Present
The police and Search and Rescue Unit brought up Martin’s body, but as soon as they loaded him onto the gurney, I had to look away.
Broken, dead, and small. God, he looked so small.
I wasn’t sure what I was feeling, but I couldn’t see him like that. I knew it was him or us. I didn’t regret a thing, because he made his choices, and he forced me into a position where I had to choose, but after a lifetime of him, it wasn’t a hard decision.
There was no choice.
It still muddled my brain, though, and all I saw when I looked down at his body was my parents’ son. The brother I watched grow up.
I couldn’t believe he was gone.
Taylor was arrested, and Jack Munro was in contact with his family, probably arranging for Taylor to join Evans on the transport to “another undisclosed location” since Blackchurch had burned down.
Micah and Rory stayed behind to give the police a statement, but we assured them we’d be at the station in the morning to fill in any details.
I had a feeling, with Will’s grandfather present in town, we weren’t going to be grilled too hard.
Aydin jogged behind us as we raced out of the elevator and down the corridor, spotting everyone loitering outside a glass hospital door with the curtain inside drawn.
“Hey, how is she?” I asked Michael as he, Damon, and Kai all stood in front of the door.
But Aydin nudged past us. “Move,” he ordered them.
Michael crossed his arms, glaring down at him.
“I’m a physician,” Aydin pointed out. “I can help.”
“She has the best medical care money can buy,” Michael told him. “You’re not needed. Good night.”
Aydin stood there as Damon and Kai flanked Michael, none of them budging.
I felt like stepping in and helping him, but part of me knew they were right. He cared, but did he care enough? How long would he stick around? She didn’t need the hurt anymore.
Aydin’s chest rose and fell, the wheels turning in his head as he came to terms with the fact that he wouldn’t win in a fight against all four of them.
I stood back with the girls as Will joined his friends in shielding Alex.
Aydin turned around, looking ready to leave, but then he just stopped, letting out a breath. “And if I marry her?” he asked.
My heart skipped a beat, Rika and I straightening as my gaze flipped between him and the boys.
Aydin spun back around, facing them. “If I promise to marry her, will you let me in?”
Michael’s gaze thinned. “No.”
He didn’t believe him.
“Still want to marry her?” he taunted.
Was Aydin just saying that to get in the door? Or was he absolutely serious.
Damon stepped in, grabbed Aydin’s collar, and shot a fist right into his gut. I flinched, having enough violence for one night.
Aydin lurched forward, bending in half and grunting, but Damon pulled him back up, straightening his shirt.
“Yes,” Aydin gasped. “I still want to marry her.”
I bit back my smile.
Kai reared back and threw a punch across Aydin’s face, Aydin whipping around and wincing. “Fuck,” he growled.
But after a moment, he turned and faced them again.
“Get out,” Michael told him.
“No.”
Michael grabbed his shirt, held him tight, and tossed another punch across his jaw. Aydin’s arms stayed at his sides, his fists balled, but made no move to fight back.
Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth as he breathed hard and let the pain course through him.
Slowly, he turned again and faced the guys, raising his chin and ready for more.
He knew what would happen to him if he broke her heart. He had to know that now, and he was still here.
I glanced at Michael.
“If she says yes,” Michael told him, “and you don’t come through, we will kill you.”
I smiled to myself.
Kai cocked his head. “She deserves a huge wedding at your expense.” He glared at Aydin. “You will invite everyone. You will give her the party of her life and honor her in front of the entire fucking world. Do you hear me?”
He nodded. No hiding her. No shame.
“She deserves a beautiful dress and flowers and a seated dinner with a band,” Will advised, holding up his finger. “Not a DJ. I’m thinking a day wedding. In Boston Common, maybe.”
“Oh, that sounds nice,” Damon cooed, glancing from Will to Aydin. “I like that idea.”
Banks snorted behind her hand, all of us amused at them planning the wedding for him.
“And a honeymoon,” Kai added, “in a private bungalow in the Balinese jungle with first-class service.”
“And you’ll swim with her naked,” Will demanded. “And have candlelit dinners.”
“All right,” Aydin growled, trying to shut them up.
“And you don’t touch her until the wedding night,” Michael told him.
Aydin’s eyes shot up, his spine steeling. “What?”
They all remained silent, standing their ground.
Oh, boy.
“I’ve never even kissed her,” Aydin gritted out. “I want to hold her. I want to—”
“When you’re her husband,” Michael clarified.
I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. They were adorable.
Aydin seethed, and I could tell this would be a far different story if it were just him and Michael. “Fine,” he finally replied.
He started to move around Michael, but Damon spoke up. “And one more thing.”
Aydin stopped. “Jesus, what?”
“Meet us at Sensou tomorrow night. 10 p.m.,” Damon told him.
“Why?”
