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Chapter 12

“Stop wiggling. And you’re still pouting. I told you, I’ll fuck you later,” I tell Ramiel as I turn into the Costco parking lot; his Jeep Gladiator is so fucking smooth to drive. I can easily get used to this. At this time of night, there’s nobody around.

“I’m not pouting. I’m sexily brooding.” He puckers his lips, the spill of freckles on his face makes him look like the brat he is. I have to turn my face to the side to hide yet another smile.

His eyes widen for a split second at the sight. “Really? I prefer when you’re a grumpy fucker!” he mutters, crossing his arms.

My smile widens. It feels so fucking good to be with him—to share these lighthearted moments.

Instead of giving me another ridiculously snarky retort, he looks at me with heated eyes. Fuck! I have to adjust my jeans where my half-hard cock is achingly straining.

“You’re impossible!” He sounds exasperated but grins back.

I park in a long stretch of empty spots and turn off the car. Opening the door, I check my phone. No text. I try calling Opal, but there’s no answer, it goes straight to voicemail.

I get out of the car to stretch my body, and Ramiel rounds the hood.

“You shouldn’t be out, there’s still a hit on—Duck!” Ramiel yells as he jumps on top of me, and we fall half inside the car. The sound of a bullet pierces the air, then another.

We crawl fully inside, and Ramiel locks the door, pushing me into the back seat.

“Serena, check the perimeter, the radius and trajectory of the bullets. Find the shooter, now! And call the closest brother.”

“Rami, I asked you for that info two days ago. Where the fuck…?” I hear a male voice resounding through the car’s Bluetooth. It halts when there’s more shooting.

“Uri, somebody is shooting at us. One sniper rifle, red dot sights, eighty feet away. Roof of the building. Ask Serena for details.”

“Coming. Are you in a safe spot?”

“Bulletproof Jeep,” Ramiel replies.

“Don’t move, otherwise they’ll leave. Keep giving him a target.”

“Really?” Ramiel barks, as the shooting continues.

“It’s your bulletproof Jeep, you are fine unless they have a rocket launcher.”

“Fuck you, Uri. I won’t keep Hunter in danger!”

“Do you have guns?” Uri asks.

“Yes. But they’re too far, and I could hit someone,” I reply.

“I’ll get the fucker. I’m five minutes away. Four now. Stay put.”

“So damn tired of being shot at!” I snarl, sitting low near Ramiel.

The sniper keeps trying, but the car shields us. For how long though? Spider webs are starting to form on the windows.

“Fuck this!” Ramiel makes a move to go to the front, but I stop him.

“No. Let’s wait a couple of minutes more.” I grab his arm and squeeze lightly. I won’t have him put himself in danger for me—more than he already is.

“Serena says he’s at ten o’clock on the roof of that red building, wearing a black hat.” Ramiel points to my left. That’s when I see blood on his shoulder.

“Fuck, you’re bleeding.” Dread claws inside of me.

“I’m fine.” His words barely register as I tear the shirt to check.

“See? Just a graze. That was hot though, Bear.” He caresses my cheek.

“Got him!” Uri’s voice shoves a little relief down my narrowing throat. “Get out of there before the cops arrive.”

I climb back to the front seat, and after turning on the engine, I drive the hell out there.

“Serena, take care of the cameras in the parking lot. And track Opal Penn’s phone.” Ramiel moves to the passenger seat and then turns to me. “Your cousin, any reason she’d want to kill you? Jealousy? Anger?”

“No!” I vehemently state.

“She was Cal’s sister,” he insists.

“She’d never do something like this.” I refuse to believe that. “She’s a good cop. The only person who kept in contact with me while I was inside.” The angry confession escapes my lips and tastes bitter on my tongue. Even more so when I catch Ramiel’s sorrowful eyes.

“I… Okay. Maybe the hitman hacked her phone and heard your conversation.” He doesn’t sound convinced though. After a few seconds he says, “I need to see that letter Malcom sent you. Do you still have it?”

I nod. “It’s not Opal.”

The call she made yesterday, after the gun warehouse shooting, comes back to me. The way she asked me if I was okay, like she knew something happened. Did she sound worried or surprised?

“I cannot track Opal Penn’s phone. It’s turned off. Looking for her car now.”

“Thanks, Serena.”

“It can’t be.” Doubts are trying to drown me. “It can’t be like Cal. I know Opal. I know her.” It can’t be.

Ramiel’s warm hand suddenly closes around my arm. “Hunter, stop. We don’t know what happened. There are other avenues we can follow. We need to check Jasper as well.”

“I met him a few days ago with Opal. We’ve never been close. We can barely stand each other. After Cal”s death and my visit to the joint, even less.” I feel so fucking hollow. Is my whole family bad? Am I bad as well?

