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“I can’t see why you’d want to get out of this life, Austin. I’ve rather enjoyed myself.” He smirks.

I lean against the corrugated metal, wiping the dirt off my pants despite my ass sitting directly in a puddle.

“Are you really out?” Augustus asks.

I hear a few shouts overhead, and Callum gets to his feet. The voice is one of ours, and he goes to investigate.

“Yeah, I’m really out. I told you, I have my own thinggoing on.”

I look around. The dock is usually bustling with workers. The daytime, filled with container ships, no doubt some illegal goods, I’m not completely naive. But at night, it’s like the truth comes out. The harsh flood lights shine a light on the grime and dirt, the seediness of it all. The smell of copper permeates the air, and I’m starkly reminded of how much I hate this life.

Even before Olivia abducted me, I had days and days of no violence. Not a single thought that would make me think of murder, or blood, or guns. I was just living this normal life, content with monotony. Then Olivia happened, and despite our unconventional start, it wasn’t violent, except for the chloroform and the taser. But that was just foreplay.

I've been hollow for so long. A shell of a man trying to work out how to be human. She fills me up with love and soft kisses, longing and simple desires like coming home to the smell of home cooking. I learned how to cook, learned how to listen. Fuck, I’m so fucking fit right now, it’s unreal. She’s built my body into a protective force to be reckoned with, not a tool for violence. She’s made me into the man I never imagined was possible.

He nods and holds out his hand. I slap mine into it, giving him a shake. Might as well lean into it.

I pull him into a hug, slapping his back, because, of course,men.

“I’ll help you,” he says.

“You will?”

“Yeah, the business is mine. Everything else, the house, the cars, I don’t give a shit. But I want the business.”

“It’s not mine to give, but you’ll get no opposition from me. I want my new life back,” I say, and I mean it. I’ve been very upfront about that.

“Fucking hell, Austin. What are you waiting for? Just go get her.”

I grin, knowing that’s exactly what I plan to do. Dannywill tell me where she is. I’ll go to her tonight, beg her for forgiveness, tell her I’m hers to do whatever she wants with. I’ll love her forever and leave this whole life behind me if that’s what she wants.

Callum rounds the corner. His face contorted into a harsh grimace. The gun in his hand is held loosely by his thigh; the fight is over, that’s for sure. As I ready myself to stand, to leave and get my girl, he lifts his head and looks me in the eye.

“Your father was shot . . . he’s dead.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Olivia

“My god, it’s actually a bit annoying how good you look in tassels,” Nicole says, snapping a few photos.

I laugh, giving her a dip of the cowboy hat she’s got me dressed up in.

We’re working on a shoot for her upcoming collection. The bright lights are making my eyes burn. And that’s not even commenting on the fact that it’s so damn hot in here; the thick makeup I’m wearing is practically melting off my face. The lashes are long enough to act as a fan for Nicole, so at least she’s keeping cool.

“A few more. Won’t be long, then drinks are on me.”

“A lot of drinks, please.” I jut out my hip and give her a wink. I spot Josh lingering in the background, watching Nicole intently. His ears prick up at the mention of drinks, and I’m sure his hand is still sore from punching out that guy at the bar in L.A..

My heart squeezes at the thought. It was such a perfect day. Austin had been so unexpectedly calm and in control. I was really starting to see a side to him I hadn’t realized he has.

Danny is calling me every day, checking in. It’s only work-related stuff I can discuss, and there is a lot. I’ve spent the week devising a new plan for the year: content to create, scheduling follow-up meetings with my contacts from the fitness expo. Which has led me to catch up with Nicole nowthat I’m in Texas.

We’ve hung out a few times and gone through some ideas together on where to take our companies. It is actually so helpful to have a friend who also has their own business. We commiserate on bad ideas we’ve had in the past and the difficulties of owning a small business, especially where customers could be as fickle as social media trends.

I didn’t realize how much I missed female company until we started hanging out. And Nicole is one of those people who genuinely feels that happiness shared, is happiness doubled. She’s introduced me to her girlfriends and that’s where we are heading after we finish up with our promo shoot.

“Okay, perfect. We’re all done. I’ll edit these tomorrow, and we can go through them together once I’ve tidied it all up,” she says, flicking through the images quickly on her camera. Josh comes up behind her, his eyes flitting across the screen, and gives a grunt of approval. She rolls her eyes at me before letting out a small sigh.