CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Danielle

“Marrying you in a month, babe.”

“What?” I squeaked and looked up at him again.

Austin smiled. “I talked to your dad. It’s all set. We’re gettin’ married by the water in their yard. Small and intimate like.”

“Do I have any say in this?”

He shook his head. “You can pick your dress. Otherwise, Emily and Kim have the rest of it under control. They said they know what you want or something.”

I sighed. “Yeah, they know.”

“Good. It’s settled.”

“I don’t have a ring.”

“Got that planned, baby. When you’re feelin’ better, I’m gonna get romantic.”

I laughed. “Seriously?”

“Hell, yeah. Gonna blow your mind.”

I closed my eyes and kissed his chest. “Love you, baby.”

“Love you too, Dani.”

We stayed like this all night. I was restless with pain, but Austin kept track of the time and would dose me every four hours like clockwork, which meant I slept even if he didn’t. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to fall in love with the most amazing man on earth, especially after my track record.

I fell asleep knowing I was the luckiest woman alive.

***

Booker

I slid the covers up Dani’s body and kissed her temple. She was finally asleep, the pain meds and muscle relaxers coursing through her system making her more comfortable. I pulled the door partially closed and headed to my office, phone in hand.

“Hello?” Kim answered.

“Hey. You got time to come hang with Dani for a bit? I have shit to do.”

“Sure. I can be there in twenty minutes.”

“Thanks, Kim.”

I hung up and called Mack.

“Yo.”

“You got him?” I asked.

“Yeah, brother. He’s here,” Mack said. “Prez and Hatch are here too.”

“Why?”

“Make sure you don’t kill him.”

“Fuck.” I dragged a hand through my hair. “You got my back they get in the way?”

Mack chuckled. “When don’t I?”

“Thanks, brother.”

I hung up and slipped my phone into my pocket. I needed to ride today, so I grabbed my leathers from the closet. Kim arrived a few minutes later.

“If she’s in pain, she can have painkillers in three hours… everything’s on the counter. I don’t know how long I’ll be, but if you run into any issues, text me.”

Kim nodded. “Got it. Do what you gotta do, I’ve got Dani.”

I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, babe.”

I made it to the club in record time, my thoughts occupied with Dani and the bastard I was about to teach a lesson to. Maybe it was good that Crow and Hatch were there… I was pissed enough to kill him, and I was pretty sure Dani’s cop family would back me up.

I walked through the common room, into the kitchen, and down the stairs to the cellar where Mack was waiting.

I closed the door at the bottom of the stairs and made my way to where Steven was zip-tied to a chair… exactly the way Dani had been in the warehouse.

“Remember me?” I asked with a sneer.

Steven’s eyes grew wide with fear as he stared up at me.

“I found Dani’s money… I also found all of yours.” I rolled up my sleeves. “All of this information, including the money you stole are with the FBI. I took the liberty of retrieving Dani’s first, with interest from your own stash. Dani’s gonna have a perfect little house wherever the hell she wants because she can afford it now.”

Steven mumbled behind the duct tape.

“Sorry? Did you say something?” I asked, and slammed my fist into Steven’s face. “Oops, sorry. That was a slip… I actually meant to do this.” I slammed my fist into his stomach. Steven squealed on a grunt and then tried to draw air in through his nose. “One thing you’re gonna find out is what it’s like to live under the watchful eye of the NSA.”

Steven let out a muffled “Fuck you.”

I laughed. “Nah…that’s all you, bro. See, I kinda hacked into the homeland security terrorist database and according to your record… did you know you now have a record?”

Steven grunted.

“Yeah, you have a record, and according to your record, you’ve been stockpiling money to fund a bombing… murder of the president… something like that. So, the government has seized all your assets and you are on the no-fly list, domestic terrorism list, along with several other interesting lists that I didn’t even know existed. Bottom line is you can’t really walk out your front door without someone knowin’ about it. Oh, and by the way… your house has been repo’d… good luck finding a shithole to put a sleeping bag in. You’re welcome for that. It’s the least I could do. I think it’s fitting that you get what you deserve.” Steven mumbled again, so I pulled off the tape. “What was that?”

“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “I would have given back the money.”

