CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Before the team set out to trap their killer, they met with the wives for breakfast to give a final holiday gift that had been a long time coming.

For years, they were in the shadows, rarely traveling for enjoyment, fearful that someone might recognize them or come for their loved ones. When the mess happened with that sensationalist talk show host, they were forced to face the public.

Fortunately, it was the push they needed to be reminded that most of their enemies were dead or so old they barely remembered their own names, let alone the faces of the REAPER or RP team.

Now, they knew they were safe to go out and enjoy their lives with their wives.

“I’m almost nervous,” said Ian.

“For good reason,” said Trak with his trademark wisdom. “We’ve almost held them hostage for decades. We’ve made excuses about why they couldn’t go somewhere, or we couldn’t take them. It was wrong. It was cruel.”

Every man in the room looked at him, nodding in agreement.

“You’re right, brother,” said Tailor. “I thought I was protecting Lena by keeping her hidden. It was selfish of me. I just wanted to keep her home so that no one could take her from me.”

“Our reasons were honorable,” said Ghost, “but our logic was for shit. These women are amazingly resilient and tough. They know more about the cruelties of the world than we ever will.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Otto.

“Think about it, brother. Almost every wife experienced a traumatic event and survived. Not because of us. I mean, we might have ‘saved’ them, but they were responsible for surviving. Look at Robin. She survived nearly being trafficked, her sisters being killed, and nearly losing her life a second time.

“Grace survived the loss of her twin daughters, that bastard beating her close to death, and then all the shit that went down with the Steel Patriots. That woman is twenty times stronger than I’ll ever be.”

“They all are,” said Wilson. “I can’t believe we’ve been so egotistical and macho to believe that they were the weaker of each of us. They’ve always been the strong ones. Always.”

They heard soft sniffles behind them and turned to see their wives wiping their eyes, smiling at them.

“Thank you for saying that,” said Erin, smiling at the men. “That’s all we ever wanted to hear was for all of you to realize that we aren’t fragile pieces of china that will break if you hold us too tightly.”

“Erin is right,” said Faith. “You’re amazing, wonderful men, and we know that you will always be there for us. But occasionally, we’d like to be there for all of you.”

“But you are,” said Miller. “You all are all the time. That’s the point. We’ve realized what assholes we’ve been our entire marriages. We thought we were being protective, and what we were really doing was being controlling.”

“A little bit,” smirked Kari, kissing her husband. “Sometimes, I like the controlling side of you.”

“We adore you,” said Alec. “All of you. Lissa is my true love, but if anything happened to any one of you, my world would be dark. I’d tear this world apart to find the person who dared to touch any of you.”

“Don’t you think we feel the same way?” said Alexandra. “I know that you look at me and see this tiny little woman that looks like an elf, but I’m stronger than you think.”

“You’re damn sure stronger than I am,” said Gaspar, pulling his wife onto his lap. “Which is why we’re going to correct a wrong.”

“A wrong?” frowned Lauren. She felt Trak’s arms come around her, pulling her to his chest. The safety net was launched and secure, and she smiled in his warm embrace.

“We should have done this years ago, all of us,” said Wilson. “I hate that we didn’t. All of us, every last damn one of us, either had a shortened honeymoon or never got one. It was our fault, not yours. We’re going to correct that.”

“How?” asked Savannah. “A second honeymoon?”

“Sort of,” smiled Rafe. “Let’s call it a family honeymoon.”

“We, all of us,” said Baptiste, “are taking all of you to Italy for three weeks.”

The women stared at them, gasping. They’d asked for a vacation, but the truth was they expected a few nights in a cabin in the mountains, not Italy.

“You all deserve this and so much more,” said Bull. “We leave the week before Valentine’s Day. We’ll fly into Rome, stay a few days, then we’ll be touring through Tuscany, Naples, Bologna, Venice, and Milan. Three weeks of sightseeing, eating, shopping, yes, I said shopping, and just loving one another.”

“I can’t believe this,” smiled Lily. “I’ve always wanted to visit the museums of Rome.”

“I know, baby. I’m sorry it took me so long to do this.”

“You guys really pulled this one off,” said Grace. “What if something comes up? I mean, are you shutting down Gray Wolf for three weeks?”

“We’re not shutting it down,” said Nine. “We’ve asked some of the senior members of VG to fill in for us. They’ll either handle urgent matters or ask people to wait until we return. It will be fine.”

“In the meantime,” smirked Gaspar, “we’ve got gift cards for each of you to buy whatever you need, whatever you want for the trip. The SUVs are completely decked out and secure with our new security features. A couple of the younger VG guys will take you wherever you want to go, just to be safe.”

“Escorts? Really, babe?” asked Alexandra.

“It’s all we ask. To make us feel better,” said Gaspar. Alexandra kissed him, her hands framing his face.

“I would do anything for you. Anything,” she whispered.

“How did we get so fucking lucky,” said Baptiste as he kissed Rose.

“We all know the answer to that,” she laughed. She looked at the other women, and in perfect harmony, they all said it.

“Mama Irene!”