by Cali MacKay
I wanted to argue that someone’s looks didn’t play any factor in how smart they were, but I bit my tongue.
And then there was a commotion.
The doors were pushed open, and I swore, I’d never seen anything as impressive as Locke and his brothers walking into the room, armed and looking ready to kick ass, clearly a force to be reckoned with, though Stubbs’s men closed ranks behind them. Locke’s eyes immediately met mine, and that was all it took to have me running into his arms, despite the gun that was pointed at me.
Holding me in the safety of his arms, he kissed the top of my head, his words just a whisper between the two of us. “Fucking hell, Em…please tell me you’re okay. Did they hurt you?”
“I’m okay. Bear… Is he…?” My voice broke on a sob, stealing my words as tears stung my eyes and blurred my vision. “I’m so sorry, Locke.”
“He’s in surgery. But…he’ll pull through.” Except that it was clear that it was nothing more than wishful thinking on Locke’s part.
“You shouldn’t have come.” Once again, I was messing with his life. And yet, I’d never been happier to see anyone.
“I’ll always be here for you, Em. I fucking love you.”
Fuck… This was not how I wanted to tell Emie that I loved her for the very first time. Yet I needed her to know, especially when there was a dead body lying there on the worn wood floor, and Emie had blood smeared across her cheek and staining her clothes. I couldn’t imagine all she’d already been through, and it only solidified the way I felt about her.
She threw her arms around my neck and clung to me as I tightened my hold on her, burying my face in the crook of her neck as she spoke the words that soothed my heart. “I love you too, Locke. I have from the very start.”
“I’m going to get you out of here, Em. You have my word. You and the baby.” Her eyes widened as she realized that I knew. And this baby meant there was so much more at risk. It changed everything—and the truth was I’d lay down my life for them if that’s what it took to make sure they remained safe.
“I hate to break up this little reunion…” Stubbs tossed us an impatient look.
Holding Emie tightly to me, I turned to Stubbs with a growl. “What the fuck, Stubbs? You took my girl and shot my fucking dog. Do you really want to start a fucking war?”
“You know I don’t have a problem with you or your family. But the girl’s father stole my money, and then she had the nerve to disrespect me by poking her nose where it doesn’t belong. You know how it is… I can’t have people thinking that they can mess with me and disrespect me, and that there won’t be consequences, now can we?” Stubbs smirked, looking more amused than bothered by this whole thing—and that was because a man of his position had little to worry about. Of all the people for Emie’s father to screw over, he couldn’t have picked a more dangerous man. “As for your dog, my apologies. That was never supposed to happen, and as you can see, I’ve taken care of the matter.”
Fucking hell…he shot the man over Bear. Or rather, he shot the man for not following orders.
“Emie won’t be bothering you again. I’m taking her home. This is over, Stubbs.” I motioned to my brothers with a tilt of my head toward the door, knowing that the faster we got out of here, the better.
Stubbs wasn’t the sort of guy you messed with. And though I was glad to have my brothers here as backup, I didn’t like that Stubbs had been wanting to work with Dane. This whole thing with him taking Emie felt like nothing more than a manipulation to get to Dane, and I knew damn well that this whole thing could go south really fast. I just wanted to grab Emie and have us all get the hell out of here in one piece, before someone ended up dead.
Keeping Emie tucked at my side, we turned to go, only to run into a wall of muscle, as Stubbs cleared his throat, pulling our attention back to him. “We’re not done yet, I’m afraid. Because if you want the girl, then I want something in return.”
I was getting tired of his games, my body tense as I forced my words past gritted teeth. “What do you fucking want, Stubbs?”
I couldn’t risk shooting our way out of here—not if I didn’t want to end up burying half my family.
“I need Dane to work a job for me. It’ll be quick and easy, he’ll be paid handsomely for his time, and I won’t bother the girl or your family again.”
