Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Any of my men alive?” I ask as the two help me limp out of the bedroom.
“Quite a few,” Santino tells me. “I think the Butcher had big plans to sell them off.”
“Idiot.” Those men would come back and kill him in his sleep.
“He isn’t—wasn’t”—Santino corrects himself—“known for his brightness. Just his savagery. What will you do with all this?” He motions to the charred walls and the bodies on the floor.
“Clean up.”
“And the Church?”
The High Power will have to be dealt with. “I’ll deal with it.”
“If you need help with the Bishop, let me know,” Santino offers.
“I can manage that by myself.”
“Not until you heal up,” Angel declares. “And if I have to tie you to the bed, I will.”
“I don’t see how that’s a punishment.” I grin.
“You will when you get nothing from me but chicken soup and bandages.” She sticks her nose in the air.
“Not even a sponge bath? You’re too cruel.”
“On that note, I’m off. You two lovebirds stay safe. I’ve posted some guards. Try to make sure they return to me unharmed.” Santino gives us a wave and trots down the stone stairs.
“Where to?” Angel asks, looking around in dismay.
“There’s a small house behind the fountains. We’ll go there. You can order me around while I heal.”
“You’re not getting any,” she warns.
“We’ll see about that.”
EPILOGUE
ANGEL
“How did we get here?” I glance over to Laurel at her question. She’s smiling as the sun shines down on us. We’re sitting out of the balcony. This is as much outside as we can get.
“Do you mean locked up in a castle like a queen or being in the middle of a war?” I snort a laugh because it’s crazy, but it’s our reality.
I went from living in a chapel to being locked away inside of a castle. I don’t even know where the hell we are. When you look out any of the windows, all you see are rolling hills and a giant pond. I know one thing for sure: We’re not in the States. Our men insisted that it was better we didn’t know our location. I’m guessing it has something to do with our safety.
Laurel only shrugged when they told us that. She didn’t mind. I thought we should know, but Bjornsson gave me a look that told me he wasn’t budging on it. I let it go because I’m pretty sure I’m a part of why the chapel is in partial ruins. I know it sounds a bit crazy, but I miss it. It was beautiful there. But more than anything, I miss Bjornsson.
We’d come here for Bjornsson to heal, but the second he was better, I knew he would have to leave. That there were other matters that he’d need to take care of before we could rest easy. When Santino showed up here with Laurel, I knew it was time for those things to be dealt with.
One good thing that did happen was Bishop had been killed before they both even took off. Not only that, his body was tossed right in front of the chapel. Bjornsson told me it was likely an offering of some kind of peace from the Church as he always called it. The higher-ups needed to be dealt with, and they knew he’d be coming. They tried to make peace with him fearing his wrath.
I lay my book down to roll over onto my side to face Laurel. I’ve never seen her smile so much. All of my worrying about trying to save her from Santino is now laughable. The one thing Santino cares about more than anything is keeping his wife safe.
It’s crazy how much your life can change in such a short time. I should be used to it. I lived in the foster system. At any moment, your whole life could be uprooted. You could go from an okay home to a really shitty one in the blink of an eye. It was always a roll of the dice.
“Do you think they’ll be back soon?” I peek through the open doors that lead in from the balcony to see Lars standing there. That man is my shadow.
He is one of the many men here with us. Of course, Lars didn’t want to stay. He wanted to go with Bjornsson and Santino. But Bjornsson told Lars the same thing he pretty much told me, that he had to know I was safe so he could go and do what needed to be done. And that Lars was the only one that could give him that peace of mind.
“I hope so.” Laurel rests her hand on her stomach. She’s pregnant. When she first told me, I felt a pang of jealousy. I know it’s ridiculous. It was only for a split second and then I came to my senses.