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“So where am I supposed to live?”

I look directly into her eyes. “Here.”

Her laughter fades. “With you?”

“Yeah.”

For a second, she simply stares at me. Then she smiles. “I think I can live with that.”

I kiss her, and when she settles against me afterward, I realize something that would have terrified me before Cora walked into my life. I want this. I want Cora in my apartment. In my life. In my future. And this time, I don't have to wonder if she wants the same thing.

Epilogue

Cora

Two Years Later

“Cora Taylor!”

The moment my name is called, I rise from my seat with a smile so wide that my cheeks ache.

I have imagined this day for two years. Ever since I transferred to Atlanta and continued working toward my psychology degree, this has been the goal.

There were nights when I questioned whether I had taken on too much. Now, as I walk across the stage and accept my diploma, every late night and stressful deadline feels worth it. The applause reaches me as I pose briefly for the camera before making my way back toward my seat. My eyes immediately move toward the audience.

It doesn't take me long to find Roman. It never does.

He is sitting with my father and the rest of our family. And even from across the room, I can feel his eyes on me. His expression is filled with pride, but beneath it is that familiar possessive look that has never completely disappeared, even after two years together and a marriage certificate that officially made me his wife.

I smile at him. Roman's mouth curves slightly before he turns his attention forward again, but I know him well enough to know that he is probably thinking about everything that brought us here.

I know I am.

The last two years have changed my life completely.

After everything that happened with Duggan, the evidence my father collected was turned over through one of Royal's family contacts in the government.

The investigation that followed reached further than any of us expected. Duggan wasn't working alone, and the evidence exposed several people who had helped protect his operation. Some were arrested. Others lost the positions that had allowed them to hide what they were doing for so long.

It took months to untangle everything, but Duggan never got the chance to come after my father or me again.

My father had spent enough years doing dangerous work, and after nearly losing his life because of it, he decided it was time to retire.

He eventually moved to Atlanta so he could be close to Roman and me. Now and then, when the guys are looking into something and need his experience or knowledge, my father still helps. What started years ago as four friends handling problems in the shadows has grown into something bigger. With legitimate resources behind the work now, they can help people in ways they never could before without abandoning the reason they started in the first place. As for me, my career isn't the only thing waiting for me. I have my husband, my father, and friends who have become family. For the first time in my life, I have one place I can truly call home.

And this morning, I found out that there is one more reason to be happy. I am pregnant. My hand moves instinctively toward my stomach as the secret sends another rush of excitement through me. I found out this morning.

And for the entire graduation ceremony, I have been sitting on the most incredible news of my life while trying not to stare at my husband like a complete lunatic. I want to tell him after dinner.

Dinner is loud, chaotic, and perfect.

We take over enough space at the restaurant that I’m pretty sure the staff regrets putting all of us together. Raiden and Elodie are here. River and Nadia. Royal and Sierra. Dad sits among them like he has always belonged.

The kids make the entire thing even louder, moving between their parents and turning what was supposed to be a graduation dinner into something that feels more like a family reunion.

I catch Roman watching everyone from across the table.

Years ago, 4R Ink was four men, a tattoo shop, and a promise to protect people who couldn't protect themselves.