That must be one hell of a job if he was willing to not only let Emie off the hook, but pay Dane for it. And though I’d be tempted to just put a fucking bullet in his head, I knew it wouldn’t happen without starting a war. Stubbs was a dangerous asshole—and his brothers were just as bad. I couldn’t risk them coming after us.
There just wasn’t an easy way out of this fucking mess.
“I’ll work the job. This isn’t my brother’s debt to pay.” Because there was no way I could let Dane put his life on the line for Emie, even if he’d willingly do so to keep her safe, knowing what she meant to me.
Stubbs shook his head no. “Sorry, Locke, but smart as you are, you don’t exactly have the expertise I’m looking for.”
I looked over at Ash, hoping my oldest brother had a way out of this, but before either of us could come up with any sort of plan, Dane stepped forward, his eyes locking on Stubbs. “I’ll do it. Just the one job, and then we’re all in the clear.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal.” Stubbs gave us a smug grin, knowing he’d gotten exactly what he wanted, even as I protested the arrangement.
“This isn’t fucking happening, Stubbs. Whatever debt Emie’s father owed you was paid for with his life and that of his wife and daughter’s. You don’t get to keep threatening her—nor do you get to make demands of my family.” Though I appreciated Dane putting himself out there to get Emie back from Stubbs and to keep her from future harm, I was having a hard time letting Dane put himself in that sort of danger. If anything happened to him…
Stubbs shrugged, clearly not bothered by my protests. “Your brother’s already agreed. It’s a done deal as far as I’m concerned—unless you want to hand your dearest Emily back over to me. I’m sure I could think of other ways to send a message to the world about what happens when someone sticks their nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Dane stepped to my side and shook his head, keeping his voice low as he spoke. “You need to let me do this, because frankly, I don’t think this has anything to do with Emie. I think it’s just dumb luck that she stumbled across Stubbs’s radar when he’d been looking for a way to force my hand.”
Ash nodded in agreement. “Dane’s right. Stubbs will keep causing trouble until he gets his way, though I’m none too happy about him trying to force our hand. That said, short of eliminating him permanently, I don’t see an easy way out of this.”
Fuck. I hated this.
Who knew what sort of trouble Stubbs would have Dane getting into? But my brothers were right. There was little chance of us getting out of this without blood being shed, unless Dane took the job.
Emie pulled on my arm, her eyes looking haunted. “I can’t let you guys take this on because of what I did. I’ll just go with him.”
“That’s not fucking happening, Em.” Over my dead body.
Ash tilted his head toward the door. “Get her the hell out of here. We’ll take care of things here, and deal with Stubbs. Iron out the details.”
I fucking hated this, but our options were few.
I had to practically drag Emie out of there, though I understood why she was refusing to leave. She felt responsible for my brothers getting involved with Stubbs, and didn’t want anyone else to have to pay the price for her actions. But there was no way I could let her go and deal with that fucking monster. Stubbs would be brutal just to make a point, especially if he didn’t get what he really wanted—Dane. At the very least, he was good about keeping his word. It’d be just the one job, and Dane would get paid.
Ignoring Emie’s protests and apologies, I got her in the car and drove us toward home, when she stopped me. “I want to go s
ee Bear. I can’t believe they shot him, Locke. If I hadn’t been at your place…he’d be fine now. And Dane…he should have never agreed to work for Stubbs.”
“Hush, love… You can’t think that way. None of this was your fault and I don’t want you blaming yourself.” The vet said Bear had lost a fair bit of blood, but given his size and the location of the bullet, Bear stood a better chance than most dogs of surviving his injuries. As for Dane, it was now clear that Stubbs would have gone to any length to make that job happen. “Dane can take care of himself, and we’ll go to see Bear. But first, while he’s still in surgery, let’s get you home so you can get yourself cleaned up.”
The blood on her face and clothes would have people asking questions we couldn’t answer. Not unless we wanted to make an even bigger enemy of Stubbs. And though I wished I could have spared Emie from witnessing such a horrible act—especially when I had no doubt she’d be thinking of her own slain family—all I could do now was try to help her deal with the aftermath.
