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His lips curve into a smile against my skin. “I can wait. I have you in my arms, content and satisfied. That’s the most important thing in the world to me now.”

EPILOGUE 2

Zoey

Afew days later, I find Damon sitting outside alone, watching the glowing embers of the dying fire. It’s a chilly evening, so I find myself sitting beside him and leaning into his warmth.

He’s tapping his metal ring against the edge of a rusted barrel he was using as a small table. The soft, rhythmic sound fills the quiet space between us. I tilt my head to watch. “Why do you always do that?”

He pauses, then turns his hand over and looks at the simple metal band on his forefinger. “It’s a habit.”

“From when you were locked up?”

His lips twitch and his breath fans out over the top of my head. “Yeah. Kept me sane, in a way. Something about the sound. It also drew in the rotters outside and they would scratch against the outer walls at night. Drove Benji crazy, after first, since I did it every night.”

“I don’t remember you doing that at night.”

He readjusts himself so my head is resting against his shoulder. “I stopped doing it when they brought you in.”

“Why?”

He pauses for a moment, then says, “I found something else to focus on instead.”

My chest tightens. His words warm me more than the blanket I have draped over my legs.

He hesitates, then slips the ring from his finger. “Here.”

I blink at it. “What?”

He grabs my hand with a warm touch and slides the ring onto my thumb. “Don’t worry, blondie. I’m not proposing,” he says with a soft chuckle. His thumb lingers on my palm, tracing a gentle circle along my skin. “It’s a promise, though. That we’re all going to be together. For a really, really long time.”

I stare up at him, into his beautiful brown eyes that barely show in the dying firelight. Then I smile. “A promise, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Benji walks up with a low whistle. “Damn. Guess I gotta find my own way to claim you, huh? You in, Cole? Where’s Avery?”

Cole shakes his head, but I see a faint smile. “Please don’t.”

I laugh and give him a playful shove. “If you want Damon to give you jewelry, too, you’re going to need to treat him a little nicer.”

Damon groans, but Benji smiles. “I can woo him too.”

“Please don’t,” Damon groans, then wraps his arms around me.

Benji leans down and kisses me. I sigh against his mouth. “This is enough. You know that, right?”

He smirks. “Absolutely. Now excuse me while I go change into sweatpants.”

Avery brings out several bottles of water and passes them around before taking a seat next to Cole and starting a conversation.

I stare at the ring in the firelight, and it’s not long before I’m drifting off to sleep surrounded by my men in the dark again.

Only this time, there are no bars, no panic, no doom. Only the family we fought tooth and nail for.

The End

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