Page 36

Charlee

Two shots ring out.

One.

Two.

The backup lights come on, and all I see is blood. Blood everywhere. The bald guy who was holding Kelsey is slumped over the table bleeding out, but Kelsey is missing. Marco’s lifeless body is lying on the floor near my feet with a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead and lifeless eyes staring off into nothing, and Lola’s dead body is sprawled out on the stage.

I open my mouth to scream, but there’s no time for me to react or even make a run for it. A pair of rough hands grab me by the throat, and I’m shoved back against a rock hard chest.

“Don’t fucking move, Charlee,”

Eddie grunts in my ear as he uses me as a human shield. He holds his gun out in front of him with his other hand and whips his gaze back and forth, scanning the room for any sign of Asher, keeping me right in front of him, but comes up empty. The spotlight is shining in our faces and making it hard to see much of anything.

“Let her go.”

My heart pounds against my chest at the sound of Asher’s voice. He’s really here.

“Make me.”

Eddie’s laughter vibrates against the middle of my back.

“Six years, Eddie. Six years of swallowing the bullshit only to find out that you’re the one who took it all away from me.”

“You were getting too close, Amigo. I already killed my last partner when he realized Benny was really working for me. Another one would raise suspicion. It was much cleaner this way.”

Eddie shrugs like he didn’t destroy Asher’s life.

“Why, Ed? Tell me why you did it? You had dinner at my fucking house for Christ’s sakes.”

“Money. What else? It’s the root of all evil.”

Eddie’s fingers dig deeper into my shoulder the longer he searches Asher out. A noise sounds off to our right and he fires off a shot into the dark.

“You missed, partner.”

Asher’s voice sounds much closer this time. He’s taunting Eddie, toying with him like a predator does with its prey right before it attacks.

“No more games. Come out right now, or I’ll put a bullet in her fucking head.”

He sniffs my hair and groans. “And it’d be a fucking shame for history to repeat itself because she’s a hot piece. Don’t you think?”

Asher charges from the darkened corner of the room, knocking us to the ground. “You took everything from me, Eddie. And now I’m going to take from you.”

I manage to roll away from them as they start wrestling around on the floor. My eyes scan around the darkened room for a way to escape, but I’m wedged into a tight corner between the stage and the bar with nowhere to go. I’m stuck like a sitting duck and forced to watch them fight it out. I’ve never felt so helpless.

Eddie attempts to bring the gun up to Asher’s face, but Asher slams his hand down against the floor repeatedly until it falls from his grasp. Eddie grunts, but manages to slug Asher in the side of the head. Asher falls back, losing his balance, and Eddie takes advantage. He jumps to his feet and dives for his gun, but Asher’s just as quick and kicks the gun a few feet in front of them.

Both of them end up face to face with their fists raised in a boxing stance. Asher’s blue eyes are sizing him up and waiting him out.

“Let’s see if you’re still as tough as you were, old man.”

Eddie lets out a hollow laugh as they bob and weave. “Cyrus should have killed you the first time I told him to, but the dumb fuck wanted to play with his food first and he ended up screwing me.”

His right hook manages to nail Asher across the cheek.

“I’m going to kill you.”

He gets a few more hits in before Eddie manages to gain the upper hand and knocks Asher upside the head with the butt of the gun.

I pry myself up off the floor and creep backward in search of an exit, but don’t make it very far.

“You’re not going anywhere, Charlee.”

Eddie has his weapon aimed in my direction. All of the commotion fades into a shroud of silence as I stare down the barrel of his gun. My body freezes in place and my feet refuse to budge. I lift my hands in surrender, doing my best to slow my racing pulse.

“Leave her out of this.”

A muscle jumps in his cheek, but that’s the only hint of emotion on his face. “This is between you and me.”

“You never could resist being the hero, could you? And that’s your biggest weakness.”

Eddie cocks his gun back and tilts his head. “I’m sorry about this. I really am, but I’ve come too far to have it all turn to shit.”

His finger pulls back on the trigger and my heart stops. This is it. This is how I die.

The ear piercing sound is nothing compared to the pain that explodes inside me the moment the bullet tears through my stomach. Blood fills my vision. Like a kaleidoscope of color, it seeps into the material of my shirt. My legs give out from under me as I fall to the ground.

“No!”

Asher aims his gun at Eddie and empties the chamber into him as I hear Kelsey scream my name.

Footsteps thump against the ground, stopping near my head as I stare up at the black ceiling. Kelsey drops to her knees next to me, her face a pale and bruised mess. She blurs in and out of focus as the burning of my insides overtakes me. “Charlee, no!”

Tears spill down Kelsey’s cheeks as her body lies against mine and trembles.

I attempt to lift my hand to comfort her, but it doesn’t move. It’s like I’m having an out of body experience and watching what’s happening to me with no sense of control.

“She’s dying! You have to help her, please.”

Her head lifts as she pleads with Asher, who’s kneeling on the other side of me with his hands in my wound to stop the bleeding.

Axel kneels behind her and peels her off me. “It’ll be okay, Wildcat.”

“No!”

Her red hair is plastered to the side of her face as she jerks out of his grip, up to her feet, and shoves a finger in his face. “You stay the hell away from me. This shit is all y’all’s fault. She’d be fine if it weren’t for you. Any of you! I hate you. You hear me? I hate all of you.”

She breaks down into hysterics as she watches Asher struggle to save me.

Axel clenches his jaw as his blue eyes harden at her words, but he never takes his eyes off her.

“Kels—”

I want to assure her I’ll be okay, but my tongue struggles to move. It’s becoming weightless and sticking to my mouth.

“Don’t try to speak, Charlee. Let’s focus on you.”

