Heart of the Warrior (35 page)

But they had a couple of big guns in their corner, which
made it easier. Micah and Traceon had been busting anyone’s chops who dissed
them. Sev was still surprised about that, but sometimes allies came from
unusual places, and Trace and Micah were two vampires Sev and Ari both wanted
in their corner. Nobody fucked with Micah, and Traceon was proving to be just
as intimidating. The two of them together? Well, it seemed everyone was smart
enough not to push their buttons.

He and Ari turned down the prisoner hall and stopped in
front of Gina’s door. Apparently, she was no longer a flight risk, because the
posted guard was gone. He had heard she'd tried to escape that first night –
well, one story said escape, another said she was trying to kill herself. At any
rate, the posted guards had been removed from in front of her door, so she must
have calmed down enough that they were no longer needed.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Ari said.

"I want you to do everything with me, Ari." Sev
gave him an earnest look.

Ari smiled and nodded then followed him as he pushed open
the door.

Malek was inside the room with Gina and stood up and moved
in front of her like a guard dog.

Sev frowned at him. "I’m not going to hurt her,
Malek."

"What do you want?" Malek sounded defensive.

Gina sat up behind him. She had apparently been napping.

"I knew her brother. I brought her something I think he
would have wanted her to have." Sev paused. "And I want to talk to
her. Just her and Ari, not you."

"Forget it. No one sees her without me present."

What the fuck was up with Malek? Did he think he was Gina's
bodyguard or something?

"No, Malek. It’s okay." Gina brushed back her
hair. "I’ll see him. I owe him that."

Malek softened at the sound of her voice then nodded.
"I’ll be right outside if you need me."

Malek stepped out and he and Ari exchanged perplexed glances
before he turned back to Gina.

Gina's tears began immediately. "I am so sorry. I
didn’t know – I thought – Gabriel’s death – and I saw you – Oh God, I almost
killed you." She dropped her face in her hands and started crying.

"Gina, calm down. I’m not angry at you. I’m as much to
blame as anyone." He looked at Ari. He and Ari had already talked about
how he should never have let his iron skin down in the first place. He had been
careless, so it wasn’t just her fault. He had known better.

"No, it’s my fault. All my fault."

Severin pulled her into a hug and she latched onto him, her
fingers gripping his shirt. She suddenly broke into harsh sobs, and he knew
part of her sorrow came from having lost her brother and never having properly
dealt with her grief. Now she finally could. Her guilt over trying to kill Sev
gave her the perfect excuse to do so.

"Gina, I’ve been told what happened. At least the bits
and pieces that you’ve shared, but I wanted to make sure you knew the truth
about what happened between Gabe and me."

"I already know. I saw in your mind."

Sev frowned. Nobody had told him this. "When?"

"When you were unconscious. I know now. You tried to
save my brother. And I mistakenly thought you were part of the group that
killed him."

Sev wiped a tear off her cheek. "I couldn’t tell Gabe
what I was. I couldn’t tell him because I worked undercover. When he showed up
at that raid, my heart nearly fell. He and I weren’t mates, Gina, but I cared
about him. He was the closest thing to a boyfriend I’ve ever had until I met
Ari."

Gina looked up as he gestured toward Ari, who nodded
politely to her.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi." Ari smiled.

Gina looked back at Sev. "I know that now. I know that
when you returned to the factory, you wanted to help him. I saw the truth. I
know your boss lied and that you did work for VDA. I just wish…." She
sobbed. "God, I wish for so much." She covered her face with her hand
and cried. "I wish I'd known. I wish I hadn't been so careless. I wish I'd
listened. And I wish Gabe had known the truth, too. He died thinking—"

"That I betrayed him. I know." Sev squeezed her
free hand. "But I'm sure he knows the truth now. Wherever he is, I'm sure
he sees the truth."

She nodded curtly, wiping her face. "I hope so."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a locket and an
envelope then handed them to her.

She gasped and put her hand over her mouth when she saw the
locket. "I gave that to him when I was just a little girl." She
popped it open and choked back tears. "He was my hero. My big brother. I
wanted to be just like him. It's why I became an enforcer." She gazed at
the locket.

