Page 25 of Finn

"I'm never letting you go," he murmured into my hair. "You know that, right? You're stuck with me now."

I smiled against his skin. "Promise?"

"Promise." His arms tightened around me. "Protect thine own. And you're mine to protect now. Forever."

Forever. The word should have scared me. A few weeks ago, it would have. But lying there in Finn's arms, with the moonlight spilling across his bed and the whole dangerous, beautiful world waiting outside his door, forever sounded like exactly what I wanted.

I tilted my head up and kissed him softly. "Forever," I agreed.

And I meant it with every cell in my body.

12

FINN

We lay tangled together in my bed, the sheets twisted around us, our breathing finally slowing back to normal. Chloe's head rested on my chest, her fingers tracing lazy patterns through the hair there. The window was cracked open, letting in the cool desert night and the distant sound of coyotes calling to each other across the mesa.

"So what happens now?" she asked softly.

I ran my hand down her back, feeling the warmth of her skin, the steadiness of her heartbeat against my ribs.

"Now we live," I said. "We ride. We protect what's ours."

"That simple?"

"Nothing about this is simple." I kissed the top of her head. "The task force will circle back eventually. There's always another threat, another enemy, another problem to solve. That's the life."

She propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at me with those emerald eyes that had haunted me since the first time I saw them.

"You trying to scare me off?"

"Just being honest." I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You signed up for a lot tonight. I want you to know what you're getting into."

"I know exactly what I'm getting into." She leaned down and kissed me, soft and sweet. "I'm getting into you, Finn. The good, the bad, and the extremely illegal. And I'm not going anywhere."

I pulled her down against me, feeling her laugh vibrate through my chest.

"The Guardians have an angel in the Edgewood PD," I murmured against her hair.

"Damn right they do."

"And she's all mine."

She tilted her head up to look at me, her smile soft in the moonlight streaming through the window.

"All yours," she agreed. "Now shut up and let me sleep. Some of us have to go obstruct justice in the morning."

I laughed, and she laughed, and we fell asleep wrapped around each other like we'd been doing it for years.

Tomorrow, I'd take her to visit Jessica at the hospital. Introduce them properly—my cousin, my old lady, the two most important women in my life finally meeting under better circumstances.

Next week, I'd bring her to Pops' place for Sunday dinner, let the crew see that their sergeant at arms had found something worth fighting for beyond the club.

And somewhere down the line, when the dust settled and the heat died down, I'd take her on a real ride—not running from anything, not chasing anyone, just the two of us and the open road stretching out toward the horizon.

But that was tomorrow. That was next week. That was someday.

Tonight, I had everything I needed right here in my arms.

Outside, the New Mexico night stretched on—vast and wild and full of possibility. The Guardians were safe. The club was solid. Jessica was healing. And I had a woman who'd chosen me, all of me, the darkness and the danger and the love I hadn't known I was capable of giving.

My father used to say that the Guardians were forged in fire. That every challenge made us stronger. That protecting your own was the only thing that mattered in the end.

He was right.

And now, finally, I understood what he meant.

THE END