Zane’s blue eyes meet mine as he kneels on my other side and helps Asher apply pressure to my stomach. I’m not sure where he came from, but I’m grateful he’s here, nonetheless.

Numbness begins to fill my limbs as my muscles struggle to function. Things fade in and out of focus the heavier my eyes grow.

“No. Stay with me, Princess.”

Asher squeezes my hand, bringing me back to the present. Seeing him like this is breaking my heart. Despite what’s happened, he’s a good man, and I don’t know when it happened, but my feelings for him have changed—morphed from hate and anger into something much more. Love.

“I love you.”

The words come out on a soft wheeze as I struggle to breathe, but I need to get them out because they very well could be my last.

“I love you too, Princess.”

He bends down and places a soft kiss on my lips. A tear slides down my cheek at hearing those words. He’s been my enemy, my nightmare, and now my salvation. I stare into his blue eyes until everything fades into an ocean of nothingness. It swallows me up and carries me away like an undertow, out to a sea of the unknown, and I simply float along in peace.

Epilogue

Asher

Two years later…

Weeds cover the marble square. They’re overgrown and cover part of her name, but somehow I’m still able to find it. Rain beats down against my back, as I kneel down and pull them out with my free hand, while I tighten my grip on the flowers and teddy bear with the other. Clumps of mud drop over the top of it as I do. I brush them away and stare down at the letters that have haunted me for so long—her name. The tip of my finger traces over the cold wet stone in slow circles.

“You deserved better. So much better than—”

I swallow the lump in my throat and suck in a deep breath before continuing. “I just want you to know that I’m sorry. I am so fucking sorry.”

Tears brim up in my eyes, but I shove them back as my throat burns from the pain. It feels like I’m talking through shards of glass, but with each forced word, it gets easier to speak. Easier to grieve. “The scars are mine to bear and I won’t ever forget you—either one of you.”

I pull out the Saint Christopher medallion from my back pocket and set it on top of the black marble. It still has bits of Luis’ dried blood on it, but that’s poetic justice to me. My head hangs, as images of our time together fill my head. Every moment I had with her was one I’ll never forget, right up until the night I lost her.

A baby cries, bringing me back to the present, and my heart soars at the sound. I set the bouquet of lilies and the blue teddy bear down on the headstone before getting to my feet.

“I’ll take her.”

My hands cradle her tiny body against my chest, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. The familiar scent of her lavender shampoo gives me some comfort. She has my brown hair and her mother’s green eyes. “It’s all right. I’ve got you, Lily pad.”

I could hold her all day. She’s the brightness in the dark that’s healing the cracks inside of me.

Like the clouds can read my thoughts, the rain stops, letting the sun shine through. I glance up and let the warmth flood my body. It’s almost like she’s here with me, encouraging me to be happy.

“What about Mommy?”

Charlee smiles up at me as she puts her arms around my waist. We were lucky that night at Viper’s Den. The gunshot missed all of her major organs and her recovery was quick. Thank fuck, because we conceived Lily about a year after that.

It’s been a couple of months since she gave birth to our daughter and she looks as gorgeous as the first day I saw her.

The weight she gained isn’t completely gone, but I’m enjoying this curvier side. There’s more to grab onto and her ass fits my hands perfectly. I can’t wait to knock her up again, but I should probably ask her to marry me first.

“I’ve always got you, Princess.”

My free hand wraps around Charlee’s neck, pulling her in deeper against my side.

I press my lips down on hers and absorb all of the calm she brings me.

She smells like rain and home, a scent I will spend the rest of my life craving.

A scent that fills the blackened cracks of my soul with light.

“She may want you now, but I’m her favorite uncle,”

Axel interrupts like the cockblocker he is.

“What? No way.”

Zane’s head whips around. “I’m her favorite. I read to her.”

Axel grins and slugs him in the shoulder. “Yeah, but I’ll teach her how to shoot.”

Lily isn’t even one yet and she has us all wrapped around her tiny finger.

Charlee places a hand on my chest and watches them, wearing a devilish grin. “Wait until she starts dating.”

Both of my brothers pale and their blue eyes grow wide as they share a look. “That’s never happening,”

they say in unison. And I agree. It’s not. No fucking way. No one is good enough for my little treasure.

Charlee laughs and wiggles out of my arms. She steps up to my brothers and playfully taps their cheeks. “I can’t wait to watch you tell her that.”

She heads off in the direction of the truck with Zane in tow. Ever since that night at the club, my brothers have been more protective of our girls and it’s something that helps me sleep much easier at night.

Axel hangs back next to me, his gaze fixed on Lily. I know what he wants even before he asks. “Did you find her?”

“Here.”

I pull the paper out of my back pocket and hand it to him. “She’s living in California under a new name. You sure about this, Ax?”

His blue eyes glare at me. “What would you do if it were Hellcat?”

I nod, knowing damn well what I’d do if it were Princess. “Then bring her home. Charlee misses her, too.”

“No other option.”

He shoves the paper in his pocket and strolls toward Charlee and Zane, but I stop him.

“And, Ax. Do it quietly.”

He eyes me for a few seconds, understanding dawning on him. We have a new career path now, one that was carved out of necessity and has become our own version of justice for those less fortunate.

His face lights up in a smile that means my words don’t mean shit. “We’re Savages, brother. We go in, fuck shit up, and save the day for those who can’t. It’s what we do now.”

He winks and continues walking to the truck.

I stand back with my daughter, now sleeping in my arms, enjoying the view.

My world is set right.

Everything I ever needed is standing right in front of me.

With a smile, I turn and walk away, closing the door on my past. I won’t ever forget Lauren or our son, but what happened that night doesn’t define who I am anymore. The pain is gone.

Replaced with something better.

Something much sweeter.

Peace.