Page 61 of Hellhound AU

We hugged tightly, and if there was a little sniffling involved, I’m sure neither of us was going to tell. Eventually we let go of the hug.

“Love you,” I told her.

“I love you, too,” she answered, then wiped her eyes and turned back to the appetizers. “Now get in there and entertain our guests. Ray arrived and is in the living room, too.”

“Good,” I answered, and with one final squeeze on the arm, which Ethel smiled at, I headed back out into the living room.

Some people were still working on the puzzle, but a few had given up and were sitting on the couch and chatting. Mildred was talking to the twins about purses—apparently they both liked designers and also liked thrift shopping—and Ruben, Harold, and Ray were chatting on the far side of the room. It was awesome to see how well our two groups got along, and I foresaw a lot of gatherings in our future. I watched as Ray laughed at something Ruben said, and Ruben smiled and winked at him.

Oh, well that was interesting.

Rowan came up behind me and wrapped an arm around me, kissing my temple. I leaned back against him, amazed at how lucky I was.

“I love you, boo,” I told him.

“Love you, too,” he answered.

Then, because I couldn’t help myself, I gestured toward Ruben and Ray. Just then Ruben reached out and casually put a hand on Ray’s arm. Rowan hummed behind me.

“Ruben enjoys his freedom,” Rowan reminded me.

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s ready to settle down. Plus, Ray starts with an R,” I whispered to Rowan. He laughed a little, and everyone else in his family looked over.

Yup, I’d forgotten about their super sensitive hearing.

Ruben just smirked, though, so I figured he didn’t mind what I was hinting at.

“So, boys, what’s next?” Ethel asked, looking at us. “Organized crime? Should we look for some serial killers? I’ve been doing a lot of research and there are a few avenues we could head down next.”

“We can do whatever you think is more pressing,” I answered.

What ensued was a conversation arguing which crimes should be punished, and how exactly we’d find offenders. Both Rowan’s family and the crew were bloodthirsty, and there was no shortage of suggestions.

Rowan held me close, occasionally interjecting with a comment, but mostly just being a warm presence behind me. I squeezed his arm and thought again of how lucky I was. I got to fight crime with my hellhound boyfriend.

As for what we did next? It really didn’t matter to me, and I was sure my strawberry milkshake would be up for anything (as long as he didn’t get too messy).