by Zoey Parker
With their naked bodies pressed together, she rested on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.
“You’re going to stay here until you have a house to go to, right?” she asked.
She hadn’t thought much about it earlier, but maybe he’d go to stay with one of his guys for a while. Of course, she wanted him here. She didn’t want to be without him for one minute. But part of her wondered if that would be the best thing for Emma. She liked Rowan, but to have another man move in so soon? And was their relationship ready for that? They’d fallen in love so quickly. Did they really know each other well enough?
She kept thinking back to Nick and how different everything had been at the beginning. What if Rowan did something like that? What if he changed on her suddenly? He didn’t seem like that type, but, then, neither had Nick. If she ever wanted any relationship to work out, she’d have to let go and trust. Sure, she might get hurt again or end up in a bad relationship, but if she didn’t ever trust, then she’d never be married to anyone again. Was that what she wanted?
No, she enjoyed the married life, just not the person she had been married to. But a nice house with Rowan, and Emma, and maybe a few kids of their own—it sounded like a dream. Her dream. And maybe, for once, all her dreams would come true.
“If you’re okay with it, I’d love to stay here,” he said.
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Good. I might go a little crazy over your safety for a while. It’ll make it much easier for me to feel like you’re safe if I’m with you. I don’t want to be overprotective or anything, but I want to make sure you’re okay and Emma is okay.”
“Thank you.” She leaned forward to kiss him. “Thank you for always protecting us. It means so much to me.”
“You mean so much to me. And Emma. It kills me to think of anyone hurting you. If you hadn’t killed Nick, I was going to.”
“I’m glad I got to, though.”
“Are you?” He tilted his head to raise an eyebrow at her. “I wasn’t sure how that would affect you. Was that the first time you ever shot a gun? The first time you killed someone?”
“Yes.” She chuckled. “Who else would I have killed?”
“Who knows. You could have been mugged some other time or something. I’m glad he’s the only one. It can really weigh on you when you kill someone and the more kills, the more weight.”
“I think I feel okay about it because of the circumstances. I feel like I finally fought back, and that’s a good feeling. And I feel like I was the one to save Emma and myself from him, you know? Obviously, you were a big part of it, and the Rebels, and I couldn’t have gotten to that point without you, but I was the one to pull the trigger and make sure he was out of our lives forever.”
“I get that. Totally. I wanted to be the one to kill my dad so badly. My brother did it, though. I guess that’s something. He’s older so he got it worse and he probably needed to kill him just as badly as I did. I wanted to be the one to get revenge, though. I wanted to make him suffer like he made me suffer.”
“That’s how I felt about Nick. Like he should have to feel some of the pain he put on me.” She looked up at him and traced his nose and jaw with her fingers. “I’m sorry your dad hurt you like that. No one should be treated that way, especially not by a parent.”
“I guess we went through almost the same thing. Dad, husband, I don’t see how it’s much different, really.”
“It’s horrible no matter who’s doing the hurting.” Something he said earlier came back to her and she needed an answer, even if she really didn’t want to know. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“How many people have you killed?”
He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “You sure you want to know the answer to that?”
“Nope. But I need to.”
“Okay. Well, if we’re counting indirect kills, where I was a part of it, or had someone killed on my behalf, then I don’t have an exact number. You could count every one of the Griffins as mine if you wanted to because I ordered my guys to kill them.”
“How many people did you personally kill?”
“Adding Abram and one of his guys today, eight.”
She didn’t say anything for a long time. Then, “How did you not get caught for any of them?”
“It’s kinda like with gangs. Police try not to get too involved with MC crimes against each other. I think they figure they’ll let us take each other out. Saves them from having to deal with us. So, a lot of them weren’t investigated too closely. Like everything that happened today. When they realize who’s inside that house, it’ll be listed as arson and accidental deaths most likely. And the others? I was just smart about them, I guess.”
“So, you’ve literally gotten away with murder.”
“You could say that. Eight times.” He waited for her to say something else, and when she didn’t, he asked, “Does that bother you?”
“I’m sure you had good reasons to kill them all, but it does a little. I mean, it’s murder. That’s a serous thing.”
“I know. And I take it very seriously.”
“I know you do.” She trailed her fingers along his bulging bicep. “That’s why it’s not a deal breaker.”
“What are your deal breakers?”
“Not sure, really. Obviously, abuse. I thought the MC thing was, but if that’s not, then I guess I don’t really have many. What about you?”
“I doubt there’s anything that could make me not want to be with you. Maybe cheating. That’s not cool. But, I don’t know. You’re so hot, I might still take you back.”
