by KC Kean
Trying to process everything he just said, I’m surprised they had time to arrange all of that. I don’t actually know how long I was in The Pyramid, so maybe they had all the time in the world.
“Thank you,” I murmur, clasping my hands together on the table.
“You don’t need to thank me, Luna,” Rafe says, placing his hand on top of mine.
“You’re still here when I need you, even when everything is going to shit.”
“Luna, no matter what, I will always be here. This world is a mind fuck and I’m living in it too. I would never purposefully leave you to handle any of this darkness alone. You are my child to protect, do you understand?” Taken back by his words, all I can do is squeeze his hand in response.
I needed to hear that. I need him in my corner, which means he can’t keep holding details back.
After everything that’s happened in the past few days, I feel raw looking into his eyes, vulnerable.
“I love you,” I whisper.
Tears instantly prick his eyes. I don’t recall ever being so open about my feelings with him, but the emotion on his face makes me glad I’m allowing him a deeper glimpse inside.
“I love you infinity, Luna. I know there is still a lot for me to tell you, and I will, I promise. I just don’t want to make anything worse.”
“Well, I need to know, so I can handle this world. I don’t appreciate people like Rico asking me if I remember them, and not actually knowing the answer. I’ve been laying in bed, willing my mind to open to me, but I’m coming up blank.” I sigh, pushing my fingertips into the table.
“We’ll get through this together, Luna. We always do,” he offers with a smile, as Red comes barreling into the room, hands full of Frappuccino heaven.
“This is why you’re my favorite,” I mutter, before wrapping my lips around the straw and gulping down the ice cold coffee.
“Well duh, that was my plan all along.” She giggles, taking the seat beside me.
Juliana brings over a plate stacked high with pancake goodness. I don’t speak to anyone as I devour the plate, finally fueling my body with the most delicious treat ever.
“No one makes them like this,” I say, as I come up for air.
“You remember?” Juliana asks, hopeful.
“Err, not really. I just know that this is how they’re supposed to taste.” I meet her eyes and show my honesty.
“I’ll take that,” she beams, sitting down beside Rafe.
“I’m already itching at these stitches, can we fast forward to Sunday already?” I ask, needing to steer the conversation in a different direction.
“Suck it up, buttercup. You’ve got three days left to relax and plan. Deal with it,” Rafe says, with a smirk.
“Rafe, be nice to my beautiful girl, or I’ll go all Queen Gibbs mode on you and pull rank.” Juliana jumps in, giving him a fake glare before offering me a wink. Red chuckles beside me and I join her.
“Well, I could do with a little R&R, and I can’t follow through on my threat without a plan now can I?”
The darkness that takes over Juliana’s face tells me she’s behind me whatever needs to be done.
“Whatever you need from me you just say, agreed?” She emphasizes and I nod in response.
“I just need to know what’s actually happening right now and going forward. Not my history, that’s something I think I need to do for myself,” I say, looking mainly at Rafe.
“I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” I say with a stern look, then take a deep breath trying to relax. “Any chance for some pants?” I catch Red smirk and wiggle her eyebrows.
“I took the liberty of getting you some outfits, courtesy of Rafe’s card, of course.”
“If you bought anything pink or floral I’m getting rid of you,” I say and she just laughs, running to the living room to grab whatever she bought.
Before I follow her, Rafe stops me.
“Hey, have you spoken to the guys yet?”
“No, and I don’t plan to.” I sigh, looking down at my feet.
“I told Roman not to tell you, Luna. It’s my fault.” He places his hand on his chest.
I consider his words for a moment, rubbing the back of my neck, embarrassed that we’re having this conversation right now. He even said the guys, it’s that obvious.
“Rafe, if someone is willing to omit information from me because someone else said so, then they weren’t meant for me anyway,” I answer, my heart hurting as the stale words leave my mouth.
I follow after Red without a backwards glance.
I don’t need excuses, and I don’t need the distraction.
I’m out for blood.
CHAPTER TWO
(Oscar)
I’m going out of my head.
We all are. Five days ago, my baby girl endured that fucking Pyramid. I still can’t unsee the blood dripping down her face and the slice down her chest. My girl’s breasts on show for everyone to see, yet it’s the least of anyone’s worries.
She did what she needed to do to survive, saving Jess along the way.
I was too busy running interference so I didn’t see her address everyone, but I heard her voice over the speakers. Void of any emotion, yet you could feel the promise of vengeance. When she mentioned her father, my heart was aching for her.
Roman finally explained everything he knew, expanding on the bombs Luna had dropped back in Washington.
Parker, Kai and I dropped everything to get there, the instant Roman had sent the stress text PINEAPPLE, but we were too late. Everything had already gone to shit by then. Parker's father, Rico, had shown up to Luna’s room with some of his men, while she was still out getting the blueprints needed to complete her assignment.
Apparently Luna had some cool tech stuff set up, and Rafe sent her Grandmother to assist. No one has really explained to me why Rico was there. I do know that his words caught Luna off guard, because he’d been the one to tell her she’d known Roman as a child.
