Page 9 of Always
My brows shoot up. “Why did Maksim’s hacker call you?”
Damon sighs. “I asked him for a favor a while back. Sofia has been spotted in Madrid.”
I grin. “This is perfect. Is everything else in place? For when we get home?”
“Maksim has guaranteed nobody will disturb us.”
“And Maverick?”
“Ecstatic,” he replies.
“Alright babe, I gotta go tend to our girl. If anything changes let me know. We’ll be home Monday night.”
“And you’re sure you’ll be fit to play on Thursday evening? I worry about you, too, you know. You’ve been training a lot harder than you usually do this past week.”
That’s because I’ve been punishing myself for neglecting Raven on their orders even when it felt wrong to me. But he doesn’t need to know that. Instead, I let out a soft laugh. “Yeah. Absolutely. I’m just ready to marry her.”
“So are we, Pup.”
We hang up after another set ofI love you’s.There’s a knock on the door. I throw on a robe, and grin at the hotel personnel when they deliver our food and our new linens. I tip them a few hundred and let them know we’re going to need more later and it’s best if they just go ahead and bring more up, then take the food to my girl.
She eats her double bacon cheeseburger and fries like she’s been fucked to within an inch of her life and has to make up for all the energy she lost.
Just like I like it.
Chapter Five
Damon.
My loves come back from their trip mere hours from the time I get home from my day at the office. Raven greets me first, pressing on her toes to reach up and kissing me lightly, then Maverick, while Jonas presses his lips to mine. “How was it?” I ask when little bird goes upstairs.
Jonas grins goofily. “I’m pretty sure I put twins in her.”
I huff out a laugh. “Be serious.”
“I am. Look, the game was good. We won, I think,” they did. “We went sight-seeing, we had dates. It feltreally goodto be alone with her again. I think if we keep to some kind of schedule where we each get her for a day; we can make up for the days that we don’t really get to see her. I didn’t realize how much I miss spending solo time with her until this trip, you know?”
I rub my thumb over my bottom lip then down my jaw, crossing my arms over my chest. “You may actually have something there.” I acquiesce.
“I know. I think that’s what’s been missing, honestly. Just one-on-one time with the other. I love the group stuff. I love our family, but I think it could really help ground us all and remember why we love each other so much. This life gets crazy. We all have so much going on and it’s only going to get more hectic once we have kids. I love our life, but it’s better with all ofus in it. I don’t want to forget the little things and I don’t want them to pass me by, either.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Maverick agrees, stepping closer to us to greet Jonas with a hug. They have a bit of a big brother, little brother relationship. “How was Seattle?”
Jonas reiterates that he believes Raven is now carrying his twins, which makes Maverick frown. We all know how much he desires to have children. I don’t mind waiting. Raven is young and even though I'm now thirty-four, I also don’t mind waiting on children. I love her. Whenever her body decides to gift us with children, I am fine with it. It could be now or in ten years, and I will still be happy. But Maverick, as always, is a different breed.
“Anyway,” Jonas interrupts my thoughts, putting his hands around my waist from behind me then resting his chin on my shoulder. “I know we said a trip back to Inferno after my game on Thursday.”
Maverick nods, peeking at the stairs behind me, keeping a lookout for Raven. “Maksim said Kallum has it all figured out for us. It’ll be a little like reminiscing, it should be fun.”
“And the restaurant?”
I grin. We’ve rented out Raven’s favorite gourmet pizza place on Seventh in Kingston to propose on her birthday. Something small and casual and us. The way it should be. “Everything is going as planned.” This time I shift my gaze over to Mav. “Jonas knows Sofia has been spotted in Spain.”
“There is so much to unpack. Do you think Aleksi will be able to locate her before we get there?” Maverick asks us. Gone is the man with the moral compass. It seems he’s been enjoying getting his pound of flesh as well with everything he’s been doing to get as many Syndicate members behind bars as possible. He’s up to seven members. Which is a feat in itself. Having to trace back all of their whereabouts to really be able to put them behind bars. It’s been as incredible to watch as it’s been exhaustive. He’sbeen on the phone all hours of the night while Raven is asleep only to wake up early to go teach. He’s a machine as much as he is a beast.
“That’s what he’s hoping for.”I grin wickedly.
“So then it sounds like everything is pretty much going according to plan.” Mav replies with a motion of his head. We follow him into the living room where he grabs the decanter filled with McCallan, filling three tumblers then brings them to us. He takes a seat on the edge of the arm of the sofa and we take our respective seats in our usual spots. Me in the one seater and Jonas in the loveseat. After a sip, Maverick decides to start talking again. “So I had my day with Raven, Jonas had an entire weekend with her. What day are you thinking?”
