Page 183 of Deadly Sweet

He swallows hard. “But then I hear her laugh, see her smile, and I’m reminded of where she is now. With us. She’s happy, loved, and taken care of. She’s living the life she was always meant to have. If we focus on what’s happened to her, it’s going to interfere with how we treat her, and I know Savannah. She wouldn’t want that.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” I nod my head.

“How about you?” Jake asks. “This is a big change for you, too.”

“It is. But in the best way.” I smile.

“Not so hell bent on being a bachelor anymore, huh?” Caleb grins.

“Helps that Savannah isn't a gold digger or a power hungry Omega,” I point out. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be in a relationship. It’s that I wanted someone who saw me, not what I could offer them. Yes, Savannah is my scent match, and I’d want her no matter what. But knowing she couldn’t give a shit about the money I have or who my family is means the world to me.”

“Does she even know anything about you? Like who your family is, or how much you're worth.” Caleb asks, echoing my thoughts.

“Maybe?” I shrug. “I’ve never brought it up, and she's never asked. But knowing Savannah, I bet she’s done an internet search on all of us.”

“Not much to find on me,” Jake says.

“Not true,” Caleb responds. “I’ve searched your name. You pop up in a few articles about Savannah and her disappearance.”

Jake's face falls. “Fuck.” His eyes widen. “Her father. He doesn’t know she’s alive. Oh my god. How have we not even thought to tell him?”

“Because we can't,” I answer. “Corbin and his men think she’s dead. If Savannah starts telling people who she really is, then it’s going to draw unwanted attention. She can’t do what needs to be done if Corbin knows she's alive. When he’s taken care of, Savannah can be the one to tell him, if she chooses to.”

“What if she never remembers him?” Caleb asks. “Or you.” He looks at Jake.

“I don’t care if she never remembers her past or anyone in it,” he says. “I just care about having her. As for her dad, I don’t know. I don’t think that would be an issue for him; I think he would just care that she’s made it out alive. He loves her a lot. The downfall of everything he’s built is proof of that.”

“It’s so fucked up. How did we just easily slip into this white picket fence life when there’s much deeper, darker parts out there?”

“Wait.” Caleb frowns. “What about our families?”

“What about them?” Leroy asks.

“What do we tell them? I mean, my siblings already know everything, so that’s not an issue. And my parents are gone, so again, nothing to worry about on my end. But Jake’s parents can’t meet her, they will know who she is. Your mom and sisters have been hounding you to meet the new Omega in your life. And you.” Caleb looks at Leroy.

“Nothing to worry about for me,” he grumbles. “I hardly speak to my parents, and I can’t stand my brother.”

Much like me, Leroy grew up in the world of wealth. His family is made up of rich, stuffy country club people who only care about money and what people think about them. They’ve always looked down on Leroy for not becoming something like a doctor or lawyer but choosing to go into the military instead. In their words, it was barbaric and not practical. Yeah, because risking his life for his country isn’t important or anything like that. I hate his family.

I might come from money, but at least my family are decent people. Amazing people, really. My dad is a bit of a hard-ass and we might not get along the best, but I know he loves me. I’m close with my mom and sisters, that's why it’s been so hard to keep Savannah away from them.

They’re the people who watch Athena when we need a hand. They haven’t seen the baby since the day I dropped her off for a few hours when we went to grab Savannah’s things to move her into our place.

“We tell them we met her on a walk. It was fate. Our scents found one another, everything snapped into place, and the rest is history,” I suggest.

“What if they ask what she does for a living?” Leroy asks.

“She’s a stay-at-home mom?” I offer. “I mean, it’s not that far from the truth.”

“Yeah, when she’s not out slicing and dicing people up, she’s here with you and Little Bug.” Caleb nods, saying it so casually.

That's what our lives have become. It’s weird.

“Okay.” Jake nods. “Yeah, we can do that. As for my parents, we just don’t tell them. I’m not close with them anyways.”

I hate that for him. But he says he’s used to it. Still doesn’t change the fact that they can so easily give up on their child, their own bullshit getting in the way. He’s better off without them. We’re his real family anyway.

“Speaking of your sisters,” Caleb tells me. “Your mom called while you were in the shower. I told her we would come over tonight for supper.”

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