Gabe had put a picture of her and him inside. Sev had looked
at the pictures often in the months that followed Gabe’s death just over a year
ago.

"We both know the truth, now, don’t we?" Sev took
the envelope that remained unopened and pulled out a picture. The edges were
worn and the picture was creased in one corner as if it had been folded down. "Gabe
kept this picture in his wallet and took it everywhere with him, Gina. Before
he died, he had taken it out and put it in a small picture frame in his
apartment. I went back and got it. I wanted something to remember him by, but
now…" He paused and looked at Ari. "I don't need it, anymore."
He turned back to Gina. "You should have it." He held the picture out
to her. "He bragged about you all the time. He loved you so much."

Fresh tears flowed as she took the picture and stared at it.
It was a picture of her and Gabe that had been taken at Christmas. They both
had Santa hats on and huge smiles on their faces, arms around each other on the
floor in front of the Christmas tree.

Gina looked up at him. "Thank you for this."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sev caught Ari wiping a tear
off his cheek.

"You’re welcome, Gina. He was a good male. A worthy
male."

She nodded. "He was. And so are you. I wish I had seen
that sooner." She hung her head. "I really fucked up."

He exchanged glances with Ari. "We all do, Gina. We all
do." And didn't he and Ari know that all too well? "Some of us just
do it better than others." He looked back at her, smiling.

She frowned at him, then her face twisted and she rolled her
eyes and smiled wanly. "I guess I’m an overachiever." She sighed and
looked down. "So, what happens to me now?"

"Well, I’m here to bust you out," Sev said,
clapping his palms down on his thighs.

"Excuse me?" Gina frowned at him as if she didn't
believe him.

"You heard me. Let’s go." Sev stood and took Ari’s
hand.

"You’ve got to be kidding."

"Nope. Come on." He reached for her hand.

She took it and stood up hesitantly then followed him to the
door. Ari knocked and Malek opened it from the outside.

"Where do you think you’re taking her?" Malek
said.

"She’s free to go." Sev pulled on Gina's hand to
leave the room, and Malek practically burned holes in him with his gaze.

"I wasn’t told," Malek said.

"I’m telling you now," Sev said warily.

They all stood in the hall at a stalemate, Gina appearing
afraid to move, and Malek refusing to let her go.

"It’s okay, Malek," Tristan said, coming down the
hall. "Severin isn’t pressing charges and asked us to let her go. We’ve
decided under the circumstances to agree. You’re free to leave, Gina."
Tristan stopped in front of her.

Malek looked from Tristan to Gina in disbelief, and Sev
didn’t know what to make of his strange behavior.

"No, she can’t go." Malek shook his head.

"Yes, she can, Malek. We’ve concluded that the
circumstances surrounding this incident were out of the ordinary, and since Sev
is so passionate about wanting her released, being that he was the one who was
shot, we've decided to honor his request."

"But…." Malek looked positively stymied.

"It’s okay, Malek. You did a fine job keeping an eye on
her, but it’s time to let her go. Come on, Gina. I’ll walk you out."
Tristan held out his arm and she took his hand, which sent Malek into a fit of
growls.

Ari let go of Sev’s hand as everyone exchanged wary glances
and prepared for what sounded like a shit storm about to blow up. But then
Malek simply quieted, looked down, then back up, and smiled.

"Forgive me," he said. "I’ll walk out with
you." Malek joined Tristan, and after an uneasy moment, the three strolled
down the hall. Gina turned and gave him one last look and mouthed the words
thank
you
just before they disappeared around a corner.

"You ready to go home for good now?" Sev took
Ari’s hand once more and pulled him to his side as they started down the hall.

"Not quite." Ari flashed him a mysterious smile.
"One more stop, and then I’m all yours."

The way he said it made Sev wonder exactly what he meant by
that.

"Okay, where are we going?"

Ari pulled up in front of Tristan’s office. "It’s a
surprise. Hold up a sec. I need to put something on Tristan’s desk." Ari
ducked inside and was back out in a flash.

A few minutes later, they were cruising to the North Side.

"Come on, Ari, where are we going?"

"You’ll see soon enough."

Fifteen minutes later, Ari turned into his parents’
neighborhood.

