by A. M. Myers
His hand slips into my hair and he pulls me down onto his lips in a bruising kiss that leaves me breathless as he nods.
“I’m fucking holding you to that.”
I smile. “Good.”
“Juliette,” Blaze says, walking back into the room with Storm and Chance. “I’ve got Rodriguez on the phone. He wants to see if we can call Gavin and set up a time to meet and record the call.”
“Does this mean she won’t have to meet with him?” Sawyer asks, his eyes lighting up and Blaze shakes his head.
“Not exactly,” Rodriguez answers as Blaze sets the phone down on the table in front of us. “If we’re going to charge him and get him out of your lives for good, we need him to either admit to everything on tape or demand a certain amount of money and then take that money from Juliette.”
I release a breath. “Okay.”
“Your main objective here, Juliette, is to get him to admit to trying to hurt you but if he won’t do that, steer the conversation toward the money and see if he’ll take the bait.”
I nod. “Got it.”
“Okay. Make the call and hit me up when you’re done so we can figure out a plan going forward.”
We all agree and once we end the call with Rodriguez, I pull my phone out and bring up Gavin’s number. Blaze sets his phone in the middle of the table and presses record before nodding at me. As I suck in a breath, I dial his number and put the call on speaker.
“Jules?” he answers on the third ring.
“Hi, Gavin. I need to talk to you.”
He releases a breath. “Of course. I’ll meet you anywhere.”
“No,” I reply, shaking my head. “Just over the phone for now.”
“Okay… what’s up?”
Sawyer rubs my back and my stomach rolls.
“Do you have anything to do with the fire at Sawyer’s house? Or me almost getting shot in the woods? Or the accident?”
He’s silent for a moment and my gaze flicks around the room as my heart races.
“It’s complicated, baby. Maybe if we meet up, I could explain it to you.”
I shake my head. “That’s not going to happen. I remember you locking me in that bathroom.”
“Oh, God…. No, you don’t understand…”
“I understand perfectly, you played me and now you’re trying to kill me.”
“No, no, no… I would never hurt you, Jules. Never.”
I glance over at Blaze who motions for me to move on and I nod.
“Was this always about the money?”
He releases a breath. “No… I mean, it was… but…”
“Look, this is over. You know that so why don’t you just go. Leave me alone and I won’t press this further. You can have a second chance.”
“I… can’t do that.”
Sawyer pulls me down into his lap.
“Why not?”
He doesn’t respond right away and the silence stretches between us before he hisses a curse. “I need the money, Jules. It’s the only way.”
“I knew it,” I scoff. “How much?”
“Give me thirty million and you’ll never see me again.”
Rage boils in my blood as I stare at the wood grain of the table and nod. “I’ll get back to you.”
I hang up before he can say anything else and Blaze stops the recording as Sawyer turns to me with a smile but I shake my head and push off his lap. All of this pain, all of this suffering because of money and it makes me hate the life I’ve lived up until now.
It’s time to end this for good and then it’s time to make some changes because no amount of money is worth the people I love.
* * * *
“Are you nervous?” Sawyer asks, stepping up behind me as I inspect my reflection in the downstairs bathroom mirror. I twist to the side, trying to determine if there is any way to see the wire Rodriguez taped to my body before he left the clubhouse an hour ago. I sigh and turn around to face him as I lean back against the sink. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“Sawyer,” I whisper, gripping his upper arms as I close my eyes. Last night, after I had calmed down from my call with Gavin and in between rounds of earth shattering sex, Sawyer tried every way he could to convince me not to do this and as much as I love his protectiveness, there is no way in hell I am backing out now. Each time I think about my dad dying over his money or almost losing Sawyer over some damn money, I get so mad I see red. But it doesn’t matter how much I remind him that his life is in just as much danger as mine because his only concern is me.
I can’t keep going like this.
We can’t keep going like this.
Sighing, he holds his hand up. “Okay. I’m done.”
“Thank you.” I push up on my toes and press a kiss to his lips. He hums in approval as he wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me off the floor briefly before setting me back down. I smile as I pull back and look up at him. “I have an important question for you.”
“What?”
“Can you see the wire under my shirt?”
He glances down and shakes his head. “No. Maybe you should open it up a little bit more and I’ll check if I can see it, then.”
“And why would I do that?” I ask with a laugh. He grins.
“Because you love me.”
I shake my head as I playfully narrow my eyes at him. “Maybe later.”
“You ready to do this?” he asks, holding his hand out to me and I nod as I take it and grab the strap of the duffle bag full of money. His fingers intertwine with mine and I take a deep breath, feeling peace flow through me. It’s crazy to think about just how much has happened since I met Sawyer down in Miami and if you had asked me five years ago, I would have told you there’s no way you could fall in love with someone so quickly and so completely but I was wrong. A part of me feels like my mom is hanging out in heaven, watching over me and laughing as she sent Sawyer in my direction because she always believed in love at first sight. I smile as we walk out into the bar. It’s nice to think that she’s been with me this whole time, though.
“Jules!” The voice pierces through my thoughts and my eyes snap open. Blaze, Storm, and Kodiak are fanned out in front of us, their postures rigid and guns aimed at Gavin as he stands just inside the door of the clubhouse with a gun pointed at me. I suck in a breath and Sawyer’s hand tightens.
