I looked into Van’s eyes. They held so much fury and fear I was sure I felt it along with my own. I’d only just gotten him back, and now this asshole was trying to take me from him.
“Stay back,” Terrence shrieked. “Or I’ll stab her in the back. I swear, I’ll do it.”
“You do, and I will kill you. Slowly. I’ll make you scream and pray for death, but it won’t come easy. I promise you that,” Van said, voice hard and so cold it sent shivers down my spine.
There was no mistaking the truth in his words. He would follow through with his threat, and going by the look on Hunter’s face, no one would try and stop him.
Terrence obviously heard it as well, and I felt him start to shake behind me. “I’m leaving and I’m taking London with me. You’re going to let us past or I’ll kill her…I will.”
Van didn’t budge, didn’t move, not even a little. “No. You’re not taking her anywhere and you’re not going to kill her.”
Terrence stammered then tightened his hold on me. “I will, I’ll do it!”
“No,” Van roared, his rage echoing around the room. “You fucking won’t.”
Terrence actually jumped.
“Motherfucker, if you put one more cut in her skin, I’ll start by peeling yours off strip by strip and fucking feeding it to you. Do you hear me? You have one choice: you drop the knife and back away from her or you die. That’s it. There is nothing else. There are no other options for you.”
While Terrence was momentarily stunned to silence, he’d eased up his hold on me slightly. The blade was no longer pressed hard against my back.
This was my chance, probably the only one I’d get. Ruby’s instructions from our lessons fired through my mind. We’d only had a couple, and with the drugs in my system still making me woozy, I wasn’t sure I could pull off any of those moves without getting cut.
“And if all else fails and you can’t get free, head butt the prick. He sure as hell won’t be expecting it.”
I didn’t let myself overthink it. I slammed my head back into Terrence’s face. He howled and released me. The knife clattered to the floor, and I threw myself toward Van, landing hard on the ground. Van ran forward and pulled me to my feet, holding me tight in his arms while Hunter kept his gun aimed on Terrence.
Van pulled the gag from my mouth. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. I’ve got you. You’re safe now, baby.”
I noticed then that Zeke was there as well. He strode over to us and untied me while Van held onto me. Once I was free, Zeke pulled his own gun and aimed it at Terrence.
Van kissed me gently. “I need you to go with Hunter,” he said and handed me over to his brother before I could protest. “Take her out.”
Hunter nodded and, holding me in his arms, carried me from the room. The last thing I saw was Van going to the phone Terrence had been using as a camera and dropping it face down.
Van said something and Terrence replied. I didn’t hear what it was.
A gun fired and I jolted, crying out in surprise.
A moment later Van walked out. “He’s dead,” Van said as he took me from Hunter. “Terrence had another knife concealed. He pulled it and went for Zeke. I killed him.”
“Self-defense,” Hunter said.
Zeke walked out looking perfectly fine to me, not a scratch on his tall, leanly muscled body that I could see. Is that what really happened, or had Van…
I slammed the door on those thoughts because, honestly, I didn’t care. I was glad Terrence was dead. Glad it was over.
I clung tighter to Van, resting my head on his shoulder. “Please, just take me home.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Hospital first then that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
* * *
I woke on the couch, my head in Van’s lap. He was sitting up, staring straight ahead, and hadn’t yet noticed that I’d woken up.
We’d come home after going to the hospital, where I’d gotten seven stitches, and Van had brought me straight back to his apartment, much to Connor’s frustration.
Van had insisted that if he wanted my statement, he could come to the apartment, but I wasn’t staying at the hospital any longer than I had to.
Connor came to the apartment, I gave my statement, and Zeke and Hunter did as well. After Van and I had talked to him, I’d curled up beside Van, resting my head on his lap, and that’s obviously where we’d stayed.
It was dark apart from a lamp by the couch that washed a small area around us in a golden glow, and everyone had gone. I eased myself up, wincing when my stitches pulled a little.
His dark eyes slid to me and his arms automatically came around me.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey.”
He looked troubled, haunted.
“Let’s go to bed.”
He stood, taking me with him before I could even attempt to get to my feet.
“I’m okay to walk.”
“Don’t care.”
I grinned at that. I couldn’t believe I was grinning mere hours after what had happened. He carried me into his room and stood me on my feet with the utmost care, then started stripping off my clothes with the same gentle reverence. He got my shirt and bra off and was undoing my pants when I noticed his hands were shaking.
I covered them with my own. “Van?”
He shook his head, didn’t speak, and I got the feeling he needed a moment. He got my jeans off and then pulled one of his button-down shirts from the drawer and helped me into it, buttoning it up.
I climbed into bed and he tucked the blankets around me before he disappeared into the bathroom. He was gone a little while, and when he came back he was in a towel and his hair was damp. He tugged it off his hips, rubbed it over his hair one more time, and slid into bed beside me.
I turned into his arms immediately and he started rubbing my back. He was still shaking.
“I’m okay,” I said.
I knew I’d read him right when he held me a little tighter. “I nearly lost you.”
“You didn’t. You found me. You saved me again.”