“My woman got taken, asshole. They beat her and threatened to kill her, and even if you weren’t directly responsible for that, I found the email from Bobby telling you about the policy and the suggestion to use it in an alternative to your plan. But that wasn’t good enough for you. You chose to use her physically and emotionally instead. Which means, you’re dealing with me now.”

“You won’t get away with this!”

“But I already have,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Fuck you!” Steven spat.

I laughed and shoved the tape over his mouth again.

For the next hour, I took my time making Steven hurt. I delivered every injury Dani received, and then some, before releasing him in the middle of a park, naked and without ID.

I, on the other hand, headed home, found my woman awake and laughing with her best friend, and I knew she was okay. She loved and was loved and that’s all that mattered.

***

Epilogue

Danielle 

Two years later…

I STOOD AT the bathroom counter staring down at the little blue stick I’d just peed on. Austin and I had been married for twenty-three months, six days, and nineteen hours, and I’d been feeling nauseous and tired for about a week.

I was alone in the Naito condo that we now shared as a married couple and expected him home any minute. I was officially on dinner duty, but the smell of meat turned my stomach, so I was going to have to figure something else out.

As I waited for the results of my pregnancy test, I thought back to our blissful engagement, quick marriage, and perfect extended honeymoon. True to his word, he’d gotten romantic and proposed to me in the middle of Portland’s Saturday market with most of his club, all of my family, and Kim in attendance. He’d even gotten down on one knee and slipped the biggest frickin’ diamond I’d ever seen on my finger.

I stared at it now as I tapped my foot and checked the stick. Nothing.

My ring sparkled back at me, the six-carat diamond and matching diamond wedding band proof that I was married to the hottest guy on the planet.

We’d gotten married in my parents’ back yard, and Kim and Emily had outdone themselves. I’d chosen an off-white Vera Wang gown that hugged every curve perfectly and made me feel like a princess. Austin had worn an Armani tux that had literally been made for him, while Mack stood as his best man and Kim stood as my maid of honor.

My father walked me down the aisle, his eyes glistening with tears as he kissed me and told me how proud of me he was, and how happy he and Mom were of my choice. Austin had woven himself so well into my family it was like he’d been there forever.

Our wedding night at the Hotel Monaco in Portland was filled with love, sex, and an envelope holding the money Austin had recovered from my ex. Austin had put it into a secure account in my married name with alerts aplenty should anyone else try to access it but me. Then he’d whisked me off to Maine where we stayed at a tiny little remote cabin by the water and gorged ourselves on fresh crab and lobster. I don’t recall getting dressed most of the trip, declaring that naked lobster-fests needed to be a regular occurrence. He’d agreed and we’d spent another sexy week in Maine for our one-year-anniversary.

I was coming up on the end of another school year and trying to decide if I was going to continue teaching or do something else. If this test was positive, it would make my decision easier.

“Babe?” Austin called.

“Bedroom.”

I met him in the hallway, the pregnancy test behind my back, and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. “Hi.”

“Hi, baby. You okay?”

“Unbelievably okay.”

He chuckled. “Oh yeah?”

I pulled the stick from behind my back and held it up. “You’re gonna be a daddy.”

“What?” he whispered and took the test from me, staring down at it. “Fuck me.”

I giggled. “Yeah, that’s generally how it happens.”

“Baby!” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me, his hand going to my neck as he laughed against my lips. “Holy shit, I’m gonna be a dad.”

I grinned. “I know. It’s so awesome.”

Lifting me so I could wrap my legs around his waist, he carried me back into our bedroom. “I wondered why your tits were twice the size.”

“They are not,” I argued.

“You don’t think?”

I glanced down at my chest. “No.”

He dropped the stick on the floor (and me onto the bed) and tugged off my T-shirt. “I think I need to investigate closer.”

“I haven’t figured out dinner,” I warned.

“I’m gonna eat you, baby, then we’ll sort something else out.”

I licked my lips as he ripped off his clothes and pulled me close. “I love you, baby.”

“Love you too, honey.”

My husband made love to me all night, our dinner of choice, pizza delivered within thirty minutes.

My world was complete and my life secure. Nothing could be better.