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Another pair of footsteps sounded at a full sprint. “Where is she?” My brother’s voice was loud, demanding, terrified.
Balto lowered his voice. “She’s okay…”
Heath didn’t leave me. “Just give us a minute.”
Damien didn’t reply, as if seeing me safe in the flesh was enough for him. Then he and Balto walked down the stairs again.
Heath held me there, let me cry against him, let me release the terror I’d been holding in my chest for the last ten minutes. “It’s alright, baby…it’s alright.”Heath cupped my cheek as he looked at me, unafraid to let tears form in his eyes when he stared at me, knowing I was safe, unharmed, just a little upset. He pressed his forehead to mine before he kissed me. “You alright?”
I nodded.
“You killed half of the men on your own.”
I still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened. It was a fucking blur.
“And pulling his gun from his jeans…badass.”
“I was just trying to save us…”
“I know.” His thumbs wiped away my old tears. “I know. Everything is okay now. He’s dead. His men are dead. It’s over.”
I nodded.
“Alright?”
I nodded again.
“I want to keep hogging you, but I can’t.” He pulled away from me and walked to the top of the stairs. “She’s ready now.”
My brother took the stairs two at a time to get to me. He jogged across the room until he reached me, his chest hitting mine as he hugged me tight, wrapping his arms around me, squeezing me like he wanted to make sure I was real. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“Not a scratch.” He pulled away and looked into my face, seeing the wet eyes. “They’re all gone. I checked three times.”
“I know, Damien. It just… It’s a lot to take in.”
“Heath told me how you held your own… I’m proud of you.”
I shook my head. “I had no idea what I was doing—”
“Still kicked ass.” He squeezed my arms before he released me.
“Please don’t hate Heath…” I finally had him in my life, and then this happened. I didn’t want my family to turn against him again. I wanted every day to be like Christmas.
His eyes softened. “I would…but he said today is his last day.”
“It is?” I whispered.
He nodded. “Vox was his loose end…and it’s over. If Balto and Bones can have a quiet life, I don’t see why Heath can’t too.”
“Who’s Bones?”
He shook his head. “Never mind.” His eyes searched my face, like he wondered if I was really okay.
“I’ll be fine.” I answered his unspoken question. “I just need some time.”
“Alright.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and walked with me to the top of the stairs. “You guys can stay with me if you need time to, you know, get this place cleaned up. Or the Tuscan Rose. Hades will give you the best room in the place—free of charge.”
“Thanks, Damien.”
Heath watched me walk back to him, still staring at me with the same intense love, like his love for me had only deepened after what happened.
“How’s your brother?” I asked.
“He’s fine,” he answered, his unblinking eyes on me. “I have to take care of some things. I want you to stay with Damien tonight.”
“What…?” My lips sagged into a frown. “Why? I’m not going to sleep—”
“I want to get this place cleaned up, and I have to do some stuff at the Underground.”
“Damien told me today is your last day…”
“It is. And I’m formally resigning. I’ll pick you up on my way home.”
I didn’t want to be without him, not even for a second, not after what happened.
“I want to put this behind us. I want to bring you back here—and start our lives together.”
I sighed in frustration, but I didn’t argue. “Alright…”Twenty-OneHeathI was fucking tired.
It was sunrise at that point.
I killed my own kind, the men Catalina hadn’t already pumped lead into. I was the first one there with my guys, and we took out most of them before Damien arrived next.
It was a quick battle on the street corner.
Any doubts my men had about me were gone after what Vox tried to do. He didn’t even come after me personally—he came after the woman I loved.
So, while my place was being cleaned and repaired, I spent my last evening with them, last evening drinking beer and talking about our conquests. I sat on my throne for the last time, looking at the rows of tables filled with the people I was closest to.
Vox’s table was empty.
He would be stuffed into an oil drum and dropped somewhere in the Mediterranean.
My tenure as the Skull King had been short-lived. Once I’d taken over after Balto, I’d expected to have the reins a long time. I wasn’t going to set them down for a woman, pictured my life as a series of images of booze, money, and whores.
