The Finish Line

by Stewart , Kate

  “Trésor,” he croaks, his hands coming up empty as he palms every inch of me. Glancing over, I see Antoine deathly still—in the wingback chair I plan on burning—multiple lasers covering him from head to chest. Lights go up in the kitchen and surrounding rooms as Antoine’s men—those left standing—are secured and pulled to their feet, their fearful eyes darting around. Mr. Handsome lays dead just a few feet away, his eyes wide and lifeless. Shifting, I look up at Tobias and cup his face as he continues to murmur to me, his face panic-stricken as his palms roam up and down my body.

  The fear and confusion in his expression have my heart aching and my love multiplying past the point of love—or whatever word represents what I feel for him—something that transcends it, something indescribable, something there will never be ample words for. When he sees I’m unharmed, his posture goes rigid as his gaze flits to Palo and Julien.

  “What the fuck are these two not doing in cuffs?” He yells at the men securing the few left in the kitchen. I grip his face from where I lay on the floor beneath him.

  “It’s already over, my love,” I inform him, as he briefly lowers his gaze to me and regrips his Glock. Intent on getting through to him, I cup his face in both hands as he struggles in my grip.

  “Tobias, look at me,” I command in a tone that has his eyes moving slowly back to focus, “it’s over.”

  Lips parting, he gazes down at me, the truth of it not quite getting through. “I love you, Ezekiel Tobias King, so fucking much,” I murmur, “even if you force me to prove myself to you time and time again. I told you I wouldn’t fucking hesitate, and I meant it.” His brows crease into a deep V. “You made me a Raven. You gave me my wings, so I took it upon myself to use them.”

  “What?”

  I call out to the man standing next to Palo. “Julien, s’il te plait,” Julien, please. Julien comes forward, kneeling so he’s eye level with Tobias before discarding his Glock on the carpet. Tobias bristles atop of me until Julien unbuttons his shirt and slowly rolls it up to reveal fresh ink.

  Tobias’s jaw goes completely slack as he faces off with one of his own and realizes the implications of the hell he put him through.

  “He got it last night,” I say with a grin. “It’s the least I could do after the brain damage you nearly cost him. Julien has been a raven for almost six years.”

  Antoine curses and shoots a death glare at Julien, whose lips twitch with a smile. Palo remains silent, but I can see the amusement dancing in his eyes. Tobias studies both of them for long seconds and then shifts his gaze back to me.

  “Thank you, Julien,” I dismiss him, and with a nod, he retrieves his gun and moves back into place. Tobias goes to speak, but I press my fingers to his lips. “But the fact that you challenge me is probably one of the reasons I love you most. Knowing you, loving you, and understanding you helped shape me into the woman I am.”

  He swallows, my sentiments hitting him as he examines each word carefully.

  “A few weeks in,” I explain. “I knew something with you wasn’t right. And I couldn’t figure out what it was. I already had Greg on my radar and thanks to my old partner Ryan, he checked him out, and we concluded his game was weak. Let’s face it, Greg never had a fucking chance.” I lower my voice to a whisper. “But I had to find out what or who had you so on guard. I had to know what unspoken threat was bothering you, a threat you repeatedly refused to tell me about, even after you promised you would. I was so furious with you at one point because I knew you’d fallen into old habits again, keeping me in the dark, so I called Sean.”

  “Sean is in on this?”

  “He had his suspicions, but we sent Julien in to make sure he was right.”

  His eyes widen. “You…baited me?”

  I keep my voice low as the commotion sounds around us. “Yes. Antoine was never aware of me. Never. You covered your tracks, our tracks perfectly. He would have never discovered us. But I didn’t care if Antoine was a threat at that point. I wanted him gone regardless because of the state you were in. So, when I found out about Greg, I fed him bits and pieces to lead him to Antoine. But Antoine came at my invitation. I brought the fight here.”

  He gapes down at me. “You fucking what?”

  “To kill two birds, no pun intended.” I tilt my head as it sinks in. “This was inevitable. I just sped up the process, my way.”

