by Jenika Snow
I was not about to die right now. All I could think about was Lily in the other room, about how she'd be helpless against this asshole.
“Don't worry; I'm not going to kill you just yet. I want to bring your bitch out here so she can see what I've done to you, and so you can watch as I take her life before I end yours.”
I forced myself to get up then, but before I could stand fully, I was right back on my ass. The dizziness was too consuming, the blood loss too intense. I gritted my teeth and tried again. With a hand braced on the fridge, I stared at the asshole who was not going to win tonight. He wasn’t. I couldn’t let that happen.
Using all my strength, I charged forward. We crashed against the breakfast bar, his back bowing over the counter slightly. We wrestled for the gun, but before I could grab it, we were on the floor, sparring. I was surprised I could do this much, given the fact I had to blink several times just to keep my vision in focus.
Makonovich was on top of me now, one hand around my neck, the other raising up to point the gun at my head. I stared him right in the eye, gasping for breath, trying to get more strength, more energy.
“Seems like if I don’t do this now, you won’t make it to see me kill your bitch,” he said, his body still on top of mine as he tried to gain supremacy.
But anything that I had reserved had been depleted in that momentary fight. And as the time seemed to stand still and everything around me became perfectly clear, I knew I was a failure.
I hadn't protected Lily. I hadn't been the man she needed or deserved. I lifted my hand and gripped his wrist, holding the gun away from me for as long as possible. And then as if everything stood still, time no longer existing, a bullet tore through the center of his head.
Makonovich fell sideways, his body now off me, his life gone. I couldn't move for long seconds, not sure what the fuck had happened. And then I slowly rose up, placed my hand on my side to apply more pressure, and turned my head to see Lily standing there with a gun pointed to where Makonovich’s still body lay on the floor.
Her hands were shaking, and her eyes were wide. Tears streamed down her cheeks. I forced myself up, bracing my body on the breakfast counter. “Baby,” I croaked. I was losing too much blood too quickly. I moved closer to her and took the gun from her, setting it on the counter beside me. I pulled her in and held her, cupped the back of her head, not trying to staunch the blood flowing from my body, telling her everything would be okay.
This woman had saved me, had shown more strength and courage than a lot of people I'd come up against in my life. I pulled back and wiped the tears from her face. If I died right now, which was a pretty good possibility, I could at least die happy, knowing she was safe.
“I'm sorry I couldn't be the one to take him out. I'm sorry you had to do that.”
And then she looked at me, the haziness clearing from her vision. She looked down and saw the wound. Worry and panic covered her expression now. I couldn't hold myself up any longer and slid to the ground, bracing my back against the counter.
“No no no no,” she kept saying, but the world was fading away. “You're not going to leave me. You're not going to go when we just found each other.”
I smiled, lifted my hand, and cupped her cheek. “I've always known you were mine.” Before everything went completely black, I heard vehicles pulling up, car doors slamming shut, and then boots racing up to the porch and into the cabin. It was Cutter, Wolf, Cookie, and Dude. Good. I was glad they were there, glad Cutter could take care of Lily now.
10
Lily
Three months later
I stared at Brock, so thankful that he’d pulled through and was slowly getting better over these past few months. After the incident at the cabin where I killed Makonovich, Cutter and the other SEALs had shown up just in the nick of time. Cookie had been a medic and was able to slow Brock’s bleeding enough so he didn’t bleed out while they rushed him to the nearest facility to get the treatment he’d needed.
If they hadn’t shown up when they did, Brock would be dead now.
Although I hadn't asked how Cutter had known to come to the cabin when he had, I'd heard him and Brock speaking about it later on. Apparently they'd been tracking Simon's movements because of some shady business he'd been doing on the side. They wanted to gather intel on him before they made a move. And then when they realized he was working with Makonovich, they’d jumped into action.
I wish I could say I was traumatized over the fact I’d killed a man. But the truth was, I felt no remorse. When I'd heard the struggle outside of the bedroom, something in me had snapped to attention. I’d grabbed a gun from the cabinet and checked to make sure it was loaded. I remembered all the training Cutter had given me throughout the years. He’d shown me how to shoot, how to handle a gun properly and safely.
This was the first time I'd ever used a weapon in self-defense, but I had no regrets. I'd seen that man about to kill Brock, and the only thing I could think of was I was not letting that happen. He'd come to the cabin to hurt us, and it was time for me to defend both of us.
So I'd aimed and shot, and then after the fact all these emotions and sensations rushed through me. Adrenaline, fear, disbelief. All of it was this rushing wave in my body that made me shake, made me feel as if I'd been pulled into a dream and there was no escape to reality.
