back into the house, feeling...stripped. Standing in the moonlight, I was bare.

I'd exposed every little bit of me in the past twenty-four hours, and it should have been freeing. I should feel...I don't know, unburdened.

But none of it had been my choice. My freedom had been soured because I took so goddamn long to let go of a few stupid secrets. And now, there were bits of Collins that were out of reach.

She loved me. But I wasn't going to hear those words until I got all of her back.

I was going to get Collins back.

With a deep sigh, I walked back into the house and tried not to immediately wring Cato's neck. He didn't do anything—actually, he was damn near passed out on the couch—but I couldn't even look at him without wanting to kick his ass off a cliff. Luckily, there was one just outside. Maybe I could drag him out there. Give him a lil shove.

I hovered near the door, watching my mom talk to Collins in hushed tones over the kitchen counter. Bouncing indecisively on the balls of my feet, I curled my hands into fists.

I wanted in. I wanted in that little club they had going on over there. I tried to get Collins to open up about dealing with the Baileys for months, and my mom got her to do it in ten minutes? This was bullshit, honestly.

But relieving, too.

I didn't need to be the one to fix Collins' problems. She had that wrong about me. I never wanted to be a superhero. I didn't need that attention, didn't need that feeling. Just needed her. And if Mama Martin knew what to do to free my girl, then she could be my fucking guest and get it done.

I should have called her. I should have called her a long time ago. But I thought inviting my mom to meddle in Collins' business would have only upset her more.

Too late now. She was here. And to my surprise, it was because of Cato.

"I'm sorry."

So the motherfucker was alive, huh?

Turning to my brother, I narrowed my eyes. "For what part?"

He evaded my glare. "All of it, I guess."

I snorted and walked over to sink into the couch beside him. "I'm gonna need more than that."

"For being so stubborn," he grumbled. "For scaring Collins. For asking so much from you without giving anything in return."

Sincerity laced his words, and I frowned. "You're serious?"

His eyes rolled up. "Yeah, I'm fucking serious. There's something about putting your brother in a near-death experience that really puts things into perspective."

"I don't really think it was near-death." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "We got out just fine."

"The house is ash, Beau." He straightened himself. "And I knew our relationship would be too if I didn't fucking do something about it."

"So you called mom," I said dryly. He did realize that bringing mom into this had been both a blessing and a curse for me, right?

He shrugged. "Mom fixes things. It's what she does."

"Yeah, but you didn't want her to fix your mess. What changed?"

Silence greeted my question. Cato's eyes slowly slid up to meet mine, and suddenly, he seemed...familiar. Like this was the Cato that I knew. That I recognized.

"I didn't call her because of the money," he said. "Or even the house. I called because of you."

"Me?"

He nodded before dropping his gaze again. Apparently, that was all the sentimental shit that Cato could deal with.

But I wasn't done.

"You tied up my girlfriend," I said sharply. "I should be cutting off your goddamn balls right now."

"You don't want to touch my balls." His voice was gruff and maybe even a touch regretful. "I haven't fucking showered in like thirty-six hours."

"You're right," I grumbled, slouching down into the couch and wrinkling my nose. "I don't want to touch your balls." I paused. "But go near her again, and I fucking will, Cato."

His lips twisted. "Noted."

The word barely left his lips before he was jumping half a foot in the air from the sharp way that mom called his name.

"We're pulling all your investments from Bailey Corp, understood?" When Cato's jaw tensed, mom added, "Come here, and let's work through what you owe together."

That seemed to make Cato feel better, and he pushed off the couch to head over to Collins and mom. Which did not make me feel better. I resisted the urge to wiggle my way between them. But there was something else at the top of my mind.

"That was who you owed? That fucking penguin?"

Everyone in the kitchen looked over their shoulders, shooting odd looks. Mom recovered first, answering for Cato.

"Your father and I had large sums invested with Bailey Corp. Why do you think I know so much about them?" She raised a brow. "But we pulled all of it a while back when we didn't see eye to eye on a few things. And in revenge, they targeted your brother. Which he fell for."

I grimaced. Fucking predators.

That was it; I changed my mind. Denver Bailey wasn't a penguin. Penguins were way too fucking cute and harmless.

Mom drew a breath, glancing at Collins. "Today will be the last day that this family deals with their family, though. Right?"

Collins nodded in reply. She nodded. In reply. To the insinuation that she was a part of my family. I nearly passed out from the sudden swelling of my heart. Okay, I had to go over there. Now. I needed to be there with them.

I walked over, lingering beside Collins while trying to keep from touching her. I wanted desperately to wrap an arm around her shoulders, but she was fully concentrating on the hushed conversation between Cato and my mom. Her eyebrows were drawn together, her lips pulled tight. What I wouldn't give to wash the worry away that I saw there.

But that was the whole problem, wasn't it?

With a sudden flair of dramatics, my mom hit send on an email. Collins watched, her eyes widening in near-disbelief. And then she turned to her phone, chewing on her bottom lip before copying my mom, typing up a quick message and pressing send.

