She giggles. “I know. But that means I won. And guess what I want?” She leans forward, bright pink lips parted.
I pull her down for a sweet, chaste kiss. Despite the fact that it’s short and sweet, it still sends my heart into overdrive.
An annoyed voice comes from the front hall. “Zolroth! What the hell is this?”
Raz appears with a stack of shoeboxes in his arms. Behind him, Kastros holds a second stack. Then Van appears with a third.
“Oh thanks, guys. Could you just put those in my third closet?”
Raz narrows his eyes before stomping off. If Katrina wasn’t here on my lap, looking so delicious and softening his asshole exterior, I’m pretty certain all of those boxes would have been chucked right at my head.
Loving her has so many benefits.
Akor strolls into the room a few minutes later, giving Katrina a wink before he lays down on the floor next to Adam, who’s started counting for some reason but keeps getting stuck on number thirteen.
“Wanna play rocket ship?” Akor asks him.
“Hell yeah!” Adam jumps up.
“Adam!” Katrina sits upright in my lap, scolding him.
“What?”
“We don’t say that word,” she tells him.
The four-year-old cocks his head. “But Raz said rules are for pussies who are too scared to make their own choices. What’s a pussy?”
Katrina smacks a hand over her burning red face and groans. My entire body shakes with laughter, not only at the question, but at the verbal smackdown I know is in store for our murder’s leader.
I make eye contact with Akor, who’s outright pounding the floor in his amusement.
Adam just looks annoyed at all of us. “You are weird. I’m gonna go ask Raz.”
“No!” Katrina shoots up off my lap and chases down Adam. “He means they’re dumb kitty cats. It’s another word for cat.”
“But Kator’s not dumb,” Adam argues, crossing his chubby little arms and immediately getting defensive.
“Kator’s not, but some people don’t like cats, and so a long time ago, someone made up that—”
“That’s grenation!” Adam stomps his foot on the ground.
“What was that, buddy?” I fight to keep my face straight and concerned.
“Grenation. You know, when someone hates someone for no good reason.”
“Ohh, discrimination.” It’s hard as fuck to keep the smile off my face at how cute that is, but I fight against all the giddy, cute feelings inside. Gah. Sometimes, I think I love that little kid nearly as much as my mate. He brings something to our murder that we never had before. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but it’s pure light, I know that much.
“Yeah, fuck grenation!” Akor says, swinging Adam up onto his shoulders. “Let’s go find Kator and start a rebellion!” He runs down the hall, and he and Adam whoop like wild banshees or hellhounds on the hunt.
Katrina sits back on my lap with a sigh. “I guess Adam’s destined to have a potty mouth if he stays here.”
“There are worse things,” I say with a shrug. “Being unloved and ignored would be number one on that list, wouldn’t it?”
Her eyes fill with tears, and she wraps her arms around me. I put mine on her back, patting it. “Don’t worry, love.” Those ridiculous human law enforcement agents will catch up with her parents eventually. And until they do, there’s no way the guys and I will allow Katrina or Adam out of our sight. They’re ours.
“Don’t worry. You might as well say don’t breathe,” Katrina scoffs with her face in my chest.
“Well, trust us, then,” I suggest as an alternative. “Because you and Adam are with us now and forever, and there’s absolutely zero chance that we’ll let you go.”
I kiss the top of her head again, hoping that the truth of that statement settles into her bones the way it settles into mine. It’s a vow. One I won’t allow anyone to break.
I think my sweet girl might understand because, after a moment, she glances up at me teary-eyed. “I love you, Zolroth,” she whispers.
Cymbals crash together in my head at those words, and I lean in and seal her confession with a kiss. Sore as I am, vulnerable as I am, life has never been more perfect than this moment. My heart is full.
Of course, the murder ruin the moment by stomping back in seconds later. “I’m hungry,” Raz announces as he collapses onto one side of the leather couch. Kastros sits down on the other side. Van wanders in, phone already open.