“I am too.” Laurel drew a deep breath and was surprised to find she wasn’t lying either. This was a moment she’d never been bold enough to even dream was possible. Even if there were some things that made her uncomfortable, she couldn’t deny the excitement underlying her nerves. If she didn’t care so much it would be easy to walk away.
But now that she was here, she couldn’t.
Nolan smiled at her. Only then did Jace tell Sola to go ahead. The woman flicked her gaze to the rearview mirror, as if wanting to double check for herself that Laurel and Jace were okay before proceeding. It was another reinforcement that they were doing the right thing. Laurel had come to mistrust her own judgment after being shit on by pretty much everyone who’d ever supposedly had her back. Everyone but Jace.
They were still holding hands when they slid out of the SUV and stared up at the enormous mansion in front of them. Again, it reminded her of the estates where rich bastards who got off on buying kids had paid to turn them into party favors. It was beautiful with its mammoth chunks of stone, tree-trunk beams, and walls of glass in between, but she kind of hated it on sight.
True to his word, Nolan led them around the side of the building and pointed out the spot where the moon glinted off the surface of a placid lake in the distance. “Like James said, there are no physical boundaries that way. Don’t try to go straight down. It’s steep and you could fall. Zigzag back and forth, descending at an angle. When you reach the shore, head west.”
He pointed with his black leather glove in the correct direction. She wondered if he wore those when he worked to avoid leaving fingerprints. Odd that she had faith in a man who terminated others, but at least he was up front about it.
“It’ll be a bit of a hike, but you’ll cross the road and there’s enough traffic to the lookout nearby that someone will probably spot you within an hour, tops, even at night.”
Laurel hoped it never came to that, but she was grateful for the information just in case.
Nolan circled around to the main entrance and led them up flagstone stairs before letting them in to the mountain retreat. Immediately, a few things struck Laurel as different. There were no bodyguards watching the entrance and the people she could see inside were casually dressed, lounging around an enormous fireplace built of yet more boulders. They were laughing and joking, except for James, who sat in the middle of the group.
There was no doubt. She knew him right away.
From the moment his head whipped toward the door and their gazes locked, she was sure.
It was him. Her long-lost brother.
6
Laurel’s heart stuttered and her stomach dropped. Now that she was positive it was James, she cared what this beautiful man her brother had become thought of her. A whole lot more than she was comfortable with.
James’s initial reflexive reaction wasn’t to recoil with disdain or pity or disgust. Instead, he shot from the couch and dashed to her with a wide grin on his face. The dimples in his cheeks hadn’t changed one bit since the last time she’d seen him, when he was only eight. Neither had his slightly unruly mop of brown hair with bright golden highlights that matched hers exactly. And though he was a grown man, he still had many of the boyish characteristics—overwhelming enthusiasm, a twinkle in his eye, and unfettered affection—she associated with her memories of him. He was a compact package of trim muscles with a tiny waist she was a bit envious of and he was only an inch or so taller than her.
But as he approached where she took a step forward and then another, he slowed a bit, nibbling his lower lip before he said, “I’m still a hugger, but I totally understand if that’s not okay with you, Laurel-loo.”
Laurel nearly choked on a half-laugh, half-sob. He was the only person who’d ever used that silly nickname for her. She flung herself at him and was surprised when her little brother caught her instead of tumbling to the ground beneath her forward momentum. He might not be anywhere near as tall as Jace or as thick as Nolan, but there wasn’t an ounce of flab on his toned body. She wondered how a guy who rode desk kept in such good shape even if he worked for a private team of superheroes come to life.
For a few minutes they embraced and laughed, pure joy obliterating anything else. It didn’t take too long before their initial gusto waned and the hard reality of what had torn them apart crept in, ruining the moment and everything good in her life, as it always did eventually.
She glanced over her shoulder at Jace, who was grinning, and then Nolan, who slung an arm around Sola. Both of them had sappy smiles plastered on their faces. Sola’s gaze flicked to a man with dark, wavy hair who glared at Nolan with intense brown eyes and offered her a curt nod. Sola shrugged Nolan’s heavy arm off her, then slipped toward the rest of the group by the fire. She sat between the guy Laurel would bet anything was Aarav and a relaxed, handsome Black man, who was beaming at Laurel and James.
That’s when Laurel realized they were the center of an awful lot of attention.
Behind James, a tall man and a petite woman with short, straight blond hair approached, both with tears in their eyes. They had their arms wrapped around each other’s waists and their stares locked on James. When her brother caught Laurel looking, he cleared his throat and introduced them.
“Sis, this is my wife, Devon, and my husband, Neil.” James didn’t so much as hesitate or blush as he gestured to the pair of people who apparently completed him.
“Oh. Wow.” Laurel hadn’t been normal in so long she hadn’t even had time to imagine that James might be. That he could have a wife or, hell, even kids by now. And while she wouldn’t have been the slightest bit shocked to learn that he was gay, it did sort of throw her for a loop to imagine that he was bisexual and polyamorous at that.
Most of all, it impressed her that he was so cool with exactly who he was. That alone made her prouder than she ever could have explained. Especially when she was such a fucking mess and had nothing of what she wanted most for herself.
Her gaze whipped to Jace then back. “That’s…”
James’s wife looked like she might rip Laurel’s head right off if she said something to crush James at that moment, and Laurel instantly adored her sister-in-law. Laurel had done everything in her power to protect James when they were little. Knowing he still had people—bold, capable people—watching his back, meant he had chosen well.
“…amazing. I’m so happy you found your people.”
Unlike James, Laurel wasn’t usually into physical displays of affection, especially in public, but she didn’t want any of them to mistakenly think—for even one moment—that she was some kind of close-minded asshole. She’d been through enough to be certain that what made someone good or evil had nothing to do with things like how many people they were married to, what their sexuality was, or how often they went to church. No, it had everything to do with how they treated the people around them, even when no one else was looking. So long as James and his spouses loved each other and treated each other right, she was happy—and maybe more than a little jealous—for all three of them.
She drew Devon and Neil to her, one in each arm, and patted their backs even if it was a bit awkwardly. “Thanks for taking care of James when I couldn’t. Doesn’t look like he needed my help after all, though.”