“Don’t I get a hug too?” Another voice pipes up from behind me, and I spin around.
“What?” I shriek, launching myself at Dean. I’m sobbing while he rubs my back and tells me how good it is to see me again.
I don’t know how long it takes me to get over my shock at their presence, but as soon as I do, I bombard all five of my favorite men with questions—what, how, why are they here?
“Sit down and breathe before you pass out.” West guides me to the couch and goes to pour drinks.
Zeke takes a seat beside me and grips my hand tightly as Dean and Nico sit on the couch across from us. I hope they know they don’t have to hide who they really are from anyone in this room. After handing everyone their Scotch, West perches on the arm of the chair next to Xander and runs a loving hand over his hair. With that one simple touch, he manages to make my brother and his lover visibly more comfortable, and I love him even more for it.
“This is the best surprise ever,” I repeat, my smile threatening to split my face in two.
“Well, we’re hoping that it can happen more often, shorty.”
Just like that, the reality of the situation sinks in. As incredible as it is to have all the people I love most in one room, it isn’t safe. And not a single one of them understands why. “That would be great, but it can’t happen. It’s too dangerous, no matter how careful we are.”
Zeke squeezes my hand, and West shakes his head. “It can, princess. Soon we won’t need to be careful. Your time of living in fear of your father finding you is almost over.”
I blink at him. “But if he finds out what we did …” I look to Nico now. “You know what he’ll do.”
“Not if we do it first, Lily Pad.”
It takes my brain a few beats to register what he just said. Is that why they’re here? Are they conspiring to— “No.” I shake my head. “It’s too dangerous, Nico. You know it is.”
“It’s been a long time coming. We both know that one of us should have put a bullet in his head years ago.”
“B-but—” I suck in a deep breath to calm my racing heart, but it doesn’t work. “Can’t you just wait him out a few more years? Maybe he’ll step down. Wouldn’t that be safer, easier than killing him? I mean he’s not just anyone. He’s Carmine Constantine. He has an entire army and God knows who else at his disposal.”
Nico scowls at me. “You think that I, of all people, don’t know that?”
Dean chimes in. “He’s sending me away, Lil.”
That gets my attention. “To where?”
“Italy.” He shrugs. “Your father still has use for me, he just doesn’t want me here.”
There must be another way. “Then just don’t go. Nico, tell him you need Dean as your second. Tell him—”
“I’ve tried. I think Pop knows about Dean and me. At least he suspects.”
“If he knew for sure, I’d already be dead.” Dean says that so nonchalantly; like it isn’t preposterous for a man to be killed simply for loving another man. But then, in my father’s world, it isn’t outrageous—it’s normal.
“So, you’re going to kill him. Both of you?”
Nico’s eyes dart around the room. “Zeke and West are going to help.”
“No.” I shake my head. “No.” I look at Zeke sitting beside me. “You don’t know this world. You can’t just go to Vegas and kill Carmine Constantine and walk out again.”
Zeke lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “We know what we’re doing, buttercup.”
“Trust us, princess,” West adds.
My heart feels like it’s being crushed in a vise. Carmine Constantine is a powerful, violent, cruel man. They have no idea what he’s capable of. “When is this happening?”
“Soon,” West answers.
“Soon?” I wail. “How long is soon?”
“A week or two at most,” Nico replies.
No. I need more time to convince them how crazy this is.
Zeke rubs a hand over my back. “Nico will let us know when the time’s right, and we’ll go to Vegas. We’ll be on the jet and back home with you, Fitch, and the dogs within a day, baby doll. I promise.”
I wrench my hand from his. “You can’t make that kind of promise, Zeke. Nobody can.” What I wouldn’t give to rewind my life one hour and be back in the kitchen with him laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe.