Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“She did,” I say.
Honor gives a sad little shake of her head. “She tried.”
“She did,” I say more emphatically. “She got you out, so she saved you. And then you saved us.”
Honor opens her mouth to speak, but the words don’t come.
“He’s right,” Lyle says. “You saved us.”
“How?” Honor asks faintly.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Ky says with disbelief. “We’re together again. We’re a family. You made us a family again.”
“But… the three of you have always been—”
“We weren’t always a family.” I contemplate how to explain it. “We were more like fellow survivors. We helped each other get through our childhood, but it never really left us. We could never truly break free—until you came along.”
“And now we’re looking forward instead of back,” Lyle adds.
Honor picks up my hand and squeezes it. “I was living in the past, too,” she says quietly. “Holding onto memories of my mother so tightly because I thought she was all I had. Now I know better.”
I stroke her arm as I hold her tightly against me. She shifts closer, and the bottom of her pants leg rides up, revealing the tattoo on her ankle. Reaching out, I stroke it lightly with my fingertip. “Did you notice the birds etched into the wood above us?” I nod my head toward the wooden slats that line the edge of the arched roof.
Honor nods. “They’re beautiful.” Though it’s too dark to see them well, the etchings depict several birds flying past the clouds.
“We had that specially made because of this.” I tap her tattoo.
She looks puzzled. “I thought they were sparrows to remind you of our time in Club Scarlet.”
Kylian laughs softly. “We’re not likely to forget that week anytime soon. Especially since we keep reenacting some of the kinkiest parts of it.”
For once, my mind’s not in the gutter. “The birds in your tattoo are caged. We had the birds etched into the wood to remind you that you’re free now. No one’s ever going to hold you back again.”
Honor’s mouth drops open as she looks up at me. “Free?”
I kiss her temple gently. “Yes, sweetheart, you’re free to live your life however you want.”
“But… but… the birds in the cage don’t represent me. Or not just me,” she clarifies while I wonder where she’s going with this. “There are four of them. They represent us.”
A shocked silence fills the air. Then Lyle says what’s likely on all our minds. “But you had that tattoo even before we met you at Club Scarlet.”
“Yes, I did.” Honor looks at him with misty eyes.
Kylian stands up and moves to her side. “Hold on. Do you mean you got a tattoo representing the four of us before you even met us again? When you weren’t sure you’d ever see us again?” He strokes her silky hair as he looks down at her.
“Yes.”
Lyle kneels in front of her. “Why?”
“Because I missed you all so much,” she says. “And I knew I wasn’t the only one trapped. When we were kids, we all were.” Her voice is full of emotion, and she clears her throat. “I hoped that one day we’d all be free… and that someday, we’d meet again.”
“Looks like you got your wish,” Lyle says hoarsely.
“Oh no,” she says. “No, I got way more than I wished for.” She stands up and stares at the birds on the posts above us. “We are free. And we’re together.”
“Looks like we all got our wish,” I say as I press against her side. Lyle rises and hugs her from the front. Ky kisses her neck from the other side.
“I love you guys,” Honor says, trying to wrap her arms around all of us at once.
Three voices tell her we love her too.
I mean it with all my heart—and I know my brothers do too.
Sometimes the most imperfect of beginnings lead to the happiest of endings.