But none of this was funny.
“Wake up!” Slade said, slamming the toe of his boot into Nicholai’s ribs. He cried out in pain and Slade laughed. “Hey, it worked!”
Nicholai blinked awake, staring up at me and Slade in confusion. It didn’t take him long to figure it out, his eyes landing on mine finally.
I nodded slowly, all the words I’d practiced over the last few months in my head, sure I’d hurl them at him like daggers the first chance I had, failed me completely.
Instead, I spat on him, right in the face.
He flinched, turning his head, before slowly coming back to face me again.
He lifted his chin defiantly.
I took a deep breath and slapped him, hard. His head flew to the side again, a bright red welt popping up on his cheek.
“I trusted you!” I said, my words dripping with rage. “I was so young. You took advantage of me. You controlled me, like I was some dog you adopted.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining,” Nicholai replied, spitting his words out angrily.
“Because you didn’t listen!” I cried. “I was miserable. You ignored me. You used me. And you killed Eddie. All that time, I had no idea you were a fucking murderer, Nicholai, how do you think that made me feel? I slept with you!” I cried in disgust.
He smiled up at me, a sick smile that made my stomach churn.
“You fucking loved every inch, bitch,” he said. I took a step back in surprise, his words echoing in my head. In a flash, a fist appeared from my side, slamming into Nicholai’s face, blood splattering from his mouth.
“Watch your fucking mouth!” Ziggy glared at him from my side, Nicholai’s blood dripping from his knuckles.
I smirked, pleased at the sight of blood trickling from his mouth. He shook his head, staring up at me.
“You’re nothing without me, Lucky,” he whispered. “Nothing. Look at how everything’s falling apart. Look how far you’ve fallen.”
“You’re wrong. I’ve soared, Nicholai. You were a dead weight and now you’re nothing but a sinking anchor.”
“You’re the one who’s wrong, Lucky. You think a pair of handcuffs and a bunch of stupid beefy men are going to keep me away from you? You think the cops are going to come in here and take me away and the threat is over?” He laughed, an evil, disgusting laugh that chilled my bones. I bristled in anger, shaking my head.
The click of the gun broke me out of my rage-filled trance.
“Maybe this will convince you that it’s over, you evil fuck!” Ziggy’s gun was pressed tightly to Nicholai’s temple, his eyes wild with savage anger. “All this time? You’ve been torturing this woman. You lied to her for a decade! You killed the man she loved! What kind of fucking monster does that? You think we’re going to let you live, prick?”
He was shaking with rage and I glanced over at Slade. Sure, I fucking hated Nicholai and I wanted him gone, but suddenly this was so real and I knew that if Ziggy pulled that trigger, I’d lose the only thing I had left.
“Ziggy, don’t…” I whispered. Hesitant to move forward, I stayed frozen in place, unable to breathe.
“Do it,” Nicholai said, laughing, taunting him. He knew just as much as I did that it would only hurt me if Ziggy killed him, because Ziggy would be the one in jail for life. “Shoot me, you little bitch. Do it.”
CHAPTER 49
ZIGGY
The weight of the gun made it real.
The sweat on my palm, the trembling fingers, the wild eyes staring back at me, taunting me, daring me…
That made it real, too.
All I could hear was my heart hammering loudly in my ears and once Nicholai told me to shoot him, his words ricocheted through my head.
“Do it, do it, do it…”
Vaguely aware of other voices nearby — Lucky’s, Slade’s, Ryder’s — they faded away into a chorus of faint whispers, melting together in the back of my mind.
Everything else vanished.
It was just me and Nicholai — the man who had done nothing but harm the woman I loved.
The way I saw it, I had two choices.
I could kill him, or I could walk away.
If I walked away and let the police deal with him, that meant counting on the justice system to do the right thing, which we all know doesn’t always happen.
If I let the cops take him, all kinds of things could go wrong. He could escape. He could be found not guilty of Eddie’s murder and get off, leaving him free to do exactly as he’d threatened to do. We’d always be looking over our shoulder, living in fear of him coming back.
If I killed him, if I put this slug through his evil little brain like I itched to do, his reign of terror would be over. No more threats, no more bullshit. We could go on with our lives. Or could we? Sure, the Gods were good at covering this shit up, but Lucky’s a fucking rock star. The press would be all over this in a fucking minute. And if they weren’t right away, it could always be uncovered later, and we’d be living in fear of the truth being discovered. And there was always the possibility that I could to jail, for a good long while. And that meant doing something that I wasn’t willing to do — leave Lucky.
It wasn’t an easy decision and his ugly, sick, taunting grin wasn’t making it any easier.
“Come on, pussy, pull the trigger. Make my fucking day,” he growled.
I took a deep breath and nodded slowly, my decision becoming clearer by the second.
I pulled the gun away from his temple and pointed it straight at his brain.
EPILOGUE
Dancing overhead, the trees of the Tillamook forest seemed to be performing an ancient ritual dance that they’d learned early in life. They swayed back and forth like synchronized partners, connected underground by a maze of roots so deeply entwined they’d never untangle.
That’s how Lucky had grown to feel about Ziggy.
The last few months had been a whirlwind of chaos, and yet together, the two of them had stood strong, weathering the storm like a couple of old growth trees that were much stronger when they were together.
