When She Falls (The Fallen, #3)(119)

I study the watercolor on the wall. I'm proud of it, but I’m still a beginner.

Vale shrugs. “It’s up to you if you want to display your work or not, but what do you think about using the space to promote local up and coming artists? We could work on it together—scout for talent, set up exhibitions, host events…”

She drifts off, watching for my reaction.

A spark of excitement appears inside my chest. I’ve been so busy setting up a new life here and preparing for the baby that I haven’t had much time to think about what I’d do after.

But the idea of working with Vale to create an art gallery, to give a platform to artists who might not have one...

Can I do it? I'd have to learn everything from scratch about running that kind of a business. I'd probably make a bunch of mistakes at first.

I glance at Ras who's absorbed in his conversation with Damiano.

He'd tell me to do it. He'd tell me it's okay to not be perfect.

It's a lesson I'm still learning, but every day, it seeps deeper and deeper inside of me.

I give Vale a smile. “You know, I think I like that idea.”

Vale whoops and hugs me, drawing the men's attention to us. “Gemma’s in on the art gallery idea!” she announces.

Damiano’s gaze flashes with approval. “That's great.”

I'm about to explain the whole thing to Ras, but there's no surprise in his expression.

“You knew about this?” I ask.

He grins. “I was the one who first noticed the location. I asked Vale to go take a look.”

Warmth unfurls inside my chest. There are times like this when he's being so damn perfect, I have to pinch myself to believe this is real.

Ras tips his head in Damiano's direction. “By the way, you’ve got your first customer right here. He's got lots of empty walls.”

I snort a laugh. Of course. Art sales must be a great way to clean a portion of the Casalesi proceeds.

Vale squeezes my hand. “What do you think, Gem? You want to go into business with these two?”

I lace my fingers with hers. “Too late to be asking that question, don’t you think?”





A few hours later, Vale and Damiano leave, and Ras and I lie down in the hammock he’s strung up between two old oak trees on our property. The warm weather and the slow swaying of the hammock lulls me into a peaceful state. I rest my head on Ras’s chest and listen to the steady beat of his heart beneath my ear.

Ras places a protective hand over my belly. I’m barely showing in my fourth month but Ras has been curiously examining my growing bump with me in the mirror nearly every morning.

The truth is, I’m nervous. I’ve spent very little time thinking about what it would actually be like to have a child before I got pregnant, and some small part of me is scared. I may have left New York, but like Vale, I ended up in the same dangerous world.

“What are you thinking about?” Ras asks.

I search for the right words. Unlike Cleo, I’ve never had the urge to run away from this life. I’ve always accepted it as part of me.

But now I’m bringing a baby into it as well. An innocent being who doesn’t get a say.

I place my hand on top of Ras’s. “He or she will be born into all of this.”

He’s silent for a long moment, and I know he understands what I mean. “We’ll always keep our children safe,” he says.

Children. Ras likes to speak in plural as far as our future offspring are concerned, so damn sure that we’ll have more than one.

“And when they grow up?”

“We won’t force them into anything,” he says, smoothing his hand over my hair. “They’ll make their own choices. But you have to be ready for the possibility that they choose all this of their own free will.”

His words settle over my skin. He’s right, the possibility is there. We can't control everything but we can control how we'll raise our child. We'll offer them a life filled with love, warmth, and acceptance. A life where they'll always have a family to come back to no matter what path they choose.

This world can be seductive. Its darkness has a unique allure that pulls people in.

But, even in that darkness, there's light.

Bright, and warm, and beautiful.

I snuggle up to Ras.

For me, that light is him.

THE END





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