Devil's Advocate: A BBW MC New Adult Romance Series - Book 4 (Devil's Advocate BBW MC New Adult Romance Series)

by Carla Coxwell

  “I kept my end of the deal up. Even took care of the guy who paid his bail. He’s done with. I want the club.”

  Jonathan. He was dead, too. Gray nodded stiffly, feeling as if his entire body was drenched in ice.

  “The club is yours,” he replied. “Just like we agreed upon.”

  “You leaving town?”

  Gray nodded again.

  “I’ll give you a month. I’m feeling generous. I’d get out of here. I used a silencer, but you never know who will stumble across the bodies.”

  Gray nodded again, feeling like a bobble head. He turned around and ran off toward his bike. His heart felt like it might pop. He didn’t look back as he left the wharf and headed down the street.

  He tried to soak in everything that happened. Ben lived up to his promise. He had not just sent Armand to jail but had killed him. Gray had lost control of the club.

  But he had gained his freedom.

  Chapter Sixteen

  It was three in the morning when Kristie heard a low hum in the driveway. She knew that noise anywhere. Gray. She took off down the stairs and out into the front yard, hoping she didn’t wake anyone up. Both Rick and Megan were fast asleep.

  Gray was getting off his bike. He had a funny expression on his face, as if he had been dumped in cold water and was drying off. Kristie didn’t care. She threw her arms around him and before she knew it, she was sobbing.

  “You ass!” she mumbled into his jacket.

  The only thing she had felt the past few hours was fear. She was terrified about getting a call that Gray was dead. She was terrified Armand would break into the house. She clung to Gray and sobbed against him as he held her.

  “Kristie,” he finally said. “It’s over.”

  Her breath caught in her throat. “You mean…”

  Gray nodded. She knew what that meant. Armand was dead. She could imagine the police swarming over them right now, carting Gray off to be arrested.

  As if sensing her thoughts, he shook his head again. “Not by me.”

  She had so many questions to ask but suddenly none of them mattered. The only thing she cared about was that Gray was alive and he was with her. Kristie dragged him into the house and up the stairs. He checked up on Megan, who had fallen asleep, sucking on her thumb. Then he checked up on Rick, bundled up and fast asleep, still small and frail.

  He turned back to Kristie, and his eyes were wide. Whatever happened tonight had affected him, she realized. He took two steps over to her and gripped her tightly to him.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you, too.”

  He let go of her a little and looked down at her. “We have to move out of town by the end of the month.”

  Kristie only nodded. There was no way she would be going against whatever happened or whatever agreement had gotten rid of Armand. She was just happy that he was gone.

  ***

  The following week passed in a blur. The first thing Kristie did was move back into the apartment. Armand and Jonathan’s bodies weren’t discovered yet. She didn’t want to know what Ben did to hide them. She got settled back into the apartment and then the house hunting began.

  They decided to move out of state. Gray wanted no remaining ties to his gang life. Kristie was only all too happy to agree. It took a while to organize a cross country move, but they were determined to be get of the area by the time limit that Ben had given them.

  Before Kristie knew it, it was time to go. Her mother, despite her protests, had thrown together a goodbye party. She wished she hadn’t, but Kristie understood. The fact that she was moving was hard on her mother. Her mom wanted nothing more than Kristie to stay. But she told her that she needed a new start. There was no way that she could begrudge her a goodbye party.

  Megan was now walking confidently but stumbled over one of her toys. Gray scooped her up before she could cry and started tickling her. Kristie watched the two of them, lost in thought over how everything fell into place. Gray had found an excellent job as lead mechanic in their new city. Money wasn’t going to be nearly as tight anymore.

  “Come on, we have to leave for the party now or Mom will totally flip.”

  Gray nodded and kissed Megan again as they headed out toward the truck. Rick was fast asleep in his own carrier and didn’t stir when they put him in the truck. They were soon off, heading toward her mother’s. How much can change in three weeks?

  Soon they arrived at her mom’s house. There were a few cars in the driveway. Kristie figured that they were mostly going to be her mother’s friends instead of her own. They got out of the truck and brought the kids inside with them.

  Her mother looked thrilled at seeing them. Everyone swarmed around them to wish them good luck on their trip. After the greetings settled down, Kristie headed off to go mingle.

  ***

  Gray put Rick in the crib upstairs. He didn’t want him around all those people. Upstairs in his old room, he would be safe. Gray knew he should go back to the party but watched him sleep instead.

  Ever since Ben gunned down Armand, Gray had tried to wrap everything else up in a neat little bow before he headed out. When Ben came with him to tell the club that he was stepping down as leader and Ben was in control, he was worried they were going to riot. A few members stormed out. Dern tried to be supportive but Gray could tell he wanted him to stay. Some other members didn’t care at all. As long as there was a gang, they would stay in it.

  The transfer had gone better than expected. The cops hadn’t found Armand or Jonathan. Ben refused to tell him what he had done with the bodies. Gray preferred it that way... plausible deniability. At night, he would see it in his dreams. Armand and the hole in his skull, hitting the pavement. He knew that he could live freely now without the menace that was Armand.

  But the road had been long and difficult. Gray couldn’t believe how much his life had changed in the past two years. Kristie was his wife, and he had two children. The Devil’s Advocates were no more. They were moving out of state where Gray had a great job lined up, thanks to some strings his uncle pulled.

