He stands and moves to the sink to wash his hands. I want to laugh. He’s covered in fucking blood, so I’m not sure what good washing his hands will do, but I don’t say anything.
“Callen took off to take care of the rest of Jacoby’s team. His cleanup crew is rounding up the bodies to be brought back here.”
“Okay, so what now?”
“For now, it’s over. Tomorrow, I’ll come back to deal with the insane dead body count we’ve racked up, but now, we go home, beautiful.”
We go home. Changed forever.
I know where I came from. I know who my father is and that he wants to get to know me. I have Burke, and that’s the best feeling in the world. I have relationships with people I trust for the first time in my life. For me, this tragedy has turned out better than it could have, but for others, there are still big cracks in the foundation.
Burke and Kai’s relationship has been fractured. Teagan’s bright personality has been dimmed by evil. I’m hopeful that, with time, these things will heal themselves. Teagan’s too beautiful of a soul to have her light turned off. Kai and Burke will recover, too—once Burke pulls his head out of his ass, but I’ll be around to help with the dislodging. Jacoby will become a distant memory we’ll all try to forget, and together, we’ll move on to whatever happens next.
Personally, I hope the future holds a lot less blood and murder. I don’t think that’s asking for too much.
Burke kisses my forehead, and we leave behind Jacoby and all his failed evil schemes in that warehouse.
Burke
“Stay here with Kai,” I tell Paisley.
The nervous look in her eyes has me on edge.
Her eyes dart around the room, avoiding me.
It’ll take time, but eventually, Paisley will be able to relax again. We got him. Jacoby can no longer hide behind his childish alias. Sonnelion is dead. Yesterday, I was covered in his blood that poured from his veins by the brutality of my own hands. His agonizing screams still victoriously echo in my mind. I witnessed him take his last breath. Our fight is over.
“Are you sure Callen got the rest of the men working under Jacoby?” Her hands nervously shake at her sides.
“I’m sure. Callen may not have been in the loop, but he’s been working this job for months. He knows who all the players are, and he assures me they are all accounted for. It’s over, Paisley. You’re safe.”
Her shoulders relax as she falls into my arms, letting me hold her. I don’t want to leave her today, but I’ve got a huge mess to attend to. It’s time to get rid of the last of our skeletons.
Paisley pulls back and stands up on her tiptoes to bring her mouth to mine. She parts her lips, and I take her face in my hands. She kisses me with reserve. It’s not something I’m used to between us. So, I take control. Her feet stumble as I push her up against the wall in the kitchen. She moans into my mouth. I’m a man on a mission with this kiss, with this girl.
I will make her feel safe again.
I bite her bottom lip.
Her trust in me, her trust in us will get her through this.
She gasps.
No one will ever hurt her again.
My tongue tangles with hers as the powerful connection between us ignites, burning away her reservations. She kisses me back between panting breaths and sensual moans of want.
Not that long ago, I felt I didn’t deserve Paisley, but that doesn’t matter now. I am the man who will love her the hardest. The one who will do anything to protect her. The one who will make her smile for the rest of our lives. The one who knows every fucking day how lucky I am that I found her. I am the man who has her heart. That’s what matters.
“I love you, Paisley.”
“I love you, too.”
My phone rings, but I ignore it. I have my hands on Paisley. My fingertips brush against her skin beneath her shirt. My hands continue higher, and she trembles as I graze her ribs. Almost as soon as the ringing stops, it starts again, and Paisley starts to pull back. I hold her tight and slow our kiss.
“Not yet,” I whisper against her lips.
She smiles at my words.
My mouth moves with hers while she attempts to rein me in.
“Someone is trying to get ahold of you.”
I don’t care. My tongue tangles with hers to prove my point, but she pulls back again.
“You’ve got stuff to do today.”
This is more important. She is more important. Reassuring her that she’s safe and that our trouble is over is what matters to me, not disposing of a dozen or so bodies. They’re dead. They can wait.
She giggles against my mouth and swats at my chest. Only after I’m sure she understands that I love her do I let her pull back. Her eyes bore into mine, holding a playfulness that wasn’t there earlier. I smile down at her as she removes my hands from her breasts.
“It’s broad daylight, and we’re in the middle of the kitchen. We don’t live alone in this house.”
I take a piece of her hair in my hand. “Teagan and Kai are both hiding from me, so I doubt we’ll see either of them today. You knew about whatever was happening between them. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I’m not mad at her. After everything that’s happened, I can’t hold this against her, but I do want to know why she didn’t tell me.
“I only recently found out. Teagan opened up to me about them the day you asked me to reach out to her. I didn’t want to betray her trust the second she was finally giving it to me.”
I get that. I don’t like that she kept it from me, but she and Teagan have a friendship, too. It’s one of the things I love about Paisley.
“I think you hearing about whatever’s happened between them should come from one of them though.”
I don’t want to think about what’s been happening between them ever. My temper flares with just the thought.
“I know.” And I do. When they are ready, they will tell me about it.
