Page 45 of Pretty Lethal
I shake my head. “No tracker this time.”
Taking the box, she eases the lid off to reveal a charm bracelet similar to the one I bought her before. It has the same charms hanging from it as her previous one. Only I’ve added three more—ones that will remind her of our love for her.
She immediately notices them, brushing her finger over the heart-shaped charm with a K engraved in the middle, before doing the same with the one with an H, and the final one with a W.
When she looks up at me, there are tears in her eyes. “It’s beautiful,” she says in a choked voice.
“I should have just gotten you something plain the first time round, but they all felt so impersonal. I wanted you to have something that, when you looked at it, you could be assured that you weren’t alone against Mel. I’ve wanted to replace it ever since she ripped it from your wrist.” I take the bracelet from the box and undo the clasp before wrapping it around her outstretched arm. “Now you can look at it and know that all of us are yours in the same way that you’re ours. This bracelet symbolizes the complex relationship the four of us have, but no matter what, we’re all tied to one another. We’re an unbreakable chain, and nothing can rip us apart.”
Holding her arm up so she can watch the charms move, glinting in the sunlight, she murmurs, “I love it.” When she looks up at me, I can see how much the gift means to her reflected in her eyes, before she blows my entire world apart with the words, “I love you.”
Reaching out, I haul her into my lap, not giving a single shit about anyone who might walk past and see us. Nothing matters except this incredible woman in my arms. This woman who says she loves me and is looking at me as though I am the center of her universe. And I need her to know that she’s the center of mine too. She’s the only one in this world that matters, the only person worth striving for.
Leaning my forehead against hers, I lose myself in her jade-colored hues which are shining with the depth of her love for me, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that she meant every word.
When I manage to find my voice, it comes out rough and rife with emotion. “Baby girl, you’re going to be my undoing because I know I’m not worthy of hearing those words from you, but I can’t deny how much they mean to me. Sweetheart, I love you too. I love how you clean when you get stressed, I love the furrow you get between your eyes when you’re reading, and your secretive smile when you reach a dirty part of the book. I love the way you chew on the lid of your pen when you’re grading papers, and the sparkle in your eyes when I introduce you to a part of my world. There is no portion of you that I am not completely head-over-heels in love with.”
She sniffles as tears gather in her eyes, before leaning forward and eliminating the scant space between us as her lips press against mine. Her arms wrap around my neck, and I pull her in closer as our kiss deepens, love shining through with every movement of our lips and swipe of our tongues.
When she pulls back, she brushes her fingers through my hair, staring me straight in the eye with a raw openness. “I’m the one who isn’t worthy, Kai. I don’t know what I did to get so lucky to have you in my corner through all of this. You quite literally saved my life—in more ways than one. That’s a debt I can never repay, but I’m happy to spend the rest of my life showing you just how grateful I am to have you by my side.”
“I could say the same about you, Blackbird. I was alive before you—I breathed, ate, slept. I functioned. But I wasn’t living. I was too cemented in my past while I allowed my guilt and grief to nearly swallow me whole. I would have succeeded in my self-destruction if it hadn’t been for you. You’ve helped me let go of all the pain I was holding onto and given me something to look forward to. Thinking about our lives together has me excited to get out of bed every morning. I want it all with you. Everything—the wedding, the house, a bunch of kids, and a dog. All of it.”
My final confession is her undoing, and the tears overflow, coursing a path down her cheek before dripping off her chin.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I just hadn’t understood until you brought me to Ridgeway that I want it all with the three of you. You, me, Hawk, and Wilder. The four of us, forever.”
Pressing a kiss to her lips, I vow, “Forever.”
Chapter14
EMILIA
Looking into the mirror, I run my hands over the soft, deep green fabric of my dress, causing the hem to swish around my toes. The rich color accentuates my eyes, which I’ve lined with dark eyeliner and mascara, giving them an extra pop. My hair is tied back in a low chignon at the base of my neck, with only a few stray strands framing my face, and the only piece of jewelry I’m wearing is my new charm bracelet.
I found a gorgeous matching clutch, just big enough to tuck my phone and a tube of lipstick in, and I finished the outfit off with a pair of my comfiest black heels. Once I’m satisfied with how I look, I grab my clutch from my dresser and head down to say goodbye to Hawk and Wilder before they leave.
We all agreed to arrive separately, should anyone be paying us any particular attention. Anxious butterflies flutter in my stomach, mingling with the hope blooming in my chest. The manifesto I found was something, but it’s not enough. It gives us insight into who exactly we are dealing with but doesn’t tell us how to get Wilder out of this mess. If anything, it only has me more concerned for him.
Some of the things written in there… weren’t sane.
It makes it sound as though these Elites are better than the rest of the human race, and the way it talked about the King was as if they were a god. And those insane rules… it's all more reminiscent of a cult than a secret society.
My heels click against the hardwood floors when I reach the bottom of the stairs, announcing my presence, and all three men turn to face me as I enter the kitchen.
My steps slow until I come to a halt, as my eyes roam over each of them. They’re each dressed so differently, yet they all look incredible. Hawk wears a suit like he was born in one. Sharp, black edges cut across a brilliant white shirt. It fits him like a second skin, hinting at the toned body hidden beneath all those fine layers.
Wilder, on the other hand, must have lost half of his suit already. He’s wearing a pale, salmon-colored shirt, but the top two buttons are undone, and although it’s tucked into crisp navy pants, his jacket and tie have been discarded, and instead of loafers, he’s sporting luminescent yellow sneakers. I can’t help but grin. I don’t know how he makes disheveled look so fucking hot, but he does.
Kai is dressed similarly to Hawk, dressed to the nines in a full suit. However, he doesn’t wear it with the same grace and eloquence as Hawk, and I can’t help chuckling at how out of place he looks as he tugs on the tight cuffs and restricting neckline. Kai is a man born to wear jeans and travel the countryside. He doesn’t belong in suits, behind a desk, or in a boardroom. Despite that, he looks fine as hell, the dark gray suit jacket and pants making the green of his eyes stand out.
“Blackbird,” he purrs, his eyes eating me up as they slowly lift from my toes. “You are absolutely breathtaking.”
“Jaw-dropping,” Hawk agrees.
Wilder simply nods, for once appearing to have no words as his eyes burn into every visible inch of me with enough intensity to leave an everlasting mark.
Hawk steps forward, his fingers gliding along my arm and eliciting chills in their wake. “I am insanely jealous that I won’t be the one on your arm when you walk into that party,” he says in a low, gruff voice. His gaze zeros in on my lips, and for a second, I think he’s going to lean in and smear my lipstick. Hell, I want him too badly to care if he does.
