ONE YEAR LATER
SERAPHINE
Jobs like these need a full crew of trained professionals, including a medic like Dr. Sal, because you never know what state the girls will be in when they’re rescued. That’s what I tell Gabriel in the triage van as he readies himself for casualties.
My big brother pulls me into a tight hug. “Is this what you do with Leroi?”
I gaze into his worried green eyes and smile. “Tonight’s going to be a breeze.”
Gabriel gives my shoulders a squeeze, but his expression doesn’t relax. I get why. It took a few weeks for me to share the horrors of my past with him, but talking about it with someone who knew me from before really helped.
Leroi only ever got to see the broken part of me, which he helped to put together, but Gabriel has known me from birth. When I’m with my big brother, I can connect with the person I used to be before my life turned dark.
Gabriel releases his grip on my shoulders and sweeps his gaze down my bulletproof vest.
“Be careful, Sera,” he murmurs.
“I always am.” I pick up my tactical helmet and head out into the parking lot.
That isn’t an understatement. If I had been more observant, Miko would never have been able to get the jump on me and drag me over to Samson’s hideout. If Leroi had kept his hookup away from his home, assassins wouldn’t have set it on fire.
I’m nowhere near perfect, but I’m trying. I couldn’t stand for my big brother to get hurt because I was reckless.
Leroi stands close by in the parking lot, a block away from our target location. Six members of the clean-up crew stand around him, listening to last-minute instructions.
He’s dressed in black tactical gear, looking as intimidating as he did the day I saw him in the basement. Two huge pistols are strapped to a holster at his sides for backup in case something happens with the shotgun. I can’t help but admire his commanding presence and my thoughts drift to taking it all off him tonight.
As though listening to my thoughts, he turns around and catches my gaze. A smirk lifts the corner of his lips, and he mouths the word, ‘Behave.’
I give him an innocent shrug, silently telling him I was focused on the job and not what I planned on doing to him afterward. Besides, we’re not expecting much trouble. Leroi’s colleagues already took out the perimeter guards with long-range rifles, and Gabriel has redirected the security cameras to loop a feed from last week.
My brother moved out soon after we visited the cozy little house he shared with Mom. He now lives in the apartment next door, where he works in cybersecurity, and we see each other every day. Two liver donations left him with imperfect health, but Leroi sent him to a specialist to help improve his liver function.
Knowing that Mom didn’t die that night closed one wound and opened up another. I no longer blame myself for what happened the night she was attacked, but it hurts that she traded my life to save hers.
Leroi says Mom is just a different type of monster, and I think he’s right. She’s living in New Jersey with some flunky who works for a distant cousin of Dad’s. The man has a terrible reputation with women, but maybe she thinks he’ll protect her from Leroi. As far as I’m concerned, she’s still dead.
Months after Gabriel moved next door, I read something in the Alderney Times about a sex trafficker, and discovered that Dad and the twins weren’t the only monsters keeping women in their basements.
That’s when I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Leroi thought it was a great idea, but Gabriel took a little more convincing because he worried that I might get hurt. After we showed him what I was capable of, he realized I was no longer his helpless little sister.
Gabriel now helps our vigilante group with tech support and intel. We’re still a small team of people from Leroi’s firm, but we’ve saved dozens of children and young women. With every raid, we get closer to finding the trafficker.
Leroi breaks away from the crew to cross the space and cups my face with both hands.
“Let’s go over the ground rules,” he says in a low voice. “We go inside, we grab the girls, and we get out. No side quests, no heroics. Is that understood?”
“What if he’s there?” I ask, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at his fussing. “We can’t just shoot him in the head and give him a quick death.”
Leroi’s gaze flickers.
“What?” I ask.
“It was going to be a surprise.”
My eyes widen. “What?”
“I got a call two nights ago from someone at the Phoenix, saying he had a table at the VIP section, so I drugged him while he was taking a piss and now he’s waiting for you in the kill room.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” he says, and I can tell he’s holding back a smile. “After we got the girls settled at the lake house, I planned on taking you down there for a little celebration.”
My breath catches. Some men give their lovers flowers, others give them chocolates or even jewelry, but Leroi gives me the satisfaction of revenge and vigilante justice. It’s one of the many reasons I love him so much.
I rock forward on my tiptoes and place a kiss on his lips. “Thank you,” I murmur against his mouth. “I can’t wait to return the favor.”
His gaze wanders over the armor he commissioned to fit my frame. “Ready, angel?”
I place both hands on my pistols. “Ready.”
“Let’s go save some lives.”
We move toward the building with the rest of our small team, ready to rescue those who need us the most. It’s the perfect ending to the fairytale that kept me sane during my darkest hours.
I didn’t just get a happy ending with my knight in black armor. I get to create happy endings for those who need it most.