Damon smirked. “Having Alex means you’re in the family, and there are two ways to get initiated into our gang. If you want to be in ours, you can either be beat in or—”
“Damon!” Rika barked.
The guys started laughing and Damon quieted, looking at Rika like a four-year-old saying “what did I do?”
What? I looked around at all of them, lost. What was he going to say?
“I was just kidding,” he told Rika.
I shook my head, making a mental note to get caught up on that joke later.
I pushed off the wall and slipped through the guys. “Us first,” I told Aydin. “Wait your turn.”
I stepped into the hospital room, a nurse tending to Alex’s monitors, and my gaze fell onto the bed, seeing her as everyone trailed in behind me.
Her shoulder was bandaged up, her arm tucked into her, and her hospital gown and blankets keeping her warm.
She’d already been to surgery, as it had taken about two hours to get through the police and finding Martin’s body.
I should take a picture. She was going to be really pissed when she saw her hair hanging all limp like that.
The girls and I crowded around the bed, seeing her eyes start to open, and I leaned down, hating how pale her lips were. Alex always had color there.
“Just a few minutes, everyone,” the nurse warned and then left the room.
“How are you?” I asked as Will pulled the curtain closed from the night outside.
Alex’s head bobbed a little. “I feel so good right now.”
Rika laughed under her breath, leaning over from the other side. “A little high, are you?”
“Yeahhhhh,” she said, sounding all satisfied about it.
“I think Aydin wants to be naked in this bed with you right now,” I told her.
“He’s sooooo adorable.” She blinked, looking sleepy. “Did you see his muscles in that T-shirt? Shiverrrrrs.”
“Jesus Christ,” Damon grumbled, turning away.
“He wants to sit with you tonight, but we want to stay,” I said. “He can see you tomorrow. If you want.”
She didn’t say anything, but after a few moments, her eyes opened and she took a deep breath, looking more alert.
“Let him in,” she told us. “Go wake up that judge and finish that wedding.”
I shook my head. “No, we can do that tomorrow.”
“Tonight.”
She met my eyes, and I pushed the hair out of her face, Rika diving in and kissing her temple.
“I’ll see you later,” she said.
But…
“Go,” she ordered. “And don’t leave each other…go for at least eight hours.”
I chuckled, but I closed my mouth, not arguing any further. They had things to say to each other, at any rate. She needed to be alone with him.
“Send him in for me?” Alex asked as we all started to drift out.
“We’re leaving Lev right outside,” Michael called out.
“Why?” Alex inquired. “Am I in danger?”
“He’s a…” I drifted off, searching for the words. “A chaperone, actually.”
“Huh?”
“’Night!” we sing-songed, not bothering to explain.
We’d leave that for Aydin. They had a long evening ahead, especially since Michael’s no-touch order completely depended on Lev’s ability to take on Aydin by himself. I mean, he seemed like a scrapper, but I wasn’t confident.
“Come in your pajamas, for all I care,” Will said into the phone. “We’ll be waiting at the gazebo.”
I clutched his arm as he hung up with the judge, I assumed, and we all left the hospital, Rika talking to Michael close and quietly.
I knew she was concerned about the kid. She’d had David take the girl to St. Killian’s for the night, while we wrapped up at the Cove and here, but if I knew her at all by now, an idea was already brewing.
Within ten minutes, the eight of us were back in front of the judge who wore her black robe over jeans this time, and I looked up at Will, blowing the lock of hair out of my face.
“You can still run,” he taunted.
“Maybe after this.” I did a little dance in my stained jeans and dirty face. “When you’re legally required to come after me, that is.”
Martin drifted through my mind, as well as my parents, Grand-Mère, and how I didn’t have a single person of my own here whom I was bringing into this family.
I came alone, without much else to offer these people, but I was starting tomorrow with everything I ever wanted.
I had brothers who cared about me now. Aydin, Rory, and the beautiful Micah, his gentleness and presence that put me at ease at Blackchurch almost immediately.
I had a career, an education, and The Carfax Room. I also had Will behind me…and in front of me, willing to take a bullet if I were ever in danger.
I trusted myself now. I wasn’t leaving, and I wasn’t hiding.
Happy people don’t fear death, because there’s nothing more they want out of life than what they have right now.
I smiled, because I didn’t have any fear.
Finally, I was free.
“Okay,” the judge said, all of us standing where we stood five hours ago, now dressed in street clothes with a little blood here and there.
“Michael and Erika,” she said. “Damon and Winter. Kai and Nikova. William and Emory.”
Will jerked his eyes to her. “We did this part,” he told her. “Can you just finish where you left off?”
“Will…” I scolded under my breath.
He looked at me. “I have Godzilla vs. Kong at the theater waiting for us.”
My mouth fell open. “Already? It doesn’t release for a few weeks!”
He shot me a look, like ‘please.’
