Snared (Grizzly MC Book 2)

by Brook Wilder

  “We’ll take him in and book him.”

  Abel nods.

  “Okay.”

  As the other two sheriffs drive away, Lyle stares at me from the backseat. The expression on his face seems to say, “This isn’t over.” It sends chills through me. But I don’t turn away. I know I have nothing to be afraid of anymore.

  Dom smooths my hair and holds me closer. In the night air, I feel safe and warm in his arms. I still can’t believe everything that’s happened.

  Abel turns to us.

  “Hey, are you guys alright?”

  I nod.

  “Yeah. It’s just been a crazy night.”

  Dom squeezes my shoulder.

  “But your sister is so strong and smart. She had it all under control.”

  Abel smiles.

  “That’s not news to me.”

  “She even got his confession on tape.”

  Abel’s eyes get wide.

  “Really?”

  I lift up my cell phone.

  “It’s all right here. He confessed to killing Beth and the other girls. And Adam too.” It’s overwhelming for me to put it all to words. “At a certain point, I thought he was gonna kill us too.”

  Abel shakes his head.

  “That bastard… I always knew there was something weird about him. Guys like him give the badge a bad name. But I’m just glad that you’re both okay. That’s the most important thing. I was worried sick the whole time.”

  I take a deep breath.

  “How did you get here so fast?”

  “Lyle asked Dom to come here alone, but I was never too far away. I knew I had to stay out of sight, but I also had to stay close. I couldn’t have lived with myself if something bad had happened.”

  Dom kisses my forehead and smiles.

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about Amy anymore. I’m going to look after her from here on out.”

  I smile wide.

  “Just for the record, I can look after myself, thank you very much.”

  We all share a laugh. In the middle of the nightmare, it feels good to have a light-hearted moment. It feels even better to know that the threat of Lyle is in the rearview mirror.

  ***

  The sun is rising as Dom and I walk into my house. To say it’s been a long night would be an understatement. But as exhausted as I am, I know I need to have a real conversation with him.

  I turn to Dom and take a deep breath.

  “I realize we’re both tired…”

  He nods.

  “Yeah.”

  “But we need to talk.”

  He takes my hand and guides me to the couch. We sit across from each other. I can see the love in his eyes. From the looks of it, he has a lot on his mind too.

  “Amy, why didn’t you tell me about the baby?”

  “Please, let me talk first. This whole time we were together, I went back and forth constantly. I didn’t know if what we had would last, especially when you told me what you were up to with the Vipers.”

  “I know, but…”

  “Dom, it just didn’t make sense to me. You are putting your life at risk. I just felt like... You don’t understand how hard it was for me when I lost Adam. For a long time, it felt like I couldn’t breathe. Then you came into my life, and I started to feel like I could be happy again. And all of a sudden, I had to question everything. You said you loved me, but I wondered if you loved me enough to walk away from all of that.”

  “Amy…”

  “And around the same time, that’s when I found out I was pregnant.”

  His eyes get wide.

  “I know. Abel told me.”

  “What?”

  “When you left me that note... I thought it was your way of saying goodbye. I thought you wanted me out of your life. But I just refused to give up on us. Long story short, Abel told me everything.”

  “When?”

  “Believe it or not, he told me tonight.”

  “He did?”

  “Yeah. After I got that note from you, I was so torn up about it. I wanted to walk away from the whole operation with the Vipers, and then I got a call from James. He begged me to do one this one last thing. I told him okay. But I knew for sure I was done with it after tonight. The only thing that mattered to me was getting you back. But tonight, at the club, I had one drink and then another. You were on my mind like crazy. And Lyle walked through the door. I was so drunk. I damn near got into a fight with him.”

  “What?”

  “And Abel came and saved my ass just in time. Lyle was this close to killing me. Abel took me out to his cruiser. We had a long talk about everything. I told him that I love you.”

  “You did?”

  “I didn’t see the point of keeping it a secret anymore. Besides, he already knew about us. He let the news about the baby slip out.”

  My eyes get wide.

  “Shit. I told him not tell you.”

  “I know. But I’m glad he did. Because... It’s all I want.”

  He takes my hands into his.

  “Amy, I know what we have didn’t start off like most relationships. But I don’t give a damn. I’ve never felt for any woman what I feel for you. And I want this to work. I want us to be a family.”

