Page 32 of Striker's Foul
“She was your wife.” I can’t stop the tears from falling. Stupid hormones.
“Yeah, well, she caught on that I was cheating and was going to leave me. Before that, she learned how I got rid of that stupid Branch kid. She discovered I slept with his mom once or twice and even questioned if I was his father. But I knew who his father was. I paid off some guys to shank him in prison before hecould tell anyone I was one of his wife’s Johns. Now get up here, or I kill her.”
I hear a whimper and peek around the edge. He has Leticia by the hair and the gun pressed under her chin.
“Don’t hurt her.” I stand up, keeping my other hand low so he can’t see the gun. “Let her go.”
He pushes Leticia aside. I raise my gun and fire as he does the same, and then a third gunshot rings out. Mine hits its mark, dead center in his chest. His goes wide, striking the bottles above my head. Glass and liquor cascade down around me. The third bullet rips through his head, spraying Leticia with blood and brain matter.
Leticia and I both scream as I hear Luke holler my name.
“Luke,” I yell.
“Stay right there, angel. There’s glass everywhere,” Luke orders me, and I stop in my tracks and wait for him.
He wraps me in his arms as the front doors burst open and police and more rush inside.
EPILOGUE
AMELIA
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
“Congratulations,” everyone yells, and I can’t stop the tears or hold back the flood of emotions rushing through my system.
My family—Jude, Julian, Les, Leticia, Ridley, Leif, and everyone from the club—is here as Luke and I step through the clubhouse door.
“Who’s manning the roadhouse?” I ask my trusted workers.
Leticia isn’t just my manager; she’s my right hand. Les is making a name for herself. Blythe has written a couple of articles about the Southern-trained chef who can compete with the men in the pit.
“Don’t worry about it. I have it taken care of.” Leticia chuckles as she hands me a gift. “You need to focus on you and those babies.”
I rub my hand over my belly. I’d wanted a girl, but Luke says he needs more than Jude’s help with a daughter. So the twins are coming first. The crazy man thinks I’m going to get pregnant again after this. Little does he know, I’d have as many babies as he’ll give me.
After all the evidence against Harold came to light, his mistress was found guilty of murder for her role in my mother’s death. She also had several other charges against her. Luke was shocked to learn that Harold was behind his father’s death, and the guys discovered his mother had been murdered by a man Harold paid off.
Luke and I both got some counseling, which helped me heal from everything I went through after shooting Harold and the explosion. The attacks against us stopped, and the man who planted the explosives in my car was identified and arrested.
Sheriff Evander says he plans to spend his career cleaning up the mess his corrupt father left behind.
I don’t regret coming back to Eastport. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have found Luke again.
Julian and I are getting along better. I’m pretty sure he’s found his special someone but just hasn’t brought her around yet. Then there’s my cousin, Andrea. She showed up two days ago, and Cowboy punches any man who looks at her.
I sit down in the chair and suddenly feel a gush. I look down, then up at Luke.
“My water just broke.”
“It’s too soon,” he says, panic rising in his voice.
We’d been warned that because the boys are so big, they might come early. Now it looks like they’re arriving two weeks ahead of schedule.
I wouldn’t change a thing. Every foul, every penalty we paid was worth it for the life we have now. We proved the boy from the wrong side of the tracks and the girl with the silver spoon could have their happily ever after.