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I’m never letting you go, baby.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” I say softly.
She mouths, “Don’t make me cry.” Then she gives me a smile that melts my heart.
I don’t hear the priest as he begins the ceremony. All I can hear is the pounding of my heart as this beautiful angel standing in front of me agrees to be my wife.
“Ares, do you have something to give Aurora?” the priest asks.
Removing the delicate chain with the crown pendant from my pocket, I drape it around Rory’s slender throat and fasten the clasp. It’s a Kings of Mayhem tradition. When a King takes a queen, he gives her his crown. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d give mine to someone.
“Rory, baby, I give you this as a sign of my never-ending love for you. Wear it, baby, and let the world know you’re mine and that I am completely and utterly yours, now and forever.”
I look into her lovely face. Tears glitter in her long lashes, and when she smiles, they spill down her cheeks. She’s so damn perfect my breath snags in my chest.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
From her right hand, she removes a band of black tungsten from her thumb and holds it to my ring finger. “Ares, I give this to you as a sign of my everlasting love. Please wear it with the knowledge that I am yours, and I always will be until I take my last breath. Be my king, and I will always be your queen.”
She slides the metal along my finger to the hilt, and I let the tears spill down my cheeks.
“I can’t wait to start our life together,” she says.
I step forward and take my wife’s face between my hands, and I kiss her.
Our life together.
It sounds so magical I can barely believe it’s happening.
I didn’t realize I was so lonely until she came along.
And then my son.
Now, I can’t imagine life without them.
She smiles up at me and happiness wraps around my heart.
This woman has got me crazy in love.
And my future has never looked so good.
RORY
It’s late. A million fairy lights twinkle in the poplar trees, and music drifts into the warm summer air. On the lake, moonlight is a silver ribbon on the dark water.
I take a break from the wedding reception and watch the guests from the little terrace overlooking the lakeside venue.
I watch with contentment as my new family and friends laugh, drink, and dance. It’s only been a year and a half since I came to Flintlock, and in that time, they have become my everything.
At one table, Sheriff Pinkwater is engaged in conversation with Jack. Ares told me that when the FBI dug into who The Three were, they discovered three psychopaths who met in prison. Ares always suspected they weren’t religious fanatics, and he was right. The seven deadly sins aspect of the murders were just theatrics. They were killers, and they wanted to get noticed. Their murders were less God and all ego.
I still feel a cold chill along my spine whenever I think about that night on the boat. About the quiet freak in the mask. About what could’ve happened. As a rule, I don’t think about it too much now. I have too many wonderful things in my life to focus on, so I don’t waste my time thinking about those loony tunes.
Just like I don’t waste time thinking about my mom or Connor. Needless to say, I haven’t been back to see them, and they haven’t dared come looking.
I have a loving family now.
My son was born a week early. He was a big baby—nine pounds, fifteen ounces—and he was in a hurry. Ares delivered him in the back of my car three miles from the hospital.
