“Me.”
“No, dickhead. I was missing a fucking donkey,” she laughs, playfully smacking my shoulder. “Of course, you.”
I roll my eyes, my hand stinging to spank that perfect ass of hers again. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
“I’m going to hold on with both fucking hands and never let you go. Every day with you is an adventure and I’m not going to miss that for anything. Screw my brother and his need to tell me what I need to do with my life. I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere.”
A grin stretches across my face and I grab hold of her, pulling her down to me, but before I get a chance to bring her lips to mine, she pulls back. “But listen, we need to get one thing straight.” I raise a brow, knowing that whatever is about to come out of her mouth is going to be good. “I’m not some cheap whore who you can keep locked up in your little escape bunker. I’m a classy lady. I’m going to need a little more than this shithole. I mean, I’ll be happy either way, I’m just saying …”
I laugh and pull her in, crushing her lips to mine in a bruising kiss as I finally feel at ease for the first time in years. “I’m working on it.”
EPILOGUE
RONI
THREE YEARS LATER
I stare at my reflection in the small mirror of the sun visor as I sit, anxiously waiting in Nic’s car. My knee bounces but I’m ready. I’m so fucking ready.
Nic glances over at me as he brings his car to a stop, his fingers curling around the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white. His lips lift into a cocky grin as his eyes rake over my body with a boyish excitement that has butterflies rising in my stomach. I love it when he looks at me like that. Even after three years of being officially together, I'm still the world to him, and I’ll never get tired of that. “Screw this. Let me take you home and fuck you instead.”
My gaze travels over his body, and damn it, I’d like nothing more than to bail and let him take me home, but if we don’t do this now, we might not get another chance. “Stop looking at me like that,” I tell him. “We’re doing this.”
A seriousness flashes through his eyes as he watches me. “It’s gotta be fast,” he reminds me for the millionth time as I run my hands down my body, double-checking that I strapped my gun to my thigh. It wouldn’t be the first time that I ventured out and forgot it, leaving me in a shitty situation, but in my position, a gun is a must.
I roll my eyes. “I know.” I’ve been playing this game with him for too long now not to know just how serious this is. If Nic is seen, his ass will be locked back up within seconds. We got close to losing him again last year but Nic is nothing if not a sneaky fucker. Since then, the cops have been instructed to shoot first, think later.
It’s a war that has gone on and on for years, and so far, we’ve been ahead of the game. We’ve been able to buy our own house, which has stayed completely under the radar. We go out, we live our lives, and we run our fucking empire, but then there are times like this when they’re hot on our trail …
I see Kairo’s car parked across the road while Sebastian’s discreetly comes to a stop down the street. Nic glances out the window, meeting Kairo’s stare, and nods, letting him know we’re ready before turning his head and watching out my passenger side window, knowing that Sebastian and Eli would be watching us closely, waiting for our signal.
“There,” Nic murmurs, pointing out our target that’s half-hidden behind a fountain before glancing down at his watch. “Right. You ready?”
“Never been so ready.”
Nic nods. “Let’s do this.”
With that, we bail out of Nic’s car and run, sprinting toward the man as Kairo, Sebastian, and Eli do the same. Nic runs right by my side, and I sense his desperation to grab my hand to keep me from falling behind, but he wouldn’t dare. He’s protective as shit, but I’m a fucking boss ass bitch and I can carry myself. Besides, usually, I would keep up with him perfectly, but dressed like this, I’m at a loss.
The many familiar faces loitering in the street see us the second we break out of the car, and just like that, the hundred or so Widows who were available with zero warning start racing in behind us, always having our backs.
The man at the fountain sees us coming and, in an instant, starts preparing himself, glancing around at the many people heading his way.