Sins (Havoc of Sins #3)

Chapter 24

Grim

Nine months later…

“ H ey, Callan, it’s okay, little guy. Daddy’s here.” I gently lifted my son and held his tiny, swaddled body to my chest. “What’s going on?” I rubbed his back as I eased into the rocking chair. “Are you hungry?” His face turned away when I tried the bottle. “I get it. Nothing like the real thing.” I chuckled and stuck my finger into his little fist, and he started to relax. “There you go.” I used my heel to gently rock us.

Leal lifted his head and yawned from his bed next to the closet, and Zhar moved to my feet and sniffed at the baby. Since Callan was born, the boys had taken to sleeping in the nursery. I agreed, but every time he would stir, they’d come and wake us up. “He’s okay,” I assured him. “He just needs his daddy.” The little guy’s lip stuck out and his chin quivered. “Don’t use the lip. It gets me every time.” I kissed his little head then nodded at Zhar, who eased down to rest.

“Let’s see.” I spoke quietly and hoped he’d fall back to sleep. “Well, someday, you’ll learn all about the family you belong to. You have two grandparents who have paved a pretty impressive road for you to follow. You have two blood uncles, one you can see and play with, and the other that will be right here.” I gently tapped his chest. “He’ll be in your heart, and you can talk to him whenever you feel lonely. I’ll teach you how.” I sniffed and felt Leo next to me. “You have Uncle Jesse, who is Daddy’s best friend, and then you have all your DR uncles and aunts. They’re wild, but they have some of the biggest hearts I know.”

I rocked him a little. “Then there’s me, and I’m going to teach you everything you need to know about running a business and how to rope in our kind of woman.” I smirked. “I’ll even teach you the keycard trick.” I paused, remembering the day when I went through Kenna’s art book and was so drawn to her designs. I couldn’t understand how such a beautiful woman with so much skill, so much talent, would keep it to herself. Her use of all things dark and sexy completely piqued my interest.

“I don’t know why I gave her that card at the time. It was a risk. It gave her full access to the whole hotel. Deep down, I must have known she was the one. And, well, here we are.” I smiled down at my son. His eyes had grown heavy. “Daddy’s gut was right, hey?”

Leal’s ears twitched, and he rolled onto his belly and looked up at me. I knew they enjoyed story time just as much as Callan did.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I shifted carefully to fish it out.

Elio: Just touched down. Looking forward to tomorrow. Followed that one lead and dealt with him. No more concerns there.

I felt a sense of relief. Since Sonny’s death, we all had worked tirelessly to ferret out any possible Potens members. If there was even a hint of suspicion, we let them go. Though we still had no clue who their leader might be, we had purged the city of them, and I was confident we’d be ready if they ever came back.

As I rocked my son, I thought about Knox. He had really stepped up to the plate and proven that he was ready to take on a bigger role. Leo would be proud. Cameron wormed his way into my head, but I shook it off. I channeled my rage differently now.

“You and I have a lifelong job to do, little guy,” I said softly. “Mommy lost everything, her entire blood family, and though she’s strong, we need to make sure she knows we’re always there for her.” I rubbed her name that I’d had threaded through another tattoo on my left ring finger. “She deserves the world.”

“Grim.” I wasn’t sure how long Kenna had been standing there. I was guessing our nanny ratted me out. “You left your own party early.” I admired the tiny piece of silk that Yen Hong called an evening dress as she stepped into the room. She patted Zhar, and Leal jumped to his feet.

“I just needed a moment.”

She leaned down and kissed me. “May I?” I lifted our son to her, and she closed her eyes and breathed him in. “My sweet boy,” she whispered. “Time for bed.” I watched her as she laid him in his cradle.

She stood just outside the door with her back to me and undid the string behind her neck, and the dress fluttered to her feet as she walked toward the bedroom.

“Night, boys,” I whispered to the pups and rushed into the bedroom.

My parents asked us, so for them, we honored their wishes to have a church wedding. The little chapel we had built at Secrets was the perfect place to marry Kenna the way I felt she deserved. Neither of us practiced traditional religion, but we did have it blessed by my parents’ priest the night before to even the scoreboard between good and evil.

“Fuck you, you got nothin’!” Rail tried to read my mind from across the table. His cigarette bounced between his lips as he called my hand.

“Really, boys?” Mom rolled her eyes as she took in the fact that we played poker in the dressing room before the ceremony started.

“You look like honey on a warm bagel.” Rail grinned at her, and she playfully gave him a huff. Mom had such a soft spot for him. “I promise we’re all ready to go. I’ll personally make sure he gets up there in time.” He winked at me, and I arched a brow.