I was a little confused why neither of them had mentioned it. Then, Luna explained in a fit of rage that she didn’t remember her life before the age of six. So, Roman had been omitting shit from her, from all of us.
Alone in the gym at Ace, I smash my gloved hands into the punching bag before me, trying to get my anger out somewhere.
He had known Luna since they were babies. The Gibbs, Steele, Rivera and Morgan families were a tight knit group before it was all blasted to hell.
The group was so close that an alliance was agreed upon for their children to be betrothed to each other? I don’t know, I don’t really understand. I knew it was quite common for multiple families to form stronger connections through marriage, strengthening their bloodlines, but I didn’t actually know anyone who had.
It appealed to me on so many levels. To be part of a bigger immediate family unit as opposed to just two. I don’t have the capacity to take on someone else’s burdens alone, not with everything I already have running around in my head. I’ve experienced loss, and felt both physical and mental pain for as long as I can remember. When I lose myself to the darkness, I prefer to do so in private. That’s why the five of us, together, works for me.
Luna settles me and excites me at the same time. I’m an adrenaline junkie, and she’s my latest addiction. We were already a close group of friends, but she just glues us together that much better.
Roman explained that all his childhood memories, until he turned six, involved Luna and West in some way. West has no chance now though. The thought makes me snicker. He’ll have to rethink his options because there is no room on the Luna train for him.
The humor leaves my mind as I remember Roman saying that one day, Luna was just … gone, along with her father, Bryce Steele. None of us are any wiser as to why everyone was made to believe she had died with her father, and no one dared ask what happened on that fateful day.
I miss her voice. Fuck, she always brings out my pussy side.
I calm my assault on the punching bag, leaning my head against it as I try to catch my breath. I miss the feel of her skin, and the electricity that courses through my veins when she’s near. All this new information is running around in my head, and I haven’t laid eyes on my girl, our girl, in five days.
Five. Fucking. Days.
It’s too long.
Pushing off the bag, I lift my arms and go again, feeling my muscles burn, but it doesn’t relieve any of my pent up stress. I know she’s with Rafe, and he’ll keep her safe. I just need to see her for myself.
My phone chimes from the bench beside me, but I’m not done channeling my anger. It goes off a few more times, and when I finally glance down, it’s Roman. The only reason I would stop right now is if Luna was calling me.
The door to the gym bursts open and Roman storms in, relief showing on his face when he sees me. I can tell he’s mad that he had to come looking for me, although he’s trying to downplay it because he knows we're all struggling.
“Oscar, I’ve been calling you, man.” He stretches his arms out to the side, in question.
“I know,” I grunt, not relenting on the punching bag, continuing through the motion.
Jab. Jab. Cross. Jab. Jab. Hook.
He lets me continue for a little longer before he steps up to the other side of the bag and pulls it away from me.
“What do you want, Roman?”
“Rafe called, she’s on her way.”
Fuck. If he’d led with that when he walked in, I would have stopped what I was doing.
Fucking idiot.
“Did he say how they both are?” I ask, trying to catch my breath as I finally start to feel the toll of my workout. The thought of her being so near has my heart rate picking up.
“He said Jess is bouncing around leaving a rainbow in her tracks,” he chuckles, happy to hold a lighter conversation, even if only for a second. We both know Jess is all sunshine and roses, so that tells us she’s okay.
“And Luna?”
“I don't know. He said she was much stronger than when they first left, both physically and emotionally. He tried to broach the subject about us but she just shut him down.”
“How long till she gets here?”
I take a seat on the bench, resting my forearms on my knees as sweat pours off me. I’ve clearly been here longer than I had originally planned. My muscles are already starting to ache, but I enjoy the pain.
“Rafe called when she got off the plane. He thought it would be best if we weren’t there when she arrives,” he murmurs. The guilt in his eyes shows me how much he is beating himself up over this. As much as I want to beat the shit out of him, I don’t need to add to the torture he’s already putting himself through.
“What does that mean?” I frown, grabbing my water and taking a sip.
“It means she’s about ten minutes away and doesn’t want to see us.”
“Fuck that, Roman!” I shout, raking my fingers through my hair, gripping at the ends.
“What do you expect me to do?”
Expect him to do? Is he for real? Fuck that hopeless look in his eyes.
“I expect you to fucking stand your ground. She’s never going to get past any of this if you don’t put up a fight and convince her to listen to you,” I yell, and he hangs his head, his fingers fisting in the back of his hair. He’s like a caged animal. It’s a struggle for him to have someone else hold all the power here.
“I know that Oscar, but I think I need to give her a minute. I know it’s been five days, before you fucking remind me, again. From everything back in Washington with Rico … and me, to fighting in The Pyramid. Rafe said she needs some space.”
He’s right, I know he is. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, and fuck Rafe for giving out more shitty orders.
God, it fucking hurts not being with her right now. I wish I could go back to the beach house with her. Everything was so simple there.
“Have you told the others?” I ask.
“Yeah, they’re up in my room, waiting for me to get back with you. You good?”
