couldn’t believe they were here now, standing in this awesome place, with a group of strangers that felt like family.
She inched back and took his face in her hands. His eyes were tired and his smile more determined than honest.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.” His pseudo-happy expression lost some of its traction. “You came back.”
“I did. And I’m not leaving. Come here.”
She pulled him in again and had to get up on her tiptoes to hold more of him. “It’s okay,” she murmured.
“I did my mahmen’s Fade Ceremony tonight. I wish you’d been there.”
Sarah closed her eyes. “Oh, Nate. I’m so sorry I missed it.”
“It’s okay.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I maybe could have waited. But I just … I needed to get through it.”
“I was the same when my father died.”
Now Nate was the one easing back. “You lost a parent?”
“Both of them.” She smoothed his hair. “It’s hell. No matter when or how it happens. It just … sucks.”
As he nodded, he looked beyond lost.
And maybe she should have talked to Murhder first, maybe she should have thought things through better, but no. Some things, you just knew.
“Nate, Murhder and I are going to get a little house just outside of Caldwell. It’s going to have an extra bedroom. How’d you like to come live with us?”
The boy—male, that was—blinked a couple of times. “You mean it?”
“Yes. I want you to come … stay with us. And listen, if you don’t like it, or if you don’t like us, you can—”
Nate’s face lit up. “Really? You’re serious? I could … live in a house? With you guys?”
“Yes.” She started to smile. “We’d love it. We love … you.”
Now he hugged her hard enough to crush her, not that she minded in the slightest. And when he set her back, he said, “I don’t have any money. I don’t have a job. I can’t really read all that well—”
“Not to worry. We’ll figure it all out together.”
His smile became real, his eyes glowing with true happiness. “So you have a house already picked out?”
“No, we haven’t started looking yet.”
“But wait, how do you know it’ll have an extra bedroom.”
Sarah clasped his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Because we aren’t going to buy something that doesn’t have room for you.”
Murhder nearly broke the mansion’s damn doors down. He’d only been away from Sarah for what, like an hour? But it was too long. Waaaaay too long—
As the inside door of the vestibule was sprung by Fritz, Murhder nearly ran over the poor doggen. And then he was instantly frustrated because there were frickin’ people all over the frick. Some he recognized, like Rehvenge and Trez and iAm, others were new, like some of the females, and four huge males who were draped in weapons.
None of them was who he was looking for, though, and he had a moment of panic. Where was Sarah? Xhex was supposed to—
“She’s over there, buddy,” Xhex said.
His friend the symphath’s dry tone belied the grin on her face—and Murhder had to give her a hug as he looked into the billiard room and saw his Sarah standing with Nate by a pool table.
“Thanks for taking care of my female,” he said.
“And thanks for nominating my male.” Xhex grew serious. “It meant a lot to him.”
“He deserves it. He’s a helluva fighter.” Murhder leaned in and dropped his voice. “And brace yourself.”
“For what?” When he didn’t respond, she frowned. “What am I bracing for?”
Murhder winked at his old friend. “Let’s just say the era of the Brotherhood being a boys’ club only is officially over. And I understand you’re pretty damn good with a lys.”
It was so satisfying to stun the symphath into silence.
“That’s right,” he said as he saw John Matthew come for her. “We’ve got our eyes on you, soldier.”
Murhder stepped aside as John swept his female up and the two kissed like they hadn’t seen each other in years.
Good example to follow. Murhder strode through to the billiard room, and the instant Sarah saw him, the glow of love in her face was a beacon he would follow to the ends of the earth. Pulling her into his arms, he held her up off the floor and twirled her around.
After he kissed her, he reached around and drew Nate in. “Group hug!”
The young male folded into the pair of them as if he were an essential piece of their unit, and Murhder thought about Ingridge reaching out to him all those months before. Thank God, she had.