I snorted, glancing at the judge. “Yeah, hurry up.”
I was going to like being a Grayson.
Laughter went off around the group, and the judge nodded. “Michael and Erika…I now pronounce you husband and wife,” she told them.
They kissed, and the judge proceeded around the group.
“Damon and Winter? I pronounce you husband and wife.”
I bit my lip, inching into Will and ready.
“Kai and Nikova?” she continued. “I pronounce you husband and wife.”
Kai growled before kissing Banks hard.
“And William and Emory, I now pronounce you…husband and wife.”
I dived in and kissed him deep, whimpering as he wrapped his arms around me, the ring on my finger solidifying what we should’ve known could never be stopped.
Not in the chem lab, the movie theater, or my first night at Blackchurch as he stood in the shadows of the kitchen.
“Live for your love,” the judge said, “love your life, and raise hell.”
I laughed against his lips, my stomach swarming with butterflies and my heart pitter-pattering a mile a minute.
Cheers and clapping went off around the village, crowds still loitering at Sticks and in the tavern as it was only about midnight still.
“Start your adventure,” the judge told us.
“Thank you,” I said, turning to her.
We all hugged each other, hugged the judge, and I spotted Misha, Ryen, Micah, and Rory head over to us as we descended the stairs. Will’s grandfather left a group of men outside the White Crow as he pulled a cigar out of his mouth and headed over, as well.
I didn’t realize he was still here.
“Congratulations,” he said to Will, engulfing his grandson in a big hug.
“Thank you,” Will told him.
Senator Grayson moved to me, taking my hand and kissing me on the cheek. “Congratulations, honey.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He looked to Will. “I’ll let you get settled in and set up house and such. We’ll talk in a couple of weeks, okay?”
“You got it.”
They hugged again, Will telling him, “Thank you for everything.”
“Hey, man,” Micah called, gesturing Will over.
Will met my eyes, looking between me and his grandfather. “I’ll be right back.” He left a peck on my forehead.
I watched him head over to Micah, probably to check on how things went with the police.
I looked at the senator. “I kind of feel bad I sprung this on him,” I said. “His parents weren’t here.”
It just seemed too perfect when Rika suggested it. But if he’d wanted his own wedding with all the trimmings, I would’ve loved that, too.
He shrugged a little. “My son and his wife love that boy to kingdom come,” he teased. “I promise you they’ll just be happy he’s happy. And…you can always have another ceremony, of course. I can tell you right now, his mother won’t be denied a proper reception, so get ready.”
I laughed. That was fine. Sounded really nice, actually.
“Take care of him.” He touched my arm, leaning in. “He’s kind of my favorite.”
“Ugh,” Misha said, walking past us, clearly hearing.
I held back my snort, Mr. Grayson shot his other grandson a look. “That one’s like me,” he whispered. “Too much like me.”
“So of course, you don’t get along,” I joked.
“Nope.” He looked after Misha with a kind smile. “I do like his style, though. I had a pretty nice black leather jacket back in the day.”
I could picture it. The man had to be eighty, but he looked fifty-five. Tall like Will, with amazing hair.
“Thank you for looking out for him, Senator Grayson,” I said. “When I couldn’t, I mean.” I looked behind me, seeing Will shaking hands and smiling, surrounded by his friends and his town and all the possibilities to come. “At least he had his friends all those years, though. I used to pick on them in high school, but they really did start something incredible, didn’t they? The first Horsemen will be a tough act to follow for future generations.”
Lord help our kids, filling in those shoes, right?
But when he didn’t say anything, I looked back to him, seeing a coy smile on his lips as he stared at me.
“They weren’t the first,” he said. “And please, call me A.P.”
A.P.?
What?
Before I could react, he kissed my cheek again and turned around, walking back to the tavern. I stood there, frozen as I pieced together where I’d heard that name before.
A.P., A.P….
Someone took my hand, and I walked over to Will, all of us setting up for a picture as my feet moved of their own volition.
And then it hit me. Reverie Cross. Edward McClanahan’s best friend and Reverie Cross’s boyfriend. The rumor that Reverie might not have jumped. The rumor that Edward or his friend or both of them…
Oh, my God.
I shot my eyes over to A.P., seeing him chat with Banks, both of them deep in discussion, and I turned to Will, wide-eyed. “A.P.?” I blurted out, gesturing to his grandfather.
William Aaron Paine Grayson, Sr.
The corner of Will’s lips turned up. “Well, you’ll never be bored with me, at least, right?”
I gaped at him, but then…a laugh escaped, not sure how to react to anything anymore, especially after the events of tonight.
Jesus Christ. After helping Damon bury a body, getting kidnapped, making the great train escape, and everything that went down tonight, I supposed a sixty-year-old murder mystery could sit for another evening or two more.
Bored, he’d said.
No, Will Grayson. That was one problem you and I would never have.