I don’t answer. I just grab my things and head for the door. We need to figure this shit out because I need my girl.
Rounding the corner for the elevator, I see that it’s not on the ground floor, and I don’t have the patience to wait for it. So I take the stairs two at a time up to the top level, Roman right behind me.
Parker is standing at Roman’s door when we get there, his eyes bleak.
He knew it was the right thing to do to get Luna out of Featherstone, we all did, but he’s taking it worse than the rest of us. Parker is slowly sinking. Knowing that his father was behind a lot of this, along with Luna’s bitch of a mother, has him at a loss. The only way he’ll feel better is with Luna around.
Kai has been quieter than usual. You can see he’s troubled by all of this. I’m not even sure if he’s slept. He’s been trying to hack into the Gibbs’ security system, but without any luck. I think he needs to rest his eyes on her, like me.
Roman has just been a grumpy ass, mainly because he knows he really fucked up by not being honest with her. He needs to get a grip on it all because I will not allow this ship to sink.
Standing in Roman’s room, the layout is a carbon copy of Luna’s. Pity the furnishings scream bachelor pad, instead of Luna’s cozy surroundings. The grey wooden floors, white walls and black gloss furniture yells, ‘I am man, hear me roar!’ My room is a smaller version of Roman’s, but that’s irrelevant right now.
It’s silent in here.
“So how do we play this, guys?” Parker asks, desperation in his voice.
“We have to go at her speed, give her a few days, then charge in. We don’t want to give her too much time to get comfortable without us around,” Kai says, like it really is that simple.
Nobody wants to wait, it’s obvious, but none of us have ever cared enough about anyone to try and put their feelings first. I’m all for charging in when necessary though.
“Any news on Rico or Hindman?” Roman asks, and Kai shakes his head.
“They’re good at covering their tracks, the system is constantly running. The second they pop up, I’ll know.”
A bang outside the door gains our attention. Like lightning, Parker is whipping the door open, and stopping dead in his tracks.
We’re all quick to follow his footsteps. Glancing around him, I see her.
Trying to take in every inch of her at once, I don’t know where to place my eyes first. I’m drawn to her face, my baby girl has black and blue bruising around her pretty green eyes again. Why do they always go for her beautiful face like that? From the look in Luna’s eyes, I can see she had hoped to get in without having to see any of us, and it guts me.
She’s not alone, Jess is with her and it’s clear she made the bang with a big-ass suitcase. What the fuck’s that for? The guilt on her face plays havoc on her features.
Returning my stare to Luna, we all just stand and gape at her, none of us knowing what to say or do.
She looks at each of us, and I can tell she can see the stress written all over our faces. I can also see the hurt in her eyes because of Roman’s stupid fucking actions, and that she doesn’t want to deal with us.
She turns to walk into her room, when Parker calls out.
“Luna,” barely a whisper past his lips, but she hears it.
She can hear the pain in his voice and looks back at him. I see her ache at the devastation in his eyes, and she’s unable to stop herself from making her way to him.
Nobody moves, terrified we’ll scare her off.
She cups his cheek lightly, and he melts into her touch, leaning his face into her palm as he closes his eyes at the contact.
“I can’t make this better right now, Parker. I hate seeing you like this, but a lot has happened this past week. I’m not ready to deal with this yet,” she murmurs, leaning into him further. She doesn’t even realize she’s doing it.
“You just did,” he mur
murs back, dropping his head to her shoulder, breathing her in.
I’m fucking jealous of him right now.
She holds her hand on the back of his neck, lightly stroking her fingers through the tips of his hair for a moment before stepping back.
Luna offers a poor excuse of a smile before she’s gone. Red offers us a grin and a wink before following her inside. Did she make that bang on purpose?
Sullenly, we all step back into Roman’s room, the ache in my chest only worse.
Kai throws himself back down into his seat as Roman guides Parker inside with his arm wrapped around his shoulders.
Fuck this shit.
We are more than this, and we need to be a hell of a lot more if we plan to stay by her side.
Firing off a quick text, I leave without even a backwards glance, heading back to my own space. I don’t need to be around them right now.
I need a cold shower.
Fuck it.
I know that won’t work.
I finally laid eyes on my baby girl, and my dick is hard as steel. The warmth that takes over my body feels different this time, but I don’t understand why. I just know being in her presence impacts me more than anyone else ever has.
I’m gonna scream her name so loud she’ll hear me.
CHAPTER THREE
(Luna)
“Girl, I’m gonna give you a minute to get yourself comfortable, then me and you are going to put a movie on, eat junk food and finally talk about those boys,” Red says, hands on hips, ready for my argument.
“Red, I just …”
“No, Luna. It wasn’t an offer. We’re going to get into our comfys, I’m going to order you a meat feast pizza and some Phish Food ice cream, and we are going to hash this all out. Understood?”
I nod, knowing she’s not going to let this drop, and I haven’t got the strength to say no to her right now. Although, I do know I need to reign my sass in around her. She’s picking it up too easily now. I don’t like her using it against me.
