Page 85 of Cage
Tilting my head back, I gaze up at him and stroke his short beard at the same time. “I’m good, Daddy. I feel… light. And happy.”
Cage scoots back in the chair and leans back, cradling me against him before he reaches for a throw blanket and covers me up.
“Me too, firefly. So fucking happy.”
24
CAGE
Three weeks later…
“Thanks for your help. I owe you guys.”
Theo adjusts one of the stuffies on the bookshelf. “Doing this reminds me of when we did Rowie’s playroom. How happy she was. How safe it made her feel. I hope Ember loves this room just as much.”
She will. If I’ve learned anything about my girl, it’s that she’s so fucking grateful for everything my brothers or I do for her. I guess when you’ve never had anyone go the extra mile for you, it makes it pretty special when people do.
“It’s perfect,” Cassian adds.
My heart swells, and once again, I find myself wanting to tell my brothers what they mean to me. Maybe Ember is turning me soft.
“I love you guys.”
Rylan smirks. “Getting told you love me twice in a month. It’s like I’ve won the lottery.”
Narrowing my gaze, I flip him the bird. He’s still been a total pain in the ass. Ember has declared him the mean uncle eversince he swatted her bottom, which makes me feel better. It’s adorable watching him try to make nice with her, bribing her with candy and treats. Rylan is used to being loved by everyone, so this has been a humbling experience for him that my girl isn’t putty in his hands.
Ghost grins. “Love you too, man. We’re happy for you. Deke would be happy for you, too.”
I nod, a lump forming in my throat. “I wish he could’ve met her.”
Theo grins. “He would have fucking loved her. She would have had him wrapped around her pinky in a heartbeat.”
It’s true. Deke was the toughest guy I’ve ever known, but when it came to his Little girl or Rowie, he was absolute goo for them.
“Ember would have liked him too,” I reply. “I wish I could thank him for saving me because if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have found her.”
Gunner pats my shoulder. “He knew how thankful we all were that he saved us.”
He’s right. We always made sure he knew how appreciative we were. Maybe it’s why we trained so hard for him. Most of us had never made anyone proud in our lives until we met Deke Black. After he recruited us, there wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t tell us in some way or another how proud he was of the men we became.
“I forgot to ask you.” Cassian turns to me. “Did you do anything with those names I got you?”
Satisfaction spreads through me as I nod. “Sure did. By now, their lives should be well-ruined. One found out her husband’s been cheating on her… with men. Another is now completely broke and being chased down by the IRS. Another had a little accident happen while she was at the salon and is now bald. Andthe last one just had her house condemned and has no place to go.”
Ghost scowls. “With what those girls did to Ember, they deserve so much worse.”
I grin. “This is just the beginning of their bad luck. I suspect they’ll be hating life for the next twenty years or so. I’ll let them start to get back on their feet before I slip the rug out from under them again. I figure they need to be punished for the same length of time that my girl has had to suffer because of their cruelty.”
“Good. I hope they know how lucky they are that you’re allowing them to continue breathing,” Cassian says.
“Yeah, well, my girl asked me not to kill them, and I’m starting to learn I’ll pretty much do whatever she asks.”
Rylan snorts. “We hadn’t noticed.”
“Fuck off,” I say, grinning. “I should go get Ember to show her the room before everyone arrives.”
Theo laughs. “And you think you’re going to be able to tear her away from here once she sees it? Good luck with that.”