“Hello, Minnie,” Mom called out the door, and Brick jumped up from the table.

Rail grinned. “But not until he shows me what he’s got.”

“Seriously!” Minnie crossed her arms. “For fuck’s sake, it smells like a bar in here.” She grabbed the trash can and tossed some beer cans inside.

“Winning looks so good on me,” Rail bragged.

“Grim’s got a full house,” Minnie whispered from behind me to Rail. I didn’t say a word; I just looked at him. The shit needed to fold first.

“Oh!” He pushed his chips forward. “All the fucking way in, son!” He dropped his cards and raised his hands with a flourish.

“Royal flush.” I showed my cards, and his face fell as he flung a death look at Minnie.

Mom popped her head inside. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Minnie was in my face as I stood. “Did you do it yet?”

I batted her hand away. I opened the door and looked around. I saw Sienna holding Callan, and Filippo and Marabella stood next to her and Elio. Then I spotted him. He leaned against a doorframe and looked totally uncomfortable as he smoked his joint. Though I insisted the Devil’s Reach didn’t need to dress up, Trigger didn’t think it was right not to, given that he was part of the wedding party. It said a lot that he wore a tux; he’d often said he felt ridiculous in one. I glanced over at Elio, who wore his tux like he’d been born in one. I made my way over to Trigger.

“I’m going to keep this short and to the point.” We both hated emotion, but sometimes things needed to be said.

“’Kay,” he grunted. He tugged at his collar and tilted his head to the side as he blew out a waft of smoke.

I kept my back to the others. “You took a chance on me years ago, gave me a second family and always had my back.” He nodded but kept his gaze down. “I know you don't want kids, and I respect the hell out of that, but if something ever happens to me, to us, I need to know you’ll be there for him. I want you for Callan’s godfather. Just know this isn’t just from me and Kenna. This is also coming from Laurel, Jim, and Knox.” He went still. “Think about it, okay?” I held out my hand, and he grabbed it and pulled me in for a hug. Never once in all the years of knowing Trigger had he ever given me more than a quick shake or a clap on the back.

“Don’t need to think. Be a real fuckin’ honor,” he said as he pulled back.

“Good. That goes for Tess, too, but I wanted to ask you first.”

“Yeah.” The corners of his mouth rose for a split second, and I turned to head back toward the others. I caught Minnie’s shocked face at what she’d just witnessed, but she reined herself in and didn’t comment.

“All right, boys, move it, or I’m spreading a rumor you all participated in the furry convention last month.” Minnie waved at the lot of them.

Morgan scowled. “Don’t lump us in with Rail’s kinks.”

“I have Photoshop and the web, so don’t play with me. Move it.” She shooed them out.

“Son,” my father caught me as the others went to take their places, “a word?”

“Of course.” I followed him back into the small room where we’d played poker.

“We had our talk last night at the party about how proud your mother and I are of you, but there’s something I wanted to give you.” He pulled out a watch, and I swallowed hard.

“That’s Leo’s.”

“It is. I figured it should go to Callan, and it could be your something borrowed.” I squinted at him and he burst out with a laugh. “I have no idea. Your mom said I should say that.” He shrugged. “She said Kenna would know what it means.” He waved his hand. “Regardless, I think you should wear it, so you have Leo with you.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I didn’t waste any time replacing mine with his.

“I don’t know where we’d be through this whole thing if it wasn’t for you boys.” He scrunched up his nose. I could see he was trying to hold it together. “We may have slipped a little, but we’re coming back stronger than before.”

“Agreed.” I turned at the sound of the door opening. “Hey, Mom.”

“You have a gorgeous woman in a white dress waiting for you.” She smiled at me and took my father’s arm.

I turned to Dad. “All right. Let’s go.”

I headed down the hall and joined the guys just as they started down the aisle. We took our positions as the music changed, and I scanned the crowd. Mom now held Callan and stood next to Dad. I moved my gaze to the exits and re-counted the security.

“Stop that,” Jesse whispered from behind me. “Best man or not, I got this.” He smiled then scanned the room as I had done.

“Okay.” I took a deep breath and got myself in check. Elio bumped me and cleared his throat to grab my attention. I raised my head, and for the first time in my life, I was completely unable to move. I felt my heart stop as I saw her. Kenna wore an elegant, formfitting wedding dress, and her hair was down but curled. The smile she wore nearly knocked me off my feet. When she got close enough, I found the strength to reach for her like a drowning man for a rope. I heard a few people chuckle.

“Everything is so beautiful,” she whispered as the music died down. “Did you see that gorgeous archway?”

“No.” I cupped her cheek with both hands, and as she looked into my eyes, everything inside me melted. “All I see is you.”