It takes me a couple of minutes of processing the news before I whisper, “Tell me he suffered.”

“He died bloody,” Liam replies, his tone unforgiving and brutal.

Pulling back, I gently take hold of Liam’s right hand. “You beat him?”

He nods, tilting his head to look at me as I brush a finger softly over the back of his hand.

It’s over.

“Chicago is safe,” I whisper.

Liam protected his city.

“And you,” he adds.

Lifting my head, I meet his eyes again. “And me.”

Tugging him to the stairs, I pull him to our bedroom. “Sit on the bed.” Liam listens, his eyes following me as I go to the bathroom. I wet a towel and squeeze out the excess water.

Walking back into the room, I kneel by Liam’s feet, and gently start to clean the cuts on his knuckles.

“Are you sure it’s just sprained?” I ask, not liking the swelling around his wrist.

“Yeah. It will heal in a couple of days,” he murmurs, his eyes watching me closely.

He’s waiting for me to break down.

Reaching up, I clean the blood from his temple and the dust coating his skin.

“And your men? They’re okay?” I ask.

Liam nods. “We didn’t lose anyone.”

Good.

Sitting back on my haunches, I stare up at him. “I’m not going to break down.”

His eyes search my face. “It’s over, baby.”

I place my hands on his knees, and pushing up, I press a kiss to his mouth. “Thank you.”

Liam wraps a hand around the back of my neck, and keeping me in place, his mouth crushes against mine. The kiss is different. I taste the revenge he got for us on his tongue. I feel the residual anger in the wildness of his lips on mine.

When Liam breaks the kiss, I’m breathless. Our eyes lock, and we stare at each other.

This man.

He’s my entire world.

My guardian angel.

I drink in his handsome features, the ruggedness from who he really is, giving him an edge.

My avenging angel.

“Food?” I ask.

A smile stretches over his face. “Yeah, let’s get some comfort food in you.”

After I made us grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, I’m snuggled against Liam’s side, holding an icepack to his wrist.

He lets out a relieved breath, then his mouth curves up in a brutal smile.

“What?” I ask, adjusting the icepack.

“Just relishing in Finn’s last moments.” He leans his head against the back of the couch. “And I’m finally rid of the Sicilians.”

I press a kiss to his jaw. “My badass man.”

His smile turns tender, his eyes filling with love. “My soon-to-be wife.” He flexes his fingers. “You need to plan the wedding. I’m not waiting long to marry you.”

Setting the icepack down, I gently place his hand on his lap, careful not to jar it. “How long do I have?”

A playful grin tugs at his lips. “A month too soon?”

My eyebrows fly up. “Are you serious?”

“Woman, I’d drag you to a court on Monday if I had my way.”

“Okay then.” Reaching for my phone on the table, I pull up a calendar. “November… twelve?”

Liam checks the calendar, then nods. “Works for me.”

“What kind of wedding?” I ask, setting the device down and getting comfortable.

He lifts his left hand and tucks a couple of strands behind my ear. “I want your hair down.”

“Okay.” When he doesn’t say anything else, I ask, “That’s it? You have nothing to contribute?”

“I’ll pay, you plan.”

Chuckling, I nod. “Okay, but if we have a black wedding, don’t get angry.”

“Definitely not black. I want you in white.”

“Can we have it at the same church we had the service for Dad?”

He nods. “I’d like that.”

I snuggle closer and resting my head on his shoulder, I let out another relieved breath and close my eyes.

No more Finn.

No more Sicilians.

“What happens now?”

“What do you mean?”

I move, resting my chin on his shoulder. “You’ve dealt with your enemies. What now?”

“Work. I have a fuck ton to catch up on.” He presses a kiss to the tip of my nose. “And I have to make arrangements for our honeymoon.”

Excitement sparks to life in my chest. “Where?”

“Bali. I think you’d love it.”

Grinning at him, I tease, “On second thought, let's do the court thing on Monday.”

He shakes his head. “I want you walking down the aisle.”

Suddenly it occurs to me that Liam killing Finn can’t possibly go down well with his family. Worry creases my forehead. “What about your dad? Won’t he be upset that you killed Finn?”

Liam’s features tighten. “I really don’t give a fuck how he feels.” Shaking his head, he adds, “I’ve disowned him. The only family I have is you, my men, and my uncle.”

“Will your uncle come to the wedding?”

“Yeah, Cillian will be there.”

We fall silent, just happy to be close to each other. After a while, Liam murmurs, “You haven’t used the credit card I gave you.”

“Honestly, I forgot I had it.” I tilt my head back to look up at him. “You want it back?”


Tags: Michelle Heard Sinners Dark