Chapter 24

Chapter

Twenty-Four

When Rowena Legrand wanted to throw a party, that bitch threw a party.

After screaming furiously at Cold, she dragged Trev off to get their nails done.

And no, she didn't make them go back into the city to visit a salon but in fact had a manicurist come to the house. She spent a lot of the time fussing about their brother and his big, stupid secret plans, and Trev was happy to nod along.

Why, yes, Cold was an asshole.

But that asshole was their brother and was sending Trev and his boyfriend, plus his crazy friend and his crazy friend's imaginary dog, to a private villa in the Caribbean.

So, maybe Cold wasn't so bad after all.

Once their nails were done, Rowena surprised Trev with a hairstylist who dyed his fading pink hair into a deep magenta.

It was the perfect color to match his new dress—a pink sequined cocktail number with a plunging neckline and short skirt. She had gotten shoes to match—a pair of pink crushed velvet boots with staggering stiletto heels.

Oh, and stockings?

Fishnets, naturally.

The spoils didn't end there.

Rowena had also picked out a collar encrusted with pink diamonds, along with matching chandelier earrings. Trev nearly fainted. Just one of the earrings had to be worth ten times what he had stashed away in his lockbox. He wasn't surprised when Jupiter turned up later in a new suit with a pink tie and glittering cuff links.

There was an entire feast laid out beside the pool, including a hot buffet of Chinese food, a sushi bar, and a hibachi station. The staff were courteous and eager to serve their wares, and Trev could not have imagined a more perfect party.

Yes, most of the guests were criminals— allegedly —but hey, that was part of the fun of being part of a mafia family, right?

Rowena kept the party going by personally topping off drinks and shoving food into faces when needed, and she was a sparkling dream of gold in a glimmering gown with a high slit. With a fierce smile and her infectious cackle, she kept the celebration going well into the night.

Jules was there, but he didn't stay long because he had a flight to catch to meet back up with Brick. He promised to catch up with Trev in St. Thomas and gave the weirdly specific advice of not trying to fuck on the master bathroom counter.

From experience?

Probably.

Valdemar gorged himself on sushi until he passed out next to the pool, and Thirdsies, who was apparently his grandson, dedicated most of his time to making out with the redhead, Pym, on a lawn chair.

Roger and Mickey spent most of their time either fighting or making out. Juicy was cleared by Dr. Queen, and after getting patched up, he came down to join the party. Barkie was with him and really liked playing in the pool, according to Juicy.

Jerry and Charlie were there too, and they helped separate Roger and Mickey whenever their arguing got too intense. Thirdsies and Pym didn't have much to contribute other than Pym trying to hide whenever Mickey brought up his name because Roger had apparently slept with him while Mickey was in prison.

Jimmy and Rowena passed out drinks and did their best to keep everyone happy and fed. The way they wrangled everyone reminded Trev of ringmasters at a circus, and it was clear they had done this before.

It was absolute madness, but Trev was actually enjoying himself.

He was happy to stretch out on one of the plush patio chairs with Jupiter at his side. As far as parties went, this was pretty amazing. The food was great, the drinks were strong, and he looked hot as fuck in his new outfit.

As the hours ticked by, Trev wondered where Cold was. He hadn't seen him since they'd gotten home. He scanned the crowd to find Rowena, waving to get her attention. "Hey!"

Rowena had a sway in her hips as she approached. "Hi, sweetie! Everything okay? You get enough to eat?"

"Yeah, and then some." Trev laughed, patting his stomach. "Another bite and I'm pretty sure I'll pop my zipper."

"Aw, are you sure?"

"Yeah, totally. I was just wondering where Roddy is at? Is he not coming down for the party?"

"Oh, he's here. He's upstairs." Rowena snorted. "Jimmy said he might come down later, but who the fuck knows."

Trev stood. "I'm gonna go talk to him."

Rowena blinked in surprise. "Seriously? Usually it's best to just let him… you know. Brood or whatever he does."

"It won't take long." Trev leaned over to kiss Jupiter.

"Want me to come with you?" Jupiter asked.