He kissed the top of my head, and I carefully lifted to my elbow and stared down at him. I cupped his stubbled jaw and slid my thumb back and forth, letting the warmth of his skin and the roughness of his whiskers ground me.
“Are you…are you going to be okay, I mean, after what happened in that room?” I whispered.
He shook his head. “I will never be okay with what happened in that room, London. Someone tried to take you from me.” His jaw went tight. “Baby, you’re gonna have to bear with me here, yeah? I’m a possessive guy at the best of times, protective of what’s mine. I’m gonna be extreme with that shit, with your safety, for my own peace of mind, for a while, maybe a lot longer than that.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “You have to let me have my way in this, sweetheart, or I won’t be able to function.”
“You can have your way, Van, whatever you need.” I stared into his eyes. “But that wasn’t what I was talking about. I meant what happened after Hunter carried me out.” I wanted him to know whatever the truth was, whatever happened in there, I was okay with it.
He’d killed for me tonight. It wasn’t the first time. And all I could feel was relief. Maybe that made me a bad person, but I didn’t care. Terrence was going to kill me, slowly, painfully, and I couldn’t be sorry he was no longer able to hurt another person.
But I didn’t want Van to carry Terrence’s death on his soul, that weight on his shoulders. I wanted him to know whatever happened in that room, whatever the truth was, I was okay. That it didn’t change anything, especially not my feelings for him, not in any way.
“What do you mean?” he said.
“Are you okay, with what happened?”
“Are you?” he said, voice gruff.
“I’m just worried how it might affect you later on…”
He slid his fingers into my hair, stopping me. “I will never have one moment’s regret over killing that sadistic
fucker, not one, not ever, do you understand? He hurt you, was going to do worse, and he paid the price for that. I’d do it again and without hesitation, don’t ever doubt that. You’re all that matters. You’re all I care about. Anyone hurts you ever again, in any way, and they will never do it again.”
I leaned in, my hair falling around us, and I kissed his perfect, firm lips. “I love you,” I whispered.
He slid his powerful, sure arms around me, holding me tightly to him. “I love you, too, London, so much. You have no idea how much.”
“I think I have a good idea,” I said against his lips.
“I’m never letting you go again, sweetheart. This is it.”
“This is it, and this is exactly where I want to be.” Then I kissed him again.
Epilogue
London
Six months later
When I opened the door to the apartment, I was instantly hit by the smell of something out-of-this-world delicious. I frowned, not because this wasn’t a good thing, a really good thing, but because it was unexpected. Today had been insanely busy, the store had been frantic, and then I’d had a session with my therapist, which was always a little draining. The last thing I felt like doing was cooking.
I put my keys in the little polka dot bowl I’d found at a second-hand store three weeks ago, hung up my jacket on the walnut coatrack I’d found in the same store a week before that, and headed into the living room.
Van said he wanted me to make this our home, and to say I’d run with it was an understatement. He seemed to like the changes I’d made, though. He’d walk in and notice something I’d moved or bought, and he’d get this grin that made my belly flip.
But then Van only had to walk into a room and I reacted with my whole body, and I didn’t think that would ever change. A lot of other things had changed, though. I wasn’t the same person I’d been before, and I could honestly say I liked the new London. Yes, I still had tough days. Days when the nightmares forced their way back in, and days where my anxiety tried to pull me back under. Sometimes it won, sometimes it didn’t.
Either way, no matter what, Van was there for me, patient and strong and loving.
I poked my head in the kitchen. There was food bubbling on the stovetop and something was in the oven. The living room was empty, but the table had been set beautifully and there was a candle in the middle.
I heard a door open and close down the hall, and Van walked out looking as gorgeous as I’d ever seen him. He was wearing charcoal pants and a black button-down. His hair was damp and combed back. His gaze came to me, sweeping over me from head to toe, and his lips curled up in a sexy grin.
“Hey, baby,” he said.
Yep, I felt that, the look and the tone of his voice. “What’s going on?” I said, motioning to the table.
He shrugged.
“You’re all dressed up.”
He looked down at himself. “Am I?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you up to?”
He shrugged again. “You’ve had a busy week. Thought I’d do something special for you.”
I noted that he hadn’t come near me, which was not like Van at all. As soon as I walked into a room, he was moving toward me. Always.
“Hungry?” he said.
I nodded slowly. “Yes, starving. But first I think you should tell me what this is about.” My heart started to beat faster. “Has something happened? What’s wrong?”
Van crossed the room and took my shoulders in his hands. “There is nothing wrong. Not one thing.” He looked away then back, and wow, to say he looked intense was an understatement. “I was going to do this after we ate, but I see now I’m going to have to change things around a bit. Lulu’s gonna kick my ass if I fuck this up.”
I frowned again. “Lulu? Fuck what up?” I was totally lost and I told him so.
“Wait here,” he said. Something moved through his eyes that I didn’t recognize, which alarmed me. I’d seen all his looks: pissed off, broody, sweet, affectionate…turned on. The look he’d just given me I had never seen before in the whole six months I’d been living with him.
