Lucky cocked his head, gaze lit with tentative curiosity. He chewed on his lip for a moment before softly muttering, “Am I included on that road?”
My eyes widened in surprise. After all we’d gone through—did he still not think he belonged?
“I’m the new guy,” he quickly amended, as if afraid to hear my answer. “I came in, led you on, tried to steal your painting. I think I convinced you lot to put up with me.” He nodded to the other men lying in their beds beside mine, who quietly observed the conversation. “But I know I’m not a part of the group—not really. I’m a great fuck,” he joked,though the laughter in his tone didn’t meet his eyes, “but I know I fucked up, and I—”
It was Aaron who moved before I could, shifting his weight off the bed to stand at Lucky’s side. He placed two hands on his shoulders, stopping him mid-sentence and forcing his attention into the deep, penetrating eyes only Aaron had.
“Rojo, you are childish and you speak too much. Your impulsiveness is reckless. But you are brilliant, and kind, and your bravery saved our lives. It is a debt I will never repay.”
He lowered his head, placing a gentle kiss on Lucky’s lips. When he pulled back, a soft smile I wasn’t used to seeing on Aaron’s handsome, stern face tugged at his cheekbones and lit up my heart.
“You belong with us.”
Lucky sat in stunned silence for a second before his face brightened with a toothy grin. “Well, that’s one way to shut me up,” he admitted with a light chuckle.
Kellan grunted on my opposite side, and we all turned to see the uncomfortable Viking watching the display with his brows crinkled with conflict.
“I don’t want you to leave.” He cleared his throat as if this admission was a challenge, but the ferocity swirling in the dark blue of his eyes clearly belied his intentions. “You drive me crazy, but I don’t want you driving anyone else crazy… but me.” He drew in a breath and blew it out loudly between his teeth. “Us,” he amended.
“I won’t promise not to be the overbearing pain in the ass I know I am”—Aaron and I both snorted and smirked at each other as Kellan gathered his thoughts—“but I learned my lesson. I’m not leaving. Whatever comes next—we’ll deal with it together.”
The declaration sobered my blossoming mood. Antonio was still out there—in hiding, according to Weston—and the FBI and the DEA were slowly dismantling every part ofhis operations. But Kellan, all of us, wouldn’t feel any semblance of safety until he was buried deep underground.
“Thanks, Kell-Bell.” Lucky’s response held a muted teasing cadence, playing at the edges of the rueful smile on his lips. “I really like you too.”
An intensity burned in the room between them—of attraction, of emotion. They might “like” each other now, but it had been steadily growing into something more—something fiery and tender—and maybe one day, they’d be able to admit it.
Our Irishman’s attention fixated on me. The calming sea-glass of those stunning green eyes searched my soul, and I knew I had to tell him. I needed to hear the words myself, not just whispered in a torture chamber when I thought I’d never have the chance again.
“I love you, Lucky.” I slowly leaned forward and brought his knuckles to my lips before holding his hand against the flushed skin of my cheek. “Not just because you saved our lives, but because of who you are. You are all the things Aaron said you are—and you balance us in a way I don’t think anyone else ever could. I don’t want to have survived hell to not have you on the other side with us.”
The mattress creaked beneath Lucky’s weight as he pulled his hand out of my grasp and moved off the bed and sat in the small space beside me. He lowered his face to mine, and the fruity scent of Skittles washed over me as he stared at me so hard, I thought he was counting the pores on my forehead.
“I think I’ve loved you from the first moment we met.” He was so close, I could count every dainty freckle across the bridge of his nose. I loved every single one. “Didn’t know it, because I didn’t know what the feck love was, but Blondie, you’re it for me. I love you so fucking much.”
Supple lips enveloped my mouth with forceful passion, and I melted under their touch, infusing every feeling I held for him in my heart into the kiss: desire, appreciation,playfulness, care. He caressed my tongue with delicate laps of his, tempting and teasing me with their intoxicating flavor, melting me into a pile of—
“Ms. Lane?”
A guard broke the magic of our kiss, peeking his head through the door, a concerned frown on his face. “There’s a woman here to see you, a”—his head disappeared behind the door, and we heard muffled murmurs before he popped back in again—“Winter Wallace? Do you know her?”
My heart jumped in my chest like a jackrabbit, adrenaline mainlined directly into my bloodstream. My best friend was here, after I’d spent months being a shitty friend to her and avoiding fessing up at every opportunity. News of our capture, then rescue had been the major headline for days. Principally, all anyone cared about was my stock value, not me—and I hadn’t even thought to call her to let her know I was alright.
Hot shame followed the adrenaline spike, but I swallowed it down under the many other layers of buried shame my therapist was going to have a field day with, and managed a tight smile.
“Yes,” I said, dipping my head to the guard, “please let her in.”
Two seconds later, Winter Wallace in all her glory, barreled into the room with two of her husbands in tow—Cam and Travis, Kellan’s family.
Lucky hastily stood and backed away from his previous position mid-kiss. “Let’s go for a walk and stretch these legs, Daddy!” He hoisted Aaron off the bed, guided him into a wheelchair, and wheeled him to the doorway before I could say another word.
Kellan also got the message. “We’ll give you some privacy,” he muttered, leaving his bed and placing a firm hand on his nephew and brother’s shoulders. “Let’s go to the cafeteria so we canchat.”
I didn’t bother saying anything about his appearance. With how terrifying Kellan looked in the tiny hospital gown with dried blood all over him, no one else would breathe a word either.
Once the three men strode through the threshold, Winter and I were alone, the silence between us so thick it coated my tongue.
“Winter, I—”
