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Motherfucking hell. It’s like Rella when she refused to leave Mick and Deanna’s house once she was rescued. How in the hell can we deny her? Especially if it could be paramount to her recovery.
“Damn it all,” Judge mutters. “How will we know if she follows through?”
“For one, I’m sure his death will be on the Florida local news. And we always go in directly afterwards to make sure there’s no evidence left behind.”
I glance at Trouble, his jaw twitching. After a moment, he gives Declan a tight nod, silently giving his consent.
“I’m in if the rest of you are,” JW concedes.
Judge stares off across the yard, no doubt looking at his wife and kid as he thinks over his answer. In the end, he says, “If she can’t follow through, we take back our right to end him.”
With a nod, Declan, along with the others, turns to me. Before Rella came back into my life, my answer would have been a firm no. With a fuck you thrown in there for trying to take this away from us. Revenge, death, and destruction fueled me. It was all I could see. It was all I had to live for. But now, my life is so much more than retribution and killing those who escaped Sweet Haven and the punishment they should have been given. I’ve got more than my needs to think about. I have a family now that means more to me than any vindication I’ve ever felt. Barry’s death will come; it’ll just be by someone else’s hand.
“Let her do it. Hopefully it’ll bring her some peace.”
“I’ll let you know once it’s done.”
He turns to walk away, but Judge stops him. “Why didn’t you ever offer your services to Ellie?”
His eyes turn hard, and the pulse in his temple throbs. “Because you got to him first. He was a slippery fucker I could never find.”
With that, he steps off the patio. We all watch as he stops by Ellie, kisses the top of her head, and continues to where Susan and Mae are setting the table with a shit ton of food.
“Can you believe that shit? He’s been here for almost two years, and we never had a clue he owns a business that offs people,” JW says, shaking his head.
“I always felt he was hiding something. I just never thought it would be that.” Trouble finishes off his beer and tosses it into the trash can.
“He has the potential to be a good contact. From what I’ve gathered, The Raven Group is one of the best security firms in the country. He has branches in several big cities,” Judge states thoughtfully.
I was thinking the same thing. Our revenge days are over, but there’s still plenty of victims out there who deserve retribution when the perpetrators get off scot-free. Declan may be of help in the future.
“Something to look into,” I remark, before leaving them behind and going to my wife.
Her back is to me as she watches Angelina, Cindy, and Elijah playing in the small kiddie pool. The thing has like an inch of water in it, so it’s more like they’re playing in a puddle. I slide my arms around her waist, my hands covering her stomach, and kiss the side of her neck, before resting my chin on her shoulder.
“How’s my baby doing?” I murmur in her ear, barely suppressing a groan when I feel goose bumps pop up on her flesh.
She giggles, and I feel the sound all the way in my stomach.
“Which one?”
“Both.”
She sighs and relaxes back again me. “I’m fine actually. Today’s a good day.” Her hands cover mine, just as a small bump nudges against my palm. “Miss Priss, on the other hand, has been quite active.”
I smile against her neck. Come to find out, Rella wasn’t incapable of having children after all. The scarring in her uterus was extensive and should have prevented her from conceiving, or at the very least, made it extremely difficult, but I guess someone had other plans. She’s six months pregnant, and so far, she hasn’t had any problems. Trouble is her primary doctor, but with my urging, she’s seen a specialist in San Antonio a couple of times because of the damage done to her body. We left both appointments with the reassurance that everything was good, and the doctor doesn’t foresee her having any problems during delivery.
We’ve also been to a specialist for Angelina’s ventricular septal defect. The hole has closed significantly, but not all the way. The doctors want to give her more time to see if it will close the rest of the way on its own. If it doesn’t, she may need surgery in the future.
And Joseph…. That boy follows me everywhere I go; not that I’m complaining. And when he’s not with me, he’s usually with his sisters. It’s plain to see he takes his role of big brother very seriously. I already feel sorry for any boys that may come around them when they’re older. I won’t have to scare them off; Joseph will do it for me.
“Did you ever imagine we’d have this life?” Rella asks quietly, her hands lovingly caressing mine still resting on her stomach.
“Never. But now that I have it, I’m never giving it up.”
She tips her head back, gazing at me with her beautiful green eyes. “You better not.”
Lowering my head, I gently press my lips against hers.