“I’ve never done that anyway.”
“I was thinking about something.” He played with the ends of her hair, twisting pieces around his fingers and weaving through the long strands. “What if my new house is… our new house? What if you and Emma came to live with me? We could pick it out together and everything.”
“I would love that. Having a house again. And to have it with you? It’s a dream come true.”
“We’d have a lot more space. And a yard. We could get a dog or a cat, or whatever Emma wanted.”
“Oh, don’t tell her that.” She laughed. “She’ll want a small zoo.”
“I might be able to be talked into that. If that’s what she wanted.”
“She is going to have you wrapped around her little finger.”
Rowan squeezed her closer. “I hope so.”
“You know. I didn’t tell you this. She asked me if you could be her new daddy.”
“She did? Seriously?”
“Yes. She wanted you to live here.”
“Wow. I wasn’t sure how all this was going to go. If she’d need time to adjust or anything.”
“I’m sure she still will, but at least that means she’s comfortable with you. She likes you and she wants you around.”
“She really said that?” The awe was clear in his voice.
“She really did.”
“I love that little girl,” he said.
“Me too.” She laughed.
“Can we make another one? A little girl or boy who’s ours?”
“Right now?”
“Maybe we already did. Unless you’re on the pill or something.”
“I’m not. Guess we should have taken more precaution.”
“Too late now.” He let his hand fall to her stomach. “A Rowan Junior could be growing in there right now. It’s crazy to think that.”
Becca put her hand over his and smiled contently. “I would love nothing more.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
“Hey, babe, can you come down here a minute?” Rowan called up the stairs.
“Coming!” Becca answered a moment later.
When she appeared at the top of the stairs, joy flooded him. The way the light came in through the entryway chandelier hit her a certain way. Her hair shone and the light glittered over her eyes and skin. She looked al
l lit up. Maybe it was partly the glow of pregnancy, but whatever it was, he loved it when she came to the top of the stairs.
She put her hand on her growing stomach and the other hand on the railing as she stepped down the hardwood stairs.
“Sorry, were you resting?” he asked. He couldn’t resist kissing her and pulling her in for a quick hug when she reached the bottom of the stairs and was near him.
“No, I was folding laundry.”
“Why? We have a housekeeper to do that now. I told you to stop cleaning.”
“I can’t just do nothing. And I don’t mind. Folding laundry can be very soothing. Gives me time to think.”
He sighed. “You have all the time to think that you want. Sit by the pool, read a book in the living room, anything. I don’t want you exerting yourself too hard.”
“I’m really not.” She put her hand to his cheek. “But thank you. I can’t get used to all this pampering.”
“It’s only been a few months. You will.”
“Sir?” A man called to Rowan from the den.
Rowan had forgotten all about the men in the other room. He had a habit of doing that when Becca was near. He could think of nothing but her. Could look at nothing but her. Every time he saw her, he wanted to wrap his arms around her, feel her growing belly. Feel the child that was his and hers growing there, healthy and strong. When they’d found out they were having another girl, he’d almost done cartwheels. Another little girl like Emma to love and cherish.
“Is that what you needed me for?” Becca pointed into the den.
“Yes.” He took her hand and led her to the room. “I know I let you pick all the furniture, but I’m just not sure about this one.”
They stood in the den, looking at the couch. The two men from the furniture company waited impatiently.
The couch sat in the middle of the room. It was three cushions long. A basic couch. Fabric covered padding with two arms and a high back. But the problem was the fabric itself. It didn’t match anything in the room. The den was all hardwood and dark furniture. Gold fixtures on the desk and hard chairs. Even the pull chain on the ceiling fan matched the dark colors in the room. He’d thought maybe a leather couch would look nice. And he thought he’d mentioned that to Becca and she’d agreed.
But the couch that sat in the middle of the room—the one just delivered, the one with a slip he was supposed to sign with his name on it and a price far too high for something that looked like that—this couch looked hideous. It was light pink and cream and covered in large flowers. The flowers were blue and purple. Rowan had taken one look and his stomach dropped. He didn’t even know a couch this ugly existed, let alone was about to be dropped off in his house. And he had enough confidence in Becca to know she had great taste. She wouldn’t have chosen something like that, would she?
“What is that?” she asked, pointing to the couch with a disgusted look on her face.
Good. That look said this wasn’t what she was expecting. He let out a sigh of relief. “That’s the couch they said you ordered. They’re delivering it.”
“Oh no.” She shook her head. “This is not the couch I ordered. It’s so ugly! I would never pick out something like that. There must have been a mix up.”
