Page 24 of Protecting Salvation

“Thanks, man, I hope so.”

“I know so.”

Aoife and Peyton walked over and Aoife smiled as he held his arms out and she stepped into them. “Congrats, little mama.”

“Thank you.”

Her smile was radiant as she shifted away and Bein pulled her into his arms, a fierce look of love on his face. Hurricane glanced at Peyton, who still had tears in her eyes, but they were happy tears and made her eyes twinkle.

“What a weird fucking day.” He shook his head and grinned as the doorbell went again.

“I’ll get it. Dish the food out, man. I brought enough for an army.”

Bein headed to the door as he finished unpacking burgers, fries, mac ‘n’ cheese balls, and a few side salads. Peyton came up beside him and they worked together as Bás and Val walked in with Titan and Lotus.

He bumped shoulders with Peyton and she smiled up at him and he though his heart might stop at the beauty of that smile aimed his way. It was loud and cramped with everyone talking at once. People hugging when they heard the happy news from Bein and Aoife, laughing with excitement and it felt good. Like in some small way, his family was healing from the recent blows.

“You happy?”

“Oh my God, yes. Aoife is going to be an amazing mum and I can’t even imagine what Bram will be like if it’s a girl.”

Hurricane laughed. “Screwed. He’s going to be protective as hell and so will all her uncles, just like we are with Fleur and Iris and Marni.”

“You ever thought of having kids?”

Hurricane shrugged. “I guess I assumed someday it would happen, but now, I don’t know. My life, my future, it’s all up in the air. You?”

“Definitely. I want a couple so they have friends for life.”

“That’s a nice idea. I always envied friends with brothers or sisters. It was always just me and my parents. Not that our house was ever empty. We had cousins and aunts and uncles there and we’re all close or were, but a sibling is different.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

He watched as she carried trays of burgers to the table and he followed up with all the sides. Aoife handed out soft drinks and everyone dug in, with Bertie watching them like a hawk for scraps. It was nice, and even though he knew there’d be a difficult conversation for Peyton afterwards, he was happy with how this had worked out because it had definitely taken her mind off what had happened at her office.

Lotus cornered him as he was cleaning up wrappers, the others having migrated to the garden deck where Peyton had patio furniture and more room for the big guys sucking up all the air in her modest house.

“Got a second?”

“Sure.”

“So, Jack got back to me. The chemicals I found are a specific type of fertilizer only licensed for agricultural use. It’s also commonly found in the use of homemade explosives.”

“Shit.”

“Yep.”

“It’s time to break up the party and speak to Peyton.”

“Afraid so, big guy.” Lotus cocked her head at him. “You like her, don’t you?”

He could deny it, or lie, but what was the point? Lotus was like a dog with a bone. She was also incredibly perceptive which was why she was such a good person to have at your back. “Yeah, I really do.” He popped his shoulder as he shoved the last of the rubbish into the bin. “Don’t matter though, because I don’t know what I can offer her apart from uncertainty.”

Lotus blew out a humourless laugh. “That’s a bullshit excuse. Life is always uncertain, especially for people like us. Which is why we need to live every day without a single regret. Don’t look back with your last breath, whenever that may be, and have something you wish you’d done hovering over you.”

Lotus squeezed his biceps and then rose to kiss his cheek before walking outside to the others. It was unlike her to be so deep, or so affectionate but her words stayed with him as he followed the sound of laughter and one voice in particular that lifted his soul.