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The blow to his ribs took him to his knees.
“We can keep this up all day,” Natches informed him, stepping back as Dayle rolled to his side. “Come on, old man; pull your ass back up. I don’t think you’re bleeding enough. ”
Nadine was sprawled where Alex’s bullet had left her, and as Chaya watched, Alex stepped into the hall from the back and lifted Natches’s sister into his arms. Her eyes met his, and she almost backed up at the emotion in Alex’s face.
“She’s been drugged, Alex,” Natches told him, still watching Dayle as he held his ribs and groaned weakly. “Get her to the hospital, now. ”
Alex moved as Timothy barked orders into his radio, calling for a unit to meet Alex on the street for the drive into the hospital.
Zeke stepped into the house, and he, too, watched as Natches moved farther back from Dayle Mackay.
“I think his rib is broken, maybe several of them,” Natches informed them cheerfully as he gripped Chaya’s arm and began to move her back. “Take care of this, boys. We’ll see you in a few days. ”
“She can’t leave. ” Timothy was nearly hyperventilating now. “You need to be debriefed. We have fucking red tape to get through and questions that need answering. Get your ass back here, Natches. Agent Dane. ”
Natches turned back to him, stared at him, and Timothy went quiet.
“You remember that talk we had last year, Timothy?” Natches asked him.
Timothy glared back at him.
“I see you do. Cut the red tape. You have the damned recording if your phone worked. Debrief him. ” He shoved his finger in Dayle’s direction. “Arrest him, get him the hell out of Somerset and keep him locked up. Because if I have to deal with you one more time, in my town, I might break a promise I made to myself and Chay about no more killing. You don’t want that. ”
“And Timothy. ” Chaya stood her ground when Natches would have dragged her out of the house. “Don’t forget your promise to me. I did my part. I expect yours as a Christmas present. As we agreed. ”
He rubbed his balding head, squinted at her, then sighed. “By Christmas. ”
She nodded, then turned and let Natches lead her from the house. The street was filled with vehicles. He wrapped his jacket around her, lifted her to the back of the Harley, and seconds later they were maneuvering through the crowd converging on the Grace home.
It was over. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against his back as they hit the interstate and headed back to the Nauti Dreams.
“You promised me at least a week in that bed of yours,” she reminded him. “How are you going to keep your cousins away from us?”
“I have my ways. ” He turned, flashed her a wicked smile and a wink. “Don’t worry, baby. I have my ways. ”
EPILOGUE
Enter At Your Own Risk
No Knocking
No Visitors
GO AWAY
The sign blocked the entrance to the Nauti Dreams for two weeks. It had gone up a week after Dayle Mackay’s arrest, and Chaya and Natches stayed secluded.
Rowdy and Dawg shook their heads as they passed by and heard the male laugher, the feminine giggling, from inside. They swore Natches and Chaya were going to starve before they came out, but they both had to admit, the sound of Natches’s laughter from inside that houseboat lightened their hearts.
Finally, the sign came down though. As October turned into November, and the chill wind turned icy on the lake, Natches stepped from the Dreams.
Dressed in jeans, zipped only, no shirt, and socked feet, he inhaled the scent of winter coming and wrapped his arms around the real dream in his life as she stood in front of him, bundled in a quilt, drowsy and sated from the early morning loving they had shared.
Excited by the knowledge they carried.
Natches had slipped from the boat the night before and made a trip to the pharmacy. This morning Chaya had taken the pregnancy test he had brought home, and it was positive. She was having his child.
“You’re going to teach him to play baseball then?” she asked, a smile teasing her lips as he kissed the curve of her neck.