"Ari?" He looked over as Ari offered a tight
smile.

"I owe you this, Sev. I’m finishing what I
started."

"You don’t owe me, anything. You don’t have to do
this."

"Yes, I do. Not just for you, but," Ari glanced at
him, "I need to do this for me, Sev. I need to stand up to my parents.
It’s time for me to live my own life and not the life they expect me to
live."

"But Micah said they’ll cut you off."

"They’ll cut me off, anyway. I’m not marrying
Persephone. I’m not. The only person I want to marry is you."

Sev had known this was coming. He had known when Ari refused
to leave him while he recovered. But they hadn’t talked about it. Hearing Ari
say out loud that he wasn’t marrying Persephone and that he wanted to be with
him and only him filled his heart with joy.

Ari pulled into the drive, drove up to the house, parked
behind a black Suburban, and shut off the engine.

"I’m proud of you, Ari. And I’m damn proud you’re my
mate. I just want you to know that before we go in there."

"Thank you." Ari took a deep breath. "You
ready?"

Sev chuckled. "Me? More like, are
you
ready?"

That was the question, wasn’t it? On the surface, the answer
was no, but Ari knew deep down he was going to do this now. To hell with
everything else. Sev deserved to have Ari proclaim to his parents that he
belonged to Sev and that he didn't care what they did to him. He would spend
the rest of his life living the truth, not hiding behind lies.

"Yes, I’m ready." Ari got out of the car and
walked around and took Sev’s hand, gripping it hard as his knees wobbled like
they were filled with gelatin. "I’m not letting go of you in there. If I
do, I might fall over. I’m so nervous."

Sev nodded at him. "I’ll hold you up if that’s what it
takes, babe. Now, deep breath. I love you. You can do this."

"Okay, let’s go."

Ari walked side-by-side with Sev into his parents’ home, not
bothering to ring the doorbell. This was as much his home – at least until his
father disowned him in the next ten minutes – as it was theirs, so he had every
right to barge in unannounced.

The smell of roasted meat and herbs drifted on the air and
Ari followed the aroma into the dining room.

Unexpectedly, his parents were having dinner with Sev’s
father, Lakota, and all five of them stopped and looked at each other. Sev
tensed and Ari reached over with his other hand and steadied him. His father’s
and mother’s gazes dropped to his hand clasping Sev’s, and the color drained
from their faces.

"Arion?" His mother said.

"Son?" Lakota stood.

"This is your son?" Ari's mom stood up with a
gasp.

Lakota's gaze never wavered from Sev's. "Yes. That’s my
son." Lakota’s voice sounded strong and proud, and Ari thought he felt
Severin bend emotionally just a little bit, but in a good way.

"What’s going on here?" Ari’s father rose from his
own chair and took a step forward, his scowl fixed on their clasped hands.

Ari cleared his throat and tightened his grip on Sev. He
felt so small in the gigantic room big enough to comfortably fit more than
twenty dinner guests. The massive table shined, freshly polished after every
meal. The chandelier sparkled, the windows gleamed, everything in the room was
spotless and perfect, and suddenly Ari realized how wrong this entire house and
everything in it was for him.

He lifted his head proudly, almost regally, and pulled Sev
further into the room. "Mom. Dad. This is Severin Bannon, and I love him.
I love him with my heart and soul, and," he turned and looked into Sev’s
amazing blue eyes, "he’s my mate."

"This can’t be happening. Oh my God, what will our
friends think?" His mom sounded positively panicked.

Ari rolled his eyes dramatically and looked at Sev, who
grinned back at him.

"Oh, and I quit my job," he said, keeping his eyes
on Sev’s. Then he said, "That’s what I put on Tristan’s desk: My
notice."

Sev nodded approvingly.

His parents fussed and stammered, blabbering about their
friends, the king, Persephone – everyone and everything but Ari.

"I love you," Sev said.

"I love you, too." Ari leaned forward and kissed
him.

His mom gasped. His dad growled. But Ari didn’t care. He had
what he wanted right here in his arms.

"You’re marrying Persephone, Ari, and that’s
final!" His dad slammed his fist against the table and stomped his foot
like a petulant child.

"No, I’m not." Ari refused to look away from Sev.