“What are you going to do when a job pulls you both out of town?” he finally asks, and I see where his mind is at.
“One of us stays.” Severo’s reasonable response would be acceptable, but we’ve always worked best as a team.
“What are you going to do when you find a woman of your own, Holden? Wouldn’t you be happier knowing that you can pounce on that and Aria will be secure in her future than worry about her later?” I counter.
“Fuck,” Holden hisses as his fingers twitch. The eldest of the kids has dark secrets that not many know about. Everyone thinks they have Carver to watch out for or even Saint. They’re kept on leashes, but nobody ever suspects the killer prince. Every bit as deadly as his father.
Severo pats Holden on the shoulder as we walk to our car, intent on following Aria to her graduation. Watching her walk across that stage is like permission granted for us. She’s finally old enough.
Holden hops in the back as I take the driver’s seat. “I can’t believe she’s fucking graduating already,” he sighs.
Severo and I share a smirk.
“Becoming a woman,” I poke at him, and he glares.
Laughing as we pull out and head to the high school, the drive is quiet until we pull into the parking lot, and I see some asshole trying to get Aria and Hadley’s attention.
* * *
Severo
I notice my twin tense before seeing what’s got his back up. As he storms towards our girl and Hads, Holden curses and trails after him. Usually, I’d be trying to calm Seven down, but this is one instance where his possessiveness will work in our favor.
When the kid grasps Aria’s hand as she turns away from him, I see Seven pull a blade from the back of his pants, and I know shit's about to hit the fan.
Quickening my pace to a jog, I slip the knife from my brother’s hand before he can bring it up and hold it to the boy's neck with deadly intent. Instead, I show the prick exactly who Aria belongs to by gliding a hand around her neck and turning her head to face me.
“You left without us,” I grumble just before taking her lips in a kiss meant to convey ownership. Her tiny fingers grasp the front of my shirt, wrinkling the pressed material as I wrap both arms around her back, holding her body close. Feeling Seven move in behind her, I spin her around to face him and watch as they kiss, my cock growing with every passing second and not caring about the crowd watching us.
“I knew she was a cock tease,” I hear someone mutter behind me, and before Seven can react, I’m turning to zero in on my target. Noticing a pale-faced kid, I know he’s the one who said it, and I don’t hesitate to land a breaking blow to his nose. The spurt of blood and crunching of cartilage as he drops to the ground crying has a sadistic grin creeping across my lips as he stares up at me in shock.
“Anything else you’d like to say?” I dare him. It’s not as if these people don’t know who Aria is, who the people around her are. So when they say and do stupid shit, they should realize what could happen to them.
“You have his blood on you now, Sev.” Hads grimaces and hands me a few pieces of Kleenex from her clutch.
“Could be worse.” I wipe the offending fluid off my hand.
“How so?” She cocks her head to the side as we stare down at him.
“He could wind up like Tristan.” It’s as if everyone around us is placed on mute upon hearing his name. Nobody has forgotten what he did, and so long as I’m alive, nobody ever will.
Spotting a flash of guilt on Hadley’s face, I want to ask her about it, but she wipes it away with a beaming smile and grabs Aria’s hand, dragging her from Seven’s hold as they sway towards their seating area, giggling as they sit next to another girl.
“Boys.” King’s voice can be heard above the crowd as he calls for the three of us. Distancing ourselves from Aria feels like someone’s pulling my fingernails off with pliers. We’ve spent two years waiting for her; a couple more hours shouldn’t be so hard.
Listening to the officiators drone on about the students' success and their future is drab and boring. I’m getting antsy and ready to snatch Aria up and take her away from here when they finally begin calling students names up to the stage and handing them their diplomas.
When Aria’s name is called, I realize then just how much of the family arrived to support both girls. In all honesty, there was a time when nobody believed Aria would make it to this day. We are, by far, the loudest bunch in the crowd as we cheer first for Aria, then for Hadley, as the girls accept their accolades and pose for a picture with the principal.
“Sit.” I feel my dad’s hand on my shoulder as I'm about to stand to go collect Aria from her seat. Seven chuckles beside me. “This is important to both of them,” Dimitri affirms, waiting to let me go until I nod back at him.
After an hour of more speeches, light snoring can be heard in the crowd, and as everyone looks around, we find two older gentlemen sound asleep while their wives knit. It’s an odd sight, but one that gets the organizers moving and shortening the ceremony.
Finally, the closing words are spoken, and the crowd of graduates gets to their feet, tossing their caps in the air, and I can immediately spot Aria’s hair as she, Hadley, and the girl from before, make their way back to us.
My brother gets to her first and wraps her up in a hug, spinning her around. Her tinkling laughter is refreshing as she holds onto her cap still on her head. “Fucking proud of you, princess,” he murmurs before laying a deep kiss on her lips.
The friend we haven’t met pales, but before I can question her, she spins around and leaves. The look has an odd feeling stirring in my gut.