I watched as he disappeared down the hall and heard the spare bedroom door open and close. He was gone a few minutes, then he was back, standing there with the tiniest puppy I’d ever seen in his arms. She was white and fluffy and had a pink ribbon around her neck.
My hands flew to my mouth and I barely held back the squeal of delight that was desperate to break loose. “Oh my God!” I cried, jumping up and down. “You got me a dog?”
Van was grinning, looking extremely pleased with himself. And he had good reason to be. I rushed over and he handed her to me.
I took her and buried my face in her fur. “Hello, baby,” I whispered. She licked my cheek and I looked back up at Van, smiling so wide I thought I might burst. I stroked her and something bumped my hand. I looked and there was something hanging from the ribbon around her neck.
“What is that?” It was heart shaped, like a locket only a little bigger. It had a clasp on it.
“Why don’t you open it and find out?” he said, voice dropping low.
My gaze shot up to him and I swallowed hard. I had no trouble recognizing the look on his face. Heat and affection, and a little trepidation.
I thought my heart was racing before.
The puppy squirmed in my arms, so I walked to the couch and sat down. She was wriggling like crazy, but I managed to undo the bow from around her neck and put her down to run around the floor. The clasp was firm, and it took me a moment to get it open.
I pulled the two sides apart…
A ring fell into my hand.
It was gold, set with a pale pink square diamond. It caught the light as I held it in my shaking hand. My gaze shot up to Van, but he wasn’t standing beside me anymore, he was down on his knee in front of me.
He took my hand, his skin warm and rough, his touch sure and tender.
I bit my lip, my eyes filling with tears.
“I can’t ever imagine my life without you in it, I don’t want to. Will you marry me, London?”
I blinked and tears spilled over, running down my cheeks. “Yes.” I nodded, more tears falling. “Yes, I will.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded again. “Yeah.”
Van growled, curled his hand around the side of my neck, thumb at the corner of my mouth, and leaned in, kissing me so deep and so packed with emotion I felt dizzy from it.
The puppy wriggled up onto my lap, nipping and licking and yapping. Van picked her up and put her on the floor. “Sorry, little girl, but London is all mine for the next hour.” Then his gaze came to mine and he took the ring from me and slid it on. “When I slide inside you, I want you wearing my ring.”
He pushed me back onto the couch, thrust his fingers in my hair, and covered me, kissing me again.
* * *
Van
I sat at a table in Stilettos and grinned like a damned fool. I wasn’t the only one.
Raul had shut the place down for the night, and he and Fay had surprised us with a party to celebrate our engagement. Just family.
Sunny, Lulu, Willa, Steph, Fay, and Ruby were currently up on stage with London, taking turns swinging on the pole, practicing their moves and laughing their asses off.
Tomas and Zeke had taken off a little while ago with all the kids since Fay had organized sitters for them so the adults could cut loose, and I chuckled when the two of them walked back in, pausing at the door when they caught sight of the women dancing on the stage.
Neither looked like they minded in the least.
Zeke sat down beside me, and Tomas pulled up a chair.
“Baby settle down okay?” I asked Tomas.
“Steph fed him just before I left, so we should be good for a few hours.”
The look of satisfaction on Tomas’s face was hard to miss.
Hunter shook his head when Lulu grabbed the pole for her turn, his lips grimly curling up on one side. “Da
mned glad you shut this place down, Raul,” he said.
Raul chuckled, took a sip of his drink…then choked on it when Fay did some move with her hips, instructing Lulu. “Christ, that woman will be the death of me.”
Neco laughed. “You love it, you dirty old bastard.”
Raul just grinned.
Jude shifted in his seat when Willa spun, dipping low. “I think Raul’s right. I think they’re trying to take us out. Can you die from blue balls?”
Neco snorted, eyes on Ruby as she followed Willa’s lead. “Fucking feels like it.”
Tomas eyed Steph, who for obvious reasons looked at home on the stage. The guy had become even more protective over his woman since she’d had their little boy, Noah, and that was saying a lot. “Speaking of death, if Raul hadn’t closed this place down, I’d have to kill a whole roomful of people. That’s a lot of cleanup,” he said, and I wasn’t sure he was joking.
I laughed darkly, watching London step up to take her turn, moving her beautiful curvy body in a way that made my gut ache and my balls draw up tight. “You’d have help.”
We all watched as the women gathered together when the song ended, talking animatedly.
“Look out, they’re up to something,” Jude said.
He was not wrong.
They came down off the stage and Fay rushed out the back. A slow sexy song started then the lights dimmed and the mirror ball in the ceiling started spinning.
The women came at us.
London walked up to me, hips moving in a way that made me so hard I could barely think straight. Everything she did made me hard.
A breathtaking smile transformed her face, and she held out her hand. “Would you like to dance?”
I grinned and stood, the rest of the guys being pulled to their feet as well, pairing off, wrapping their women in their arms.
I did the same, moving with her to the music, slow, loving the feel of her body pressed to mine. Her hands were around my neck and I pulled the left one down, kissing the diamond ring—my ring—on her finger.
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