AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My hands tremble under the pressure, but I can't wait a second longer. I squeeze my trigger at the same time, not waiting for another opportunity, and his body flies forward colliding with the car next to his. The sound of the gunshot reverberates through my ears, but even still I can hear Kobe curse in pain from the other side of the lot. Julian, on the other hand, is silent and not moving at all.
"He got Kobe," Amelia calls, springing from the car, gun in her hand. We both run toward him. He's sitting on the pavement, clutching his thigh. "Where the fuck did you get that from?" he stutters out to Amelia, like the most important thing right now is how she got hold of a gun, not the blood pouring from his leg.
I take my shirt off, offering it to Amelia to help stop the bleeding. She flicks on the safety, lifts her leg so her heel is pressing into the car in front for stability, and tucks her gun into the holster strapped to her thigh. My mouth nearly gapes open in shock. My girl came prepared today.
She tears my shirt into strips and wraps them around Kobe's leg, doing her best to compress the wound and stop the bleeding. "Do you boys really think I was going to let that asshole do anything to fuck up the life I have worked so hard for? When he made a deal with my dad, he might have thought he was getting a nice easy pushover he could control. But no one fucks with my life and my family and gets away with it," she says, pulling the T-shirt bandage tightly and fastening it with a knot.
I help Kobe up to standing, just as Brandon comes running through the back door. "The others are on their way," he calls to us. "What the fuck happened here?" He lowers down to help me move Kobe to his car. As we pass Julian, he looks over the body. "I keep telling you not to get in shooting matches. One day you're going to come off second best," Brandon jokes with him.
Kobe tries to laugh at him, but he's gone pale, and I can tell we need to get him some help and quickly. We get him in the passenger seat and try to make him as comfortable as possible, laying the seat back.
"It wasn't me. These two shot him," Kobe stutters out to Brandon.
Brandon looks over at Millie who is standing by Julian's body, and I can see his surprise. I guess we all underestimated her.
"She came prepared," he says, impressed. "I'm going to take Kobe to get some help. If you can stay till Leo gets here, he'll help with this scene, but you're going to need to keep a real close eye on her."
I nod, walking over to my girl, wrapping an arm around her and moving her away from the body. "Leo's on his way," I tell her, like that will somehow make all of this okay when I know it won't. "Are you okay?" I can feel the tremble of her body, but she's not crying or visibly upset. She seems numb, and that scares me more.
"I don't know. I guess so. I didn't know I could do it. I brought the gun just in case things went bad. I had this gut feeling he was going to stop at nothing to get what he wanted, and if he was involved with my dad, the normal rules don't apply, right? He would have killed me or you to get what he wanted. I did the right thing, didn't I?" She's trying to justify what happened.
I brush the hair out of her face. "I think he would have. He shot Kobe, and he wasn't leaving here without you. Who knows what would have happened if he took you."
"Then yes, I'm okay. And you're okay. It's over, we can move on with our lives." She says it like an emotionless robot, and I know she's not really okay. But neither am I. I guess we're just lucky to have each other to work this all out with.
I pull her into me, kissing her lips. For as long as I have known her, I have wanted to protect her, keep her safe from harm in any way possible. I always knew how special she was and how much I needed her in my life. But she wasn't special because she needed me to take care of her. She can take care of herself and everyone around her. "You are the strongest woman I know." I run my hands down her sides and hold her, getting lost in her eyes like I have so many times before.
"Thank you. Twelve months ago, I wouldn't have agreed with you, but I think you're right. I am tougher than I ever thought, and together, we can deal with anything life throws at us." She offers me a half-smile.
"Is it wrong that you having that gun strapped to your thigh is the sexiest fucking thing I have seen you wear?"
"I think it's the adrenaline talking, but right now, I don't think that is wrong at all. If you're lucky tonight, I'll let you fuck me with it still on."
EPILOGUE
AMELIA-Three months later
Summerapproachesmeonthe dance floor. She has her clipboard under one arm and a glass of champagne in her hand. She has been ticking each item off her checklist all night as we get through it. I wish she would just relax and have a little fun for once, she's not on the clock tonight. "Are you ready to give a little speech? I think the kids are ready for some cake."
"We better keep them happy then." Heath smiles toward the kids, knowing this is the part of tonight's celebrations they have been looking forward to since they saw the three-tiered butter-cream-frosted raspberry white chocolate cake wheeled into our place this afternoon.
Tonight has been a long time coming, the party we promised all of those close to us who missed out on witnessing our nuptials because we eloped. And as I look around my new patio at the faces in the crowd standing in front of me, I'm so grateful for every lesson I have learned to get here. And I'm pretty sure Heath feels the same. Some of them I wouldn't choose to have to go through again, but I know they have shaped me in a way I couldn't have ever imagined.
Heath drops his lips to my ear. "Have I told you how stunning you look tonight?" he whispers just for me. It sends a shiver running through my body.
"Only a couple of times." I smirk at him, searching for more compliments. I will never tire of the way this man makes me feel.
"You're radiant, baby, I still can't believe you're all mine. And this is our life." He looks out over the property we now call home. After Heath sold his insane house in LA, we talked and decided it would be nice to get a place that’s ours. Not the place I had with Declan but a place we can make new memories together in. So, I sold my house, and we moved just out of the city to a property not all that far from his new friend Kobe Rivera. It’s a little extravagant for me, but the kids love it, with the swimming pool that runs the length of the house, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a music room for Heath to run his guitar lessons from, and a games room. It was built back in the eighties but last year underwent a pretty thorough renovation and now holds the modern elegance of the rest of the ritzy places in this part of town. The boys also thought that being out of town a little was better for security purposes. And after everything that’s happened, I figure you can't be too complacent, even though life has returned to some sort of normal.
Hand in hand, we step over to the enormous wedding cake Summer organized for us, alongside our children. "We would like to thank you all for coming to celebrate with us tonight. It took us a long time to get here, but we both couldn't be happier with our new life together." I smile toward my man, feeling so full of love and happiness I could burst.
He wraps his arm around me and takes the microphone. "And just because I don't like doing anything by halves…"
Devon and Teo heckle him from the crowd.
He just laughs at them then continues with his speech. "Finding out Connor was mine, taking a break from performing, moving into our beautiful new home as a family, and marrying the girl of my dreams wasn't all this year had in store for us."
"I'm going to be a big sister!" Ruby calls into the microphone. "Sorry, Heath, you were taking way too long." She beams in that adorable way that helps her get away with just about anything, including stealing our limelight. But I could care less. This is our news to share as a family, and she has been dying to tell everyone she knows since we told them.