“I bet. He’s running for senator, right?”

“Yes.” I park the Jeep in front of my house and quickly get out. The car looks like a colander. The side windows a step from shattered.

We were so damn lucky. A few minutes more and… What if Ramiel was hit a few inches up his neck? Fear like I’ve never felt before rushes inside my chest like a swarm of beetles, making it impossible to breathe. I’ve seen the worst happen too many times to keep a positive attitude.

I turn toward him, focusing on his worried face. Coppery lashes frame those beautiful golden eyes, his pale cheeks are peppered with small freckles, and his pink lips are slightly parted. And my lungs expand with air again.

“We need to get inside and disinfect your wound,” I get out between gritted teeth.

“I’m fine. We need to find who’s behind this.” I get a quick glance of Ramiel’s eyes as we enter my silent house. They are gleaming with fire.

“And you think it is a member of my family?” I almost attack him. My voice comes out too rough and accusing. Emotions are riding me hard again.

The boys are sleeping in the barn tonight to keep an eye on the rescue animals that arrived today. The light turns on without me touching the entrance switch. Maple lifts his head from his rug near the sofa and wiggles his tail when he sees me, but stays where he is.

“I don’t know! You’re a P.I., wouldn’t you do the same? Check all the possible leads?” He stops, and I see the worry filling his face again, the tension in his body.

I walk to him and pull him against my chest. My life is falling apart again, but he’s still here. With me. He didn’t leave me. Never did. Even stalked me. All the fight leaves my body. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Do all the checks you want, Red.”

“You heard him, Serena.” His arms lift around my back. “It’s what I do for my family. I need to do it for you as well. I need you to be okay.”

I kiss his head, taking in his soothing scent. “I just… I fucking hate this. I thought that part of my past was done.” Haven’t I paid enough for it already?

I let him go and walk to the bathroom to retrieve the essentials to clean his wound. “Sit.”

I grab a bowl from the kitchen cabinet and fill it with water while he takes off the torn shirt. I can’t help appreciating the expanse of his chest and powerful biceps for a moment. But the caked blood on his shoulder reminds me of my task.

“You’re such a papa bear…it does sting like a bitch. Ouch!” He tilts his head to get a better look at the scratch, stretching and flexing his ripped abdomen and curvy pecs.

“Miss your numbness?” I can’t stop myself from asking as I set the bowl on the table and use a wet piece of cloth to start cleaning.

“Fuck no!” He jerks away, and I lift a quizzical brow at him. “Uhhh, cold! Sorry, still getting used to…feeling. But I’d prefer to turn hypersensitive if it meant still sensing your warm, smooth chocolate skin next to mine when I wake up.”

“The teaser turns into a sap. Who would have thought?” I push out the joke, even though his words make me so fucking happy and frighten me at the same time.

“Yeah, just like the grizzly turns into Winnie the Pooh.”

“Your ass will pay for that.”

“Mmm, sounds promising, Teddy.”

“Uri is entering the property,” Serena states.

The warm feeling disappears, giving way to the weight of the current situation.

“The facial recognition works.” Ramiel nods.

Facial recognition?

“Show me,” he orders her. A yellow Hummer appears on the large screen near the front door. It comes down the driveway and stops in front of the house. Then a guy with a head full of dreads lithely gets out and walks to the door.

The chime of the doorbell is not familiar. “What the hell did you do to my house?”

“Brought it into this century,” Ramiel retorts, before telling Serena to let his brother in.

The front door clicks open and Uri strides inside, full of confidence and sex appeal. He stops mere feet from me and just stares.

“The big mamba dick that kept Rami distracted I presume?” he asks.

I keep my unfazed mask as I taunt him, “One of the psychopaths, I don’t presume.”

“Sociopath.” He sounds offended by my assumption. “Raph is the only psycho.”

I raise, yet again, a questioning brow at Ramiel.

He waves his hand in a dismissive way. “They are both on your side, don’t worry.”

“I got rid of the sniper. He had no ID on him and a burner phone. But Serena found him in an FBI database. He was a wanted hitman.”

“Where’s the body, Ariel?” Ramiel asks him like they’re talking about the weather.

“Fucker! For now, it’s fine. I need to go back and get it later from the trunk of his car, which needs to disappear as well. I’ll take care of it, like I did with the others. But this is the last one, Rami.” Uri then turns to me. “You’re a P.I.?”

“Yes.” My succinct answer has the corner of his plump lips hitching up. He makes a humming sound.

“Serena get you the info on Sari’s new boyfriend?” Ramiel changes the subject.

“Not his boyfriend.” His brother scoffs and takes a seat at the table.

“The non-boyfriend-professor who went out to dinner with Sari looks clean.”

“But?” He waits for Ramiel to continue.

