AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sia sits back, pressing her palms flat against Vaughn’s heavily stubbled cheeks. “Lub Dada.”
Midnight eyes identical to her father’s sparkle and shine as Vaughn smiles broadly, then proceeds to pepper kisses all over her chubby cheeks. Sia’s infectious belly laugh brings the house to life around us, and I know I would never, in my wildest dreams, have expected my life to go the way it has.
And I’d never wish for it to be any other way.
Vaughn’s cell sounds in his back pocket, and I reach my hand inside to slip it out as he grins wryly, murmuring for my ears only, “If you wanted to touch, you could have just asked.”
I drop the chiming cell into his waiting hand with a shake of my head. His demeanor changes instantly, noting it’s a video call from Jo, who’d chosen to remain behind to wait for the jury to reach their verdict.
Vaughn’s forehead is puckered when his eyes find mine, and together, we look at my hand-wringing mother. Her face is pale as she swallows harshly before nodding. “Answer it.”
He does as he’s bid, and Mom and I ease down onto the hardwood floor beneath our feet alongside Vaughn and a still-squirming Sia. I pluck our daughter from his lap as Mom passes Sia her comforter, distracting her enough to allow Vaughn to answer the call.
He blows out a breath before swiping to answer. “Hey, Jo.”
Jo’s face fills the screen, but the loud courtroom at his back almost drowns out the sound of his voice. “Can you hear me, V?”
Vaughn nods. “Yeah, what’s going on? Have the jury come back already?”
“Fuck yeah, they have.” Jo’s smile is pearly white and utterly shit-eating. “The bastard got life without parole.”
Mom’s gasp fills the entire space, and tears I didn’t realize I was withholding stream down my cheeks unchecked.
Vaughn gathers Sia and me close, and I take the cell from his other hand so he can tug Mom against his other side, offering her comfort as she sobs quietly. “For you, Renzo.”
Emotion washes over me like waves as Jo relays the jury’s unanimous decision, and by the time he’s signing off, I’ve begun to rally somewhat.
Mom is the first on her feet, picking some non-existent lint from her pants. “You two go ahead and do your celebrating.” She reaches for Sia with a soft smile. “I have a date with my sweet girl.”
As she plucks my daughter from my arms, she looks down at both me and Vaughn with a grateful smile. “Thank you for helping me finally live again.”
Then she sets Sia down on the floor, moving toward the kitchen. “How about waffles for dinner?”
Sia blabbers nonsensically as they round the corner when Vaughn pulls me against his side with red-rimmed eyes. “I can’t believe we pulled it off.”
I slide my arms around his waist, smiling up into those eyes that trulyseeme.
“Youpulled it off, Vaughn. You made sure he paid the highest price he could. You’ve helped to givesomany people closure by taking a stand for what’s right.”
“It took me fucking long enough.”
“You tried to straddle that fence between right and wrong foryears. For two decades, for crying out loud.”
I straighten myself, bringing our faces level to cup his face in my palms. “You’re a good man who was faced with limited choices, none of which were good. By openingRavishand enforcing strict rules to protect those women as much as you could, you did the best you could do with the limited options you had. Ourcircumstancesdon’t define us. Ouractionsdo.”
He shakes his head as his face flushes with emotion before sliding his palm around the nape of my neck to draw me closer for a soft kiss.
Then he pulls back enough to whisper against my lips, “Come with me, little bird. I have something for you.”
CHAPTER42
WREN
Once I’ve hugged Jules and Kendra, the co-managers of Rogue—who think they’re keeping their relationship a secret, but really couldn’t be more obvious—Vaughn takes my hand in his and tugs me from the staff quarters, down the hall toward the elevator.
“When you said you had a surprise for me, I wasn’t expecting a return to the place where it all began.”
The doors of the elevator open, and Vaughn places his palm at the base of my spine, urging me to step on.
