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“And as for yourfriendswho thought it was a good idea to help you,” Mace begins, squatting down in front of her. “One had a heart attack, and the other got into an accident.” He shakes his head. “Your buddy was drunk. Luckily, no one else was hurt.”
Dare nudges the captain with his foot, but the guy doesn’t move. “I think I killed your boyfriend,” he says, voice devoid of remorse. Dare doesn’t let many people into his circle, and he had been friends with the captain for years. Above everything else, Dare will do anything to keep his family safe. Mace and I are lucky enough to be part of it.
Paige’s eyes widen and she rolls over, seeing her lover for the first time. Her scream is muffled by the gag, and as wounded as it is, I can’t find an ounce of sympathy.If she was desperate enough to try to blackmail me, who’s to say she won’t try again? She’s killed innocent people. Ian had his flaws, sure, but he didn’t deserve to die. All of these things are her fault. Paige is not a good person.
I don’t have any grand speech for her, only a burning desire to watch her sink into the ocean. Maybe she’ll find a place next to Rayce and Ryker. The three of them can burn in hell together.
“Goodbye, Paige.”
As my words draw her attention, she starts to plead for her life once more. I shake my head, stand, and nod at Dare. Remy and Frank appear, and together, the three of them toss Paige and the captain overboard.
Rose drops her arm around my shoulder. “All this death is making me famished.”
I side-eye her. “We just killed two people and you’re hungry?”
She tips her head. “You’re not?”
Sighing, I wrap my arm around her. “You know me well.”
Mace appears in front of us. “Not better than me, I hope.” His rich voice strokes down my spine, and I step out of Rose’s hold and into his.
“I love you,” I tell him.
“For the record, I called it,” Rose says. “Didn’t I call it? I said,give it a try, Cassia.You might like hate sex. You might like fucking the man you hate. You might?—”
Mace looks at her. “We get it.”
“What’d you say about falling in love with me?” Dare grabs her and draws her in for a dramatic, Hollywood-style kiss. Their PDA used to make me a little sick to the stomach and a lot jealous, but Mace’s arms tighten around me, and Iget it. When you find the love of your life, it’s hard to care about what anyone else thinks.
“Hey, baby?”
I look at my husband, a grin tugging at my lips. “Yeah?”
“I love you too.” His lips capture mine, stealing my breath, tugging on my heartstrings, and filling my body with warmth from head to toe.
I’ve lost track of the pieces in our game of chess, but if this is checkmate, I’ll happily lose as long as it means I get to keep him and this happiness we’ve found.
epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
MACE
God, she’s beautiful. That smile, fuck. She’s everything, and as she sits beside Rose on the beach while Dare and I lounge at the private bar, I contemplate how pissed she’d be if I carried her into the beach house and fucked her senseless.
“You get yours and I’ll get mine,” Dare says, his mind on the same track.
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. “Deal. See you at dinner.”
I set my tumbler on the bar and make a beeline for her, smirking at Rose when she looks back and sees us approaching. Her eyes shoot to Dare, and a flush crawls up her neck. My wife notices the change in her friend and glances over her shoulder, gaze colliding with mine.
I remember every vile thing she ever said to me, not because I want to hold it against her, but because that soul-deep hatred is nowhere to be found. All I see now is desire, affection, love. And it’s all fucking mine.
Cassia bats her eyelashes at me when I stop in front of her. “Hey.”
Scooping her up, I cradle her against my chest, despite her screeching my name. “I need you.” Not want. Not desire. A visceral, full-body need.
“We had sex this morning,” she says with a giggle, biting her lip and sliding her fingers into my hair. Her lips tip into a wicked smile as she tugs on my strands. My balls tighten, and electricity dances down my spine.