Lia came with me as we headed up the elevator and then to the unit we had inhabited. She stood near the door and looked around as I grabbed a couple of suitcases from the back of the closet. When I came out, she was staring at a spot on the floor in the living room.
Odin’s spare rubber bone was lying there.
“Get it,” I said quietly.
She glanced at me, and there were tears threatening to spill from her lashes. She didn’t say anything, just quickly walked over and grabbed the bone. She shoved it into her purse, and we headed back downstairs.
I tossed the suitcases into the trunk and was about to slam it shut when a voice shouted out from behind me.
“You there!”
I startled and went for my gun. Lucky for her, the crotchety old woman with the bitch Odin had knocked up didn’t end up with a bullet in her head.
“You owe me eight thousand dollars!” she snapped. “I have four mongrel pups I can’t sell for anything!”
For a moment, I could only see red. I was dangerously close to strangling the old hag, but before I did, I glanced behind her and saw her dog on the lawn with four playful, white pups rolling around in the grass.
One of them perked her head up and looked over to us. Her tail began to wag furiously as she tried to bound over in our direction but tripped on her own feet instead. Distracted by whatever scent filled her nose upon impact, she attacked a blade of grass and forgot about us.
“You’re a nut,” I informed the woman. “Fuck you and the dogs.”
I turned around and started to walk away, but Lia stopped me.
“Evan?” Lia said as her hand rested against my elbow. “Evan, can we…can we take one of them?”
My chest tightened. At first, I wanted to say no. I wasn’t replacing Odin—there was no way. But these pups…they were part of him, too.
He took a bullet for her.
I went back to the car, looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching, and then opened one of the suitcases full of cash. I quickly counted out eight grand and brought it over to the woman.
“Here,” I said. “Don’t ask for another fucking thing from me, and don’t give me any shit about it—we’re taking one of the puppies.”
She opened her mouth like she was going to argue with me anyway but thought better of it as she stared at the cash in her hand. I took Lia’s arm and led her over to the fluffy white, wriggling balls of fur. The same puppy that fell over her own feet earlier bounced over and licked Lia’s hand.
“That one,” I said definitively.
“I think you are right,” Lia replied as she picked her up.
She twisted and turned to get out of Lia’s arms at first, but then turned toward her face and licked her chin.
“That’s disgusting,” I told the pup, and her ears perked up at the sound of my voice. She stared at me intently for a moment and then struggled to get out of Lia’s arms and over to me. I rubbed her head, but Lia kept hold of her.
“She’s perfect,” Lia said as we got into the car, and the pup watched out the window as I pulled away. “What are we going to call her?”
“Freyja,” I said without giving it another thought.
“What’s that from?”
“She’s the Norse Goddess of fertility, love, and beauty,” I told her. I left out how she was also the goddess of death and war—that shit didn’t make sense to me, anyway. It sounded better to leave it as it was.
“That’s perfect,” Lia said with a smile.
I watched out of the corner of my eye as she rubbed the pup’s head and started to tear up again.
“She’s got her dad’s eyes,” I remarked, and Lia nodded in agreement.
“Her breath is better,” she said as she wiped the wetness off her cheeks. “Do you think she’ll like to play fetch?”
“Definitely.”
I pulled onto the freeway and headed northwest, out of Chicago.
“Where are we going to go?” Lia asked.
“Canada,” I replied simply. “I have a cabin up there.”
“Like the one in Arizona?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” I said with a smile, “but similar.”
“Middle of nowhere?”
“You got it.”
“Will this place have electricity at least?” she asked.
“It’s got a propane tank,” I replied. I looked over to smile at her slyly. “Mostly gets used to heat the hot tub.”
Lia laughed, and I reached over to hold her hand.
Freyja licked the back of my knuckles.
“Disgusting,” I grumbled and sped up the highway as the Chicago skyline disappeared behind us. I would miss it—well, parts of it—but everything important to me was with me.
I reached over to hold Lia’s hand as we drove away.
Nothing could have been better.
Epilogue—New Life
It’s fucking cold.
I kind of like it.
I stood out on the enclosed front porch of the small cabin in a desolate wasteland somewhere in Northern Ontario. There was a good-sized lake not far off, and I could see the iced edge of it from the front of the cabin. Evergreen trees surrounded the other three sides of the property, encasing it in serenity.
I adjusted the towel around my waist and took a sip of my scotch. Behind me was the bubbling sound of the hot tub that had come with the place, and I planned on taking full advantage of it—for about the hundredth time—as soon as Lia was done cleaning up from the dinner I had cooked for her on the gas stove.
At least there was heat inside the cabin.
It had a living room, good-sized bedroom, a kitchen, and actual plumbing in the bathroom as long as the pipes were kept warm from the gas heat. There were fireplaces in each room and three cords of wood in the back, already seasoned for the winter. I’d have to get more for next year.
The cabin really was a lot nicer than the place in Arizona. It was a good thing, too—I’d paid quite a bit for it, given the remote location and lack of amenities. Some rich fisherman had the place built a decade ago but died of a heart attack before he ever had the chance to use it. I bought it off his widow as one of the many getaways I might need when the time came.