One of the delivery men looked over his paperwork. “Everything looks to be in order to me.”
“Well, clearly something got messed up,” Rowan said. “Who do we need to call to straighten it out?”
“The store. So, you don’t want this couch?”
“No,” they said together emphatically.
“I’ll just need a signature saying you’re refusing delivery.” He walked over to Rowan and pointed to a check box and a line that he should sign on.
“Thanks,” Becca said.
The man tucked the papers back into his pocket. “Sorry about the mix up. I’m sure they’ll get it straightened out.” The men took either side of the couch and carried it out of the room, then out of the house and back onto the truck.
When they left, Rowan turned to Becca. “Thank God. For a minute there, I thought this baby had stolen your good taste.” He put his hand on her stomach and kissed her.
“Nope. Little Polly will be quite the interior designer if I have any say.”
“Mommy, where is our couch going?” Emma came running from the living room. “The truck’s leaving!”
“I know. It’s okay.” She put her arm around Emma. “They brought the wrong couch by accident.”
“But it had flowers on it! I liked that couch.”
Becca and Rowan exchanged a worried look. “We’ll teach her,” Rowan whispered.
Becca nodded.
“What does the couch you did order look like?” he asked.
“I got the leather one we looked at in the store that one day.”
“Oh good. That’s perfect. I’ll call and get it straightened out.”
“Did any packages come today?” she asked.
“Not that I saw.”
She frowned. “I guess it could still come.”
“What are you expecting?”
“New curtains. For the nursery. It felt too bare in there and I’ve been doing a lot with all the clothing and everything. Wish I still had some of Emma’s old clothes.”
“For the baby?” Emma asked.
“Yes. She could have worn your old clothes, but we don’t have any.”
“That’s okay,” Rowan said. “New is better and this way you can get a fresh start. Who needs those old memories?”
“True,” Becca said.
After Nick’s death had been ruled officially, Becca had been able to get back into their house and get anything she wanted. It was all hers now. She took a few items. A few articles of clothing, some jewelry, a book or two, some more of Emma’s stuffed animals. But most of it had gone to be donated or gone into the trash. She wanted little of it around her, she’d said. Too much bad mojo.
She’d wanted to sell the house, too, to get rid of it and everything that had been tied to Nick. They liked where they lived and with Rowan’s MC being located here, it would have been impossible to move so far away anyway. But she didn’t want to live in that house again, even if they had been in the area. That house where so many nightmares had taken place. They’d put it up for sale and it’d sold quickly.
Then, there had been the surprise check. Becca didn’t think Nick had any sort of life insurance policy. Maybe he hadn’t told her about it because he thought she might wise up and kill him. Which was, ironically, what had happened anyway. But, a large check had come in the mail with Becca’s name on it. Between the house sale and the insurance money, it was more than enough to buy their new house and furnish it completely.
They’d been able to buy a nice big place, with plenty of room for them and the baby and whatever kids they decided to have in the future. He’d have ten more with her if he could. But, he also had to be more careful now.
He wasn’t living the life of crime he had been. He’d decided before when he moved in with Becca and Emma right after the fire that he didn’t want to take the chance of getting put away for a long time. Then, when they’d found out she was pregnant, it changed everything much more quickly. He’d gone out that day and applied for jobs.
But getting a straight job wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. He had no experience and no schooling. He’d been out of work so long that it was difficult to come up with a reason why he hadn’t worked in years. He’d made up excuses that made him sound good. Taking care of his sick mother. Looking after his younger siblings. He wasn’t sure if any of the people he interviewed with bought it, but it wasn’t like he could tell them the truth. That he was running around the streets selling drugs and selling black market merchandise.
He’d looked at higher paying jobs first. Things like electronics store manager or even a sales position. He technically had experience in sales and retail, even if he couldn’t list it on a résumé. But those jobs required years of experience. He
’d had to look farther down the line. He couldn’t manage the electronics store, but maybe he could just work there. He could get a sales job, but it wouldn’t be selling high end pharmaceuticals or insurance policies, it might be selling newspaper ads or cell phones.
Then he’d gotten a little lucky. Nate’s uncle’s friend owned a bike shop. And he happened to be part of an MC in his younger days. Nate told him Rowan was looking to go straight and needed a job. Matt was happy to take him on. Rowan sold bikes during the day, taking a hefty commission when he made a sale, and when things were slow or he needed extra help, he’d work on bikes. But though Becca assured him his paycheck was decent for a normal job, it felt like a huge pay cut. He still sold some dope on the side for now. At least until things could get settled in their place and he was making a steadier commission.