I stopped thinking about the past. I didn’t want to think about it anymore, didn’t want to think about the what-ifs and the fact I could have lost Brock.
I sat under the shade of a large oak tree and watched as Brock, Cutter, Wolf, Cookie, and many of the other SEALs let loose. This was an intimate barbecue that everyone had planned together. After everything that had happened, we all needed this.
Brock glanced over at me and winked, and I saw all the love he had for me reflected in his face.
We'd only just found each other, maybe not in a literal sense, but we’d found each other nonetheless. I loved Brock and he loved me, and losing him would have ripped my heart out and I would have never recovered.
I also knew Brock was still coming to terms with the fact that he hadn't been the one to take Makonovich out, that he hadn't been the one to save me. We'd discussed it several times, and he'd opened up his soul and heart to me. He'd explained that he felt like a failure in many senses. I knew it would take time for a man like Brock, big and strong and used to taking charge and handling the situation, to understand that life was so uncertain. There was no way for us to know how things would turn out.
I just had to keep telling him that we were together and that's all that mattered. And each day, with every second and minute that passed, I knew he understood that.
I knew he realized that nothing else really mattered except the fact that we were both alive and we had each other.
Epilogue
Brock
Two years later
It felt like I’d been waiting for this moment since I first realized I wanted Lily as mine. My heart thundered, my palms were sweaty, and I was suffocating in my full dress navy whites. But it was all worth it as I waited for my bride-to-be to walk down the aisle and officially become mine.
Despite there being a shitload of SEALs and an array of other military personnel that made up our guest list, this was a pretty intimate affair. We didn’t have anything flashy, not because we couldn’t afford it, but because we didn’t want it. We didn’t need it. Hell, I would’ve gone to the courthouse years ago and made her mine.
I glanced over at the three best men I had at my side. Wolf, Cookie, and Dude. We weren’t on the same SEAL team, but they’d saved my life, and I considered them family, not just friends. I would’ve had Cutter right there beside me as well, but he was doing the honor of walking my girl down the aisle and giving her away. With her dad gone, he was who she looked up to, who she saw as a father figure. I even saw Lily’s mom off to the side with the other guests. I was glad she was here supporting her daughter and our union.
I’d known Lily was
meant for me from the beginning, but I’d also wanted to give her time to understand what she was getting into with me. And so we’d waited two years after I’d proposed to make the wedding date official. It gave her time to move in with me, for us to get to know each other better, for me to spoil the shit out of her.
I was so fucking possessive of Lily. There was nothing in life that meant more to me than the woman I was waiting for.
When the music started playing, everything and everyone faded away. All I could think about was Lily, about how this day was finally here. I couldn’t fuck this up. I wouldn’t. With the Makonovich threat long gone, all we had to look forward to was our future.
I knew there were threats lurking around the corner, knew that Lily being with me might put her in danger. But not having her with me, by my side, was just as dangerous. At least I could be with her, make sure she was safe…make her happy.
I might be a hard-as-fuck military man, but when it came to the woman I loved, I was soft as hell, bending to what she wanted. She’d never know the lengths I’d go to make sure she was always smiling.
I focused on the aisle, and my heart stopped when I saw her turn the corner and stop at the double doors. Cutter had his arm entwined with hers, and to see such a strong man like Cutter wearing his full dress navy whites had me grinning. He’d do anything to make sure Lily was happy too; I knew that without a doubt.
She started walking toward me, and everything in my body froze up. I couldn’t help but feel the most intense emotions to ever consume me. I’d always felt this with her, and I always would.
I couldn’t stop staring at her, at the way her gown formed to her perfect body, at the way the light came through the window and made her look ethereal.
And then she stopped a few feet from me. Cutter gave her a hug and kiss on the top of the head before handing her over to me. He stared me right in the eyes, his face set hard, the badass in him coming out.
“You take care of her,” he ordered.
“Always,” I said in reply, not put out in the least. He was only looking out for Lily, and I appreciated it more than I could say. I looked at my soon-to-be wife. All I wanted to do was pull her to me and kiss her senseless, not even wait for our vows, just lay one on her so everyone knew she was mine.
I was in this trance as the ceremony started, we said our vows and were finally pronounced husband and wife. I was still looking into her eyes when she leaned in and whispered, “This is where you kiss me.”
My heart started beating a mile a minute then. I pulled my new wife in close. Right now, at this moment, it was official.
“You were always mine,” I said arrogantly, but it was the truth. I kissed her then, holding the back of her head as I devoured her mouth in front of everyone. I didn’t care what anyone thought. I’d been waiting for this moment my whole fucking life.
The End
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