The time had come.
The door opened, and Freyja bounded out with Lia close behind her, Odin’s old bone in her mouth. She’d already grown a lot and resembled her father a little more than what made me comfortable, but I was getting used to the constant reminder of my old friend.
Lia had looked up her name and found out Freyja had been worshipped for war and death as well, but we ultimately decided it made sense. All you had to do was look at us—from war, death, and suffering, we’d achieved beauty, peace, and love.
Lia was dressed in a string bikini, which I found utterly ridiculous, but she never just came out to the hot tub naked. I wasn’t sure if she thought someone was going to spy on us all the way out here or not, but she refused to walk around outside without wearing something. The bikini usually lasted about thirty seconds after Lia got into the hot tub, and even more often, ended up never making it to the water.
“Holy shit, it’s cold!” she cried as she wrapped her arms around her chest.
“Don’t do that,” I whined. “I can’t see your nipples now.”
“I’m right, though, aren’t I?” she pressed. She came up, stole a drink of my scotch, and kissed me lightly on the cheek. “It’s getting even colder! I thought Chicago winter was bad.”
“It’s barely December,” I reminded her. “We haven’t even hit winter officially. It’s going to get a lot colder.”
She looked out over the snow and got a faraway look I didn’t like much. It meant she was thinking—remembering—about shit she shouldn’t have to think about. She shivered, and I moved up beside her to wrap my arm around her shoulders.
For the most part, she was keeping herself busy with correspondence school to finish her degree in nursing. It would only work for another year bef
ore she would have to be near a hospital to complete her studies, but we’d figure all that out when the time came. It was a sacrifice she’d made to be with me, and I’d thrown out my Beretta so she wouldn’t have to look again at the only gun she’d ever fired again.
The Barrett was still with me, but I took it far away from the cabin to shoot it. The noise made Lia kind of panicky, and Freyja didn’t care much for it either. I set a target up about a mile away, and though the trek out there was a long one through the trees and snow, it was worth the effort to give her a little peace.
Lia had her scars from the whole ordeal, and I didn’t begrudge her those. She’d done things she never thought she’d have to do, seen shit she never wanted to see, and she knew far more than she ever wanted to know. There was no way I could erase those thoughts from her memory any more than I could erase what happened to me in the desert.
As much as I’d hated the thought, I told her she didn’t have to stay with me—not if it was too painful—but she just told me to shut up, and I wasn’t about to push the issue.
I needed her.
Maybe we needed each other.
I hoped so.
There was only one other thing still lingering in my mind—I still didn’t know why my parents ditched me in the first place. I still had the address of the cemetery where they were buried, but I hadn’t gone there. Maybe in the spring, we could take a trip to Ohio and see their graves, but I wasn’t sure what kind of information I’d really get from that. It would be a good excuse to see Jonathan, though, and maybe get an update on the war in Chicago.
Maybe I’d just leave it alone.
Lia shivered again, and I lifted her up and lowered her into the hot tub before ditching my towel and climbing in myself. Freyja went up the small step stool beside the spa and put her paws on the edge, but she didn’t like the water and wouldn’t come in. She did like to sniff at the bubbles and watch us fuck, though.
Perverted thing.
I’d been thinking about fucking since I walked outside, so I didn’t waste any time getting rid of the damn bikini and pulling Lia on top of me. I slowly lowered her down on my cock, and that feeling of peace, love, and home washed over me along with the bubbling heat of the water. Lia moaned softly against my neck, and for a while, I stayed inside of her but didn’t move.
It was a feeling that made me think Lia might be right—maybe there was a God, and maybe He did care.
Lia’s lips found mine, and her fingers ran over my chest and stomach. I kissed her deeply as I started raising her body up and down over my cock. She moaned into my mouth, and her thighs clenched around mine as we moved slowly.
I’d fuck her hard later.
She liked it that way.
For now, we needed the peace.
I kissed her neck and shoulders, then moved down to take a wet, hard nipple between my lips to suck at it. Lia gasped and arched her back, causing my cock to slide deeper inside of her. Her hands moved to my shoulders, and she gripped them tightly.
“You feel so good,” I moaned against her skin. “Warm like the water.”
My hand moved around the globe of her ass, seeking her backdoor with one finger. She tensed as I ran my fingertip around it and then cried out as my finger penetrated her along with the motion of my cock.
“Evan…oh, fuck…Evan!”
“You know I still want that ass,” I reminded her as I kept up the motion with my finger. She moaned again as I added another finger. I pulled her down against me hard, ground my hips upward, and felt her come apart with my cock and my fingers.
“Jesus,” she whispered against my shoulder through panting breaths. “You’re trying to break me, aren’t you?”
“I just want you,” I replied, “every way I can possibly have you.”
She leaned back, and I looked up at her flushed face. Her eyes focused on the spot where her hand rested on my chest, and she nodded her head.
“Do it,” she said.
“Now?”
She nodded.
I didn’t need to be told twice.
In one swift motion, I stood up, taking her with me. Holding her like a child, I climbed carefully out of the tub. Freyja followed us inside and whined briefly as I shut the bedroom door before she could enter.
