Roses & Thorns: Conquer
Page 23
A body appears in front of me, blocking my view. Adam. I smile up at him.
“I fucking love you, Lacey.”
His hand comes around to cup my face. Then, lips crash onto mine. I whimper against him as he pulls away, but he doesn’t remove his hand. I reach up and absentmindedly trace his wrist.
“You saved me, little dove. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
He trails kisses down my neck and cheek with each word.
“Thank you for this, Adam,” I whisper in his ear.
He looks on the verge of tears and I can’t understand why. I never see him cry. I trace my thumb under his eyelashes.
“What’s going on?”
“I never thought I’d feel this way again.”
He coughs to hide his emotion and kisses my shoulder.
“What way?” I say breathily as he makes my body start to tingle inside.
“Like a man, not a monster.”
Thump. Thump. Thump. My heart. “The day you said ‘I do’ is the day you became the man I love, not the monster I feared.”
He crushes me in a hug before pulling away and gaining control of himself again. I’m thankful for the momentary loss of control, the vulnerability he showed me.
“So I guess the climax of the story is over, huh?”
He grins and nibbles on my ear. “You married into the mafia, my love. I don’t think there’s a beginning, middle, and end.”
I turn and grab his nose, pinching it between my fingers.
“I want peace for a while, Mr. Ruston!”
He laughs a squeaky laugh, since his nose is pinched.
“Yes, Boss.”
“Good boy.”
I pat his head and walk off to the sound of his laughter.
“You’ll regret that!” he calls out.
I’m too embarrassed to say this, but I’m planning on it.
I am definitely planning on it.
Rose
One Year Later
This all started with me. A young girl desperate to make a difference in the world. Desperate to make up for the sins of her father.
Now here I am.
College graduate. I got my degree. Officially. My Bachelor’s. I’m so proud. I survived a bullet to get it. Lacey and Maria planned this huge party with all my favorite foods, music, and decorations.
It was beautiful.
As a gift, because Sven is extravagant, he bought me an office space. My own space to start a private practice. So here I am: Rose Bellemore, LLC. In ten minutes, it’ll be Rose Xander, LLC.
Yeah, so I’m marrying the asshole. Our love is too strong, too obsessive, and too unconditional for me to turn away. He’s accepted me and made major sacrifices for me. The day I read his letters, I knew my heart was his. The hesitation I once felt just lost its power.
Life has been a roller coaster this past year.
Lacey will always be the warrior of this story. The fighter. The lover. The mother. She still struggles. Her trauma was too severe for her to ever fully recover. There are still moments where Adam pulls her away, and I know she’s slipping. But a few days later, she’s always back out in short sleeves, taking on the world. My sister, the warrior.
Speaking of siblings. Nix. He’s the worst at keeping in touch! I don’t really know what’s going on in his life, to be honest. I wish I did. I wish he felt closer to me, but it’ll take time. He’s a lone wolf. In a way, I guess he always will be. It’s why I’m so grateful he has Sage. Everyone needs someone. I just wish I could meet her. I’m not sure if Nix is just super protective or if Sage is terrified of the world, or what the story is there, but none of us have met her yet. I know Nix is dealing with my father. That story’s not over, but it’s no longer mine to tell. It’s his. One day, I hope Nix tells his story, and he lets me be a part of it.
Adam. What to say about him? Yeah, I call him Adam now. So does Sven. We’re great friends. It was a little bit of hell to get Sven out, and it put Adam through some serious shit. But he’s out. He’s officially out. Sven’s job is still illegal, but it doesn’t hurt anyone and he doesn’t discuss it with me. So honestly, whatever.
Adam is excelling at what he does. Running things. Ruling things. With Lacey’s help, his regime has become a lot less violent, and a lot more tactful. With that has come success beyond what they could have ever envisioned. Enzio is still one of Lacey’s best friends. He still has her back. He also replaced Sven as Underboss. He’s excelling in the position. At least according to Adam, but I have a feeling he’d say that even it wasn’t true, because he has a man on his right-hand side who would take a bullet for Lacey. And no matter what, that will always be his number one priority.
Their baby is doing well. Baby Rose is just a normal kid. She talks now. She’s a little hellfire. How could she not be, being Lacey and Adam’s kid?