“I do want to tell you that Kai ended things with her when she wouldn’t let him be honest with you. They are both hurting without one another, but Teagan is keeping them apart because she doesn’t want to hurt you.”
“And she didn’t think lying would hurt?”
“Burke, think on it a bit before you say something to one of them that you can’t take back. Kai loves her more than any man ever could. Them sneaking around behind your back was wrong, but the feelings between them aren’t.”
My phone rings again.
“Get that. Go end all this drama once and for all.”
I answer the phone while I trace my finger around Paisley’s lips. I’m not ready to let her go. She playfully nips at my finger while I listen to Callen tell me that I’m late. I know I’m late. I mumble a few affirmatives into the phone and then hang up.
“I have to go.” I kiss her.
“I know you do. I’ve been telling you that now for at least fifteen minutes.”
I kiss her again. “Are you going to be okay here today?” I tip her chin to look up at me.
“I’ll be okay. I’ll be even better when you come back to me, and I can have you inside me.”
I kiss her one last time. “I’m better because I know I’ll spend the rest of my life with you, inside you, loving you.”
She grins from ear to ear. “You’re getting better at this romantic stuff, Mr. Hensley.”
“If I’m going to make you Mrs. Hensley, then I need to up my game, huh? You’re my vengeance, and we have our happily ever after to live.”
“I wasn’t a girl who believed in happily ever afters, but with you, I think anything is possible.”
Paisley
The house is quiet now that Burke left to go meet Callen, too quiet. Burke may be working hard to reassure me that our troubles are over, but being alone in this big house with all the silence puts me on edge.
I leave the kitchen, and climb the stairs. Right now, there is a fracture in Burke’s friendship with Kai, and I hate to see that. We should
all be happier than ever that we defeated our enemies, but Kai and Teagan are locked away, each in their own rooms. I haven’t seen either of them since yesterday. I stand in the hallway, looking between the two closed doors, trying to decide which one I need to go to. Door number two, it is.
I knock against Kai’s door.
“Come in.”
Kai sits on his bed as I enter, and I close the door behind me.
“Don’t come any closer. I’m already in enough trouble. The last thing I need is to be caught in bed with you.”
“Don’t hold your breath, chump. You wouldn’t have a chance with me. I remember how quickly you finish.”
He chuckles while he lifts himself up from the bed and moves through his room to retrieve a shirt.
“Can we talk about Jacoby?”
He pauses before he lifts the shirt up over his head. “There is nothing to talk about.”
“Kai, the guy who came after us was your brother. He was working with your dad. You have to feel something.”
“That man isn’t my father, and Jacoby is dead. Enough said.”
“Fine, but know you can talk to me.”
“I know, Paisley. Thanks for checking in. Really, I’m okay though. My fucked up family put all of you in danger. That bothers me more than their betrayals.”
“Kai, this isn’t your fault. You know that, right? And they’re not your family. We are.”
Kai gives me a half-assed grin. “Yeah, it seems I’m stuck with you for a while. Pity.”
“Get dressed, and come downstairs with me, Mr. Frowns A Lot. I have a few other things to talk to you about.”
“Oh, joy.”
“Lose the attitude, my friend. You’re going to need me on your side.”
“For what?”
We leave Kai’s room and head to the living room.
“You’re definitely going to need me to win back our girl and not lose your balls when you go to Burke. Act like a man, and tell him you love Teagan and that you won’t rest until she takes you back.” I sit cross-legged on the couch and pull a blanket over my lap.
Kai drapes himself on the lounge chair across from me, and we settle in.
“I’m your only ally in this house now. We’ve got work to do.”
“I love Teagan more than I love myself. I thought I’d lost her twice during all this shit that happened. I don’t need a reminder that I’ve got work to do.” The certainty in his words is clear on his face. “Burke might not be okay with us, but after almost losing her, I can’t fight my feelings for her anymore. I never could really. Burke will have to figure out how to deal. Teagan owns my heart. I won’t rest until she’s okay and we’re together.”
“Good. Maybe you’re not a complete chump after all.”
Kai gives me an amused smile.
“Burke will come around.”
“I’m not so sure of that.”
“He will. You follow through with the things you said about Teagan, and I’ll work on Burke. But you need to go to him first and explain things. Let him see the whole picture and make him see that you love her. Make him see that you’re what’s best for his sister.”
“Sounds like a good way to get a few more punches from Burke.”
“You’re probably right, but eventually, he’ll stop throwing his fists, and he’ll have to get over it once he sees it’s not going away. Plus, I can be very persuasive when I want to be. I’ll help you win him over.”
“You’re going to fuck him into accepting this?”
I toss a nearby throw pillow at Kai’s head. He ducks too late, and it hits him right in the face.
“Don’t be so crude.” A sardonic chuckle erupts from deep within me. “But, yes, if I have to.”
“I’m sure it will be a real sacrifice on your part.”
“We’re family now. I’d do anything for you and Teagan. Even if that means suffering through multiple orgasms a day and becoming a contortionist to let Burke have his way with me in every possible fantasy he’s ever dreamed up.”
