Page 24 of Fight

“Definitely, I love our job and what we do, but this is a whole mess of work and family shit all rolled into one, and even when my family was under threat, it was still separate, whereas this is so twisted all together and to be honest if someone else pops up and says their my long lost third cousin twice removed I’d just nod and be like, yeah that sounds about right.”

Although she’s joking, I can hear the edge in her voice, so moving up behind her, I gently take the knife from her hand and set it down next to the potatoes that she’s peeling, holding her close, her body molding to mine I say, “I know exactly what you mean. This is messier than we’re used to, and it’s harder to separate our emotions. But at least we’re all experiencing the same thing. We all thought our grandparents were dead, and when this is all said and done, we’re going to have a family to visit that we actually want to see. That’s a big thing for all of us,” leaning forward, I kiss the space where her neck meets her shoulder, “It’s going to take some getting used to, but as always, we’re together, and we’ve got this. We’ll be back home and back to normal in no time.”

It's silent for a moment before she replies, “You’re right, and I’m incredibly grateful that they’re all alive and not assholes. I just, I’m craving normal.”

“Me too. All we’ve got to do is extract Daniel and close down a smuggling operation,” I chuckle as I add, “doesn’t sound too hard for us.”

“Well, when you put it like that, it does sound more manageable, at least.” She agrees, and I know that she’s being one-hundred percent honest despite the fact that it would scare most people when talking about what we need to do.

“Exactly. Now, I can hear footsteps on the stairs, so we better get going. Rome especially gets grumpy when he’s hungry.”

Jynx

“Iheard that fucker,” Rome says, sounding amused as he walks into the kitchen.

“I knew you were there,” Ace shrugs, winking at me.

“Sure you did.” Rome replies with a knowing smile, “What are you guys making?”

“Roast potatoes and garlicky green beans to go with the pie that grandma made,” I reply.

Rome’s eyes narrow on me, “I thought you couldn’t cook?”

“I can’t, at least not full meals. I can make roast potatoes,” I reply.

“What about the garlicky green beans? I had no idea we were making them,” Ace asks curiously.

I shrug, “I just googled a recipe for green beans and then chose the easiest one, and to be completely honest, there’s a very good chance that I’m going to mess that up too.”

Rome chuckles, “Tell me what to do, and I’ll help.”

“Thanks. Can you cut the ends off the green beans, please?” I ask, feeling very domesticated right now and not entirely hating it.

“Where are the twins?” Rip asks as he walks into the room and moves straight over toward the coffee machine, “Do you guys want coffee?”

“Yes, please,” I reply, probably sounding a bit too desperate for coffee, but it is what it is.

The other two both agree as Rome replies, “They’re catching up with their sister. It’s all a bit weird for them. I mean, they were only six when she disappeared, and they thought that their parents had killed her. It has to be weird for her too, they were little kids, and now they’re grown men, and dangerous ones as well. I think it will probably take a while before they figure out how this new dynamic of theirs will work.”

I nod, “That’s completely understandable. They may be family, but they’re pretty much starting from the beginning and need to get to know each other again.”

“Exactly,” Rome replies.

“I’m glad they’re getting the chance to talk,” Rip replies.

It doesn’t take much longer for us to get the rest of dinner into the oven, and thankfully, the pie is going to take as long as my potatoes will, so at least I don’t have to mess around the timings too much, that’s always where I fail. I’m absolutely shit at making sure everything is done at the same time, and I have no idea how other people do it.

Chapter Nine

Just as the timer sounds to signal that the food is done, the twins walk in with happy smiles on their faces.

“How did it go?” I ask as I start to pull things out of the oven, and the guys automatically begin to lay the table for me.

“Really good. Strange but good,” Malachi replies with a smile.

“I’m so happy that we get the chance to get to know her again,” Mason adds, placing the cutlery on the table in here.

“Good. Did you guys want to see if she wants to come down for dinner?” Rip asks.