Lacey doesn’t really see her parents. Once in a blue moon she will, but it always drains her and makes her feel shitty. Her parents usually drop Jamie off or they’ll pick him up, so they have managed to stay close. It’s the one thing they do right by her. Jamie’s doing good of course. He plays baseball now. That’s what Lacey told me anyway. I think the biggest miracle in his life is that Lacey’s sacrifice didn’t go to waste. He is a normal kid. With normal goals and dreams. And that’s all Lacey’s ever wanted for him.
Kev’s another person I keep up with pretty regularly. He and Lea are great. Of course. I’ll be honest. She intimidates me a little. She’s so intense when it comes to Kev, and usually only warms up to me when she’s drunk. I think after a year, she’s finally starting to trust that I’m not going to rain hellfire into Kev’s life again. I hope so. I respect her a lot. But more than anything, I’m glad that sweet boy is happy. He deserves it. He’s one of the good ones.
That brings us to the most entertaining part of my life. Maria. Well, let’s clarify. Cut and Maria. Maria moved out pretty soon after the whole Miguel situation. She got her own place, but it’s close by. She and Cut were never supposed to see each other again. Their lives shouldn’t interact in any way. There’s no reason for them to. Not anymore. Not since she moved out, but that is most definitely not the case. I’m literally smiling as I’m writing this. This is so not my story, but god I hope my sex-crazed best friend found her match.
I guess that’s all there is to say. Some stories have to come to an end so new ones can begin. I throw the veil over my eyes and turn to Lacey, the person I chose to walk me down the aisle. I don’t care about tradition. It’s always screwed me in the past.
“You ready for this?” She asks me softly.
I squeeze her hand. “No.”
Her giggle fills the hall. “Off to a good start.”
With a large whoosh of breath, I enter the private wedding venue I picked out. In front of me is the most beautiful man in the world, wearing a dark suit, a fancy watch, and dark hair all gelled back. On his lips is a tiny smirk. They only way he’d have it. I can’t imagine my ridiculous fiance any other way.
I take a small step forward to my crazy, fucked up future.
Here goes nothing.
The End
Or is it…
You may want to read the author note ;)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!
Ahh, so this is it. I really hope you guys liked the ending. It’s so hard ending a series. I get so attached and emotionally invested. I want to be sure I give the characters the ending they deserve. I hope it was everything you hoped for. So many of you guys wanted reassurances that there would be a happy ending. I don’t blame you after all the crazy cliffhangers, haha! Well, there is. I think it’s perfect. No person gets that 100% happy ending, but every character got a story that ended in love, friendship and healing. What more could anyone ask for?
Now… onto my note at the end of the book. This is the end of the series. The end of Lacey, Rose, Sven and Adam’s story. BUT, several of the side characters are getting books. I will be starting with Cut and Maria. They are too f
un. I LOVE Cut, and can’t not write their story. This will be my next release, so stay tuned, and follow me on Amazon/social media for more on their story.
Next will be Nix and Sage’s story. Their story comes in two parts. The first part will take place before Roses & Thorns, the sequel will take place after. In the sequel we also get to learn more about Aaron Marketta, and possibly see him get his just desserts ;). I wish I could have shown that here, but it was no longer Rose’s story to tell. It’s her brother’s.
I already know where I’m going with Sage and Nix’s story, and let me tell you. This is going to be one beautiful story.
I am debating giving Enzio, Frances, and Kev/Lea books as well, but I’m not sure. You’ll have to let me know on social media if this is something you want! In all these books, you will get glimpses into Lacey, Rose, Sven, and Adam’s life. So although this is the end of their story, it really isn’t. We will still get to see what’s going on with them in the spin-offs.
Anyway, thank you guys so much. As a gift to you guys, I give out free ebooks to people who leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads for any of my books. If you do this, just message me the links and I will send you a free ebook of your choice~ <3
Here are my social media links. I loveee hearing from you guys, so let’s chat!
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Xx- Bry <3
PRE-ORDER CUT’S STORY:
Live August 22nd, 2018
Pre-Order: HERE
Standalones:
*Axel: Axel and Aly’s Story
Saving Her Series:
*Saving Her: Sam and Logan’s Story
*Saving Him: Dana and Gunner’s Story
*Saving Them: Alex and Rex’s Story
*Safe
Roses & Thorns:
*Roses & Thorns
*Roses & Thorns: Women
*Roses & Thorns: Men