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Jax glances at his brother. “I’ve never seen his ass so worried.”
Finn squeezes me again. He hasn’t stopped touching me since we got here, even refusing to leave the room so the hospital personnel could triage me. “I thought my heart was going to explode,” Finn says, a soft chuckle pushing past his lips. “Or rip apart.”
Jax gazes between the two of us and nods to himself. “I’ll leave you guys alone. There are a couple of our guys out in the waiting room for support. So, don’t be shocked when they release you and you see a few badasses out in the waiting room.” He focuses on me. “I’m really happy you’re okay, Leenie.”
I wiggle myself out from under Finn’s grip and hold my hands out to his brother. He and I have come so far. Like Finn said, I’ve gotten to the big guy. He hesitates for a moment, then moves forward, placing his arms gingerly around my torso. I pat his back. “Thank you for being here.”
He gives me a short squeeze. “I’m so glad Finn found someone like you.”
A huge lump forms in my throat while he strides from the room, all tatted up and surly. The only thing I can think is that we need to find him a girl.
“Told you he liked you.”
I grab Finn’s shirt and yank him toward me, meeting him with a solid kiss that just avoids clanking our teeth together. I kiss away the shittiness of the last few hours. I kiss away the fear and the guilt and everything in between.
He moans into my mouth. “You probably shouldn’t be doing that.”
“It’s my leg, not my libido.”
He smiles, breaking away from the kiss to feather his fingers over my forehead. Frowning, he picks the icepack back up and places it on the knot, leaning down to kiss me again but much softer. After a few moments, he leans back, using just enough pressure to keep the ice pack on my head without pushing too hard. “So, did your brother tell you to leave me?”
“The exact opposite actually. He may have grudgingly agreed that you’re a good guy to have around.”
His answering full smile does something to my insides. “I’ll take it.”
Leaning forward, I give him a teasing grin. “And I’ll take you.”
We kiss, sealing my words like a signed promise. Later, when I’m discharged after learning that Jaz is out of surgery and stable, we walk out to a whole emergency room filled with Finn and Jax’s fighters. I’m used to seeing all the masculinity and tattoos, but in such a small space, it’s overwhelming.
They come up to me one-by-one, each giving me a white carnation and shaking Finn’s hand. Tears threaten my eyes for only like the hundredth time today. When I have more flowers in my hand than I can count, I turn to Finn who sweeps me off my feet, lifting me into the air. “Let’s go home, beautiful.”
The automatic doors whoosh open for us, and when the sun hits my face, highlighting Finn’s strong arms around me, I know I’m exactly where I should be. With a brother who leads a gang. With friends who love me. And a guy who couldn’t be more perfect if he tried.
Epilogue
I chuckle down at my screen. Jaz keeps drawing funny shit over her scar with these tattoo pens she bought online. Today’s masterpiece is a rendition of my calf, using her puckered stomach scar to represent the similar mark on my leg. It’s complete with an arrow, helpfully labeling the drawingLeenie’s leg. Across her ribs, she’s written,Twinning!!!with about a billion exclamation points.
I show Finn, and he laughs his ass off, rubbing his hand up and down my foot. I text her back right away.I fucking love you.
Not as much as I fucking love you.
Max lifts his head, then goes back to being curled into a small ball on the couch.
The gym was on fire today. Finn and Jax started women’s self-defense classes, which really took off. The free sessions have brought them even more fighting clients as the women help spread the word to any guy they know about this awesome gym they train at. Boyfriends, brothers, fathers. The new guys aren’t all trying to be cage fighters, and that’s okay. They’ve separated classes into hobby and professional routes.
We go back to watching our movie, but then Finn pauses it. “Did that shipment come in?”
I poke him with my toe. “We don’t talk shop at home.”
He gives me that over-the-top grin I love. “Right, but nod for yes and shake your head for no.”
I smirk, not giving him anything. It’s been so hard to separate our time versus Elite Boxing time, especially when I started working there. I don’t just run the shop anymore, I run the whole back office. Memberships, billing, etc. When it became clear our clientele expanded, they needed to put every last energy they had into the classes.
Obviously, they’re both having a hard time giving up control. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Oh, I trust you,” he says, wagging his brows. He leans over, about to crawl over me. My body is so ready for it but when we hear Jax’s footsteps come up the porch, he backs away. “Later,” he promises, and I know he’ll fucking deliver. He always does.
Jax strides in, shutting our extra security door inside our new extra security house that Cole insisted on adding. The brothers’ family home now boasts a state-of-the-art alarm system. He punches in the code onto our keypad, arming it even though we’re home. The security features prevent anyone from coming in the doors and windows. Basically, it’s a huge relief to know it’s there while also hoping we never have to use it.