Chapter 76

By the time Mom and I got back to her house in Cedar Harbor, the puppy squad had been fully activated. Even Raven and Cade were there. But they also had Die Hard queued up for a movie night, which was hard to be mad at. Maybe it was a little early for a Christmas movie, but I didn’t give a fuck. I changed into sweatpants and a sweatshirt, burying myself in the hood, before flopping on the couch. Finn made snacks—while clothed thankfully—Lucas pulled out every fucking blanket Mom had and then some, Sam found enough pillows for a small army, and Nolan showed up with a fuck ton of extras.

I didn’t fucking move as the world’s worst and funniest fucking blanket fort got built on Mom’s floor. Snack bowls were propped between pillows, drinks needed lids because we’d probably fucking spill everything if left to our own accord, and Mom took pictures of all of it—ones she promptly sent to all of us.

At the end of it, I had a bowl of popcorn wedged against my hip, Declan’s head rested on my knee from where he sat on the floor between Cade and Raven, and I couldn’t hear a fucking thing on the TV. Still, I fucking laughed because Sam, Lucas, and Finn went back and forth reciting every goddamn line in the fucking movie. Yeah, we’d watched it that many times.

As my gaze drifted over the chaos, I smiled slightly. Okay, maybe the puppy squad wasn’t so bad. I needed this.

I needed them.

“We need to talk,” Raven announced. She wiggled in her spot until she was facing me, resting her chin on the couch cushion.

“No good has ever come from a woman saying those words, and we’re not dating, you wild little hurricane,” I scoffed.

“Oh, hurricane. I like that.” There was no way in hell she’d never been called that. She grinned and leaned back to look at Declan and Cade. “Am I a hurricane?”

“Yes,” they replied in unison. And so did every other fucking person in the house. I chuckled.

“I’ll take it. Can anyone be a bounty hunter?” she asked.

“Well, yeah, except you.”

“Did Declan tell you to say that?”

“Raven, you can’t even get out of his truck without hurting yourself,” I reminded her as I munched on a handful of popcorn.

“It’s not my fault he has an unnecessarily large truck to go with his necessarily large—” I slammed a hand over her mouth before she could finish that fucking sentence. Not that it fucking mattered. Declan fucking smirked, and Cade cracked up.

“No one wants that,” I said.

“I want that,” she shot back, eyes crinkling around the corners with a devious grin.

“I know.” I chuckled. “That’s why you’re the horny villain.”

“If I’m the horny villain, what does that make you?” Raven replied.

“Grumpy villain,” Sam said.

“Dickhead villain,” Cade chimed in.

“Nah, it’s donut villain,” Declan retorted.

“Oh, yes!” Sam exclaimed. “That’s accurate.”

“Fuck,” I muttered, “now I want a donut.”

“Here.” Raven held out an open bag of candy. “Have a gummy bear.”

“Because those are the same thing.” Still, I helped myself to a handful of gummy bears.

“It’s the best I’ve got,” she told me. “What kind of things do you bounty hunt, donut villain?”

“It’s just called hunting, horny villain.” I grinned at the fact that we were sticking with this. “And I don’t know. A lot of things. I don’t know… ask me something and I’ll tell you if it’s real.”

“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever hunted?” Raven asked while taking out her phone. She got comfortable, half on the couch and half off as she started researching magical creatures.

“Worst? Fuck.” I blew out a long breath of air. I debated just how much to tell her. Keep her naive. That was all I could think of. She didn’t need to know all of the dark shit. “Troll who killed people.”

“Was it like a bridge troll?” Her eyes caught mine as she frowned. Jesus Christ, there was no getting off easy with this woman. At the other end of the couch, Cade snorted.

“Just remember, you let this happen,” he told me.

“Yeah, but she has to go home with you two fucks,” I shot back. I knew enough to know that she’d be stuck on this topic for days and follow their furry asses around with all her additional questions.

“I’ll make sure she has your number,” Declan said. “That way she can text you every question she has.”

Fuck.

“Thank you, baby.” She beamed, and his cocky smile widened.

“I don’t know what the fuck a bridge troll is,” I continued.

“Was there a bridge?” What the fuck?

“No. There was an abandoned house in the middle of the woods.”