  “You lured him here?” He rasps out, his features twisting in fury.

  “I did. And you damn near put a kink in my plans by legitimizing us with condition of protection from the Secret Service. I really wanted this to be an in-house job to show you the strength of your own club, but, luckily, I knew a guy. We worked our way around it.”

  “You knew this whole fucking time?” Realization takes over as his flaming eyes narrow on me. “This is why you nearly castrated me the day your mother came…you found out I was keeping secrets. It was the day after…” he turns to Julien and then back to me.

  I nod. “I got so angry when you didn’t tell me about your run-in with Julien, who was reporting to me the whole time—by the way, nice photos—and when you didn’t come clean, I was furious. So I used your past secrets and our issues as an excuse to yell at you for it. That anger wasn’t fake. And the longer you didn’t tell me, the angrier I got. Because…”

  “I promised no more secrets,” he finishes, hanging his head briefly, his eyes filled with apology when he lifts them. “Cecelia—”

  “Shut up, King. And try to keep up,” I scold as I run my hand along his jaw. “My next step was all about picking the size of the spoon.”

  “The spoon?” I stroke his face with my palm and lift to press a brief kiss to his lips before I look him right in the eye. “To get that medicine down. Checkmate, my love.”

  Complete and utter disbelief. The look on his face is priceless, making this moment one hundred percent worth the effort.

  “So, Palo?”

  “Not dead,” he replies from where he stands feet away, and I can’t help my giggle.

  “Clearly,” Tobias snaps, turning his head to look up at him catching his smirk.

  “Sean can be convincing,” he shrugs, his lips lifting briefly.

  Tobias narrows his eyes at Palo. “What’s in it for you?”

  “A wife. Antoine’s wife, to be exact,” I answer for him. Antoine’s face turns beet red due to the evident restraint from the guns trained on him.

  The house starts to go quiet as the rest of Antoine’s men are taken away, zip ties securing their wrists as they struggle, cursing in French and promising retribution. Tobias looks down at me, his old world tilted on its axis as his new world comes into focus.

  “You’re exhausting. You know that? Between the secret meetings I held with David, Oz, and Julien, working with Sean and Tyler to get Greg to lure Antoine here, and persuading the rest of the boys to jump on board so they wouldn’t face your wrath, I’ve barely had a moment’s rest to make sure you got your vacation.”

  “Tyler, Russell, they all knew?”

  “We all agreed it was the only way you would ever fully trust me.”

  “All of this was a setup?”

  “Aside from Greg, every bit. We even anticipated you dismissing the two birds that day Julien purposefully drew you in and played incompetent. Tyler had backup birds ready. He knew you wouldn’t let a fuck-up like that slide.”

  “How did you know about Antoine?”

  “Ask Sean.”

  He shakes his head in retrospect. “This is why you went to work every fucking day?”

  “I had a big job to do. My part was to distract you by playing wounded, pissed-off, jaded ex-girlfriend, which honestly was no big stretch. I thought you might be onto me a couple of times, especially that day you stormed into the café after deciding to play Rambo. The café was the only place I could keep in regular contact with the boys without you catching on. For the first time ever, I was in on it, and you weren’t. My blueprint, my plan.” I can’t help my pride-filled smile
. “Now swallow that medicine, King, and let it settle in.”

  After a few lingering moments, he rests his forearms on the floor and lifts my head, cradling it with both hands. “My God, woman,” he shakes his head, nothing but awe in his expression. “That was brilliant.”

  “I learned from the best. But like I told you, you forgot who you came back to. I know who I am, Tobias, and it’s time you remember who you are—a man who built a worthy army but fought too many battles alone. We have you. Have had you,” I say softly. “It’s time you trust me, trust us.”

  My words strike where intended as realization sets in. “You’re a protector, my King. It’s who you are, who you were born to be, and I can’t seem to stay mad at you for it. But I am a protector too, my love, and it’s time you see that.”

  He buries his face in my neck, tension leaving his shoulders as his chest begins to pump, and I realize it’s laughter.

  “You aren’t angry?” I ask.