“I absolutely love it here,” Lucky whispered, leaning into the solid frame of her love as they strolled through the forest near the Gods of Chaos’ clubhouse.
“It’s hard not to love,” Ziggy replied. “It’s probably the most peaceful place I’ve ever spent time.”
“You’re so blessed, you know,” she said, “to have such a place, to have family like the Gods.”
Lucky had never really had a family, at least not a safe and loving one. The time she’d spent with the Gods had been the closest she’d ever come, and she’d cherished every moment.
“It’s true,” he said, feeling that truth deep in his bones
After choosing to spare Nicholai’s life, Ziggy was feeling better about his decision now that justice had finally been served. Nicholai was arrested and taken back to Texas to face charges for Eddie’s murder and after pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty, he’d managed to get his sentence reduced to life without parole. The fact that he’d never get out of prison made everyone involved breathe a little easier.
“A year ago, I never imagined this would be my life now,” Lucky said. Ziggy squeezed her hand, stopping to kiss her gently.
“Are you happy?” he asked her.
“Yes,” she replied. She’d taken the year off work, after finding jobs for all her crew on another tour, so that she could rest without all the guilt. After all the police interviews and chaos had died down, she and Ziggy had left the country, escaping to a tiny island in the Mediterranean for a few weeks. The time they spent there had only solidified their bond, leaving them so deeply in love they knew that what they had between them was never going to end.
“Me, too,” he whispered, and she stared up at him with the light of a thousand stars in her eyes. Ziggy lit up her soul in a way nobody, not even Eddie, had ever done before.
“Hey, I want you to meet some friends,” he said, grabbing her hand and
walking her deeper into the forest. They stood quietly by a rushing creek, staring down at the bubbling water pouring over the rocks and slicing through the middle of the lush forest.
“Sit here, be very still,” he whispered, sitting next to her and staring up at the trees.
“What are we waiting for?” she whispered.
“Shh, you’ll see,” he said, his voice barely audible. The sun was setting in the distance, sending slivers of yellow light through the trunks of the pines, softly illuminating the quickly darkening forest. With a soft woosh, the branches above them parted and a pair of huge flapping wings broke through the air overhead.
Lucky gasped, as another bird came flying down, both of them landing on the rock beside them with a heavy thump. Slow and steady, two pairs of bright yellow, big, round eyes blinked at them.
“Owls!” Lucky cried.
“Aren’t they amazing?” Ziggy asked. “This is Oliver and Olivia. They hang around, let us feed them, even let us pet them.”
“I can pet them?” Lucky asked with wide eyes.
“Sure, go ahead.”
She reached out gingerly, her fingers gently sliding over their feathers as they sat calmly allowing her touch.
“Wow,” she said, looking up at Ziggy. “This is amazing. How did I get so lucky to meet you, to have this be my life now?”
She continued to pet the owls, as Ziggy stared over at her with all-consuming love filling his eyes. The storm of the past few months had passed and all that lay ahead of them was smooth sailing and a whole lot of love.
“It wasn’t you, babe,” he said, his voice a lusty growl as he gazed over at the love of his life. “I’m the one that got Lucky.”
He stood up and the owls flew away. Pulling her to her feet, he kissed her with all the love in his heart, all the emotion spilling out into his kiss, the two of them entwined in the forest like roots of an ancient pine.
THE END
A note from the author…
Thank you so much for reading the Gods of Chaos series. When I began writing Remember Me, the first book of the series, my father had recently died and I left my heart on the pages. I never expected the series would get this far and that the Gods of Chaos would become so dear to my heart, but that’s what has happened.
I didn’t start the series off intending to focus on rape trafficking, domestic violence and other abuses, but that’s where the story went. Rape trafficking and abuse are heavy subjects and I strive to avoid exploiting that aspect of the stories, in any way. I firmly believe in women’s rights and equality and that everyone, regardless of gender, has the right to be safe and free from abuse.
As always, I welcome feedback and discussion about my books. Feel free to leave me a review or contact me directly at [email protected].
Again, I thank you so much for reading. I couldn’t do what I love without you, the reader.
I’d like to give a special thanks to my wonderful husband, my amazing daughter, Ivy Hover who helped with the beautiful cover, and some wonderful friends who continue to help me every day — Vivian Lux, Jordan Marie, Jenn Allen, and Donna Parrott and so many other wonderful people that would take an entire book to name.
Life is crazy. Writing is the only thing that keeps me sane sometimes. I hope it provides you a little escape from the wildness of the world, if only for a little while.
Thank you a million times,
~Honey Palomino
If you’re interested in checking out the rest of my work,
you can do so at: www.amazon.com/Honey-Palomino/e/B00DR2B2J6
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IF YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW, NEEDS HELP,
PLEASE CONTACT THE ORGANIZATIONS BELOW:
UNITED STATES
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE (Available for US, Canada & Mexico)
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
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800.656.HOPE (4673)
NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING HOTLINE
1 (888) 373-7888
www.polarisproject.org
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NATIONAL HELPLINE AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
01800 5533 000
CANADA
THE CANADIAN CENTER TO END HUMAN TRAFFICKING
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UK MODERN SLAVERY HOTLINE AND RESOURCE CENTRE
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