“Gavin… what are you doing here? We were supposed to meet downtown.”
He nods. “Yeah, that was the plan until your new little boy toy called me and told me to come here.”
“What?” I turn to Sawyer but he refuses to meet my gaze and I rip my hand free. He reaches behind me and I’m just about to jerk away from him when I feel him flip the mic on. He planned all of this? Was everyone else in on it? When Rodriguez left earlier, I assumed he was going to scope out the place we planned to meet but maybe he didn’t. Maybe he never left at all. I glance up at Sawyer and he nods, almost like he can read my thoughts. Sucking in a breath, I turn back to Gavin and hold up the bag of money Rodriguez supplied us with. It seemed a little ridiculous to accept money from the cops when I had plenty of my own to use but he assured me this was the better way to do it since the bills were marked and all the money would go into evidence while Gavin was tried.
I toss the bag past the guys and narrow my eyes at Gavin as his gaze flicks down to it. “There you go. It’s what you always wanted.”
His face crumples as he takes a step forward.
“Not another step,” Storm snaps and Gavin freezes.
“I want you, Jules. I love you.”
Sawyer shakes his head. “Bastard.”
“It’s okay, baby,” I whisper, laying my hand on his arm. I’m more than capable of handling this asshole.
“How about you just take your money and flee like the cockroach that you are, Gavin? You never cared about me because if you had, you never would have been able to kill my father and make two other attempts on my life.”
He sighs, the s
tress of this situation starting to show on his face. “This thing is more complicated than you can imagine.”
“I don’t care. Take your money and leave.”
“Juliette, please,” he pleads as he inches forward and Kodiak takes a step forward, his face etched with intensity and his gun leveled at Gavin’s head.
“You heard the lady. Get your goddamn money and get out of our clubhouse,” Blaze orders and defeat flashes across his face as he nods and creeps forward to scoop the bag off of the floor. As soon as his hand is on the bag, the door bursts open and police flood into the room with guns drawn. Gavin’s pistol clatters to the floor and he throws his hands over his head as the guys tuck their weapons back into their holsters.
Rodriguez steps forward and begins reading Gavin his rights as he puts him in handcuffs and Gavin’s eyes sweep over the room, frantic, until they land on me.
“Juliette! Wait!”
Rodriguez passes him off to another officer as Gavin struggles against his hold.
“Please! She needs to know everything!” He whips around and manages to break free of the officer’s grasp, running straight for me. Sawyer steps in front of me but before Gavin reaches us, Blaze’s arm goes out, clotheslining him. He falls back with a thud and two officers appear at his side, ripping him off the floor.
“Juliette!” he calls, his voice weaker this time. “I need to tell you about everything! I need to explain.”
“Get him the fuck out of here!” Rodriguez bellows at the officers, who seem content to let Gavin stand around and run his mouth for their entertainment value. Sufficiently scolded, they nod and drag Gavin outside as he continues to scream about needing to tell me the truth.
“You okay, baby?” Sawyer asks, stepping up behind me and wrapping me up in his arms. I turn in his grasp and bury my head in his chest as I take a deep breath for what feels like the first time since I woke up in the hospital. Relief washes over me, so potent that I burst into tears.
“Oh, angel,” he breathes as he scoops me up in his arms. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me and like he can read my thoughts, he turns away from them and carries me up to his room where I completely fall apart before he puts me back together again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sawyer
My stomach flips as I drive the truck onto the property and glance over at Juliette in the passenger seat, the blindfold I made her put on as we were leaving the steakhouse still firmly in place. She looks absolutely incredible in the new red dress Mercedes stopped by the clubhouse to bring her and I can’t wait to get her back to my room and strip it off her but there are more important things to focus on right now - like the ring burning a hole in my pocket, the one Mercedes slipped to me when Juliette wasn’t looking. Apparently, it’s her dream engagement ring - one she designed and had made but never had the heart to sell because it owned such a special place in her heart. I guess I’m just lucky Gavin decided to buy her a different ring instead of proposing with this one. Or like most things when it comes to our whirlwind of a relationship, it was meant to be.
“Where are you taking me?” she asks, gazing around like she can still see as I pull the truck to a stop and she reaches up to touch the blindfold.
“You’ll find out in a second. We’re here.”
She smiles. “Can I take it off now?”
“No. I’m coming to get you. Just hold on.”
She scowls and crosses her arms over her chest, making me laugh, as I jump out and run around to her side, pulling the door open.
“Take my hands,” I instruct and she places her hands in mine. I help her slip out of the truck before guiding her around the front to the perfect spot that overlooks the lake. “Are you ready?”
“I don’t know,” she huffs, her patience wearing thin and I laugh as I untie the blindfold, letting it fall from her eyes. She blinks as the world comes into focus and gasps. The lake stretches out in front of us, framed by trees and glistening in the moonlight as millions of stars paint the sky over our heads and it’s the perfect backdrop for this night. “Oh, Sawyer. This is incredible.”
“You think so?”
She glances over her shoulder. “Yes! I could stay here for hours.”
