Vengeful Secret (The Burkes Mafia #3)

33. Sutton

33

SUTTON

After Gray’s nightmare, it takes me a while to fall asleep. When I wake up, an overwhelming sense of dread washes over me. I try to shake it off, but I have such a bad feeling.

Gray’s already up, and I can hear Ciara giggling in her room.

I smile slightly, trying to shake my bad mood.

I make my way to the bathroom, washing my face and brushing my teeth after I use the toilet, and when I exit the room, Gray’s standing with Ciara on his hip.

“We’re going on a picnic today, Mama!” Ciara says happily, and I look between her and Gray.

“We are?”

Gray smiles. “I thought we could use a day out. We won’t be going far, just to the park a block away. And we’ll have all our men with us.”

“All of them?”

“We want to be safe,” he says quietly.

Ciara frowns. “Safe from bad guys?”

I take her from Gray, putting her on my hip again and groaning.

“You’re getting so big!” I say, hoping to change the subject.

Ciara giggles. “I eat too many pancakes.”

“Just enough pancakes,” Gray insists, kissing her cheek. “You’re cute and chubby.”

Ciara wiggles down from me. “Do you think Marisol will make me some pancakes if I ask real nice?”

“I bet she will. Go down and ask her,” Gray says, smiling and ushering her out into the hallway.

She hums as she skips down the stairs.

I look up at Gray with worried eyes. “Maybe we shouldn’t go out today.”

He frowns. “Why not?”

“I mean, they may be watching.”

Gray sighs, taking my hand in his. “We can’t live our lives in this house, Sutton. Ciara deserves to get out on the weekends, not just for school.”

“I know, but right now may be a bad idea.”

“Take your gun. You know I stay strapped.”

He puts his hand at the small of his back, turning to show me the black gun.

“I’ll take it. I wish I had a holster.”

“I’ll have you one made,” he promises. “In the meantime, I have a leg strap that I think will work.”

He goes into the closet and pulls down a holster, leaning down and strapping it to my thigh.

I gasp at the feel of his fingers on my skin, and he smiles, kissing the top of my thigh after he straps on the holster.

“See how it feels.”

I go into the gun safe and put my gun in the holster, turning around to see how it feels. It’s heavy and a bit scratchy, but not bad.

“Okay,” I breathe, feeling a bit better now that we’re both armed.

I put on a flowy maxi-dress to hide the holster and gun, putting on a bit of light makeup and putting my hair in a braid across one shoulder.

“Cute,” Gray mumbles, kissing me softly before we head downstairs.

Ciara’s already sitting at the table in her booster seat, mouth full of pancakes.

“I guess Marisol said yes.” I chuckle.

Ciara grins, her mouth full.

Marisol comes from the kitchen. “There’s plenty of pancakes,” she says. “You two hungry?”

I shake my head. “We’re having a picnic later.”

“Luckily, Ciara is a bottomless pit, so she’ll eat twice,” Gray says with a chuckle.

Marisol frowns at him. “Don’t call her such things. She’s a healthy, growing girl.”

Gray holds up his hands in defense. “Of course, of course.”

“Lara was a little chubby when she was a girl, too,” Marisol points out. “And now she’s willow-thin. She’ll grow out of it.”

“I'm never going to grow out of pancakes,” Ciara pipes up, and we all laugh.

Ciara finishes her pancakes, and I take her to the downstairs bathroom to wash the syrup off her face and hands. She’s still in her pajamas, so I carry her upstairs.

“Dots,” she says firmly, taking the leggings out of the drawer, and I’m not fighting this fight, so I just nod, helping her pull them up.

She decides on a striped dress, which doesn’t match the polka dots but we’re only going to the park.

Again, I’ll pick my battles when it comes to parenthood. That was the one thing my mother taught me. I wince when I think about how long it’s been since I’ve talked to her.

“Gray, can you and Ciara wait for me in the car?” I ask. “I want to call Mom.”

“Tell Granny I said hello!"

“I will, mo stóirin .”

Gray nods, taking Ciara’s hand and leading her to the car. There are four men in an Escalade already waiting, the engine idling.

I’ll make this quick.

She answers on the first ring. I’ve been avoiding her calls.

“Jesus, Sutton, where have you been ?”

“I’m still staying with a friend,” I say quickly. “I'm sorry I haven’t called. Things have just been so busy with Ciara in school?—”

“I’m just glad you’re all right.” She sighs. “And Ciara? How’s she doing?”

“She’s great, Mom. Wanted me to tell you hi from her.”

“When will I see you two again?”

“Soon,” I promise. “I just wanted to give you a quick call.”

She pauses for a moment, and I grimace, hoping she’s not angry.

“All right, honey. I know what it’s like, being in love.”

I blink, surprised. “How do you know?—”

“No one just spends weeks at a friend’s house unless they’re in some kind of love bubble,” she teases, and I laugh.

“I guess you’re right.” I pause. “Mom, it’s Sutton's father.

She doesn’t gasp in surprise. “I knew by the way you talked about him that you still cared.” She pauses again. “Just be careful, Sutton.”

I know that she means be careful with my heart, that she doesn’t know about the danger I’m in, the danger I’m putting Ciara in, but my heart drops nonetheless.

“Of course, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, honey. Give Ciara a big hug and kiss from me.”

“Will do. I’ll talk to you soon.”

