Page 69 of Unmasked Rivalry
“Oh my god,” Nia wheezes, grabbing my arm. “She actually named him after—”
Mera starts crying so hard she can’t talk. Wolfe’s face twists up and he turns, walking out. I don’t try to stop my own tears.I let them roll, hot and stinging, over cheeks stretched in the widest grin I didn’t know I still had in me.
We spend the next hour passing phones, staring at every blurry shot Kael sends. Little Zane is squinty and furious, hands balled up like they’re ready to punch out the world. In one picture, Sable is asleep, baby sprawled across her collarbone, and Kael looks smitten, which is incredible considering the baby isn’t his.
The world is suddenly soft-focus, all the edges smoothed out by something warm and sweet.
Even after everyone else heads to bed, I stay up, scrolling through the pictures, imagining what the kid’s life will look like. I hope he has Sable’s fire, Kael’s heart, and maybe, just a little, of the lunatic soul that made his namesake impossible to forget.
The clubhouse is quiet, a rare and gentle thing. I wander outside and slip into Knox’s room. He’s back from the run, sprawled across the bed, breathing deep enough that I know he’s half asleep but fighting it. I tiptoe in and slide under the covers, burrow my cold feet against his shins.
He grunts. Doesn’t open his eyes. “Fuck. Woman. I hope you’re in here because you have good news.”
“She did it,” I whisper. “It’s a boy, and they called him Zane.”
Knox huffs, cracks an eye open to smile at me. He yanks me closer, tucks my head under his chin. “Did she really name him Zane?”
“Swear to god.” I grin into his chest. “Can you imagine what that kid’s going to be like?”
He’s quiet for a long time, running his hand up and down my back. “He’s gonna be a terror,” he says finally. “Just like the last one.”
I think about that, about the first Zane, about all the times I thought he was too much, too loud, too wild. But without him, none of us would be here. “Maybe that’s exactly what we need.”
He hums, presses a kiss into my hair. “World’s always got room for another maniac.”
I can feel the thump of his heart, steady and sure. “What about us?” I ask, voice smaller than I mean it to be. “What do we do now?”
He rolls onto his side, facing me, eyes serious. “Whatever the hell we want. You’re not stuck anymore, Callie. You get to choose. Investigation is closed, Ralston is gone, and the farm is yours. It’s an open road ahead.”
I breathe that in, taste the freedom of it. “We could run,” I say, “or we could stay. Maybe build a life here, even if it cracks my teeth to admit it. The farm is growing on me.”
Knox snorts. “I’d settle for you not poisoning me with your chili again. Not sure the farm life is for you, sunshine.”
I punch his shoulder.
There’s a beat of silence, long and comfortable. “You ever miss her?” I ask.
He knows what I mean. “Every day. But it doesn’t hurt as much. Not when I’ve got you. You make the whole world right.”
I get that. Oh, do I get it.
We fall asleep, tangled together. I don’t dream of fire, or explosions, or running away. This time, I dream of a long road and the two of us on a bike, the world wide open and ours for the taking.
IN THE MORNING, I WAKEto the sound of laughter.
Not the fake kind, but the reckless, unfiltered joy that fills the compound like a flood. I take my time getting up, then wander down to the kitchen in Knox’s stolen T-shirt, hair doing something that should probably be illegal, and see thateveryone’s crowded around Mera’s phone. Onscreen, Sable is FaceTiming with her adorable son.
Kael looks somewhat terrified, but happy. Zane is squirming in his arms, a red, angry peanut. I have only seen photos of Gage, but man, this boy looks like him. I don’t dare admit it.
I don’t get the chance. Mera is already in a teasing mood.
“Are you going to let Gage babysit him?”
“Not unless I want him to have a mullet by preschool,” Sable fires back.
I lean in, waving at the phone. “Congrats, Mama.”
Sable softens, just a little. “Thanks, Callie. Means a lot. He’s pretty cute, right?”
