"And I missed you," I admitted, and the words seemed to make my body pulse with remembered pleasure of the night before. Even if my body felt like it'd been hit by a truck from the accident, and Ryker had extended that soreness to include between my legs with his rough possession all night long.
"I made it quick. For you," he whispered. I drew in a ragged breath, nodding my acknowledgement when I couldn’t find the words. Ryker turned me to face him, staring down at me. "He was in on it, Calla. Don't put that shit on yourself, because he was prepared to hand you over to someone who would hurt you. A trafficker."
“I know,” I murmured in response. “Did you find anything about Ness?”
He sighed. “She’s apparently Tiernan’s second’s woman. We had no clue he even had a woman. Apparently he keeps her hidden well, because Tiernan is trying to arrange a marriage between his second and a cartel leader’s sister.”
I swallowed but nodded. It would explain why she didn’t get to see him or her son as often as she wanted, if what she told me was true at least. I somehow doubted it. Ines crashed into our legs as Ryker reached into the bowl of cookie dough and scooped out a bite to shove into his mouth.
"Bad, 'yker!" she scolded.
Ryker laughed, mussing her blond hair as he stared down at her. "I like to live on the wild side, Princess." She darted back into the living room, so wrapped up in whatever game she played with her dolls and toy kitchen that she became immediately absorbed.
I stepped into Ryker's arms fully, wrapping my own around his waist. "I love you," I whispered, and he turned a stunning smile to me as he cupped my cheek. I knew it was the first time I said it without coercion. The first time I said it in front of the kids.
“Killer and all?” he asked.
I nodded with a chuckle. “Killer and all, my Shadow.” The name echoed between us, freed from the confines of the tension that had tormented our relationship.
Sunshine and her shadow.
“What if I die?” he asked, immediately honing in on the deep wound we both knew I had to fight back every day.
“Then I’ll miss you more than anything, but I’ll have memories to keep me company until we’re together again,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes with the thought of losing him.
"I love you too, Sunshine," he murmured, and I chuckled through my sniffles as he touched his lips to mine and Axel gagged in the next room.
"Gross!" he called, making his sister giggle.
Ryker pulled back, unfolding a stack of papers from his back pocket and stepping into the living room. I watched from the edge of the room as he knelt in front of Axel. "Is it gross if I adopt you?" he asked, and I watched Axel's eyes go to the papers in Ryker's hand. His brow furrowed, like he didn't understand.
"You want to adopt us?" he asked, and it killed me that he seemed to doubt just how amazing he was. That he doubted that anyone would be lucky to call him their son.
Ryker nodded. "Of course I want to adopt you, Little Man."
"Do I get to call you Dad?" Axel asked in a rush, and I barely restrained the sob that stuck in my throat. I'd been wrong to delay it in my fear that they weren't ready. Axel at the least was old enough to tell me what he wanted, and he’d been trying the entire time. I’d just been too focused on protecting him.
I'd underestimated just how much they loved Ryker.
"Daddy?" Ines asked, inserting herself into Ryker's arms like the demanding thing she was.
"Yeah, Princess. Daddy," Ryker whispered, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. The tears fell from my eyes when Axel's eyes came to mine and he gave me a teary smile. Axel crashed himself into Ryker's arms, hugging him tightly as he stared at me.
"Is that okay, Mommy?" my boy asked.
"If it's what you want, how could it not be?" I told him as I made my way to them. Ryker stood with both kids in his arms, heading for the couch where we snuggled up to enjoy the moment.
The cookies would wait.
Fifty-Eight
Ryker
Strolling into Matteo's office always felt ominous, like I shouldn't be there. We didn't spend enough time at the estate unless I had business, and I knew we'd need to remedy that. With everything she'd seen, Calla would need Ivory and Samara more than ever. She'd need the bond that only wives of the family could provide to one another, and the understanding that would come from the two women who had seen their fair share of blood.
Who had felt what it was to have blood splattered all over their faces.
Calla and the kids followed behind me, and I knew it had been the right choice to bring them when Ivory and Samara stepped forward and wrapped her in their embrace.