She hangs up, and I take a shaky breath. Things will be okay. They have to be.

I get into the car, and Gray smiles at me.

“Everything okay?"

“Perfect,” I say with a smile, trying my best to be in a good mood for this picnic.

Ciara’s singing in the car, happy as a clam, and I sing along with her, a song from her newest princess movie.

Gray doesn’t know the words but hums along, and by the time we arrive at the park, the horrible feeling I’ve been fighting all day starts to fade away.

The park is beautiful, one of the most well-kept I’ve ever seen with lots of greenery and a little butterfly garden.

“Maybe Blue will be there!” Ciara says, and I laugh, having forgotten about her butterfly friend.

“Maybe he will be.”

Gray looks at us, confused, and it only makes me laugh harder.

He smiles, baffled, and takes a blanket to lie down under a nearby tree.

I’m carrying the picnic basket, and I place it down on the corner of the blanket to keep the wind from blowing it away.

Ciara runs off to the swings. There are other people at the swings, on the playground—kids and their parents.

Gray and I are in a remote area, away from the entrance, and I know he wants his privacy, especially since some of his men are trailing around here somewhere, watching us.

I frown, looking down the hill.

“Daddy, come push me!” Ciara insists, and Gray starts to go over there.

But up the hill, two men in black suits are coming, looking like they’re on a mission. Two more men come up behind them, and I grab on to Gray’s arm.

“Gray—” I start, and that’s when the shooting starts.

Gray turns to me, ducking. “Brock! Ronan! Take Ciara and Sutton, get them out of here.”

He looks at me. “You have to go.”

“I can’t,” I whisper, and then more gunshots sound over my head.

Ciara is screaming out, “Mama,” and I want to go to her, but I also want to help Gray if I can. I finally hide behind a tree, putting my arms over my head and peering around the trunk to see if I can see Gray.

Brock takes Ciara, who is kicking and screaming, to the Escalade while a couple other of Gray’s men have gone down, lying on the ground.

I swallow hard, wondering if either of them are dead. My head is spinning.

I’d known something horrible would happen today. I should have listened to my gut.

The four men are on Gray now, fighting him, and Gray’s holding his own, sweeping his leg underneath him to take down two of the men.

They grunt and go down, but the other two are on him, wrestling him down to the ground.

He’s losing.

He’s doing his best, and he’s very good, managing to hold on with four against one, but if one of his men doesn’t come to help…

The cock of the gun startles me, and I stand up, peeking around the trunk.

I’m drawing my gun before I can even think about it.

Gray’s struggling to keep the gun away from him, pushing at the man’s arms, but after fighting four men, he’s weakening.

Keep both eyes open. Aim for the center, not the head.

I slowly put the gun up, looking through the sights with both eyes, just like Gray taught me, and I squeeze the trigger once, twice.

The first bullet goes over his head, but the second one hits him right in the chest, and he groans and collapses on top of Gray.

Gray quickly pushes him off and draws his own gun, shooting the other three men point blank in the head. I watch the sight like I’m watching from outside my body.

The blood looks almost beautiful in the harsh sunlight of the park, spewing out of the men who’d tried to kill us.

“Sutton. Sutton!” Gray’s voice is harsh as he shakes me. “Put the gun down, a ghrá ,” he says quietly, and I slowly lower it, trembling all over.

“I killed him,” I say slowly. “I think I killed him.”

Gray turns and kicks the man I’d hit. He groans, and Gray promptly shoots him in the head.

“You didn’t. I did.”

But I’m still trembling when Gray kisses me deeply.

“Things are only going to get worse,” he says quietly. “We’re at war.”

It’s a rerun, a repeat of what he told me the other night, but he’s right to say it twice. It’s important that I know.

“I know,” I say quietly. “But I love you, Gray. I want to be with you forever. I have to accept the good with the bad.”

“You love me?” he asks, as if that’s the only thing he heard.

“So much,” I admit, tears streaming down my face as I finally come back to my body, feeling Gray’s arms around me.

“I love you, too, Sutton. More than you can imagine. I want us to be a family.”

We’re standing in a park where people are still screaming and running, and we’re surrounded by bodies, but this is the most perfect moment I’ve ever had.

“You want to… marry me?”

My heart soars. I’ve never wanted anything more, and it doesn't matter that I’m trembling and that I just shot someone.

Gray protected me, just like I protected him. We’re meant to be.

“More than anything,” he says fiercely. “I don’t have a ring. I wasn’t really prepared for this?—”

I snort out a dark laugh. “Me, either.”

“We can go and choose one together.”

“Not now,” I whisper. “Right now, I want to hug my baby and head home. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” he promises, and kisses me again, holding me tightly against him as he leads me to the car.

Ciara’s at home, anxiously waiting for us when we pull up, and she runs to the car, throwing her arms around Gray.

“Did you get the bad guys?"

“I got them," he promises. “And I promise that'll never happen again.”

“It was scary.” She pulls away, sniffling. “Can I go to the pool?”

I chuckle.

“See if Aunt Lara will take you.” I get out of the car and hug her tightly before letting her run off.

“She bounced back fast.” Gray smiles.

“Kids always do.”

“Are you all right?” he asks, looking at me with concern on his face.

“I’m all right.” And I really am.

I think I’ll be all right from now on. As long as we have each other.