We’d get through this—together—and before long, it wouldn’t just be the two of us—until we had our baby. And though we certainly had issues to work on, having Emie safely back in my arms was a damn good place to start.
Though Bear would have to be closely monitored at the vet’s, and the next few days were crucial, he had at the very least pulled through his surgery. I carefully ran my fingers over his thick fur, so incredibly grateful to see him again, though he was still heavily sedated. Once Locke finished speaking to the vet about the surgery, he joined me at Bear’s side, looking both relieved and emotional as I turned to him, slipping my hand into his. “He’ll be okay, right?”
“Yeah…he will be.” Locke pulled me into his arms and held me to him, and even though I knew we had our problems to work through, I’d do whatever it took to show him that his trust was no longer misplaced.
Unfortunately, it would still be several days before Bear could come home, and though it was hard to leave him, we let the vet know that we’d be back first thing in the morning.
Luckily, the drive back to Locke’s houseboat was a short one. It felt damn good to be back at his home and away from Stubbs, though with everything that had happened between us, I didn’t really know where we stood. It was one thing for him to tell me that he loved me when emotions were running high and we were in danger, or to go to someone’s aid when you knew they were in trouble. But now, with the threat gone, who knew how he truly felt? It was hard not to just stand there, feeling awkward and unsure.
“You know, before losing my family…I’d been a confident and easygoing person. I’d had my studies and a really good internship at a marketing firm. I never got into any trouble, and I’d been a good person. And…I’d been happy, Locke. I swear, I barely recognize the person I am now.” It was as if I’d lost myself in the pain and anger of their death.
“Emie…something like that…it changes a person.” He closed the distance between us, his blue eyes filled with concern as he knotted his fingers with mine, a glimmer of hope sparking in my heart. “That’s to be expected.”
“But what I did to you…the lies I told…the things I put you through… How can you forgive me?” And what if we couldn’t move past this?
“I get why you did it, Em—and I forgive you.” Leaning back against the arm of the sofa, he pulled me to him so I now stood nestled between his legs, as he brushed his thumb over my cheek, sinking his fingers into my hair. “I meant it when I said I love you.”
“I meant it too. I’ve been so miserable without you, Locke. And I know what I did was wrong… I know I hurt you…”
“Hush, love… It’s okay. I know you were in a weird place and you were hurting. You didn’t know how to cope with your anger and your loss, and you thought I was responsible. But that’s all behind us now, Em. Coming home and finding you gone…finding Bear shot… I don’t know what I would have fucking done if something had happened to you.” He cupped the back of my neck and bent his head to mine. “Are we really having a baby?”
I nodded, and this time, the tears that stung my eyes were tears of happiness. “We are. I still can’t believe it, Locke.”
“Well…I wasn’t exactly careful, now was I?” A smile teased his lips—and fucking hell, it felt good to see him happy again. It left me overwhelmed, as if my heart might burst with the love I had for him. “I know we’ve had a few bumps, but I truly do love you, Em. And I want us to be together. I want us to be a family.”
“I want that too—more than anything.”
He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me as if I was his entire world…as if I was his future…as if I was his happiness—and I kissed him back, giving him everything I had to give, my body, my soul, soaring on our love and happiness. He was my everything—Locke and this baby…
Needing to make up for lost time, and to celebrate our newfound love, one kiss slipped into the next, and before long, we were fumbling our way up to his bedroom, our clothes hastily discarded in our wake. Trailing kisses from my lips to my neck, he cupped my breasts, giving my nipples a slight tug before sinking down to his knees and pulling them into his mouth, to flick them with his warm tongue. I sank my fingers into his thick, dark hair, my needy little moans escaping my lips as I felt myself go wet, my clit pulsing to his rhythm as he sucked on my nipples.
I was so desperate for him, desperate for so much more, that I could feel my wetness on my thighs, as I reached down between us and wrapped my fingers around his hard cock, stroking him to urge him on.
