Page 158 of Desperate Crimes
My Viper.My Hades.My love.
He nods and grits his teeth as we start to walk.I see it, the pain that would have any other man doubling over, but only makes my man walk taller.
I doubt anyone else will notice.But my heart squeezes for him all the same.
We make our way toward the living room, where the unspoken power lines of two empires crackle with tension.
“Hey,” Aella says, approaching us with a soft smile.
“Aella,” he nods hello.“Princess, are you okay if I join the guys?”
“Sure,” I reply easily, and watch him coil through the throng of family.
She places a gentle hand on my arm.“How are you holding up?”
I open my mouth, but no sound comes out.Just a trembling breath.
“I-I honestly don’t know.I mean, it was terrifying,” I whisper.“I’ve never been so scared in my life.But what else could I do?”
My eyes flick toward the sitting area.Toward my husband.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she says.
“Did what?”
“You rushed off into a jungle with guns and faced warlords and criminals, Lee-Lee!”
The rest of the girls, my cousins and his, have joined us.They’re looking on with approval and nodding their heads.
And I can’t believe it.
Here I thought my family would never understand the darkness inside me, the thing that craves violence and vengeance when something or someone of mine is hurt or disrespected.
But maybe I was wrong.
Maybe we’re all cut from the same cloth, fighting battles in our own ways.Wolves.Vipers.We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
But maybe I never had to hide mine.
And that makes me think.It makes me feel.
“Well, I love him, Aella.I love my husband,” I explain simple.
“That’s it?”Andrea scoffs.“You love him so you went into war for him?”
“Yep.That’s the whole simple truth.I love him, and I’d do it again.The blood, the danger, the rescue—it was all worth it.Because he’s mine.And I’m his.”
One by one, they all nod.No judgment.Just fierce pride.
“Then I guess there’s only one more thing to say,” my mother’s voice cuts through the rest and my gaze flicks to hers.
“Congratulations, sweetheart.And can I please throw you and my strapping new son-in-law a belated wedding reception?”
Laughter breaks out, and I walk to my mother, throwing my arms around her as we hug, and cry it out.
“That would be great, Mom.”
