Death Kings

Chapter 39

Ryder

"Okay. So let me get this straight, all this time you weren't Fuchs's biological son, but Rainy is," Michael Chancler says as we sit outside on the patio watching the children enjoy the pool.

"His is my kid. The DNA test result proved it. He looks just like his mother, Eliza Holtz. She was the only person I ever viewed as mine. She was gorgeous. She reminded me of the tale of Snow White with her ruby red lips, raven black hair, and milky skin. I called her Snow. I wanted to treat her like the princess she was. I never understood why she was with me."

"Why is that?" Ali asks him from her perch on my lap. I pulled her to me at the start of this conversation so I could feel her grounding presence. She is the only person in our polycule who can calm all of us, even at our most manic when reasoning has escaped us.

"I had no money. I stole what I wanted. Then I went to the military. I had promised Eliza when I got back from boot camp, we would get married. When I got back, she was already married to Gerhardt. I committed myself fully to active duty. The government trained me to be a killer. It's the only thing I was ever good at. Special forces suited me, and I had a rough time converting to civilian life after a decade, so I became a mercenary," Leo Wulf explains.

"I've never Fuchs or his friends. He is crooked as they come. I'm going to expose him and his group of friends. I caught wind of a sex trade ring they are part of. I'm going to investigate it further," Mr. Channing says.

"Just be careful. I've read your work. You're an exceptional investigative journalist. I would hate for them to ruin you or worse," I warn him. Those men have access to people like Leo and his team. Money buys death and silence. It's something I've known all too well.

"I will. How are you alive? I thought your lover killed you and your fiancé."

Ali scoffs. I rub her back soothingly. "That's the story the old wolf spun."

"He had me kidnapped after disowning me. Ali and the others rescued Tee and I. We burned down that mansion."

"Not to mention the fact I'm his wife, not this lover. That rapist bitch was never his fiancé," Ali spites furiously. "They are suffering for what they did to my two husbands."

"Two?" Amy Channing, my older half-sister queries.

"The kidnappers had Tee too. What they did him..." I trail off, closing my eyes and taking a shuttering breath. The trauma is still fresh, so it's a herculean task to talk about.

Ali presses her forehead against me with her hands, cupping my face firmly, but gently. "Breath me, Foxy. You aren't there. Be present with me," she coaxes softly with her lips against mine. I part my lips only for the angelic minx they immediately puff in my mouth.

I crinkle my nose in mild disgust. She got what she wanted, me out of my head, no longer reliving the memories. "I detest when you do that," I grumble.

She grins and then chirps, "I know! That's why I do it. Someone must irritate you Rydikins, since most fear you." She has a point, but Jaxson does a well enough job of that and she knows it.

"Sure. Whatever you say, Angel."

"Smart man. The wife is always right," Michael says approvingly.

"You two haven't been married a year and already sound like an old married couple. It's adorable," Amy proclaims.

"On that note," Ali claps her hands, darting to her feet. "I need to distract Cal from slitting Jase's throat for splashing him with a guitar in his hands." She starts to move away from me but hesitates, looking back at me. "You good?"

"I'm fine, Angel. Go, quickly," I respond, noting Callum stalking the red-headed boy with his foldable curved knife in his hands.

I watch as she jumps on him with no hesitation while simultaneously deftly disarming him. With the knife now in her hands, it's pressing against his throat. My cousin's face morphs from a determined serial killer to a man in love with pure ecstasy written on his face. They both fell back into the door of the pool house. Callum opens the door, and they disappear inside. I shake my head at them. They are going to be in there awhile. It's a good thing I had that building soundproofed for Jaxson to play drums after he swims. It's part of his morning ritual.

"You're okay with that?" Amy asks.

"Yes. They make each other happy, which fills me with joy. They are my family."

"Oh, it's CNM relationship, hun!" Michael exclaims.

"Yes. We are in a consensual, non-monogamous relationship. Ali has a reverse harem. Callum is part of our polycule. Dominic, the man you met in the kitchen, is another one. You haven't met Jaxson and our husband, Etienne yet. They are the other pieces of our relationship. We view it as if we are married to one another."

"That's fascinating. I don't get it, but love rarely makes much sense. Just look at those boys and my little girl, for example. Those boys love Carley. They follow her every command, both spoken and none. They spoil her. I truly believe there is nothing those boys won't do for her. I doubt she'll be able to choose just one of them in the future. If she chooses, it'll be all of them, or someone completely new," Amy says wistfully.

"I don't know about all that, but it feels like we are raising Jase, Ransom, Arson, and Lachlan alongside the twins. Those boys don't have anyone in their corner other than us," Michael says.

"That's not true," Dominic rumbles from the patio door carrying a giant charcuterie board filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, and crackers. "Those kids have us now. We will help watch over them." Not only that, but we will train them how to defend themselves and others. We will be testing the lengths the Chaos Boys will go to for one another soon.

Amy sighs in relief. "Get Rainy away from Mr. Fuchs, Ryder. Please. He hurts that boy, and my heart cannot take seeing him bandaged up like that," she demands, gesturing over to where Ransom is sitting cross-legged in a pair of Ali's shorts with his feet bandaged and a compression wrap on his ribs. His lip is split, and one eye is swollen and molting with color while he is watching the girl swim around like a mermaid. He isn't paying any attention to the other boys that are roughhousing.

He is unhealthily obsessed with the little girl. I understand it. He looks at her the way we do Ali. She is ours and we will see the world burn to keep her. What I find the most remarkable about this dynamic is Jase, whose eyes periodically dart between Ransom and Carley as if checking on them both before returning to chicken fighting with the other three boys. It reminds me of how at the beginning of our relationship with Ali, my eyes would constantly travel between her and Jaxson. The two people I was in love with. There is a kinship between that kid and me. I like him and he will be perfect for leading the other Chaos Boys.