I STOOD ON THE TARMAC and watched my father fly away. Apparently, his jet had tailed us all the way from Teterboro, ready to pick him up and take him to some undisclosed location.
Bishop stood beside me, quiet since we’d deplaned. Everything had come out in that long flight back.
How Vincent had been responsible for giving the orders to kill Bishop’s uncle, and had put the word out that Bishop would be hunted until he paid back double what he’d won counting cards. Dom hadn’t had a clue.
Bishop had wanted my father dead for ten years, for a reason that was no longer valid. I felt the anger drain out of Bishop as my father explained the inner workings of his organization and that he wouldn’t have been bothered with the details of something like that.
Ignorance was no excuse, but Bishop had a choice—continue to hold the grudge, or let it go.
He’d made his choice, and that choice was me.
“You two ready?” This came from Con, who held open the back door of Lord’s Hemi ’Cuda.
Was I ready? Ready to start over with this new life and not worry about it being snatched away from me at any second?
Yes.
Ready to be with Bishop and not keep any more secrets?
Yes.
But was he?
He’d shown up in New York, walking into the belly of the beast to face what he’d run from for ten years—all because he loved me. And then he’d sat in front of my father and told him that he wouldn’t be content in this life until he made me as happy as I’d made him. That the only thing he wanted was to watch me fly, so long as he could soar beside me. His words had given me hope like nothing else possibly could.
I thought it was safe to say he was ready.
We slid into the backseat of Lord’s awesomely cool car, and Con took the front.
“We’re going to pretend none of this ever happened, right? You’re not going to make me tell Vanessa? She’ll be pissed she didn’t get to go.”
I wondered if he was crazy. “What did you tell her you were doing?” I asked.
“Helping a friend.”
“Then I guess it depends on how many questions she’s going to ask when you get home carrying a duffel bag of guns.”
Con shrugged. “I’ll leave those in the trunk. Lord can explain them to Elle.”
Lord looked at him sideways. “Which means Vanessa will know by morning.”
“Good point. I guess I’m gonna play up this hero angle pretty hard-core.”
I pressed tighter to Bishop’s side. “I don’t mean to be rude, but this guy is the hero in my book.”
Bishop looked down at me. “You don’t need a hero, Eden. You’ve got that covered.” He pressed a kiss to my hair. “But I’ll be there by your side all the same.”
“So, where am I dropping you off this fine evening?” Lord asked.
“My place,” I said. “If you don’t mind.”
Bishop nodded. “The boss lady says her place, so that’s where we’ll be.”
Boss lady. I liked it.
I didn’t break down until I stepped into the shower and everything that had happened today came crashing down on me. I dropped my forehead against the wall, and my chest heaved when I thought about how close I’d come to losing everything.
Bishop. My father. My friends.
I cried for Angelo—the version I’d known before.
The door creaked, and a breeze told me Bishop was inside. The curtain slid open a foot and I turned my head sideways.
“Breaks my heart to see you cry, cupcake.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don’t ever apologize for how you’re feeling. You own that. It’s yours.” He stripped his shirt over his head and shoved his jeans past his hips before stepping into the shower. “But if you’re gonna cry, at least do it where I can hold you.”
The water beat over us both as I clung to Bishop’s shoulders. He pressed his lips to my forehead and held on but said nothing. Nothing needed to be said. I just needed to let it all flow out and down the drain.
When the water started to run cold, he moved us out of the stream and turned it off.
“You need to go to my place where we have more hot water?”
I shook my head, a smile tugging at my lips. “No, I think I’m good.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m positive.”
“Then let’s get you dried off and dressed.”
We stepped out of the shower, and Bishop wrapped me with a towel before grabbing one for himself.
“We’re going to have to do something about the fact that you have no clothes here,” I said when he pulled his jeans and T-shirt back on.
He gave me a look. “I was thinking more along the lines of how we need to do something about the fact that we don’t sleep in the same place every night.”
Bishop had a point.
“We haven’t really talked about what’s next for us. Except, you know, the fact that you told my father you love me and basically dared him to stand in our way.” I was still smiling inside over how adamant Bishop had been on the plane. “So, what do you want to do?”
“I’m not going to rush you. You’ve wanted your freedom for a long time, and I’m not going to take that from you. You decide when and how we handle this. I’m on your timetable. I’m sure as shit not going anywhere.”
The fact that he wasn’t trying to push me made it all the better. “Do you kill spiders?”
Bishop looked at me like I might be crazy. “Say what now?”
“Do you kill spiders? Because honestly, I’m all for being independent . . . until spiders are involved. Then I want a big man in my house to kill them for me and carry me away and give me a dozen orgasms so I can forget about the horror of spiders.”
Bishop’s booming laugh filled the small space of my apartment. “Is that right?”
I nodded.
“So are you telling me you want me around?”
“Yeah. I do. But it’d be even cooler if we could both keep our places and just go back and forth for now. Maybe see which one suits us better?”
Bishop studied me, and I realized he got what I was saying without me actually saying it. I wasn’t ready to give up my place just yet. It was tiny, but cute and awesome, and I loved it.
“I think that works just fine for me, cupcake. I’ll bring over a bag, and you can take a bag to my place.”
“I’m going to have to go shopping.” I thought about all the stuff in my apartment in New York. Designer clothes perfect for the life I no longer wanted. “Yeah, I’m definitely going to have to go shopping.”
He pulled me into him and squeezed me tight. “I think your girls would be more than happy to help you with that.”
My girls.
My man.
My life.
My everything.