20. ~Colton~

20

~Colton~

I watched quietly from the door of the guestroom that Mason was crashing in.

There he was sprawled out on his stomach sketching away rapidly.

He had a pair of headphones on, music blaring and I smiled to myself as I heard one of my songs sounding through.

"You opened up my life/ Now I can breathe without it hurting/ I'm finally learning/ Until us/ Until me/ Until you."

That particular song, those lyrics, were really apt for the current circumstances.

Brianna Walker coming into our lives had changed so much, had bettered so much.

And I was so happy that she'd found a way to free Mason.

She'd calmed Lev down and settled him.

She'd inspired my songwriting.

Hell, she'd made us happy again.

Having her with us had fixed the broken pieces, putting them back together in the best way imaginable.

I pushed away from the wall and left Mason to it, loving that he was in his element.

I had another hour or so before I was to meet Bree downstairs in Roman's home gym to do some more sparring. It gave me time to get started on figuring out my set list for my upcoming show in a few weeks. I needed to narrow down my hires too, then start rehearsal. There was a lot to do, made all the more overwhelming by everything else going on, this mission ahead, being here instead of back in Stonewell.

Roman was working from home while we were here and right now he was out in the massive workshop he'd built doing some woodworking with Levi.

It was unheard of for him to take time off work like this, but as we'd all seen, especially over dinner, Roman was overjoyed to have some quality time to spend with his son.

Over the last year, with Levi being away, they'd been estranged. I mean, they'd talked and all that, but Levi had unwittingly put a strain there in their relationship with him faking that internship and wanting to keep his mission against Malcolm Lynch a secret. It must have killed Roman, because he was all about his son.

To the outside world, Roman Knight was a notorious, dangerous and heartless bastard. But that was just a fa?ade, one he had to be putting out there to protect himself and his business, given the kinds of people he did business with.

But beneath it, he was sentimental about Levi and all those he cared about.

His son was everything to him, through and through.

It was really nice seeing them reunite. And it was also killer that Roman had taken such a liking to Bree. He'd obviously seen how good she was for Lev and for all of us.

She was holed up in one of the other guestrooms right now catching up on her college classwork remotely.

I should be doing mine too because I'd ended up falling behind again with everything that had been going on.

But that thing was happening in my mind where I was laser-focused on something else, and I couldn't turn away from it.

Mythic Cry was what I needed to work on now.

Until I did, I wouldn't be able to see beyond this frustrating state of tunnel vision.

I had a few weeks before the show, but still. I hadn't prepared anything yet. I was a little ways out from finishing my most recent song too.

I headed down the corridor and walked into my assigned room, going straight for my guitar that was on my bed, along with my notebook where I took down melodies and lyrics that I was working on.

I settled into a cross-legged position with my guitar.

And then I let go, immersing myself in my music.

"Vicious things walking into the light/ Girl's ours now and we make a real sight/ Stay here/ Stay, my dear/ Vicious things like us belong right here."

"Colton?"

I jolted at the sound of Brianna's voice, and stopped playing, turning around to see her leaning against the door to my room.

"What's up, cutie?"

She smiled with amusement. "Just wondering if you're coming to spar."

"Yeah, of course I am. Why?"

"We were meant to start over an hour ago."

I put my guitar down and pushed off the bed. "What? Seriously?"

"Seriously. It's okay. You just lost track of time enjoying your music."

She really let us off too easy sometimes. "No, it's not okay. It's rude and bullshit. I'm sorry, Bree."

She came to me and laid her hands on my chest over my leopard-print shirt. "Stress makes it worse. Your trouble focusing. Right?"

"Yeah," I said, stroking her hands on me.

"Is playing helping?"

"It was getting there."

"Will you show me?"

"Show you?"

"Teach me how to play a little?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've always wanted to learn to play an instrument, but I never did it in the end."

"Sure, yeah, come," I said, taking one of her hands and leading her to the foot of the bed. I let go and reached back, snatching up my guitar.

Then I maneuvered it so that it was on her lap, but I was able to move her fingers for her. "Let's start with some basic chords. Let's go E-minor. It's one of the easiest to make." I set it up for her, then showed her how to strum.

She had a little trouble picking it up, hitting the strings too hard and jarringly with not much rhythm.

"I suck at this," she surmised.

"Nah, you just need practice."

"I have no rhythm."

"We both know that's not true. You've displayed some hella good rhythm in certain other areas."

Her cheeks heated.

"I meant in combat, dirty girl. Although, now you mention it, yeah, in fucking too."

She giggled and it rolled right through me in the best way. "Show me that C chord again."

I showed her with my fingers and she replicated it perfectly, then followed the progression I'd taught her from that.

"Nicely done, cutie." I pulled a pick from my pocket and handed it to her. "Try strumming with this, instead of your fingers."

She fiddled with it until she got a nice grip, then she started strumming.

"Much better. Damn."

"Thanks. It feels better this way."

She worked on the progression then, using a strumming pattern I'd shown her too.

As she did that, I asked, "So, any word on the Vixen mission? The Peter Hall one, I mean?"

"Yes. His office was a bust. The surveillance tape wasn't in there. My girls are moving to his home soon."

"This is a major deal what you're doing for Mason."

She lifted a shoulder. "I'm in a position to do it, so how could I not? He needs it. Badly."

"Yeah, he does. This is gonna change everything for him." I reached out a slid my fingers into her hair, making her moan at my soft touch, and she stopped playing. " You've changed everything for all of us, Brianna."

"You've each done the same for me as well."

"You saved our brotherhood. You know that? It's always meant everything to me, so seeing it straining was heartbreaking for me. But everything changed when you became a part of us. You're like the missing link or something. It fits so well now. So, thank you."

"I love being a part of it, with you guys."

Gazing into her eyes, I stroked her hair and confessed, "I love you, cutie."

Her eyes lit up. she put my guitar down, then wrapped her arms around me. "I love you too," she breathed at my ear. "You're such a sweetheart."

"My tongue piercing is a part of that love, right?"

She eased back, giggling. "Oh, definitely."

We both burst out laughing.

And it was fucking perfect.