Angel Blood

Epilogue

"Theo, no—is that a TV I hear in the background?" Sin rumbles, the harsh grate of his words contradicting the way he leans back against the beach towel. "Are you even working?"

I snort, resisting the urge to smooth my palm along the hard panes of his abs. The rich tone of his skin has only deepened after laying out in the sunshine for days and the afternoon rays cast a soft shadow over the solid slab of muscle.

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine," I murmur, laying back and pressing close to his side. "He knows when to handle business appropriately."

"I'm not paying you to sit around, Theodore," he growls despite my words. He pauses, listening to the voice on the other line, then says, "I did trust you, but now I'm starting to—hold on, wait a minute. Did you just say you're in my bed?"

I smack the back of my hand over my mouth so he can't see the way I bite my bottom lip to control the laughter that threatens to spill from my throat.

Despite the stiffness of his tone, his body relaxes under the delicious warmth of the sun and he uses his free arm to snag my shoulders and pull my body against his.

I tune out his banter, contentedly pressing my head against his chest and listening to the rhythmic pound of his heart against my ear.

His hand smoothes along my back, absentmindedly drawing little shapes against my skin. I'm so warm and cozy that my eyes shut and I fight the urge to doze off.

Since Sin woke up, things have pretty much returned to normal. With some effort, we had to force Sin to take a break before returning to his business. If it were up to him, he would've gone back the very next day, but between me, Theo, and Sam we managed to squeeze a week out of him to relax and gather his bearings.

After that, he met with some business partners and did a few more jobs. Made sure his club is still stable, which thanks to Theo had been running as smoothly as it was under Sin's careful control.

We had a funeral for Oliver. Or the closest thing to it, I guess. His body had been seized by the local government after being left out to the general public. After pulling some careful strings, Sin somehow managed to gain hold of it again.

I bite my lip to keep tears from welling at the thought, forcing myself not to replay his last moments in my head. Without the distraction of worrying over Sin, I can't stop the memory of the way his eyes glassed over as the life drained from his bleeding body from flashing through my head.

I take a steadying breath, instead thinking about the little ceremony we had for him. Sin found a beautiful plot of land to bury him in. I don't know where he found it, or how he had the knowledge of something so perfect already in his head.

The clearing was away from the chaos of the city. Trees grew tall and wide, old enough to tell us that humans hadn't disturbed this part of the forest in years, if ever. The grass had been long, wildflowers growing in patches within the vibrantly green blades.

It felt right. Working with Sin under such a bloody line of business was chaotic. He deserved the stark quiet peace the meadow granted.

Sin had his men dig a hole, then lower his cloth-wrapped body within it. He had only called a few people to attend the ceremony: me, Theo, himself, a few other men under Sin's command he was close with, and a meek girl who stood stoically behind all of us and only reminded me of her presence with the occasional sniffle.

Upon asking Sin later, he told me it was his little sister. I guess he was using his earnings to take care of her. After Sin left me later that evening, I couldn't help the tears from pouring down my face, even though Sinclair had assured me earlier that he'd given her a sum of money that would last a lifetime.