"No, it's okay." Trev gave Jupiter's shoulder a squeeze. "I'll be back before you know it. We still gotta pack."

"Pack?" Rowena echoed.

"Yeah, we're leaving tomorrow."

"You mean Monday."

"Uh, no." Trev chuckled. "I agreed to stay for the party, but?—"

"Maybe next Monday?" Rowena batted her eyes.

"I'm going to go talk to Cold." Trev wagged his finger at Jupiter. "Do not let her talk you into staying. We have a beach to get to. A beach where I am planning to have a lot of sex with you. But only if we go."

Jupiter's eyes twinkled and he nodded firmly. "You got it, baby doll."

Trev headed inside, and he was not surprised when he glanced back and saw Rowena had swiped his seat to talk to Jupiter.

Whatever.

A few more days might not be so bad.

Trev chuckled to himself as he walked up to Cold's room, expecting to find the door shut so he'd have to knock. He was surprised to find it not only open, but also to hear music playing.

"Cold?" Trev called out as he cautiously walked in.

"In here," Cold replied.

Cold was seated on his ratty couch, looking at the framed photographs on the wall. A record was playing a jazzy cover of a Patsy Cline song, but Trev couldn't remember the name of it. Trev didn't recognize the singer either, but she had a lovely voice.

Trev approached, listening quietly.

Gaze not leaving the photos, Cold nodded toward the record player and said, "My mother."

"Singing? Wow." Trev smiled. "My mom always said she was a great singer."

"She was." Cold took a small sip from his glass. "You're quite talented too."

" Duh . But please. Tell me more." Trev sat on the couch next to him.

"You figured out where the bodies were buried, probably days ago. You've been keeping it to yourself, waiting for the right time to play it."

"Yeah. And how long have you known? Since you saw the photographs?"

"Much longer than that." Cold tapped the side of his glass. "I learned many years ago that information is a critical asset to maintaining power. With the right secret, you can bend entire cities to your will without firing a single bullet." He smirked. "Or stabbing someone with a steak knife."

Trev scoffed. "Technically, Juicy did the stabbing. I just provided the knife."

"Still. You took the initiative to arm yourself. You're a survivor, right?" Cold chuckled. "If I recall correctly, you said you were going to survive me."

"Yeah." Trev smiled.

"Do you feel that you have?"

"I don't think you're something I need to survive anymore." Trev shrugged. "And maybe, heh, just maybe I understand you a little better now. Even the asshole parts."

Cold laughed. "Is that so?"

"You lost a lot. Made you hard. Made you cold , no pun intended." Trev shrugged. "You put up walls so nobody can get through. You were right when you said we were a lot alike. But I had my mom. At least for a little while. You only had Boris, who as far as I can tell was actually an absolute fucking monster, so…"

Cold tilted his head, staying quiet while Trev gathered his thoughts.

"I'll never know why my mom decided to keep everything from me. Yeah, I can say it was because she wanted to protect me and keep me out of trouble. She loved me. And I could just as easily say the same thing about you and your mafia shenanigans. You did what you did to protect yourself, but you were also looking out for me. And Juicy. And even Jupiter.

"You didn't have to do all that. Getting the Luchesi fuckers to back off or taking care of Juicy the way you have. You did that because you know they're important to me. Could have done without the murder and the lying and all that extra bullshit. You have a really weird fucking love language, but… thank you."

Cold smiled softly. "You're welcome."

"Are we gonna hug again?"

Cold made a face. "I'd prefer that we didn't."

Trev laughed. "Fine. I didn't want to hug you anyway."

Cold tipped his glass back, emptying it. "I'm sure Rowena would be happy to accept any and all physical affections on my behalf."

"I'm sure she's going to chain both me and Jupiter to the fucking bed so we can never leave."

"That is entirely possible." Cold nodded. "She's very fond of you."

"How about I leave Monday? That'll give us the weekend to hang out and celebrate not being murdered or pretend murdered or any kind of murdered."

"As you wish." Cold rose to turn off the record player. "I'll make the arrangements."

"Thank you. We've come quite a ways from me stealing your silverware and trying to escape, huh?"