“Don’t know, just my spider senses are tingling. I’ll dig more.”

“Sari is your other foster brother, right?” I ask Ramiel.

He nods in response. Uri acts more like a jealous prick than a protective sibling.

Serena talks again. “Michael and Raph are coming.”

“What the fuck? Miphael is here?”

“Miphael?” I ask. My head is starting to spin. Never had so many people come to my house.

“Michael plus Raphael, Miphael,” Ramiel explains.

“I told everybody what happened,” Uri says simply. His eyes are a beautiful hazel color, but filled with coldness and ruthlessness. While his skin is the color of caramel. He reminds me of one of the Sirens from Greek mythology, just as alluring as it is deadly.

Two guys enter. The blond one smiles at me, his blue eyes welcoming.

“Oh, you must be Hunter! I’m Michael. Fan of your work, the investigation part,” he rambles excitedly. The other one keeps him close with an arm around his waist. He has a leather jacket and an I-don’t-give-a-fuck expression. His stride is confident, green eyes taking everything in.

“I’m Raph, his husband.” He sounds bored, but he’s studying me like a bug under a microscope. It’s cute how Ramiel’s brothers think I’ll feel intimidated by them.

“Do you always have to specify you’re married?” Uri tsks.

“Yes, I fucking do!” Raph sits on the sofa armrest and pulls Michael between his legs.

Ramiel suddenly hisses as I apply the antibiotic ointment.

“What the fuck?” Uri utters, staring at Ramiel’s wince.

“You can feel,” Raph says, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh, right, I didn’t tell you guys. Hunter Bear here has a magical dick which gave me my sensory powers back.” My hand applying the cream halts at hearing Ramiel’s ridiculous explanation.

“For real?” Uri slides a knife out of his coat and starts twirling it deftly between his fingers. Is he really contemplating Ramiel’s words?

“Does that mean no more lame gloves?” Raph asks. I thought they were kind of cute, but I much prefer to feel Ramiel’s bare hands on me all the time.

“What are you talking about?” Michael looks confused.

Raph quickly explains to his husband about Ramiel’s past condition.

“Why didn’t Michael know about you?” I ask.

Ramiel is absently rubbing my belly again. “We didn’t grow up together. He came back into our lives just a few months back. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.”

Michael looks at me and then at Ramiel. “So, Hunter triggered something inside you at a mental and physical level that unlocked your senses. That’s incredible.”

Ramiel is smiling at me, the affection he feels exudes from him. I did that, didn’t I?

“I wish you’d told me about your condition, though.” Michael’s face has disappointment written all over it.

“I’m sorry. I just…it was nice pretending to be normal with someone who didn”t know about it.” Ramiel sounds remorseful enough for Michael to nod at him in understanding.

“Normal.” Uri scoffs.

“Why the long face?” Raph suddenly asks Uri, breaking the heavy moment.

“You know why! Where the fuck did you put her?” he hisses.

“Whatever are you talking about?” Raph replies with an even voice and a bored stare.

“Sarah! Where is she?”

Who’s Sarah?

Reading my mind, Ramiel clarifies, “Sarah is one of Uri’s guns. He and Raph have this stupid stealing war going on. One takes something and hides it, and the other has to find it.” He rolls his eyes.

“It’s not stupid!” Uri protests.

“Yes, it is,” both Ramiel and Michael say at the same time, smiling at each other.

“There’s a snake behind you,” Raph suddenly tells me, protectively pulling his husband higher on his lap.

“What?” Michael tenses while Uri grabs his knife, looking ready to throw it at George.

“No!” Ramiel yells. “It’s a pet.”

“A pet snake?” Uri tilts his head, staring curiously at the slithering reptile disappearing into the corridor. “And a horny, furry pig? Weird combination.” He points at Maple trying to hump the sofa leg.

“Is the Nightster upfront yours?” Raph suddenly asks about my Harley. I nod.

“So you can try teaching my brother how to pick a vehicle. Rami has horrible taste. His electrical sardine can on wheels is ridiculous.” Raph scoffs after describing what I believe is Rami’s Hyundai. My boyfriend chooses to flip his brother the bird.

“Gabe and Lori are here,” the AI lets us know. They don’t enter through the front door, though, but use the back one.

“Stop following me!” I hear Lori muttering before he appears with Gabe, the brother from the alley. Tall and poised with sleek blond hair and wearing a pricey-looking three-piece suit.

“Not following you,” Gabe says. I remember his voice from that night, the toneless way he talks. Lacking any kind of emotion. I didn’t imagine it.

“Hello again, Magnum P.I.” Lori smirks at me.

Nobody seems to sleep in this family. It’s past midnight.I stroke my face tiredly.

“Why are you coming through the back door?” I ask.

