Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
“Is he going to kill him?” I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know the answer.
“Be careful what questions you ask, honey,” Gideon said softly. “I’ll never lie to you, but you need to be sure you can handle the truth.”
I thought about it a moment, really taking my time to consider his words. Could I handle it if they’d ordered a man I’d known all my life to be executed? “If he dies, then you guys know beyond a doubt he’s guilty. Right?”
“That’s right.” Thorn took a step close to me. “We don’t harm innocents. And we don’t kill for minor infractions.”
I squared my shoulders. “If you get justice for me and my father, the least I can do is be brave enough to hear about it.”
Was it my imagination or did Gideon’s shoulders go back and his head go up? In pride? “That’s my woman.” He raised his voice so there was no mistaking he was claiming me.
Several men chuckled. Others slapped Gideon’s back in congratulations. Thorn just rolled his eyes. “Now that that’s settled. Yes, Emmanuell. If Wrath’s determined he’s guilty of killing your father, or trying to kill you, Goldstein won’t live to see the morning.”
“What about Devan?” I asked softly. “And no, I don’t care for him, and I don’t much care what happens to him. But I want to know.”
Thorn nodded but took his time before speaking. Like he was choosing his words carefully. “Beaner’s crimes are complicated. It wasn’t just his actions against you, leaving you when he knew you were pregnant with no way to provide for yourself in any real meaningful sense. It was his betrayal of the club that sealed his fate. He threw our name around, lured you away from your family, helped everyone think you’d either run off or died, and took an offer to kill you. He just chickened out at the last minute. All of that came back to the club. You turned up on our doorstep. Everyone in the county had been looking for you for months. Just you being here, an heiress to a fortune who’d gone missing, would look bad on us. It could have brought scrutiny we didn’t want. It turned out for the best for everyone concerned, but what Beaner did was unforgivable. His punishment is more about his betrayal of the club than anything he did to you. Though, he suffered for that too.”
“Suffered. Is he dead, then?”
Thorn nodded his head. “Once we had his complete confession and he did his part to get Goldstein out here, we ended him.”
I nodded several times. “I should probably feel remorse or something. But I don’t. I never wanted him to have a claim on my girls. Maybe it makes me a bad person, but if he’s dead, he can’t try to take them away from me.”
“As if I’d ever let that happen,” Gideon growled. “We done, Thorn?”
“Yeah, Ripper. We’re done. Go comfort your woman.” He grinned. “Kiss those girls for me.” That got good-natured laughter all around.
“Will do, prez.”
Then Gideon -- Ripper -- put his arm around my shoulder and escorted me back to our room. After everything that had just happened, the last thing I wanted to do was leave our daughters, but Gideon coaxed me into packing a bag.
“Maybe we’ll just take a small road trip this time,” he murmured next to my ear. “I’ve got us a room booked near Miami. Private little place where you can make all the noise you want when I fuck you.”
“You sure it’s a good idea to leave the girls?”
“Honey, you’re a fantastic mom. These babies will absolutely know how much they’re loved by both their mother and their daddy. But I want you to know how much I love you, too. You need some rest and some time alone with your man. The ol’ ladies got your back. Their men have their backs. Our girls got all of us protectin’ and lovin’ ’em. Let me give you one night where you don’t have to worry. Can you do that? For me?”
The man knew how to get around all my defenses. I absolutely knew our girls would be safe while we were gone. The club would have it no other way.
“Well, when you put it that way,” I grumbled even as I smiled and stepped into his arms. He hugged me close, kissing the top of my head.
“Come on, baby. We’ll take the bike. You up for that?”
I grinned. “Absolutely.”
Epilogue
The ride to South Beach took about an hour and a half, all of which was spent riding behind Gideon with the sea air blowing in my face as we sped down the interstate. The ride alone was enough to relax me more than I’d been in a very long time. I’d had a wonderful few months at Salvation’s Bane with Gideon and the rest of the club. But this was the first time I felt like my life was finally settling down. I thought it would bother me more to leave my babies, that I’d worry over them so much I couldn’t enjoy myself. While I already missed them terribly, I didn’t worry overmuch. They were with a fiercely protective family. God help the little boys of the neighborhood when those girls started to grow up.