Page 42 of Before the Fall
Tia leans in and in a low voice says, “I thought we proved you were a real man last night. And this morning.”
Pulling her to me, I hug her for being so sweet. “We did, and I plan to prove it again later.”
After kissing me once more, she wriggles out of my hold and backs away toward the door. “So pineapple juice, right?”
I nod, loving how she’s acting right now. “Yeah. And you know what I could really go for? Pizza bagels. I haven’t had them in forever. Grab some of those.”
“Pineapple juice and pizza bagels. Got it. Love you! See you in a little bit.”
She’s gone out the door before I can tell her I love her too. That’s okay. I’ll show her just how crazy I am about her later.
By the time Ryker walks back into the room fifteen minutes later, he’s calmed down from earlier, but I’m still pretty hot about Victor not being dead yet. I don’t understand what the hold up is. Yes, he’s his brother, but even that old excuse has to give way at some point.
I busy myself with reading my messages, even though I want to pick up where we left off. He seems focused on other things, though, and when Cason, Lily, Lukas, and Kane come into the house like a conquering horde, he turns his attention to them, probably to escape talking to me.
“Every Lego in the entire world is now here in this house,” Kane says with more than a hint of disgust in his voice as he walks past the office.
Behind him, Cason laughs. “You just don’t know how kids are these days, Kane. You’ll see when you have some.”
I swear that always comes off as sounding like a threat whenever he and Ryker say that to those of us who don’t have kids yet. It’s like they can’t wait for us to be burdened by too many toys and stinky diapers.
When Kane pokes his head into the room, he looks at me and rolls his eyes. “I think we’re going to need a bigger house.”
I wave him in, eager to see if I can bring him over to my side on this Victor issue. “Hey, come here. I need to talk to you.”
“What’s up?”
“We need to get Ryker on board with this Victor business. The time has come, don’t you think?”
Kane looks around, and I get the feeling he’s worried about making sure Ryker isn’t nearby before he gives me his answer. In a low voice, he says, “Yeah, but he’s not ready yet, and pushing him isn’t going to help.”
“Well, something has to. Does he have to kill one of us before it’s time?”
The stress of this whole situation is written all over Kane’s face. “I know, but it’s his brother. I need to go grab Sophie, but we’ll talk more when I get back, okay?”
“Fine, but I’m done waiting. If this can’t happen as a group, then I’ll go do it myself.”
Surprise flashes in Kane’s eyes, like he can’t believe that’s where we’re at already. He’s always been more patient than I am, probably because he’s not a Varens. I get it. He’s loyal to Ryker above all else, but the time has come for loyalty to step aside in favor of action.
Two hours later, everyone is in the house safe and sound with all their toys and everything else that they need. All except Kaia and Tia, but they’re off getting enough mango juice for the entire family to enjoy.
Ryker, Kane, and Cason finally come into the office so we can have a meeting, and I’m ready to go. All he has to do is give the word and I’ll be rolling over to Victor’s estate, guns blazing.
The mood among the four of us is tense, no doubt because Ryker has either mentioned to them what happened before or Kane and Cason know what I’m going to say. Whichever it is, we’re going to settle this issue today.
“So now that we’re all settled and moved in, can we get to business?” I ask as Ryker sits down at his desk.
“We’re not having that same conversation, Jaxon. I told you before.”
I look around the room and see Kane eyeing up the door and Cason checking out the floor. Good to know they’re willing to take a side here.
Well, if they aren’t, maybe they just need a push.
“Have you asked Kane or Cason what they think?” I ask, and I swear Kane throws me a nasty look as soon as he hears his name come out of my mouth.
Neither of them say a word. Great. It looks like I’m flying solo on this one.
Then Kane surprises me by looking at Ryker and saying, “You may not like what Jaxon is saying, but I agree with him. Victor’s time has come. He’s only going to become more dangerous to all of us. I know he’s your brother, but he can’t be let to continue like he has. Jaxon had to send Tia’s parents to Europe, for fuck’s sake, and he and Tia were nearly killed.”