I looked between the two of them. "What did you do?"

"I informed Pauline Bailey that our family—our whole family—would no longer be utilizing their investment services as we do not associate with criminals. They will not be getting your money, nor Cato's." Mom's satisfied smile made my own lips quirk. "I also detailed all the reasons precisely why they were criminals." She cleared her throat. "And I might have cc'ed their other investors, the ones I have contact with. With Collins' permission, of course."

My mouth popped open as I swiveled my gaze to Collins, who was fighting a nervous smile.

"And I—" Collins paused, pocketing her phone. Putting it away for good. "I told Denver goodbye."

My mom's voice softened. "And if they don't respect your adieu, we'll make them. Okay?"

Collins sucked in. "How?"

"At Martin Property Management, we have outstanding lawyers." There was a twinkle in my mom's eye, almost as though she would relish the opportunity to unleash her attorneys on the Baileys. I wouldn't mind it, either. "If they tried again to stick you with vehicular homicide charges, it would only cause a bigger spectacle for them. They wouldn't dare. Not now, when they're about to hemorrhage money. But if they did...we'll be here."

It was happening to Collins, that thing where her emotions were causing words to get stuck in her throat. Not wanting her to fight it, I kicked the distance between us out the window and pulled her into my chest. And then I held her. I held her tight, so she could feel what she needed to without trying to say a word.

"We'll be here," I whispered into her hair. "We'll be here."

"Okay," Collins breathed, relenting. Finally.

Finally.

"Thank you." Her voice cracked the last word, and she buried her face in my chest. "For being here."

"Always." Looking over her head, I caught my mom's eye. Something was shining there, which caused my throat to dry up. Thank you, I mouthed.

She nodded. "From now on, we do these things together. Understood?"

"Understood," I said. And then, with a whisper, I found Collins' ear. "How does together sound, baby?"

Her brown eyes peeked up at me. "I like together."

"Yeah?"

Hopefulness rose in me.

"Yeah."

Fuck, my heart.

"Thank you," Collins breathed. "Thank you so much." That last bit was directed at Mama Martin, and I let her pull out of my hug to face the miracle worker herself. And then some of her stuck words spilled out. "How did you—how did you even know? That James Bailey was drunk? That I was innocent? What if this was something that I deserved? What if it really was all my fault—"

"It's not your fault," I cut in firmly, but my mom reached out and put a hand on my arm to settle me.

"That's how I know," she said softly. "I know it isn't your fault because some of my favorite people in the world think very highly of you, Collins. And even if you were texting, you weren't the adult who decided to get behind the wheel drunk."

"Some?" I questioned. "Some of your favorite people?"

Believe me, I very firmly believed that everyone in the entire goddamn world should think very highly of Collins. But I wanted to know who they were so I could keep some fucking tabs on them. And if that meant I had to keep tabs on millions of people, so be it.

"Well." Mom glanced away, piquing my curiosity further. "I recently made a friend due to our...mutual interests. And she also knows Collins."

"You're concerning me," I said flatly.

"Oh, don't be concerned." She shut her laptop with a click. "Us moms need to stick together sometimes, so after that incident you were involved in last year in Fresno, I made a few calls because I wanted to be supportive. Okay?"

"Okay?" I still didn't understand who she was talking about. I assumed the incident was when Bren's dad pretty much tried to kill all of us, but—

"Caroline!" she said, exasperated. "Goodness, Beau. Keep up. Caroline's a lovely woman, as you know, and after what transpired, she started dating a detective at the Fresno PD who knew quite a lot about James Bailey...and how frequently he drove drunk."

"Caroline's dating a detective?"

Bren, messy hair and shirtless, stood in the entryway to the kitchen, blinking like he was still half-asleep. His frown deepened as he tried to survey the scene. "I'm gonna need his name," he grunted as Grayson stumbled up next to him, stopping short.

"I heard the commotion—what?" Grayson froze, gaze shifting from me to Cato and then back to me again. "Someone please tell me I'm not having another stroke."

Bren looked at Grayson, clearly confused. But then he turned back toward me and understanding dawned. Only to be replaced again with shock. "Holy shit. There are two. Why are there two?"

Relief spread over Grayson's exhausted expression. "So it's not just me?"

Bren shook his head. "Nope, not just you."

"Guys," I cut in with a sigh. "I'm a twin. Okay? Now go back to bed."

Grayson scratched his head but turned around without arguing. I wondered if he would even remember this in the morning. Bren, on the other hand, pointed at me with what I assumed was meant to be a glare. But his heavy-lidded eyes ruined the effect. "You have some explaining to do in the group chat," he muttered.

It felt good to finally laugh.

And by some grace of God, Collins laughed, too.

Yeah, I really fucking loved her.

✨

caroline 🤝 dalha

now they just need to meet

grace & lillian and it will be

a partyyyyy

xoxox amelie