“Because…back door guests are the best,” Lori teases. He’s wearing a glamorous kilt with high boots and a red cable knit sweater.

“They are,” Ramiel agrees, winking at me. Only he can make me switch from tense and troubled to amused this fast.

“I wanted to check out the barn since Offspring two kept talking about it yesterday. I might have woken the guys up by the way,” Lori confesses without a bit of shame.

“The wicked trio is in the barn?” I nod at Ramiel.

“What boys?” Gabe asks, phone in hand; he doesn’t look interested though.

“Magnum P.I. has teen triplets living with him,” Ramiel says.

“Oh, Ollie,” Lori exclaims and sets his phone on the table with the speaker on. “Are you and KKJ there?”

“Stop calling Rague that! He’s not King Kong Junior!” The scolding male voice is followed by a much deeper groan.

“Yeah! Hulky suits him better,” Ramiel teases, earning a sigh from Ollie.

“Hello again, Hunter,” Gabe decides to address me. His tone is assertive and commanding, like he’s used to being in charge.

I nod, and he turns to Ramiel, dismissing me the next moment. “So you got shot.”

“We all saw Rami’s Jeep outside, or what remains of it,” Raph says.

“We didn’t!” Ollie’s voice comes from the phone. “And nice to meet you, Hunter. We’re sorry not to be there.”

“But one word and we’ll come. I have a barrel of acid in my car or we could use fire.” A deeper voice—Rague’s I guess—resounds in the room. Acid? Fire?

“You still keep it in your car? We talk about this,” Gabe says.

“I appreciate it, Human Torch. But you don’t need to come,” Ramiel answers Rague.

“Is the shooting related to the priest’s murder?” Michael goes back to the previous conversation.

“What murder?” Ollie asks.

Ramiel begins retelling the events of the last few days as I put the bowl in the sink and take a seat next to him. This whole situation is bizarre. When Ramiel told me they are a family of vigilantes, it felt weird, but seeing how present and ready they are for each other makes me rethink my first impression. Maybe their actions are fucked up, but we live in a fucked-up world where kids are abandoned, weaker people hurt, and power and money seem to be the highest achievement there is. Corruption, selfishness, carelessness, and wrongdoing reign free while integrity, respect, and all the values that make a person decent seem to come second. Is this group of men a combative response to all of that? A way to balance the unfairness of this world? They’d be the best one. Because fighting fair rarely works.

“That sounds like a mega clusterfuck of a mess,” Michael comments excitedly when Ramiel is done.

“Or as we call it at the firm, Monday,” Lori jokes, flattening his skirt as he sits on the armchair. Is that gold glitter in his curls?

“If we believe the Vulture and someone indeed requested Hunter’s assassination, how come hitmen are not coming here?” Gabe asks from his standing position near the kitchen cabinets.

“This house is not in his name. It wasn’t easy to find it, even for me,” Ramiel explains.

I need to thank my mother for never putting my father’s name on my birth certificate, then.

“The Baker little brother, should we grab him? Maybe he knows something,” Uri suggests.

“I worked on him twice. Didn’t know anything. He would have told me, believe me.” I crack my knuckles.

“I like you,” Rague tells me, and Ollie echoes his husband.

“You’re okay.” Uri shrugs.

“More than okay.” Lori snorts.

“Yeah,” Michael utters, and Raph grunts unhappily and whispers something in his husband’s ear.

I certainly don’t need the brothers’ blessing, but Ramiel is giving me a dopey smile, looking so proud of me, like I’ve overcome an insurmountable obstacle. And fuck, it’s like a well-placed hook to the gut. His radiance surrounds him, pulling me toward him even more. I don’t fight it. A possessive growl rumbles in my chest, and I give his beautiful scarred hand a quick kiss.

“Something doesn’t add up. Either your cousin is in this, or she’s in trouble. Serena, did you find her car?” Uri suddenly asks.

“Not yet, Uri,” the AI replies.

I sent Opal three texts and tried to call her, but it went straight to voicemail again. Where is she? Could she really be part of this? If not in, what trouble is she in?

“It’s not her.” I grip Ramiel’s hand tighter, trying to fight the unease and the apprehension forming inside my chest, even though he’s stroking my palm in that soothing way of his.

“Still can’t take her off the suspect list. Who else?” Raph speaks in his self-assured way.

“The other cousin?” Michael suggests.

“Jasper Penn,” Gabe declares while tapping on his phone.

“A politician with an ex-con for a cousin who murdered his pedophile brother doesn’t scream trustworthy,” Raph voices what everybody is thinking. It still makes me wince inwardly.

“That’s soap-opera crazy,” I hear Ollie’s whisper from the phone.

“Bloody ghastly,” Lori comments much louder.

