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"We have enough witnesses to say you were never here, the plan is fine, and they won't do too much talking, they know what happens to pedophiles in prison." Jackson looks at them. "Now get the fuck home, and John will clean you up," he shouts at me, and I look over at Hope once more as she stares down at Jack.
She’s just staring at him; I go to take a step closer. “Leo, what the fuck, John take him now! Fucking kick his ass if you have to.” Jackson pushes me away.
As John pulls me away, I look at Hope’s friends holding down the four men Jack brought with him.
“We all have the same story, yes?” I hear Jackson shout and they all nod.
Hope’s plan worked.
This is over. Five years is over and the weight that has been lifted off me, it’s like I’m breathing so much more freely.
The man that hurt me is dead.
The man I’ve hunted is dead.
The man that’s been hunting Hope is dead.
We won.
EPILOGUE
One yearlater
Leo
I’m lying on the floor as I watch my daughter on the play mat. At three months I would think her being here wouldn’t do anything, but her eyes are moving around so much as she looks at the animals spinning at the top.
My dad was right. Throughout the pregnancy, the only person I cared about was Hope, nothing else mattered to me, and I felt like I would be the worst father in the world. I didn't care about my own baby. But the day she was born and was in my arms, I felt like I had everything in the world. I knew she was going to have me wrapped around her little finger and I really didn't care.
I have two girls in my life that mean more to me than my own life and making sure they are smiling every day is the only thing I care about.
“Lunch,” Hope says as she sits on the floor next to me and hands me my plate. “I’ve put Jackson’s in the oven to keep warm.”
Leaning over to her I say, “Have I told you that you look beautiful?” Grabbing the back of her neck, I give her a kiss. Her hand rests on my cheek, as she kisses me back.
Hope still has her bad days. Sometimes she can't sleep in the bed. And sometimes she zones out, and it's clear she's thinking about the past, but I don't say anything to her about it. I mean it's only been a year; that shit will take some time to leave her, but she's not the same Hope I brought to this house. The darkness that I had around me, it's there for the same reason it is for Hope. It will take some time to really move fromthe past, but I don't care about it because I have light in my life now, that light's name is Hope.
She walks around with her head held high and smiles. Smiles every day.
“You have now.” Her smile brightens up my day. “You back to work this week?”
"Yeah, have a meeting with someone about them coming in to talk to the staff at We Are Loved." That place is doing so well, we have homeless people come in a lot for warm food and some stay to sleep for the night, but most of them eat and go. They let Doctor Adams check to see if they are okay, so that part is running smoothly. The other side of it is a little more tricky. We've had girls walk into the building, and we've won a few of their cases, but lost a few too. So, Jackson and I are getting the team together to talk about things.
“Back to being busy then.” She looks down at our baby. “Right, then Fleur it’s just you and me, huh?”
It didn't take us long to pick the name. Hope said she fell in love with the name Fleur the moment Jackson said it, but I wanted Nova after her mom, so in the end, we went with, Fleur Nova Masters.
“I’m sure I can work from home some days.”
“So, where’s my beautiful girl?” We both look up at Jackson as he walks into the room.
Hope smiles and rolls her eyes. “I’ll get your lunch.”
"Thanks, Hope." Jackson leans down and picks Fleur up. With him being around Fleur we've all seen a new side to him. We already knew that he would be protective, but if he's over—which is all the time—he won't let anyone else hold her. "So beautiful, what have you been doing today? I know you've missed me." He gives her a kiss.
“Why do you have a house?”
“You know why and I don’t want to talk about it in front of this little one.” He looks behind him to see where Hope is, then back to me. “You all ready for the weekend?”