“Okay, I’ve heard too much. I cannot picture you with Burke. Excuse me while I go pour bleach into my eyes.”
“Shut up.” I toss another pillow at him, but this one misses. “Seriously though, I’m on your side for this. We’ll break him down. It’ll all work out.”
“I hope you’ve got a magic vagina because I think we’re going to need it.”
“It is pretty spectacular.”
Burke
Bodies.
They line the ground before me, each one mangled and awaiting an afterlife of eternal restlessness. These corpses don’t deserve a proper burial, and they certainly won’t rest in peace. It reeks of blood and death in here. We’ve accumulated quite the death count. Every man who was working for Jacoby lies at my feet while Callen finalizes the acid mixture that will clean up our mess. There are way too many bodies to just dump them all in the Gulf.
I stare at Jacoby’s corpse for the last time.
“It’s ready.” Callen announces.
“All right, let’s start loading them up.”
Somehow, within a matter of hours, Callen got his hands on a giant oil drum and sulfuric acid. I’m not asking any questions. I don’t want to know how he pulled it off. He’s definitely not someone to fuck with.
One by one, the bodies get carefully placed into the deadly liquid. I save Jacoby for last, and I say good riddance for the final time with a smile on my face as his body joins the others. Now, it’s really over.
Fuck you, Jacoby, and your crazy bullshit games. You fucked with the wrong people.
“Come on, we can’t be in here much longer. The fumes alone could kill us.”
“You know way too much about disposing of bodies.”
“Yeah, well . . .” He gives me a small shrug. “I’m surprised Kai isn’t here. I thought he’d want to see Jacoby take the final plunge.”
“Kai and I have some things we need to work out.”
Clean, untainted air fills my lungs as we exit. I secure the warehouse behind me and lock it up with the brand-new code as I take a deep breath.
“This is about your sister, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Not my business, but go easy on them. It was my job to sit back and observe while I was here. You three have a bond that most people never see. Whatever happened behind your back wasn’t meant to hurt you. Don’t let this whole thing ruin that.”
I’m not worried about me getting hurt. I’m worried about Teagan getting hurt and then having to kill Kai for hurting her. She’s been through too much.
“Easier said than done.”
“All right. Well, the acid will take some time to completely get rid of all those bodies. I’ll check on things periodically and have it cleaned up and cleared out of here within the next couple of days. If any of you come by, make sure you don’t stay inside the building too long.”
“You sticking around town, man?”
“No, I’ve already got another job lined up. I’m heading up to New England in about a week.”
“Listen, I appreciate everything you’ve done. We would have been fucked without you.”
He nods his head at me. That’s my kind of man. No reason to spoil a good-bye with words. I shake his hand and then head off to my car.
It’s time to go home to my girl.
“Are you awake?” I question Paisley as I enter our dark bedroom.
“Yeah, I was waiting up for you.”
I slide into bed with Paisley and hook my arms around her naked body.
“I’m happy you did.” I kiss her shoulder.
“Are the bad guys all taken care of?”
“Yep, every last one of them,” I reassure her.
She turns to face me and wraps her arms around me. The light from the moon shines in from the window and lights up her face. Her legs twist with mine, and I kiss her lips. She pulls back after a brief connection.
“I missed you tonight,” she sighs her confession.
“I missed you, too.” I kiss the tip of her nose.
“Do you think all this mess will taint our love story?”
“There is nothing that could taint what’s between us. Anything we’ve been through will only make us stronger. If we could make it through this, we can get through anything.” I pull her closer to me and tighten my hold on her.
“I think so, too.” Her hand caresses the side of my neck. “Burke, why did you kiss me that first time on the couch?”
I chuckle at the memory.
“I couldn’t not kiss you. From the first time I saw you, there was this spark inside me. I tried to brush it off as a crass need for you, but when I look back now, it’s easy to see I knew you’d be the one to change my life. I wasn’t ready for you yet, so I acted like a dick. I’m sorry for that. Why’d you kiss me back?” I direct the question back at her.
She chuckles herself. “I couldn’t not kiss you even if you were a dick who needed to grow up. Best and worst first kiss of my life.”
I pull back. “Worst kiss?” I swat at her bare ass.
“Well, yeah. It was the best because it was with you and the worst because you were an arrogant dick who left me hanging to prove a point. I won that game though, remember? I’m the one who called checkmate!”
“You won the game, but I’m the real winner. I got you.”
Our words end, and our bodies take over the loving moment.
Paisley is my vengeance, and vengeance is mine.
Six Months Later
Paisley
There’s a newspaper on the table in front of me. Newspapers still exist? Do we get the paper? The small headline buried within the more pressing news articles catches my eye. I need coffee before I read this. Rich, flavorful goodness, and I’m ready. No one paid for an obituary. Who would for this man? But the paper reported it because of how gruesome the scene was. The article is titled, “Man Serving a Life Sentence for Killing His Wife Found Dead in Cell.” I skim the article, but I already know most of the details.
Vengeance in Bloom (The Love Unauthorized Series Book 2) Page 21
