The Gallows at Midnight (Agents of Interpol 2)

“We need to plan a wedding.”

“Blake,” I say, caressing the side of his face. “Make our wedding what you want. The fact of the matter is, the only thing I need is you waiting at the altar. The flowers, location, dresses, and all that shit don’t matter to me, babe. We could get married in this bedroom in our pajamas and I’d still be the luckiest bitch that ever walked the earth.”

He kisses me again, smiling. “I’ll let the other girls plan it. Shannon, Sorina, Sammi, Carmen, and Teresa. I’ll give them a month. If they don’t have it ready by then, I’ll have the priest come here and we can say ‘I do’ in our pajamas.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

He twists to lie next to me, pulling me to his chest as he sighs, relief flooding his body, his muscles relaxing. Soft clinking from the kitchen echoes into our room, the methodical tinkering lulling me to sleep as Blake’s heartbeat thuds in my ear.

†††

“Get up, Mom. You’ve been asleep for like seventeen hours.”

I roll over and open my eyes as Sorina sits a tray across my lap. It’s stacked with Belgian waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast.

“What time is it?”

“A little after ten in the evening. Dad said breakfast for dinner would be cool, so Ms. Teresa whipped this up.”

I chuckled. Blake obviously filled Teresa in on my favorite foods at some point. Steam rises from the waffles, carrying a hint of orange and mint. My mouth waters. Pushing myself up a little more, I dig in while Sorina makes herself comfortable; sitting crossed legged on Blake’s side of the bed.

“Are you and Dad okay now?”

“Yes, sweetheart. We’re fine.”

She stares down at her hands, picking at pieces of fuzz on the blanket. “Please don’t do that to me again.”

My breath catches in my throat. She lifts her head, tears falling down her face. “Sorina?”

“I seriously thought you and Dad weren’t going to work it out. I thought I was going to lose you guys . . . again.”

I lift the tray and sit it next to her before gathering her in my arms. She sobs quietly into my chest, my hand rubbing against her back.

“Oh, Sori, you’ll never lose either of us. Not like that. When I met you, you gave me a new purpose, kiddo. You gave me a reason to keep fighting. I could never walk away from you.”

“What about, Dad? Could you walk away from him?”

I kiss her hair, rocking us gently. “No, I don’t think I could. It about killed me to walk

out when all that shit happened.”

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, kiddo.”

After she calms down and stops crying, I finish my breakfast. We’re not a normal family, not in the traditional sense. I’ve never had to think of someone else before. My personal life was my own until Blake and Sorina came into my life. Everything I do now— every choice, every action— affects them just as it does me.

Remember that the next time shit gets crazy.

Blake and Samuel stroll in, laughing. He seems to approve of the boy, and I think I do too. If he and Sorina end up being something serious, she’ll have a lot of adjustments to make. It’s why none of us has ever really had steady relationships. Doing what we do, we’re gone a lot and we can’t disclose where we go.

“How was the food, baby?” He leans down and plants a swift kiss on my lips.

‘Wonderful. Teresa is godly.”

“Tomorrow night she’s making Chicken and Dumplings,” Samuel says with a grin on his face.

‘Ah, that’s Dresden’s favorite too. I think she uses that dish to subdue people into her secret army or something.”