  “I was afraid how you might feel. Like this is too much, too soon.”

  “I’m the one who said you have to live in the moment. So, what? We didn’t plan for it. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not happy about it. I just wish I would’ve known sooner.”

  I take a deep breath.

  “There were so many times I wanted to say something, but with everything going on, it just never seemed like the right time.”

  He smiles a little.

  “Not to mention the fact that you were this close to dumping my ass.”

  I chuckle.

  “I don’t know about all that. I just needed some time and space to figure out what was right for me.”

  “But I never want you to have to figure this out alone. Like I said, I always want to be right here.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “I’ve never been more sure about anything.”

  “So how do you feel about... about being a dad?”

  He smiles.

  “That’s what I always wanted. And the fact that it’s with you... That’s the icing on the cake.”

  “I don’t know... It’s gonna be a lot of sleepless nights, changing diapers, all of that.”

  “And I’ll be right here for every second of it. But I need you to promise me something too.”

  “What?”

  “The note you left here, that broke my heart. But the note you left at Abel’s, that scared me. The whole time I was driving out to Harris Road, I thought... It brought back all the bad memories of what happened to Beth.”

  “I know, Dom. But I had a plan.”

  “So did Lyle. The night could’ve ended up a lot different if…”

  “But it didn’t. I know I took a big risk. But I felt like it was the only way. And now, everyone will know the truth about Lyle. Something always told me that he was hiding something. I just had no idea that he was so evil.”

  “I don’t think anybody knew. When he confessed about Beth... I swear, I was this close to…”

  “I know. I know. I can only imagine how you feel. And finding out he killed Adam…”

  I take a deep breath.

  He touches my arm.

  “Amy, I’m so grateful to you. You stopped me from doing something stupid. Lyle will get what he has coming. I’m sure of it.”

  “I hope they throw him under the jail.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay? Every time I watched him touch you...”

  “I know. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through. But it was all worth it. Nothing was ever gonna stop Lyle. He already has a trail of victims, and there would have been more.”

  Dom holds me close to him.

  “You’re so brave, Amy
. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too.”

  “There’s something else I need you to promise me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “No more notes.”

  I smile.

  “Okay. No more notes.”

  He smooths my hair. Then he puts his hand on my belly.

  “I still can’t believe I’m about to be a father.”

  “I know. I can’t believe it either.”

  He kisses me and runs his fingers through my hair.

  “As crazy as this sounds, I think we were always meant to be, Amy.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “I’ve can think of a lot of reasons.” He holds my hand over his heart. “Starting with everything I feel right here.”

  I smile wide.

  “I love you so much, Dom.”

  “You know I love you too. I could say it a hundred times a day.”

  “A hundred?”

  “Why not?”

  I chuckle.

  “I never got a chance to get your take on Abel. How did he seem to take the news about us?”

  “He told me that I’d better not fuck up with you anymore.”

  “Good advice.”

  “And you know I’m gonna take that advice to heart.”

  “Yeah. I’m sure of that now.”

  “There’s nothing in the world I would ever let come between us.”

  He kisses me. I feel all warm and tingly inside. I’m so in love with this man, there are no words to express the depth of my emotions. I lay on his chest and he smooths my hair. We stay like this for a long time as we watch the sun rising outside the window.

  The past few weeks have been filled with fear and chaos. Now, there’s nothing but calm. It feels good to know that the worst seems to be behind us. I know that no relationship is perfect, and Dom still has his flaws, but I couldn’t imagine myself with anyone else.

  I hope I can get back to some sort of normal routine, but I doubt anything will ever be completely normal again. The memories of Lyle pointing his gun at Dom and me will never be erased from my mind. I’m sure I’ll have nightmares about it for years to come. But at least it will only be a dream.

  The other thing I can’t help but think about is what if Lyle goes to trial and the jury finds him not guilty. He’s in law enforcement. He knows what to say and do to be very convincing. I shudder at the memory of how he tricked me. I don’t know what I will do if Lyle walks out of jail as a free man.

