SWNOVELS Tiny Dark Deeds: Chapter 51
Brielle
I woke up when someone touched my cheek.
Ramses.
I shifted, but our son was between us, Ares’s head on my shoulder. We must have both fallen asleep on the couch.
I played with his curls, smiling when his father eased over. Ramses kissed me with heat, here with us now, safe.
“What happened?” I whispered, trying not to wake our son. Ares had refused to go to sleep once he’d found out the men were moving in on Dorian’s grandpa. He’d overhead the mothers talking, and he wouldn’t leave me alone tonight. He was like his dad in that way, always trying to take care of me.
Ramses studied our son, adjusting the blanket over us both. “It’s done,” he said, my heart leaping. Ramses nodded. “We don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
He went on to tell me how, as well as the blanks in between. Someone had gone after Callum Prinze under our noses and saved this family from more bloodshed. From how it sounded, this had all started with revenge, and though I hadn’t wanted this fight to end in more, I didn’t think Dorian’s grandfather had given us much of a choice.
“I can only sum up that he had a lot of enemies, and it was probably one of them,” Ramses concluded, his expression hard, but it softened when it returned to our son. This family had gone through a lot, but this was always there to come back to, our peace. Ramses’s eyes warmed, his hand on Ares’s head. “Whatever the case, it’s safe now.”
Safe.
My husband told me more about it in the quiet. His night had been a hard one, a long one. Ares woke up as Ramses finished, but his father somehow convinced him to wait until morning to talk in detail about things. We just told our son everything was safe, and that we’d be able to bring Sloane home when the day came. Ares wanted to call her, but I convinced him to wait. It was late, and they both needed to sleep.
It was hard to listen to my own words and not call my daughter in the middle of the night, but I forced myself to. Instead, I made sure Ares got to bed, which relieved my husband to go take a shower before heading there himself. Ramses had put on a tough face that he hadn’t let tonight affect him, but he looked tired, and he needed to relax.
I told Ares I loved him before closing the door, and when I found the room I’d been staying in, I heard more than one voice inside.
My heart lifted hearing hers.
“Ares said you just got back,” Sloane said. “I told him to text me when you did. I hope you don’t mind I called. I know you’re probably going to bed.”
In the two seconds since I’d left him, my son had managed to text his twin. I shook my head but couldn’t fight the smile on my face.
“Of course I don’t mind,” Ramses said, his voice thick, emotional. I eased a look into the room and saw him sitting on the bed. He must have gotten his shower done, his hair wild and perfect like I liked it. He had his phone up, and our daughter’s face was on the screen. “I love hearing from you, and everything’s fine. I’m fine, and you didn’t have to call.”
I started to go inside the room but stopped. My head touching the door frame, I enjoyed watching the two of them together.
“I don’t know what Ares told you, but everything’s safe now. You’re safe, and we’re going to bring you home,” Ramses said, smiling. “We’re bringing Dorian home too. As soon as we can. Both of you.”
She didn’t say anything for a beat.
But then…
“Thanks, Dad,” she said, my breath in-taking, and Ramses didn’t move, his lips parting. She shook her head. “Whatever you and everyone else did, just… thank you. And thank Mom too.”
I swallowed, coming into the room. I’d told Ramses what Sloane had said, how she’d told me she loved me and sent Ramses her love too. It’d been an emotional moment for my husband and me on the phone.
I came over, and Ramses blinked in my direction. Taking my hand, he had me sit on the bed beside him. His mouth warmed my hand before he fit us both into the screen.
“We miss you,” he said, his voice tight and fighting emotion. Wrapping his arm around me, he kissed my hair before looking at our daughter. “We’re bringing you home, as soon as we can in the morning.”
“We love you,” I said, before touching the screen, and Sloane did too. It was like the distance between us and her didn’t matter in that moment. It was inconsequential. I told her Callum Prinze wouldn’t break this family, and he hadn’t. Not even with everything he did.
I didn’t know how long we talked to Sloane, but I remembered every word of that conversation. I’d never forget the day my daughter first called me her mother, nor would her father forget his own acknowledgment. I saw that in his eyes as we talked about it after, emotion taking its hold over us both. I cried, but there was no pain.
Ramses let me cry my happy tears, his embrace warm as we lay together on the bed. Like so many times, he was there to hold me, but this time, he didn’t need to tell me things would be okay. He’d said that so many times to me over the years, talking me off cliffs. Especially when Sloane had initially been taken. He’d said I would be okay and that the pair of us would be fine.
But I doubt even he knew how right he’d ultimately be.