“You’re such a tactless fucker!” Ramiel bites out, looking at Raph. His brother’s empty green eyes jump to mine for a moment. There’s no remorse there, but I make sure he sees the lack of sympathy in mine. Then Michael grabs his face and animatedly starts whispering something to him. Raph’s expression turns warm just before he kisses an irritated-looking Michael.

“I crossed paths with Jasper Penn at some fundraisers; it helps his image for his senatorial campaign.” Gabe makes me turn my attention to him.

“We cross paths with a lot of people at those events.” Uri has put the knife back inside his stylish coat and is now checking his perfectly manicured nails.

“Serena, show me all the fundraisers Jasper Penn went to.” Ramiel lets go of my hand to leave the chair and move toward the white wall near my desk, which is now filled with pictures of my cousin smiling or talking with elegant people at different events. I follow him, intrigued by the new tech he installed in my house. On the wall, there’re also the names of all the guests and employees who were present at each event, a list of the charities, documents with details of the donations, and more pictures.

“Also look for a link, anything peculiar.”

“Or recurrent,” Uri interjects.

Serena replies straight away, “I found a reiteration. Jasper Penn always donates to one charity.”

“That doesn’t sound odd. Everybody has a favorite one,” Raph explains.

“Name?” Michael asks eagerly, he seems really taken by the investigation part. Can barely sit still on top of his husband.

“Young Embrace.”

Ramiel starts typing on his phone.

“It’s an old charity for disadvantaged children,” Raph says.

“God, I love your amazing memory.” Michael kisses his husband’s cheek.

“Only that?” Raph gives him a wicked smile.

“Jasper probably feels responsible for his brother’s actions. Donating is his way to atone for it.” Just as I did with the triplets. I welcomed them into my life as a sort of penitence on top of honoring my promise to a friend. Which turned out to be beneficial. For all of us.

“Or maybe it’s just all a pretense to show voters how philanthropic and benevolent he is,” Lori suggests.“Politicians are busy bees, always with an agenda. Most blokes are.”

Gabe sends him a long glance.

“Have you ever seen a volunteer from Young Embrace? Did a kid who was helped by the charity ever talk at one of those events?” Rague asks.

“Don’t think so.” Gabe looks at Uri for confirmation, and he shakes his head.

“No,” Raph confidently replies.

“It’s because Young Embrace is a shell charity,” Ramiel declares, typing on the keyboard of my laptop at an impressive speed. “It was founded twelve years ago. The charity’s offshore account was opened by Martin Cox, who was an accountant and the son of Mary Clark, an assistant who worked at Golden, Penn and Sighy.”

“My uncle’s law firm?” I ask, confused.

“I think your uncle used it for money laundering,” Ramiel continues. “He had a lot of known criminals for clients. Maybe they forced him, maybe it was his idea, or Martin Cox’s. I don’t know, but he was part of it.”

“Charities are trusted by the general public and can be tax-exempted.” Gabe nods. “Did you find large, one-time donations or a series of small ones from unidentified sources?”

“Both,” Ramiel confirms after checking on the screen.

I try to blink away the shock. Uncle Ray? He was cold and so fucking strict, uninterested in anything but public opinion and his job. And now a criminal? Is that why he fought with Opal when she announced she wanted to be a cop like me?

“You said that it was founded twelve years ago. My uncle died two years later. Did this Martin Cox keep it going?”

“That’s when Jasper came in. A month after your uncle’s death, your cousin started donating money to the charity, and his political ascent began.” Ramiel grabs my fingers, but I pull back.

“Fuck!” I cuss, stroking both my hands over my head and gripping my nape hard. So, it’s true. My family is a bunch of fucking criminals. Jesus! Fuck!

“There’s more.” Ramiel’s eyes are pained, and the sight makes me feel even worse.

“Opal?” I whisper, dreading his answer.

“She doesn’t seem involved. No link. We still don’t know where she is, though.”

I take a deep breath in, but it doesn’t fucking help. “So what is it?” I bark too roughly at him, but I feel like a bomb ready to explode.

“On the dates Norman Jefferson and Malcom Bindy were murdered, five hundred K was transferred from the charity…both times.”

“The payment for each hit was five hundred K.” I remember the way Jasper looked at me in the Costco parking lot. The way he said I looked fine. He was surprised. Did he expect me to be dead? Hurt?

I grit my teeth, and spinning to my left, I vent all my anger on the wall. My fist goes through the plaster, tearing a hole. The deafening sound is followed by an eerie silence. I pull my bloody fist back and press my forehead to the wall. The pain hasn’t registered yet. My hearing is muffled, I feel like I’m underwater without any control over my body.

Until he’s behind me. I smell his cool fragrance first, it wraps around me like a balmy blanket. Then Ramiel’s warm palms slide from my lower back to my front. His solid body winds around me. His lips kiss between my shoulder blades. I close my eyes as I feel his breath through the shirt. I look down at his pale hands stroking my pecs with such a gentle touch.

A ball of emotion builds inside my throat. “Why?”

“I don’t know. But I will find out,” Ramiel promises me, tightening his grip on me. It’s the only thing that holds me steady. His sweet presence near me.

“It could be the cock accountant,” Lori suddenly declares.

“Martin Cox,” Gabe corrects him.

Lori continues, “I’ll go and ask him some questions.”

“Do that. Serena will give you the directions to his place,” Ramiel tells him. “Raph…”

“I’ll go with him.” Gabe’s words interrupt his.

There’s silence.

“Why?” Lori sounds shocked and clearly not happy about it.

But when I turn my head, Gabe is opening the front door and exiting the house without a backward glance.

“Bloody hell! Why did I leave the club earlier? I could be having fun with Ricky Martin’s lost brother right now!” The click of Lori’s heels echoes in the living room as he angrily grabs his phone and follows Gabe. “Ollie call Super Model. I—” His voice is cut off by the front door closing.

Ramiel lets me go to check my hand. It fucking aches, my knuckles are split and bloody, but I can move my fingers, no broken bones.

“Michael?” he calls his brother. Michael leaves his husband’s lap to get a look. “I’m a doctor,” he tells me.

“Medical examiner,” Uri corrects him.

“I went to medical school, you dick!”

They pull me to the sink and wash my knuckles before Michael grabs an ice pack from the freezer and lays it on top of my hand.

Uri’s phone rings, and as soon as he answers, Rague says, “Malcom Bindy.”

“He’s dead,” Raph reminds him.

“The letter, maybe there’s a clue in it regarding Loretta and the words he wrote before dying: D-I.”

Damn, Ramiel asked me to show him, but between the shooting and his injury I completely forgot.

“Can we see it?” Michael asks me. I nod and walk to my desk, opening the drawer with my good hand to retrieve it. It’s still in that cheap, brownish envelope.

Ramiel takes it from me and goes over to Michael and Uri.

“There’s only your name on the envelope. Which means Malcom came in person,” Uri notices.

“It was left on my bike outside a supermarket,” I tell them.

Michael tries to flatten the wrinkled paper. I might have crushed it between my hands after realizing what it was.

“His writing is a mess,” Ramiel states while taking a picture of it. “Rague, I sent it to you.”

“I couldn’t read it well either,” I tell him.

Michael gives it a try. “I know the truth. After all…these years—I loan?”

“No, I think that’s an f and a u…found. I found,” Uri says.

I don’t remember that. But I was upset when I started reading it and shoved the letter in the drawer as soon as I got home, never wanting to see it again.

It was stupid of me since it could have been helpful to resolve this mess. I get behind Ramiel’s shoulders to look at the piece of paper.

“I found… Damn, I can’t read this word. His hand must have been shaking.” Michael huffs.

“He was a drug addict, and this letter is about his best friend’s death. He must have been very upset when he wrote it,” Ollie utters.

“…and there’s new information about what…” Rague’s deep voice stops.

“He should have just told you face to face,” Raph unhelpfully declares.

“…happened,” Michael adds. “Why did u?—”

“…do it? Why did you do it, Hunter?” Uri finishes.

Fuck! I remember this part.

“Loretta’s…cult?” Ramiel’s brows are wrinkling with the effort.

“Guilt,” I correct him without the need to read it. Those words are imprinted in my head. “Loretta’s guilt killed her, not the drugs,” I finish.

“Why did she feel guilty?” Ramiel turns to me. My eyes are closed, but I feel his body shifting in front of me. “Hunter?”

When I look at him, his gold-brown eyes are almost shining, demanding the whole truth.

“That evening, when I arrived at St. Joseph’s, I did hear Loretta and Cal, but…”

“You didn’t kill him. She did.” Uri takes the words out of my mouth.

“What?” Michael almost screams, making Raph move quickly to pull him into his arms.

“I knew it.” Uri has a small smirk on his face, like he’s fucking proud of himself.

Ramiel’s nostrils are flaring, his gaze full of fire and…betrayal. “Why? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I—”

He doesn’t let me talk. “I had my suspicions after seeing the pics from the crime scene. Cal fell too close to the pulpit because Loretta pushed him off, not you. Hell, you never said anything, Hunter! You should have told me.”

“I never lied to you,” I stupidly blurt out, copying his earlier words. It’s just a self-defense impulse.

His bitter laugh is like a stab to the heart. “Right. I should have asked you point blank: did you kill your cousin?”

“Yes!” I say vehemently. “That’s what I replied every single time I was asked…by the police, my family, my colleagues, my cellmates. Every-fucking-body. Because nobody should ever know she did it.”