“What about forever?”
“What?” she asks, glancing around like she’s missing something and I smile, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“The property is for sale and we’re in the market for a new place to live so I thought we could build our dream house here.”
Sucking in a breath, she nods. “With big windows that look out over the water…”
“Exactly.” One of the things I love the most about this woman is that, at her core, she is a dreamer. She doesn’t spend too much time worrying about what she should do or what is acceptable because all that matters is how it makes me feel.
“It’s perfect!” she squeals, spinning around in my arms and pulling me into a hug. I bury my face in her neck, breathing in her scent as I slowly work up the courage for the next part.
Okay, Michelson. It’s now or never.
Releasing her, I step back and reach into my pocket. “There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
I pull the ring from my pocket and drop down on one knee, my eyes locked with hers the entire time as my hands shake like crazy. Her gaze flicks to the ring and she scowls for a second before gasping as tears spring to her eyes.
“That ring…”
I smile. “Do you remember it?”
“Yes. I designed it… but…” She scrunches up her nose in confusion and I know she’s struggling to piece it all together. More memories have started coming back in the last couple of days but she is still missing huge gaps of information and the timelines don’t always make sense.
“Mercedes told me you designed it but you were never able to sell it because it was special to you and as soon as I saw it, I knew I couldn’t ask you to spend the rest of your life with me without it.”
She gasps, pressing her fingers to her lips as tears spill down her cheeks. “Oh, Sawyer.”
“Juliette Kathleen Shaw,” I start, my heart racing and my skin tingling with awareness. “I love you. In fact, I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you as soon as I saw you from across the parking lot of that diner. I love the woman you are today, so fierce, funny, kind, and generous and I love the woman you’re going to be tomorrow and the woman you’re going to be one hundred years from now and I love every variation of the woman you’re going to be all the years in between. If you never get all of your memories back, I’ll love you then and if you wake up tomorrow with those five years you’re missing, I’ll love you then, too. You are everything and you made me believe in myself and in love again with just a look. So, what do you say, angel? You want to marry me, have babies with me, and build our life together in this spot that was so clearly meant for us?”
Tears spill down her cheeks as she smiles down at me, so much love in her eyes that it smashes into me and almost knocks me over. I can see it all now. Our kids running through these fields, laughing and playing. Our home, filled with love and our future here together. My angel, Juliette, by my side through it all. She opens her mouth and I suck in a breath, so eager to hear her answer.
“Well, isn’t this touching,” someone sneers and we both turn as a woman steps out of the woods with a gun in her hand, aimed at Juliette. My stomach drops and my heart jumps into my throat as the woman advances on us, her fury aimed at the love of my life.
“Nico?” Juliette gasps and my eyes widen as I try to piece it all together. Nico? Her friend? Why the hell is her friend pointing a gun at her? “What are you doing?”
Nico scoffs. “What am I doing? I’m getting what I’m owed.”
“What you’re owed?”
My eyes never leave the gun in Nico’s hand as I stand up and tuck the ring back in my pocket. She turns to me, pointing the gun in my direction.
“Don’t you fucking move!”
I hold
my hands up, happy to have the gun off of Juliette. “Okay. I’m not moving.”
“Nico… what is it you think you’re owed?” Juliette asks and I bite back a curse as Nico turns back to her. The gun in my waistband feels even heavier as I slowly move my hand behind my back, careful not to move too quickly and alert Nico.
“The money, Juliette!” Nico screams. “Did you really think Gavin was working alone?”
Juliette’s mouth drops open. “You? But you were my friend?”
“Yeah, and let me tell you what a torturous few years that was.”
“But why?” Juliette asks.
“Jason and I were happy, you know? Before you came along anyway.”
I arch a brow. “Jason?”
“Gavin,” she growls, flicking an annoyed glance at me. “See, we’ve been working together, running cons on people just like you for years and he was mine but then the idiot has to go and fall in love with you for real. Now, all of the sudden, he can’t possibly take your money or leave you and do you know where that leaves me?”
“Screwed,” Juliette answers and Nico nods.
“And heartbroken. He was the only man I ever loved and you had to take him from me,” she hisses, taking a few steps toward Juliette. Sucking in a breath, I whip the gun out of my back before leveling it at her.
“Don’t move!”
She turns to me, her gaze flicking down to the gun in my hand before she grins. “You’re not going to shoot me.”
“Yes, I will,” I growl as I pull the lever back and blow out a breath. The sound of sirens fill the air and Nico starts backing up toward the trees as she looks wildly between Juliette and me. I glance over and notice the phone hidden behind Juliette’s back at the same time Nico does and she surges forward, the gun stretches out in front of her as she shakes with rage but I don’t give her a chance to fire, pulling the trigger.
The bullet tears through her shoulder and she screams as she collapses into the dirt, clutching the wound. Police cruisers tear into the lot but I don’t take my eyes off of Nico or the gun until two policemen rush over and order her to drop it. It falls to the dirt and Juliette releases a breath as she launches herself at me. They drag Nico up off the ground and lock her in handcuffs. Holding Juliette tight with one arm, I slip the gun back into my waistband and bury my nose in her hair.