  He lifts his head, a beaming smile on his face. “I’m fucking furious.”

  “Ezekiel?” Antoine rasps from where he sits on the other side of the living room, his tone filled with desperation.

  Tobias doesn’t even spare him a glance as he brushes lazy thumbs along my cheeks before another smile overtakes him. “That was one fucking hellacious speed session of couple’s therapy you just put me through.”

  “And totally necessary,” I murmur, “no regrets.”

  Amber eyes bore into mine, and I can see the sincerity in his love-soaked expression. “I will never, ever keep you in the dark about anything, ever again.”

  I snort and roll my eyes. “I’ve heard that before.”

  He winces. “I just…wanted—”

  “I know why you did it. And you’re still wrong in doing so. It’s going to take a lot to train you on the boyfriend front.”

  “Never again, never again,” he assures me.

  “Uh huh,” I purse my lips, “until the next time.”

  His lips quirk up. “What am I going to have to do to convince you?”

  “A lot. It’s a good thing I have the patience you so clearly lack.” Adrenaline rushes through my veins as I stroke the curves of his biceps, and oddly…I’m turned on in a way I can’t describe. He reads my expression, lips lifting further as he continues to stroke my jaw with fiery promise in his eyes.

  “We’ll get to that as soon as fucking possible.”

  Just as he speaks, our names are called from the front door.

  Oil-stained yellow boots and faded denim appear in our peripheral before Sean squats down next to us. “Are you two fucking serious right now?”

  “Very,” Tobias quips before we both shift our attention to Sean, whose complexion is blistering red as he scratches his golden mane with the hand holding his Glock. “Someone mind telling me what the fuck is going on here with the Secret Service?”

  “Tyler didn’t update you?” I ask, eyes bulging.

  “No, and I damn near had a fucking heart attack when they stopped me before they identified themselves. I thought I wouldn’t be able to get here in time. Since when are we in bed with the government?”

  “Since about ten minutes ago,” Tyler chimes in as he strolls into the room, appearing out of thin air.

  “How long have you been here?” Tobias grunts, standing and pulling me to his side from the floor.

  “Long before the fireflies, and just in time to see you take your medicine.” He winks at me, and I can’t help my victorious smile. Tyler ushers the four of us into my bedroom and closes the door before turning to Sean. “Sorry, bro, but this was my part to play. And since this has been my mission for fucking years, I thought it should be me who gets to pop the champagne.”

  Sean looks ready to pummel him. “Maybe a little heads-up not to shoot at the Secret fucking Service next time?”

  “Test run, won’t happen again,” he assures. “Good thing you’re a terrible shot.”

  “Fuck you, and I could do without the prison time with a wife and three kids.”

  “You’ll never see the inside of a cell,” Tyler assures, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Sean’s eyes immediately widen and then shift to Tobias, who slowly nods.

  “What did you do?” he glares between them and reads their expressions. “Tobias—”

  “Amnesty, for all of us, for you, and for your son,” Tyler announces proudly. “If Dom ever decides to ink up.” Sean’s eyes drop, and I know he’s trying to rein in his emotions, but they get the best of him as he lifts his eyes to Tobias, and they share a lingering look.

  “See, worth the wait,” Tyler whispers to Tobias with the subtle lift of his lips, “just to see the expression on his face.”

  “Fuck,” Sean exhales harshly, running a palm down his jaw. Physically, I can see the tension leave him. It’s obviously something that’s been plaguing him for years as a family man, something he’s prepared himself for if it ever happened, and now something he’ll never have to worry about again. His hazel eyes drift back to Tobias, and Tyler speaks up. “We’ll talk about the details later.”

  Sean nods, his eyes never leaving Tobias as he bobs his head several times.

  “So, what now?” I ask, turning back to Tobias.

  Tobias shrugs, a slight lift to his lips. “Don’t ask me. I’m not in charge.”

  Tyler grins. “How does it feel?”

  Tobias smiles back. “Fucking terrifying,” he pulls me tighter to him and entwines our fingers, “but I’ll…adjust.”