"That we have." Cold picked up his empty glass to refill it.

"So." Trev fidgeted. "What's gonna happen with Champignon? You think he's gonna be pissed you just cut him off from his Luchesi buddies?"

"Mm, we haven't come that far," Cold scolded lightly.

"What? No discussing your top secret mafia plans?"

"No."

"Maybe I could help." Trev grinned. "I am pretty smart, you know."

"That you are, but you don't really want to be involved. You have your heart set on a future with a sandy beach, as I recall." Cold took a small sip of his drink. "Plus, you still have a prisoner to attend to. Or has he been upgraded from prisoner yet?"

Trev smiled warmly. "Yeah, I'm working on that. Never been real great at relationships, but I am going to try. He deserves that, you know? He's worth it."

Cold nodded. "I understand."

"Was it like that for you and Jimmy?"

"In the sense that yes, it made me want to make an effort that I hadn't before." Cold glanced down at his glass. "I didn't have relationships. I had transactions. Simple, brief, efficient. Jimmy…" He smiled. "Well, there was nothing simple about him, and I found myself not wanting our time together to end. That was when I knew."

"That you loved him?"

"And that it was possible for someone like him to care about someone like me." Cold raised his glass. "As you've so eloquently stated on multiple occasions, I am quite the asshole."

"No fuckin' shit."

Cold snorted. "And as always, your vocabulary is a delight ."

"Thanks. I am a delight." Trev grinned as he stood up. "Are you going to come down for the party?"

"No." Cold stepped back toward the couch. "But please. Go. Enjoy yourself. And let me know when you'd like to leave."

"That depends on our sister." Trev laughed. "If she had it her way, we might never leave."

"Our sister," Cold repeated. "Hmmph."

"Sounds funny, doesn't it?"

"Indeed." Cold smiled, that rare smile that relaxed his face and softened every line. "But I'm starting not to mind it so much."

"Are you sure we're not gonna hug again?"

Cold's smile dropped. "Please no."

Trev chuckled and offered out his hand. "How about a nice, friendly handshake?"

Cold rolled his eyes, but he shook Trev's hand. "Have a good night, Trev."

"You too, Rod." Trev left with a warm smile and a spring in his step.

The conversation had gone better than he thought, and it paved over some of the friction lingering between them. He did truly feel as if he understood Cold better now, though that didn't do much to help Cold's lacking personality.

Cold was still an asshole.

But he was Trev's brother.

And he really didn't mind the asshole part as much now.

Trev strolled toward the stairs, but he paused when he saw Jupiter coming up them. "Hey!"

"Hey!" Jupiter smiled. "I was coming to look for you."

"Sorry. The quick chat took a bit longer than I thought it would." Trev kissed Jupiter. "How's the party?"

"I'm pretty convinced that Rowena is going to tie us up and never let us leave."

"You know, I said almost the same thing to Cold just a minute ago." Trev laughed. "How long is she wanting us to stay? A month? A year?"

Jupiter chuckled. "I told her we might consider staying until Monday, but I had to talk to you first."

"Yeah, I figured." Trev smiled as Jupiter's arm wrapped around his waist.

Music filtered in from Cold's room, something light and jazzy. It was faint, but Trev was pretty sure it was Suzanne singing again.

Jupiter took Trev's hand, slowly swaying them to the beat.

"What are you doing?" Trev laughed.

"What does it look like, baby doll?"

"Like you're dancing with me in the middle of the hallway like a crazy person."

"What's so crazy?" Jupiter smiled. "We got music. We got room to move. You got that beautiful dress on."

Trev squeezed Jupiter's hand and draped his other arm around his shoulders. "Yeah? Keep talking."

"And you look absolutely stunning." Jupiter pressed their foreheads together as he gently led them around in a lazy circle. "I love you in a dress."

"Oh? Do you?"

"Uh-huh. I've been staring at your legs all night, baby doll."

"Thinking about having them wrapped around you?" Trev teased.

"Over my shoulders," Jupiter replied with a little wink, dipping Trev back.

