~ ~ ~
I woke up and was alone in bed. I threw the covers off and grabbed my clothes. A sense of dread went through my body. I didn’t trust anyone in the world except Tripp.
I opened the bedroom door and crept out. I looked to my left and saw Tripp standing on the balcony. He was alone.
I sighed and smiled. A weight lifted off my shoulders.
I opened the door and joined him out on the balcony.
“Morning, darling,” he said without looking back.
I slipped my arms around his body and squeezed. “Morning. I love you, Tripp.”
“I love you,” he said. “Now we have to figure out where to go. Together.”
39.
(Tripp)
I stood at the car and waited for Aldo. He finally showed, in a black car, as always. Someone opened the back door for him and he climbed out. He adjusted his tie and then grabbed a bag. He walked it to me and handed it to me. I went to touch the zipper and he smacked at my hand.
“Put it in your trunk,” he said. “That’s a thank you. From the entire family.”
“Money?” Winter asked.
“A gift,” Aldo said. “You have protection wherever you end up. Just don’t be gone long. I heard about a guy down near San Diego that has the underground taken by storm. He’s got fast feet. Real smart and technical.”
“I’ll kick his ass,” I said.
“I know you will,” Aldo said. “I know you will. And we’re going to become rich from it.”
I threw a hand out and waited for Aldo to take it. “I can’t stand you, Aldo. For all you did to me. But I have to respect you. Because it brought me Winter.”
Aldo shook my hand.
Another vehicle pulled up. The back window went down and when I saw the face, I tried to shield Winter.
She pushed me away.
It was a little face in the open window. Just sitting there in her booster seat. Curly hair, big blue eyes, casually smiling with all the innocence a child could possibly have.
Winter’s eyes filled with tears.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered.
“Just to show you she’s okay,” Aldo said. “She’ll be taken care of the way she deserves. She knows she’s moving. She’s excited to start a preschool program. Taking her to a nice small town where she and Andrea can settle. They never have to live in fear again.”
Winter nodded. A tear escaped her eye.
I put my hand to her lower back. “Do you want to go say something?”
“No,” Winter said. “I don’t want to confuse her. She has a mother, right? A good mother.”
“A very good mother,” Aldo said. “I spent the night with both of them. Andrea is a good person. I trust her with my granddaughter’s life. Andrea is being escorted to the new house right now. We’re taking Autumn there next and it’s going to be a big surprise for her. She has no idea what’s happened, what’s been happening.”
“The innocence,” Winter whispered.
“You’re a strong person,” I whispered to Winter. “Anything you want to do right now, just know how strong you are. What you’ve done and given to the world.”
“She’s beautiful, Tripp.”
“Just like you, darling.”
Autumn looked out the window and smiled at us. Winter lifted a hand and waved. Autumn waved back. She then looked down and started to play with a stuffed unicorn in her lap.
That’s when Winter turned to me. She came to me. She needed me. It was an amazing feeling.
“You’re all set,” Aldo said. “Remember, no leaving the damn country. I’ll be touch when I need to be. Go be free. Go live.”
Aldo went back to his car.
The window went up on the other car and Autumn was out of sight.
The two vehicles left us there, me hugging Winter. In the background was the crash of the waves, the call of the gulls, the end of the world that I had always obsessed with.
“Say something,” Winter whispered.
I took her by the face and wiped her tears. “You fixed my world with your eyes. You fixed my heart with your love. You fixed me, as a man, with your honesty. You’ve given me life in many ways, darling, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life giving it back to you.”
I gently kissed her and then took her by the hand. I turned, Winter by my side. We had a car, cash, and roads that could take us anywhere we wanted.
Life would never be easy because it wasn’t meant to be. Sometimes you just had no choice but to make a fist, put it up, and fight.
I made a fist around Winter’s hand, pulled it up, and kissed it.
Sometimes… the fight really was worth it all.
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Don’t miss the NEXT book in the FIGHT series:
INVINCIBLE
I was sent to kill her… not fake a marriage and then actually fall for her.
I survived by following one rule – never fight on the anniversary of my brother’s death. When that rule is broken, all hell breaks loose for everyone around me. After taking a step away from fighting, I was given the orders to help take out an enemy. No big deal, right? I didn’t think so… until I saw a picture of who it was. A woman named Rose.
The second I see her, I know I won’t kill her. The only way to keep her alive is to tell a lie that puts us both one foot in the grave. She becomes a marked woman by her own family and I become her savior. I never asked for it, but there’s one thing that keeps me close to her and it’s not just her beauty or the wild passion we share.
She knows who killed my brother.
Our lies and secrets are as wild as the passion we share, and I find myself in the greatest fight of my life… one I know I can’t win, but I am willing to die for.
**
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Bestselling books from Karolyn James:
BACK DOWN DEVIL MC
Read the entire series today!
(Note: all the books are stand alone novels and do not have to be read in order!)
Novels
OUTLAW REVENGE
CRASH & BURN
DARK FALL
SECRET MAYHEM
TWISTED PIECES
STEEL TEMPTATION
SAVAGE LOVE
VIPER’S KISS
Novellas
RIDING DARKNESS
WILD BLAZE
EMPTY SECRETS
BROKEN ROAD
Bestselling books from Ana Fawkes:
The super charged, super hot DEVIL CALL MC series! Read the wild story between Talon and Everly. Don’t forget the check out the *new* story between Layne and Shelby!
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First electronic edition January 2016
Copyright © 2015 by Karolyn James, London Casey, Ana W. Fawkes
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part of any form.
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