Page 136 of Bound By Blood and Lies

A laugh bursts out of me whilst chaos immediately erupts around us again. Riggs starts arguing about icing, Victor begins explaining the aerodynamics of the toy car for some reason and Atlas walks back into the room holding more wires nobody asked for. And standing in the middle of all the noise with Roman’s arms wrapped around me, I realise something that would have terrified me a year ago.

This doesn’t just feel like survival anymore.

It feels like home.

CHAPTER 38

ROMAN

Iadjust the cuff of the black graduation suit, resisting the urge to loosen the tie sitting too tight against my throat. The uniform is identical on all of us. It is a tailored black suit with a crisp white shirt and The Company’s family crest pin is fixed against the lapel. The material sits wrong against my skin and is stiff enough that I’m aware of every movement of my body. The heavy wooden door groans as it swings shut behind us and my nostrils flare. This is it. The further down the stone staircase we move, the colder the air becomes and candle smoke settles in my lungs with every step.

I fucking hate this place.

Beside me, Riggs tugs harshly at his tie.

“If this thing strangles me to death, I’m haunting every single one of you,” he mutters.

“You’d probably enjoy haunting people,” Felix says dryly from somewhere behind us.

“I absolutely would.”

A chuckle leaves me before I can stop it and Riggs points at me immediately.

“There. That. That’s the laugh I’m talking about. Marriage has ruined you.”

“I didn’t laugh.”

“You fucking did.”

I ignore him, focusing instead on the final stretch of stairs as voices begin echoing faintly from the crypt. Riggs has developed this strange obsession with pointing out every microscopic emotion I apparently display now that I’m married and it’s becoming a full-time job tuning him out. As we reach the bottom, it opens up around us. It never ceases to amaze me just how cavernous this space is. Candlelight flickers against the stone and concrete walls as large crucifixes loom at the front of the chamber. Behind the altar, smoke curls through the air from the hundreds of candles scattered throughout the crypt.

I look to the left of me and see a flock of girls dressed in flowing white gowns. They are almost a mirror image of the childlike nightgowns they were forced to wear during initiation, only now they resemble wedding dresses more than anything else. Soft lace falls from the sleeves whilst thin veils cover their faces beneath the candlelight, making the whole crypt look more like a wedding ceremony than a graduation.

My eyes search the room. Even with the veils covering the women’s faces, I spot Fae almost instantly. I would know her anywhere. The slight slope of her shoulders, the way she shifts her weight when her back starts hurting, obviously the huge bump helps too. I smile as I see her hand resting protectively over our baby. I know she’s nervous about being a mum but she’s going to be great.

She’s standing near the front beside Robyn, who is rubbing slow circles across her back, and I quickly glance at Felix to see the longing written all over his face as he stares at her. Fuck knows what is going on with them right now, but I can only presume Robyn doesn’t want to be the other woman when he ultimately makes his choice today.

My gaze flicks back to Fae. Thirty-six weeks pregnant and stubborn enough that she told me she didn’t want special treatment whilst going through this ceremony.

“If Robyn needs to stand, I can stand too.” Fae slams the kitchen cupboard shut and I roll my eyes.

“Robyn isn’t going to be thirty-six weeks pregnant, Fae.”

“No, but she’s going to be sliced open and bleed in front of everyone. She needs me and that’s final.”

I chuckle out loud at the memory and Riggs’ head turns so quickly he could probably get whiplash. His eyes narrow and my smile only widens. Fae is going to be so pissed when I usher her off to the side once our graduation is complete. It shouldn’t make me laugh but honestly… I think I might have developed a thing for make-up sex.

Fae glances up like she can feel me watching her from across the crypt and some of the tension leaves her body immediately. Even with the veil covering most of her face, I know her well enough to see it in the way her shoulders loosen slightly whilst her hand rubs absently across the curve of her stomach.

My son is beneath her palm.

Jesus fucking Christ.

I am so in love.

Riggs follows my eyeline before grimacing dramatically.

“You look disgustingly in love right now.”