“Why?” Ramiel asks with a quiver in his voice.

“Because I would’ve done it if Loretta hadn’t. Worse! I would’ve torn every single limb off him and waited for him to bleed to death in the fucking house of his God. A blind God, that let a priest rape and abuse innocent children.” I’m panting. My chest is heaving, and my throat hurts, but I keep going, looking straight at Ramiel. There’s nobody else in the room but me and him. “I saw Cal’s body fall from the pulpit, and when I looked up, there was Loretta. Her big, frightened brown eyes spilling tears, her ponytail half loose, her jean jacket and t-shirt torn at the shoulder. She looked so fucking lost and scared and young. I told her to leave, to leave and never come back. That I would take care of it.”

“And she did,” Michael whispers.

“It didn’t matter, did it? She killed herself a year later. Couldn’t live with it.” I stroke the two bracelets on my wrists. “You are the first person I ever talked to about it, Ramiel. The only person I wanted to tell the truth to.”

“So why didn’t you?” he retorts. His soft, breaking voice grips at my insides.

“Because it’s my sword of Damocles to carry, nobody else’s.”

“You’re an idiot!” Ramiel suddenly punches me hard in the chest. And then again. “A huge, grizzly asshole!” Another strong punch and another. And I let him. Because I know I deserve his anger. “You don’t get it do you? What I have been doing all this time? Fucking helping you! Trying to protect you, you dick! I couldn’t give a furry crack of a rat’s ass about your sword. My numbness is gone… Gone!” he bites out. “And do you know why? Because I needed to feel you. You! I needed to be complete for you, with you, to share everything. You made me fucking whole again, Hunter. I give everything to you. And you don’t!”

His confession is tearing me apart and making me so damn happy at the same time. “I’m sorry, Red.” I try to cup his cheek, but he slaps my hand away.

“You’re sorry?” he mocks me. “Sorry isn’t fucking enough!” He tries to shove me back, but I’m bigger than him. “Sorry isn’t the damn truth.” He tries again. “Sorry isn’t I love you,” he growls in my face, grabbing the collar of my shirt.

“I do fucking love you!” I snarl and grab his hair, tilting his head back to take in his beautiful red locks, darker stubble, bright eyes, and kiss-swollen lips. He’s so fucking mine. Mine. My feisty Ramiel.

“I’m the one in love here. And I want to hurt you so much right now, so you’ll know a small fraction of the pain you gave me when you fucking lied to me!”

Red really knows how to pack a punch.

“I didn’t lie to you. And your love is damn reciprocated.” My forehead falls on his. Our breaths mix. His hands slide under my shirt, nails digging painfully into my skin.

He loves me.

“Omission is a form of lying.” Michael’s soft voice reminds me we are not alone.

“This again, babe?” Raph tells him.

“Did they just confess their love for each other?” Ollie asks.

A phone starts ringing. “Lori is calling.” Michael pushes the speaker button on his cell.

“Bones, is everybody listening? Because this is bonkers!”

“Yes,” Michael replies.

“The cock accountant talked like the proverbial canary bird—double-pun intended.” Lori giggles. “He admitted he created the shell charity for Magnum P.I.’s uncle to help some of his clients with money laundering and himself to evade taxes. When he died, the cousin took his place. He ordered the hits. I’m sorry, Magnum.”

“Me too.” Ollie’s words are followed by an agreeing grunt from Rague.

“Oh, we made the cock accountant cancel the hit on you,” Lori adds, but I barely register his voice.

Jasper really wants me dead. Dead.

Anger is slowly rising inside my gut again. He looked me in the eye, that fucking piece of shit murderous liar, straight in the eye and shook my hand. And then kept trying to kill me. Even put Ramiel in danger. And that fucking turns me ballistic. It makes me crave vengeance.

Thankfully, Jasper doesn’t know about the boys or where I live. My post-prison alienation and his exigency to have a scandal-free career kept my life hidden. Even Opal has only seen the triplets briefly once or twice.

“What’s happening?” Lori asks from Michael’s phone. “Bones, be my eyes!”

I start to lift my head, but Ramiel doesn’t let me. He pulls me down and gives me a deep, passionate kiss. Ending it with a bite. When he lets my lip go, I’m panting. “I love you, Hunter Bear. I got you.”

My heart skips a few beats as I read the wholehearted emotion in his face. And in that moment, I promise myself that I’ll never let anything happen to him again. I’ll protect him. And if I need to be his damn shadow, so be it.

“They were kissing,” Michael whispers, leaning toward his phone.

“Did Reacher just say he loves Magnum?” Lori’s voice is window-shattering high. “Are they doing it? Bollocks! Tell me. Details! Gabe, let go. It’s my phon—” His voice is cut off as the line dies.