  I look up at Dom and think about discussing it with him. But I decide not to. Dom’s face looks so peaceful. I don’t want to make him worry all over again. For now, I just want to take his advice and live in the moment. This beautiful and perfect moment.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Dom

  It’s early on Saturday morning. There’s a U-Haul truck parked in my driveway. I still can’t believe it. It’s official. I’m moving into Amy’s house. It’s not that I have a ton of shit, but I figured it would be easiest to do this in one trip. The truth is, I can’t wait for us to start our lives together.

  Abel and James walk through the front door. I’m glad they’re helping me out. Not like I gave them much of a choice, I think to myself.

  Abel pats me on the back.

  “You owe me big time, man.”

  I smile and nod.

  “You can say that again.”

  James picks up a box in the middle of the living room.

  I help Abel grab lift up my La-Z-Boy. I’ll be the first to admit that Amy’s furniture is way nicer, but there’s no way I can enjoy the games without a beer and my favorite chair.

  “Thanks again, guys.”

  Abel grunts as we make our way outside to the truck. It’s packed up with a lifetime of memories. All of my boxes and souvenirs. I think back to the last time I lived with a woman. So much has changed since Beth and I were together.

  Moving on was a struggle for me. For the longest time, it was like I had a gate around my heart. I didn’t want to let anybody in. I dated plenty of girls and had some wild nights, that’s for sure, but I always kept my distance.

  The scariest thing about falling in love is the vulnerability of it all. The fear that something could go terribly wrong and you end up all alone. For the longest time I thought that had been the case with Beth.

  Finding out the truth about what had happened to her was bittersweet. I still want revenge on Lyle. I know Amy did the right thing; she talked me out of blowing his head off. But sometimes I wish I would have killed him. That bastard deserves to die for everything he did.

  “You okay?”

  Abel turns to me as we climb out of the truck.

  “Yeah. I’m good. I was just thinking, that’s all.”

  “About what?”

  I really don’t want to tell him what’s on my mind. Abel has been through a lot of shit too.

  “You better not be getting cold feet about moving in with my sister.”

  I smile.

  “Never that.”

  “Good. Remember that night we went to the diner? I meant everything I said about you getting your shit together. I’ll be watching you.”

  He smirks.

  “I know.”

  We head back inside and grab a few more boxes. James’s cell phone rings. He takes it out of his pocket and answers.

  “Hey, babe. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Got it.”

  He hangs up.

  “That was Lena.”

  Abel nudges him.

  “Better be her.”

  “She wants some strawberries and peanut butter. Her cravings are out of this world. I swear...”

  James turns to me.

  “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  Abel laughs.

  “Both of you about to be daddies... That’s something. I’m happy for you guys. But don’t worry, I’ll enjoy the single life for all three of us.”

  I smile.

  “Shut up.”

  We load up the rest of my boxes in the back of the truck. Then, we head over to Amy’s place. Well, maybe I should say our place. She gave me a key a while ago, but now it officially feels like home.

  I pull up into the driveway and park. She walks outside, sipping a bottle of water. She’s barely showing, but there’s no doubt that she’s glowing. Amy has always been gorgeous, but now that’s she’s pregnant with my child, she’s beautiful beyond words.

  She waves at us and smiles wide. Abel, James, and I get out of the truck and immediately start to unload.

  “Can I get you guys some water?”

  I shake my head no.

  “Maybe in a minute, babe.”

  Abel smiles.

  “This is gonna be a little weird, getting used to you call her ‘babe.’”

  Amy laughs.

  “You better get used to it, ‘Uncle’ Abel.”

  Abel, James, and I grab some boxes and head inside. My heart is beating a little faster at the thought that this is the most serious relationship I’ve ever had. What I shared with Beth was strong and pure, but me and Amy... That’s a whole different level. She’s my soulmate.

  I put a box down on the floor and look at her standing in the doorway. I love everything about this woman. If Abel and James weren’t in this room, I’d be kissing her from head to toe.

  She glances at me and blushes a little. Maybe she can tell what’s on my mind too. My attraction to Amy is impossible to hide. Hell, it doesn’t matter who’s around.

  James and Abel put their boxes down. Then, we head back outside.

  James turns to me.

  “All this manual labor... Damn!”

  I pat him on the back.

  “That’s what friends are for, right?”

  “Whatever.”

  An hour later, we’ve finished moving in the rest of my stuff. Amy offers those cold waters again. Abel shakes his head no.