“Poor pup,” Lia remarked.
“Whatever,” I said with a smile. “She’s a pervert. I want you to myself for this.”
Lowering Lia to the floor beside the bed, I tossed a couple of logs on the fire before grabbing a towel from the bathroom. I dried both of us off a bit so the bed wouldn’t end up all wet, then leaned down to kiss Lia’s lips, run my tongue across hers, and revel in the feeling of her mouth on mine.
Her hands came up my sides, and I dropped the towel to take her face in my hands and kiss her more deeply. My tongue explored and tasted as her fingers explored my back, shoulders, and arms. My hand brushed over the quarter she still wore around her neck—a constant symbol of our first encounter. My eyes moved to her face, but she was looking at her hand wrapped around my forearm.
“I love your arms,” she whispered. “You make me feel safe.”
“I’ll always keep you safe,” I swore to her. “I’ll never, ever put you near danger again.”
I kissed her, took both her hands in mine, and led her over to the bed. She got in hesitantly.
“Get in the middle,” I instructed as I crawled in behind her. “Get on your knees and spread those beautiful legs.”
She grinned as I winked at her, then did as I said.
“Beautiful,” I murmured. I tossed a bottle of lube beside her before moving up between her legs, pushing them a little farther apart with my knees.
“We’re going to do this slow, okay?”
“Yes,” Lia breathed out the word as she settled on her hands and knees.
I placed my hand between her shoulder blades.
“Down farther,” I said. “Put your arms down on the bed.”
She did so, which further angled her ass up to me.
“God, you’re beautiful,” I said quietly. I ran my fingers down her back and over her butt, feeling the softness of her skin. My cock bobbed and strained like it knew exactly what was coming.
Lia looked over her shoulder at me.
“I love you, Evan.”
“I love you, too, baby.”
Watching her body below me, I ran my hands up and down her sides, pausing to cup her breasts as I leaned forward and kissed the middle of her back. I pulled at her nipples a bit, then leaned back and grabbed the bottle of lube. I spread some on my fingers, my cock, and around her ass.
Lia’s cheeks clenched.
“That’s cold!”
“Sorry, baby.” I rubbed a bit more between my fingers to warm it up, then used them around the rim of her ass again. “Better?”
“Much.”
With one hand circling around to tease her clit, I used the other one to gently insert a finger in her. Since I’d already had two in her while we were in the hot tub, there was little resistance from her body and Lia remained relaxed below me. I went with a second finger, moving them slowly inside of her for a minute before pulling out, wrapping my hand around my shaft, and guiding it into place.
Slowly, I pushed forward until the head of my cock slid past her sphincter.
Lia gasped.
“You okay?” I asked quickly.
“Yes.” Her voice was breathless.
“You sure?” It was taking all my willpower not to push in farther. The tightness of her ass around the head of my cock felt glorious.
“I’m sure. Just…go slow?”
“I will.”
I did.
Wonderfully, painfully slowly.
Sweat gathered on my brow. I was nearly all the way inside of her, and my cock throbbed with the tight grip her body had on it. I caressed her skin, leaned forward, and drove myself the rest of the way in.
“Oh, fuck…baby!” I cried out. Every muscle in my body seemed to con
tract at once with the sheer level of emotion I felt as I was enclosed inside of her. I reached up and wrapped my hand in her hair, pulling back slightly. My eyes blazed down at her as she turned her head to look at me. “You’re everything to me, you know that?”
“I know,” she nodded.
“Everything,” I repeated so she would have no doubt.
I moved.
Slowly…carefully.
Her body adjusted, and soon I felt her pushing back against me with her ass.
“That’s it,” I whispered. “So good…”
I pulled out most of the way and then entered her again. My thumb pressed against her clit as I drove forward, and Lia moaned softly into the sheets. Her legs trembled, and I ran my free hand over her thigh.
My pace increased, back and forth, until I could feel her pussy clenching around my fingers and her ass squeezing my cock.
“Ugh…ugh…oh, shit…baby…” I groaned as my legs began to shake with the effort of holding back. “You feel so…damn…so good!”
Lia’s hands reached out and gripped at the rails on the headboard. She tightened her fingers around them as she cried out incoherently, her ass bucking back against my cock. I kept stroking around her clit as she thrashed below me but wrapped the other arm around her waist and leaned forward, pushing myself deep inside of her.
The tightness of her ass and the depth of my penetration were too much. My balls tightened, and it felt like electricity was shooting through my cock as I filled her ass.
With my energy completely spent, I fell on top of her. Lia’s legs gave out, sending us both to the mattress as my cock popped free.
“Jesus Christ,” I mumbled. “If I had known it was going to be that good, I would have pushed for this a lot more and a lot sooner.”
Lia giggled.
“I’m surprised,” she remarked.
“By what?”
“How good it felt. I thought it would hurt.”
I rolled off of her and pulled her against my chest.
“Did it?”
“Maybe just a little at first, but not really.” She looked up to my face and stroked my cheek. “Stop looking like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you did something wrong.”
“I didn’t want it to hurt at all,” I said.