“Me too,” I concede, because there are no guarantees.
He opens his arms, and I fall into them, closing my eyes as he cradles me to his chest. “I can’t bear the thought of anything else happening to you,” he admits, holding me close.
“I feel the same way about all of you.” I look up at him, palming one cheek. “But our world is a dangerous one. There will always be risks and times where we’re gambling with our lives.”
“Not if I can help it,” he says, pressing his lips to my brow, his mouth lingering there.
“What do you mean?” I slide my hands up his chest, holding him closer.
“Have you thought about after this is all over?”
“Not in a while,” I truthfully admit. “Before Dad died, my goal was to graduate with a strong GPA and attend college at Brown. I couldn’t wait to see the back of this place, but now there’s a lot more at stake, including you guys and my mom.”
“Wherever you go, we go,” he simply says, pulling my mouth to his for a kiss. “None of us want to stay here anymore.”
“You don’t?” I can’t contain my surprise. He shakes his head. “I thought you wanted to take over The Sainthood and mold it into a legit organization?”
He shrugs. “That was always the plan, but plans change, and it’s not like we couldn’t join a different chapter if we move or rejoin the Lowell chapter if we return at some point in the future.”
“You’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“We have.”
“Is this what you were discussing earlier?”
“Partly.” He curls his hand around mine, taking me into the house and closing the door. “We need to talk to Lo,” he calls out to the others, and they stop what they are doing, looking over at us. Galen’s Adam’s apple bobs in his throat, Theo smiles, and Caz bites down on his lip.
Saint leads me to the smaller of the two couches, sitting down beside me. The others sink onto the longer couch, sitting upright, looking anxious, and it has me on edge.
“What’s going on?” My gaze skates between all of them. “You’re making me nervous as fuck.”
“Galen came up with a way to protect you from Sinner and his buddies,” Saint starts explaining. “For reasons that will become obvious, we needed to discuss it among ourselves first to ensure we were all onboard.”
“And we are,” Caz blurts. “As long as you are.”
“Okay. Now, I’m intrigued.” My brows climb to my hairline.
Saint glances at Galen, and he nods, taking over the explanation. “The Sainthood is governed by a set of rules that have been in existence since the organization was started. Over the years, some of those rules have been amended, others have been added, but there are a few rules that are unchangeable. That no one would dare challenge.” He wets his lips, and I smother a giggle. It’s so weird seeing my super-confident guys looking so uncertain. I can’t wait to hear this.
“Go on,” I encourage.
“Women are regularly shared within The Sainthood,” Theo says. “With one firm exception.” He pauses for a nanosecond, and butterflies flood my chest, jumping around like crazy. My eyes widen as I sense where this is leading. Theo’s eyes crinkle as he smiles. “Wives are strictly off-limits unless the husband agrees to share her with other members. It’s a hard and fast rule. One that Sinner will have no choice but to abide by.”
My heart careens around my chest, and blood rushes to my head. “Hang on here a second.” I sit up straighter, eyeballing them one at a time, because I honestly can’t believe they’re suggesting this. “Are you saying we should get married?”
Saint laces his fingers in mine, flashing me a wide grin. “That’s exactly what we’re saying, princess. Marry one of us, and we can lay down the law with that bastard. Sinner won’t be able to put a finger on you, and that’s a fucking promise.”
CHAPTER 10
GALEN
SHOCK SPLAYS ACROSS Lo’s face as she stares at us like we’ve lost the plot. I get it. We’re young, and it probably seems extreme. But, we’ve discussed it at length, and there are no other options that keep her safe. However, we won’t force her into it if she really doesn’t want to do it.
“Well, fuck,” she says after a couple minutes of strained silence. “You’ve managed to shock me silent. That’s a first. I feel like it deserves a medal or something.” Her tinkling laughter betrays her nerves, and something has finally rattled the unshakeable Harlow Westbrook. I’ve never seen her look or sound anything less than confident. This has really thrown her.
My eyes meet Saint’s, noting his concern. He’s terrified she’ll say no, and for more reasons than he’ll ever admit.
“You’re really serious about this?” Her eyes roam between us as she poses the question.
“We are,” Saint affirms, tightening his grip on her hand.
“But only if you want to,” Theo says, getting up and squeezing onto the couch beside her. He cups her face. “We love you, and we want to protect you.”
Lo swivels so she’s looking Theo right in the eye. I can almost hear my cousin’s heart beating way too fast as fear takes hold of him.
When we talked about this, we agreed the decision on who she would marry would be Lo’s. That we wouldn’t influence her or disagree with her choice. But I know my cousin inside and out. He’s more like my brother, and we’ve grown up practically joined at the hip. I know the way his mind works, and I know how desperately he craves love. We both do, but I’ve already resigned myself to the fact it won’t be me. And I’m cool with that.
But Saint Lennox will be devastated if she doesn’t pick him.
He won’t show it, but I’ll know.
Right now, he’s looking at the way Lo and Theo are huddled together, touching intimately, their connection strong and unbreakable, forged when they were younger and consolidated when they reunited. Caz casts a glance at me, and I know he thinks it too—that she’ll choose Theo.
He’s the obvious choice, and he’ll make a great husband.
“This is nuts.” She chews on the corner of her lip, and I’ve never seen her so unsure. She doesn’t know what to say, so who the fuck knows what’s going through her mind.
“Is it?” Theo quirks a brow. “We’ve already decided we want you in our lives.”
“Permanently,” Saint adds, rubbing a hand up and down his thigh.
She looks back at him, and they stare at one another for a couple beats.
“We thought you wanted that too,” Caz says.
“I do. You’re my future.” She’s quick to reassure us, and there’s no hint of uncertainty in that statement, so we all visibly relax. Sitting back, she tucks her hair behind her ears, tipping her chin up as she regains her usual composure. “If we do this, who will I marry?” Her gaze jumps between us.
“That’s for you to decide,” I say.
“You can’t ask me to choose!” She looks horrified as she shakes her head. “Because I can’t choose. I want you all.”