  He kept looking over his shoulder, as if he would find another monster waiting for him. How could it finally be over? It was strange to think the mess was over and done with… that they had their own lives now.

  “Gray.”

  He looked up to see Kristie. For the first time in forever, she looked truly happy. Her eyes were shining, and her skin was full of color. Her hair was swept up in a bun and her clothes were clean and bright colored. She looked like a different woman. This is how she is supposed to be, beautiful and happy.

  “Hey, sorry. I was just watching Rick.”

  “You okay?”

  Gray exhaled. “I’m okay. Really. Just so much going on. It’s weird…not having a dark cloud hanging over our heads all the time.”

  She smiled. “I know. It is weird. When we move, it is really going to be a brand new start. Together.”

  Kristie reached over and grabbed his hand. Gray smiled at her. “If we survived this together, we can get through anything.”

  Rick gave a soft noise in his crib and Gray smiled. “You’re right. Remember when we first met in this room?”

  “How could I forget?” she asked him and he pulled her close.

  Two years ago. He remembered just wanting to piss her off and press her buttons. But Kristie was constantly kind and had no issues challenging him. Gray had become a better person because of her. She was his other half. They were supposed to be together.

  He kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go enjoy this party your mom threw for us.”

  “Try to be nice to her. She doesn’t know we’re out of the woods yet.”

  Gray smiled. “I’ll be sweet as pie.”

  He leaned down and kissed Kristie again, holding her to him. Yes, the past two years had been a rollercoaster. Losing Rick and Kass, fighting for control of the group and dealing with Armand had all been bitter pills to swallow. But the worst had bee
n seeing Kristie gunned down right before their honeymoon. The honeymoon they had never gotten.

  Gray pulled away and looked at her. “I have a surprise for you.”

  “What is it?”

  “Later. First, let’s go to the party.”

  Kristie wrinkled her nose. Gray knew she hated waiting for surprises but he was so excited and wanted to build it up. He gave one last look at Rick and the two of them stepped out of the bedroom, heading downstairs to say goodbye to their old life.

  Epilogue

  Kristie finished dusting off the pictures that lined the living room. The one at the end always made her pause and smile. It was a picture of Gray and herself over ten years ago on Daytona Beach, shortly after they had settled down in their new life.

  She remembered how after they left their goodbye and good luck party, Gray surprised her with a “re-do” of their honeymoon... the one that they never had. Gray’s gang life was behind them. It had been behind them for ages.

  “Mom,” ten-year-old Megan said, crossing her arms. “I don’t want to do my homework. I want to play outside.”

  Kristie put down the photo and turned to Megan. She looked more and more like Kass each day. She sighed. “Megan, please. Finish up your math worksheet and then you can do whatever you want.”

  Megan grumbled, heading back to the dining room table. Rick, Kristie’s only son at nine, was there as well. He had no love for the outdoors like Megan, who was constantly on the move. But he excelled in computers already and was itching to play a game.

  Her youngest, Kassandra, now five, was playing with her toys off in one corner. She started school a week ago. Kristie teared up just thinking about it. Kassandra had been her miracle baby. After Rick’s premature birth, the doctors said that the chances of her becoming pregnant naturally were almost non-existent. Maybe it was the stress of her old life but as soon as Kristie settled down in their new home, she found herself pregnant again.

  The front door opened, and Gray walked in. The kids cheered and all ran over to him to say hello and get a hug. He opened his own garage a couple of years back. Dern, the one remaining tie to his old gang life, had moved up to help him with it. Dern left the Infernos shortly after Gray moved, stating that seeing him with his family made him want to turn his own life around.

  “Hey, sweetie,” Kristie said, marveling at how after over ten years together, she was still madly in love with him.

  Gray leaned over the children and gave her a kiss. Her heart skipped a beat as she kissed him back.

  “How are you guys?” he asked, scooping up Kassandra.

  “Mom won’t let me go play outside,” Megan whined.

  “I got this new idea for a computer game!” Rick replied, trailing after Gray.

  Kristie watched them head into the kitchen. After so many years at peace, it was a marvel whenever she reflected on how life used to be. How she lived every day in fear of losing Gray. How Armand was a monster who controlled her life and her family. It took ages for her mom to fully accept Gray for who he was and that Kristie was going to stay married to him. Now her mom and Lionel came down once a year to visit.

  Kristie wondered what they would do for dinner tonight. That was usually her biggest worry now. Dinner. As she headed into the dining room after everyone else, she smiled.

  Life was finally perfect.

  -The End-

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  Other Books by Carla Coxwell:

  Obsessed Bounty Hunter Romance Series

  Fifty Recipes For Disaster New Adult Romance Series

  WARNING

  This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY.

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  Copyright © 2015 by Revelry Publishing

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  DISCLAIMER

  This book is a work of FICTION. It is not to be confused with reality. Neither the author nor the publisher or its associates assume any responsibility for any loss, injury, death or legal consequences resulting from acting on the contents in this book. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Every character in this book is over 18 years of age. The author’s opinions are not to be construed as the opinions of the publisher. The material in this book is for entertainment purposes ONLY. Enjoy.

  About the Author - Carla Coxwell

  Carla has always been a fan of romance novels. To augment what she made waiting on tables to help her way through college, Carla also did some freelance work in the romance genre.

  Now she enjoys living vicariously through her characters in her New Adult Romance books.