Inside is full of shredded tissue, to the point that I think the entire box is actually empty. But after a few seconds, my fingers find another box.
Too intrigued to question him, I rip the end open and allow the contents to spill out.
“Oh my God, Seb!” I squeal as I stare down at a replica of my pink switchblade.
“It’s not the same one, but it’s as close as I could get.”
Throwing my arms around him, I hold him tight. “Thank you so much.”
He chuckles.
“What’s so funny?”
“Most girls melt over jewelry. Mine loses her mind over a weapon.”
“And this is why you love me.”
He stills in my arms and I pull away, needing to look into his eyes.
“One of the reasons, yeah.”
“Seb, I—”
“No,” he says, once again pressing his fingers to my lips to stop me. “Not yet. Not because of this.”
I nod, understanding him. So much so that I wasn’t actually going to say what he thinks I was.
“Thank you. It’s perfect.”
“Turn it over.”
Doing as I’m told, I let the knife roll over in my hand and suck in a sharp breath at what I find.
“Welcome to the Family, baby.”
“Wow.” I stare down at the same engraving as on the one I stole from him. His father’s knife.
It’s got the exact same skull at the base of the handle, but instead of his father’s initials are mine.
“We all get these when we start lower sixth at Knight’s Ridge. Kind of a rite of passage. Well, once we’ve proved our worth a few times over,” he chuckles to himself.
“I don’t—I haven’t proved anything.”
Reaching out, he cups my jaw, his thumb brushing over my cheek.
“You have. And Damien seems to think so too, because he okayed this.”
My eyes widen. “He…”
“You’re as worthy as any of us. Hell, your skills are far superior to some of the soldiers I know, baby.”
I flip it over in my hand, loving the weight of it and the feeling of safety it provides me with.
“What is it?” Seb asks, clearly sensing that I have something else to say.
“What do I have to do to get a gun?”
He stares at me for two seconds, his face serious, but then his lips twitch and the most incredible smile appears.