“So, not a bridge troll, got it,” she muttered. “Banshee?”

“Banshee…” I faltered, frowning. “I don’t… fuck.”

“Never fought a banshee?”

“I haven’t, so I don’t fucking know.”

“Ghosts?” she asked, just accepting it and moving on.

“Ghosts aren’t real,” I said.

“Unless you count the Guardian,” Nolan chimed in.

“Fucking pack myth,” I retorted.

“What’s the Guardian?” Raven looked between us. I rolled my eyes. This fucking story. Nolan loved the fucking story—loved thinking it was real—but there was no way it was.

“It’s this stupid story going back to our ancestors,” I told her. “Some shit about a special wolf created by the witch that created our wolves. The wolf is supposed to have some kind of magic or superpowers or some shit.”

“You suck at telling this story,” Nolan stated.

“It’s because it’s a sucky ass story.”

“But I want to hear the sucky story,” Raven cut in. “But I want to hear it from Nolan because you suck at storytelling, donut villain.”

The doorbell rang, which was odd, considering the heavy rain and the late hour. Mom didn’t live close to anyone for people to just drop by. I couldn’t fucking care less—at least not enough to do anything about it.

“I don’t suck at storytelling!” I exclaimed. “The story is bullshit.”

“That’s your opinion.”

“That’s—”

“Killian,” Mom interrupted our back and forth. I craned my neck to see over the arm of the couch. “The door is for you.”

“I don’t want to see anyone,” I told her. Anyone I was comfortable with was in the room.

“Killian,” she began again, and I sighed.

“I don’t want to—”

“Go to the damn door, Killian, or so help me, I’ll drag you myself!” she snapped. Fuck, I made Mom swear.

“Fine,” I grumbled. Groaning, I was a little too fucking dramatic as I dragged my ass off the couch. I did my best not to kick Declan and stole a handful of gummy bears as I went. “Who is it?”

“Just go.” Mom gestured to the hallway leading to the front door. Fuck. None of this settled great in my stomach. I rounded the corner, expecting to find… I didn’t know what I was expecting.

But I wasn’t expecting to find Genevieve. She was soaked head-to-toe, her orange sweater and leggings clinging to her skin mercilessly. Water dripped from her straight hair, and I had a feeling those tiny as fuck boots she wore were soaked from her short run up the drive. She hugged her center, tears filling those pretty eyes when she saw me.

“Genevieve.” I was stuck—frozen in my spot as I stared at her stupidly.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“What?” Was she apologizing? For what?

“I’m sorry.” Genevieve sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m sorry for what I did to you. I shouldn’t…. I should’ve stood up for you. I should’ve said something when… I should’ve put you first. I’m sorry… I’m sorry I wasn’t a better wife. You… I would’ve left me too.”

Her voice broke the last sentence. I took a step toward her, but she moved back until she stood flush with the storm door. A sob caught in her throat, and she did her best to compose herself. My fucking heart cracked open in my chest as I watched her, but I didn’t say a damn word.

What the fuck could I say?

“I couldn’t go… I just… I just wanted to tell you before I leave,” Genevieve said softly.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” A wet laugh fell off her lips. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll go see Gabby in Vegas or… I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just go… somewhere. I need to start over.”

Oh, fuck. Genevieve couldn’t just hit the road and see where it took her. That strategy wasn’t stable enough for her. She needed somewhere to call home—somewhere safe.

“Go to Gabby.” I heard the fucking words come out of my mouth, but my voice didn’t sound like my own.

“Yeah.” She nodded slowly and let loose a shaky breath. “That’s probably… I’ll… just please know I’m sorry.”

Before I could find something to fucking say, she backed out the door and shut it. I remained where I was, staring after her as she vanished in the rain. An inexplicable whirlwind of emotions held my heart in a fucking vice grip. My feet wouldn’t move.

What was I supposed to fucking do?

“Killian?” Mom’s hand touched my back, and I glanced at her. “Baby boy, why are you still standing here?”

“What?” I replied dumbly.

“Killian, if you were waiting for the right moment to go get your wife, this is it.”

“I just…” I just what? What the hell was I going to say? Do? Fuck, my brain was broken.

“Do you still love her?” Mom asked.

“I’ll always love her.”

“Then go get her.”