  Sean looks over to me, his hazel eyes shining with pride. “You did good, Pup.”

  I nearly wince at the slip of his pet name for me and glance over at Tobias, who squeezes my fingers tightly between his. During all of this, Sean and I have been in close contact because it was necessary, but during that time, we managed to strike up a different kind of relationship, a friendship close to the one we had years ago. The ease in which it happened surprised us both. It was how the friendship came about that I was uncomfortable with. Not because of any lingering feelings I have for Sean, but because of how it might affect Tobias. Tobias remains mute, his expression imperceptible as I look back at Sean. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Yeah, well, it wasn’t easy,” he smirks and nods toward Tobias. “I had to keep him distracted with heart to hearts a few times a week. He’s a whiner, by the way, you might want to see about that.”

  Tobias scowls, a low growl sounding from his throat as we all share a laugh. I palm his chest, “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Sean looks over to Tobias and I can feel the shift in the air between them as if they’re really seeing each other for the first time in years. Sean’s eyes rake over us together, and he nods, his hazel eyes shining with acceptance. “But it looks like things are good now.”

  Without waiting for a response, he shifts his attention to Tyler. “Good to see you, man,” he pulls him in for a half hug. They clap each other’s backs and pull away.

  “We need to catch up,” Tyler agrees, and Sean nods.

  “No time like the present. I could use a fucking beer.”

  I clear my throat as they all start talking at once, completely ignoring the fact that there’s a French gangster in my living room. “Guys,” I say as they rattle on. “Guys,” I repeat, stepping between the three of them before nodding toward the door.

  The three of us walk out as Sean approaches Antoine, looking down at him from the bridge of his nose. “What’s next is,” he gives Antoine a maniacal grin. “I take out the trash.”

  Tyler moves to step in front of the window, and with the flick of his wrist the lasers disappear from Antoine’s face and chest.

  Sean bends so he’s almost nose to nose with Antoine, clear violence in his posture. “Hope you ate well tonight, motherfucker, because that was your last supper.”

  Antoine turns from Sean and addresses Tobias. “I have several associates that won’t at all be pleased with you if I disappear.”

  “I w
ouldn’t be so confident,” Sean says, drawing his attention back, “they sold you out, and you came fucking cheap.”

  Antoine visibly pales as Sean reveals the ace up his sleeve. “Money talks, dickhead, and we used yours to pay them. Wrestle with that shit a minute and we’ll be right back with you.” Sean smacks Antoine’s temple with his Glock for emphasis.

  Antoine shifts black eyes to Tobias, who stares back at him, hellfire brimming in his eyes, but he remains mute. Sean nods to the kitchen as Tyler gets briefed by one of the men in charge, and Sean addresses the two of us.

  “We’ve already eliminated his plan B, and if there’s a C, we’ll figure it out and handle it, but Palo hasn’t left his side in weeks, and I doubt there is one.” Sean looks to Tobias. “We’re giving Palo a set of keys, but he’s agreed to get wings and wing his men, so it’s ours to share.”

  Tobias only nods, seeming introspective as Sean speaks up again. “We’ll have a lot to work out down the line, and we will, but since we’re now covered by the government, why don’t you both take a little trip while I clean this mess up?”

  Tobias turns to me with zero objection, and I can still see he’s trying to work it all out. “Any ideas?” He narrows his eyes when I upturn my lips. “I’ve got just the place in mind.”

  Tossing the last of our suitcases in the idling Audi, I eye Cecelia, who’s talking to Ryan on a burner phone while taking Beau for a walk before we head out on the road.

  Fucking Ryan. Her source on all things Greg. She caught onto him before I even landed in Virginia.

  I’m still so fucking blown away by what just transpired—shocked mostly along with a thousand other emotions I’m having to constantly battle to keep my shit together. What she’s done, what she managed to do while under my careful watch is incomprehensible to me. And even though I’m filled with pride, I’m still fucking battling the urge to spank her or fuck her, or both. Definitely at the same time. Problem is, she likes the punishment too much.