The two men stare at each other from across the room, the air between them thick with hate, pain, and regret.
I take my chance.
I duck down to the floor before Eric can pull the trigger, my hair slipping through his loosened grasp, and bring my elbow up to his nuts as hard as I can. He drops. They always do. I grab the gun and leap to my feet before he even knows what’s happening. I’m across the room and by Dex’s side in a heartbeat, pointing the gun back at Eric.
“Like I said,” Dex continues. “The only reason you were the one holding the gun is because she let you. So what was your plan? Get me here, then make me swap my life for hers? Kill me in front of her? Then kill her?”
“Yes,” Eric says simply. “Mom is dead. There’s nothing left tying us together. I hate you, Dex. You have everything so easy. You were a shit older brother. It was me who looked after Mom; you hardly saw her. Too busy fucking with my sloppy seconds. Just look what you’ve turned Faye into. She was meant to be so much more than she is. I fuckin’ hate you, and I always will. The Kings hate you. We’re going to destroy everything you’ve built.”
I see it coming. I know Dex. I know the way he moves, his body language. I know his intentions before he even knows them himself.
I see it in his expression.
He lifts the gun and points it at his brother. He’s made his decision, and now it’s time to make mine.
Who says it always has to be Dex saving me?
I’m a hero in my own right.
I pull the trigger.
TEN
Faye
DEX keeps staring at me out of the corner of his eye, like he’s waiting for me to have a breakdown. After I shot Eric, he picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, and carried me out of there. The rest of the Wind Dragons were waiting for me, all in a line, guns pointed at the Kings. It was like a scene from a movie.
On my way to the car, I saw my captor lying on the ground, a bullet through his head. I still don’t know who he is.
“Who killed him?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Talon,” Dex tells me, clearing his throat. “That was Slice.”
My eyebrows rise at that.
Slice?
The same Slice that Tia and Bailey had drinks with one night?
The man Talon considered a friend?
I want to kick him, again.
I sure as fuck won’t miss him. We let the rest of the Kings live. It’s early morning, and everything we do can be seen and heard.
Slice is dead, and that’s the main thing. Talon and Ranger got their revenge. I’m safe, none of our men were killed or hurt, and no one will be doing time for these crimes. Even if anyone tried to pin Slice’s death on any of the men, or if charges are brought against me for Eric, I’ll simply claim self-defense. They did kidnap me, after all. My new connections with the feds are unsure at best, but I’m hoping that, in the future, no one will be able to touch us. I will make sure we win. Right now I get to go home to my kids, to my family, and that’s all that matters.
“I’m fine,” I tell Dex, licking my lips. “A little hungry though.”
Dex purses his lips but says nothing.
The men all hug me tightly, especially Arrow, before making their exit. It’s just me and Dex in his car right now. He told me that they have the Kings’ president away in one of their warehouses, at gunpoint, just waiting for the Kings to give them a reason to shoot him. I suggested that, instead, they make the Kings leave town once and for all. We don’t want them here. They can go somewhere else and start over, or they can end up like Slice. At this point, I don’t care. I just want to go back to the clubhouse and see Clover and Asher.
I take a deep breath, reach over, and put my hand on Dex’s denim-clad thigh.
I’m alive.
And it’s never felt so good.
“Where were you, Mama?” Clover asks, her strawberry-scented hair filling my nostrils. I kiss the top of her head, patting her gently on the back. “I had to go away for work, sweetie. I’m so sorry I didn’t call you, but it was very important, okay? I don’t want you to worry. I’m here now.”
I look to my left, where Asher is asleep on my arm.
This.
This is all I wanted to be able to do again. When people say it’s the small things in life, they mean this. Lying here in bed, my children with me, my husband cooking me something to eat—nothing can be better. Nothing. Being kidnapped really puts things into perspective.
“How could I not worry when I didn’t know where you were?” My daughter huffs, laying her cheek on my stomach.
“I’m here now, Clover,” I say softly, kissing Asher’s downy cheek.
“I’m glad,” she continues. “Everyone was worried, even though they tried to hide it. They were scared, and it made me be scared.”
My breath hitches.
Children miss nothing. It’s a little frightening at times, and very hard when all you want to do is protect them.
“You have no reason to be scared,” I assure her. “Everyone here would do anything to protect you and your brother. And Cara and Rhett. You’re so loved, Clover.”
“I know,” she says, sounding like her usual happy self. “I feel loved, and I feel safe. I was just missing you.”
I smile.
I win at this whole parenting thing.
“I almost lost you,” Dex says, closing our bedroom door. “Do you know what that feels like? The possibility of having to live without someone you love more than yourself?”