before. They'll be camped outside the goddamn door morning, noon, and night, hounding us for every little detail about our lives and what we went through. We'll be forced to face it over and over again whether we want to face it or not. And so will Brinley.

There are things she shouldn't have to know, things she shouldn't have to go through just so our family ends up together. If we can protect her from that, we owe it to her to do that.

One day, when she's old enough, we'll tell her everything. She deserves the truth. But right now, she's a five-year-old little girl. And she also deserves every chance to be a little girl. If I have to be Priest Alcalde so my daughter has the opportunity to life her life without cameras being thrust into her face while she's asked intrusive fucking questions about what it's like to have her daddy come back from the dead, then that's what the fuck I'll do. I was him for six years. I can be him as long as it takes to keep my wife and daughter safe.

The people who matter will know the truth. At the end of the day, that's all I need. It's all Mina needs, too. We know who we are. We know what we want. Doesn't matter what name the rest of the world calls me. Behind closed doors, I'll always be Grayson—her Grayson. And she and Brinley will be my fucking world, exactly the way they were meant to be all along.

Lionel Cordova has taken enough from us. He can keep the past and the pain. We have the future. And we get to make it together. He'll never get to take that from us, never get to interfere again. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what goddamn name the world calls me. I'll still belong to Mina and Brinley. They'll still belong to me. And that motherfucker will still be six feet under, unable to take a single goddamn thing from us ever again.

Riley's expression softens as she glances between the two of us. "I like the two of you together," she admits, her dimples popping out. "You're both insane, but it works for you. You look happy. Both of you."

"We are," I whisper, swallowing hard. For the first time in a long goddamn time, I actually know what happiness feels like. It's…peaceful. Easy. It's Mina's fingers laced with mine, our future stretching before us.

Goddamn, it feels good.

"Does this mean they're going on tour with you?"

I freeze at the question, my body going rigid. Fucking hell. I forgot all about the tour. For a minute, panic surges through me, turning my blood to ice. I can't go on tour. I can't leave. I need to be here with them. I just got them back. If I leave now…

"Yes," Mina says, her soft voice slicing through the panic.

I suck in a desperate breath, gripping her fingers tight as panic dissolves to bliss.

"Good." Riley smiles. "I'll start making calls then."

I exhale a grateful breath, relieved as hell she's in our corner.

"No!" Brinley screams, stomping her foot as tears well in her eyes. "No, Daddy!"

"Brinley baby," I croon, kneeling in front of her. "Easy, baby girl."

She shoves me away, screaming again.

"Brinley Grace, you stop that right now," Mina says.

"You promised!" Brinley yells, glaring at her mom and then at me. "You promised we were going to be a family again!"

"Baby girl." My heart clenches in my chest, threatening to shatter. Fucking hell, she's killing me. "Please, listen to me."

"I don't want to l-listen," she sobs. "You're leaving me again."

"Baby, no." I drag her into my arms, holding her tight. "I'm not leaving you. You and your mama are coming with me. You hear me? You're coming with me."

Her little body shakes in my arms. "I'm c-coming with you?"

"Yeah, baby girl," I whisper, running my hands through her fiery hair. "You and your mommy are going to come on tour with me. It'll be a little adventure."

"Really?" She pulls back to look at me, her watery green eyes rife with suspicion. "I get to c-come?"

"You get to come." I bump my forehead gently against hers and smile. "You even get to go to school on the road."

Apparently, this is not good news to her. Her expression morphs into a scowl as she glances between me and her mom. "I have to do school on the road?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mina says, her voice firm. "You do if you want to go on tour with your daddy."

Brinley chews on her quivering bottom lip. "Do I have to do it all day?"

"You have to do it as long as it takes," Mina says.

Our daughter huffs. "But how long is that, Mommy?"

"As long as it takes, Brinley Grace."

I bite my lip, fighting a smile. Jesus Christ. She's just fucking like Mina. The two of them are going to be fire and ice when she's a teenager. I can already see it happening.

"Fine." Brinley looks at me with wide, innocent eyes. "Can I still meet Kasen, Daddy?"

A growl rumbles from my lips. "No."

Her bottom lip quivers again, a fresh wave of tears welling in her eyes.

Ah, fuck.

"I mean, maybe when we get back, princess."

"Promise?"

I glance up at Mina, only to find her fighting laughter. I narrow my eyes at her. This is her fault. She gave me a daughter. A perfect, priceless little angel. And that perfect, priceless little angel is already stressing me the fuck out. I'm supposed to be her hero. Not Kasen Alexander.

"Yeah," I sigh, rubbing her back. "Promise."

She squeals, throwing her arms around me. And damn if that doesn't make me feel fifty feet tall and bulletproof.

"Go brush your teeth, lovebug," Mina murmurs after a moment. "We'll be there in a minute to get you tucked in."

Brinley nods, hugs me again, and then scurries out of the room.

"You looked like you could use a minute," Mina says softly, resting her hand against my back.

"I'm jealous as hell that Kasen is her hero," I admit. "I never got to be that for her, and she's already outgrowing me."

"Hey." Mina cups my cheek, turning my face toward her. "You know why she wants to meet him so bad?"

"Because she's obsessed with him," I growl, scowling at the thought.

"No." She smiles gently. "He wrote that song Daddy's Little Girl . It's her favorite," she whispers. "She listens to it constantly, Grayson. You know why? Because even when you weren't here, she's always been your little girl. You've always been her hero. She loves that song because she loves you. Kasen gave her something that made her feel connected to you , that's why she adores him so much."

"Fuck," I whisper, swallowing the lump in my throat. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to the way my girls love me. I see it. I feel it. But fuck me, it's so good it hurts in the best way possible.

I pull myself together, haul myself to my feet, and drag Mina into my arm, awe and gratitude crashing together in the center of my chest. "Thank you," I breathe, my lips coming down on hers. "Thank you for giving me this. For giving me her. For letting me back in." I exhale a shaking breath against her lips, every fiber of my being straining toward this incredible woman. "Thank you for choosing me again and again."

She smiles up at me, her emerald eyes light. "Don't you remember, Grayson? I'll always choose you. Always ."