Trev laughed in delight. "Look at you! You can dance."

"I'm a man of many talents." Jupiter grinned as he swung Trev back into his arms.

"Yeah? I know one of them for sure." Trev wagged his eyebrows playfully.

Jupiter smiled and kissed him. "Plenty more where that came from."

"Later." Trev wrapped his arms around Jupiter's neck.

"Later? Really?" Jupiter laughed. "Has my insatiable baby doll been replaced by a pod person? Did aliens abduct you?"

"Shut up," Trev griped. "I'm just… enjoying this. We don't have to take our clothes off to have a good time, all right? And honestly, after this fucking crazy ass day, this is exactly what I want."

Jupiter chuckled. "No complaints from me."

"Good." Trev leaned his head on Jupiter's shoulder. "Because I wouldn't listen anyway."

Jupiter laughed again, but he didn't say anything else as they danced. It was slow and intimate, and Trev's heart soon thumped with a new emotion he wasn't ready to define yet. The feeling was powerful, overwhelming in a way that stole his breath and made his pulse continue to climb.

But he wasn't afraid.

Not anymore.

"Should we go back downstairs?" Trev murmured. "I'm sure Rowena is gonna be looking for us."

"It's up to you, baby doll." Jupiter pressed a kiss to his brow. "It's your party."

"Mmm, there might be some egg rolls calling my name."

"Well, then you need to answer 'em." Jupiter chuckled and gave Trev's hips a squeeze. "Do you want to get some to go?"

"Go? Go where?"

"Get some plates to go and come upstairs so we can have a little party of our own. Just me and you." Jupiter smiled sweetly. "What do you say?"

"I'd say I think that's the best idea you've ever had."

"Really? I thought it was chaining you to the wall."

"Ha ha." Trev rolled his eyes.

Jupiter gently hooked a finger under Trev's collar, urging him in close. "Pretty sure it's gotta be in my top three at least."

Trev smiled. "Nope. Not even close."

"Oh? Are you making a list?"

"And checking it twice," Trev teased.

"Are you gonna tell me? Or do I have to live in suspense?"

Trev's heart thumped, and he smiled, glancing over Jupiter's lips. "I'll tell you later. When I feel like it." He kissed him.

Jupiter kissed him back passionately, holding him tight.

It was easy to get lost in Jupiter's embrace, and Trev eagerly twisted his fingers around Jupiter's ponytail to give it a playful tug. No one had ever been able to get him worked up with just a kiss, and no other person's arms had felt like home before.

Trev couldn't help but remember what Cold had said the other night about Jupiter's feelings for him. There had been other men in Trev's life who'd claimed to love him in a laughably short amount of time, but Jupiter wasn't like them.

Jupiter respected him like no other partner had, never treated him like a dainty flower, and had gone above and beyond to be with him. He'd proven that he cared about Trev very much, even if he hadn't said those three little words.

There was a part of Trev that almost wished Jupiter would because he was pretty sure he was also starting to fall?—

"Hey!" Rowena shouted. "You're missing the Mean Girls singalong!"

"Oh, hey." Trev broke away from Jupiter with a laugh. "Sorry. We got a little distracted."

"Come on!" Rowena was already halfway up the stairs to continue scolding them. "You guys can make out later! I just made a fresh pitcher of margaritas with your name on them. Let's go!"

"On our way." Jupiter gave her a dutiful salute. He took Trev's hand to kiss it, smiling warmly. "So, Mean Girls singalong, margaritas, and then we grab some dinner to go?"

"Yeah." Trev beamed. "Sounds like a pretty perfect way to wrap up the party."

"I think so." Jupiter kept a hold of Trev's hand as they followed Rowena down the stairs. "Of course, there will be dessert too."

Trev shivered. "Oh?"

"Oh, absolutely." Jupiter glanced over Trev with a hungry little growl. "I love that dress on you, but I'm going to love it even more off of you."

Trev grinned. "All of this is going to look fantastic on the floor."

"Hmm. Even the collar?"

"No. That's definitely staying on."

"God, you're perfect, baby doll."

"Oh, trust me. I know."