“Fucking hell, Em… I want to take things slow for you, but that’s just not going to fucking happen this time around. I’ve just missed you so fucking much.” Scooping me up, he gently laid me back against the pillows, nestling himself between my legs. Reaching down between us, he grabbed his cock and ran it against my swollen clit and slick lips, before thrusting into me, burying himself completely as I gasped at the sudden fullness of him, loving the immediate connection between us.
“I don’t want things slow. I want you to fuck me until there’s nothing left but the two of us, until there’s nothing left but the way your hands feel on my body. I swear, you claim my soul each time you fuck me.” It was nothing but the truth. Because from the moment I walked into Locke’s life, I’d been his—body, heart, and soul. “I don’t want to ever lose you again. I don’t think I’d survive it.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Em.” He rocked his steel-hard length into me, filling me and stretching me tight, his movements slow but intense, as if it was all he could do to hold himself back and not lose control. “I fucking love you—and I’m never letting you go. Never again.”
His words soothed years’ worth of jagged edges, and it finally felt as if I was healed…as if I was home.
He kissed me again, his tongue clashing with mine as his pace quickened and I held onto him tight, each thrust pushing me closer to that delicious edge, until it finally felt as if I might shatter into a million pieces.
I cried out his name, my orgasm tearing through me as I rode out each wave of pleasure, and he joined me with a primal grunt, his mouth still hard on mine, devouring my needy whimpers as he filled me with his cum, his cock pulsing deep inside me.
We stayed there, our bodies linked and our breathing heavy, with his head bent to mine as he enveloped me in his protective arms. And though a part of me still couldn’t believe that Locke was now mine…that he’d forgiven me for my mistakes, and that we had a future together…that we’d soon have a family…I knew that the happiness we’d finally found in each other’s arms had been hard-won.
“I love you, Locke. You have my word, I’ll never keep anything from you. Never again.”
I grabbed the bottle of whiskey and enough glasses to keep my brothers happy as they updated me on what happened after I’d grabbed Emie and got her the hell away from Stubbs. Though they looked on edge and wired with adrenaline, they’d all made it out of there alive and unscathed.
“How’s Emie doin
g?” Finn looked genuinely worried about her. He knew firsthand how difficult it could be to deal with this sort of trauma, after everything Skylar had been through when her psychotic ex kidnapped her.
“I forced her to take a long hot shower and head to bed early. She’s doing okay, all things considered. Though I still can’t believe I’m going to be a dad.” The smile on my lips was immediate, and I couldn’t remember ever being happier about something, even if it’d been a bumpy ride. “So what happened with Stubbs?”
I poured the whiskey as Ash filled us in. “There was no way out for Dane—not without bloodshed and starting a war. I’d like to put a fucking bullet in Stubbs’s head, but there’s no way to get rid of him without having his brothers and his men come after us.”
“Fuck, Dane… I’m sorry.” I hated this. And I knew Emie felt even worse about it, having already apologized profusely.
Dane shrugged it off. “It’s no one’s fault. That all falls on Stubbs, since I honestly believe that he’d never have bothered Emie if it weren’t for this job. Hell…it wouldn’t surprise me if he wasn’t even the one who went after Emie’s family. Just saw the opportunity and went for it. He’s been trying to snag me for months now, and since he knew there was no way I’d agree to work for him, Emie became a pawn.”
“That begs the question, what the fuck is the job?” I couldn’t even begin to imagine what Stubbs was up to.
Dane shrugged. “He didn’t say. But I can tell you now, I’m not getting myself killed for him, and I sure as shit won’t be landing my ass in jail—and he fucking knows it.”
“If there’s anything I can do…” I threw back a long swig of whiskey, savoring the burn as it slid down my throat.
Dane nodded. “I appreciate it.”
It’d been weeks since Emie’s ordeal, but with Emie back in my arms and in my bed, and Bear now home and well on his way to a full recovery after a week at the vet’s, it finally felt like my life was complete—especially when we’d soon be a family.