“It says diary,” Raph suddenly says, pointing at the letter. “I found Loretta’s diary, and there’s new information,” he reads.

“Oh my God! It’s true. Loretta’s diary!” Ollie exclaims. “This is better than a soap opera.”

“D-I, the letters Malcom was writing with his blood were for diary.” Michael kisses his husband soundly on the lips.

“Malcom found and read her diary. She must have written in there that she killed the priest.” Ramiel snaps his fingers.

“And some new information. We need to find that diary!” Michael says.

“We’ll go to Malcom’s place and look for it,” Raph declares as he pulls his husband toward the door.

“He had more than one place where he crashed. Ask Gabe and Lori to check as well,” Ramiel tells them.

“We’ll use Serena’s help. Keep in touch!” Michael says before the door closes.

“What I don’t understand is, why now? Why did Jasper order the hits now?” Uri wonders. “Years after you got out.”

“Let’s find out,” I growl, turning to my jacket to get my phone.

“What are you doing?” Ramiel asks as I start typing a message.

“Ending this.” I send it. “I texted him to meet me at St. Joseph’s in four hours.”

“It’s one a.m.,” Uri states the obvious. But one thing I remember about Jasper is that he suffers from insomnia.

“We need a foolproof plan!” Ramiel announces. “And I’m coming with you.”

Panic tightens around my chest, pushing the next words out of my mouth. “Stay out of it, Red! You owe me. Remember our deal. This is it, what I want. Stay the fuck out of it.” I grit my teeth, trying to find some measure of calm, but it eludes me.

I’m not an emotionally overreactive person. Generally, I have a good grip on my emotions; hiding them is a skill I had to learn fast in prison. I’ve always been steady as a rock in times of danger or trouble. But add Ramiel in the mix and the possibility of losing him, and all my calmness goes out the window.

“No!” Of course, my feisty boyfriend fights back. Any other time, his battling disposition would start a fire in my loins, and he’d be under me, screaming my fucking name. But this is too risky, and he needs to back off.

“I’m yours as much as you are mine, Grizzly, and if you think I’ll let you go alone to the place you still have nightmares about, you are insane!”

How the fuck does he know that? Did he hear me screaming in my sleep?

I snarl. He answers with a growl.

“Red, I can’t let anything happen to you.” My hands fall on his hips, gripping him, bruising his fair skin as I pull him closer to my chest. “You’ve been in danger because of me so many fucking times already. You got shot.”

“Just a scratch.” He cups my face, forcing my eyes on his. “This is what I do. You have to trust me, Hunter Bear. Can you?”

I want to. So much. I know he needs it, all of me. And I need to give myself to him if I want to have a shot at us. The panic is still riding me, screaming that I lock Ramiel in my room until I’ve dealt with Jasper. But I can’t do that. I need to trust him.

I let a long sigh out and nod at him. His triple-dimple smile assuages my fears…a little.

“You seem to forget we are not alone.” He waves at his brother. Uri just stares at me with his empty gaze.

But is this what it means to have people who have your back no matter what?

“We need coffee.” Uri stands up and walks to my coffee machine.

“Do you know how to use it?” I ask him.

“He owns a fuck ton of restaurants. He knows,” Rague lets me know.

“We need to go. Be careful! And let us know if you need us.” Ollie yawns and Rague grunts before they hang up.

“Serena, show me the blueprints of St. Joseph’s Church please.” Ramiel moves to the wall again.

The glass door opens, and Ash suddenly walks into the living room rubbing his eyes, gray sweats low on his hips, blond hair sticking out on one side. “What the fuck is going on? Lori woke me the fuck up!”

“Go back to sleep.” I look at him. Dare and Ren pop into my head as well. They’re my family now. And Ramiel. I need them to be safe.

“Who the hell is that?” Ignoring my order, he points at Uri. Damn, will he ever learn good manners?

“Ramiel’s brother.” Uri surprises me with his unfazed reply.

“You can tell by the obvious resemblance, Ash,” Ramiel teases him. Ash looks unamused while studying Uri’s dreads and multiple piercings and tattoos on his hand. “Nice ink,” he tells him before muttering, “it’s like an infestation of locusts.”

He grabs a big bottle of coke from the fridge and turns toward the glass door, dragging his feet.

“Interesting,” Uri comments.

“He’ll grow on you…like a fungus you can’t remove,” Ramiel jokes. Those tasty dimples appear as he attempts at stifling his smile while gesturing me to come closer.

My phone beeps.

Jasper: Come alone.

I slide my hand into my pocket of my jeans and feel the soft lace of Ramiel’s panties. I grip them tightly.

Whatever happens in that church, I will end this. And protect what’s mine at all costs.

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