Out of the Darkness: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  “No.” I sucked in a gasp and slapped my hands over my mouth.

  “I got the call on my twenty-ninth birthday. Old man came home drunk outta his goddamn mind and started wailin’ on her. Her mom stood there and did nothin’ as he hit her so hard she lost her footing. Went down, cracking her head on the edge of the coffee table just right that it broke her neck. She died instantly.”

  His wife died. On his birthday. After he’d already lost too much. Just like that, everything made sense.

  “Xander,” I said, making sure to keep my voice strong. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  He shook his head and began to lower it, so I grabbed hold and forced him to look at me. “It was not your fault. Do you hear me? You loved her, but she was weak. You couldn’t take care of her because you needed to be taken care of, and she couldn’t hack that. She made the decision to go back to them, knowing full well the kind of man her father was. That was on her, not you. You’d pulled her out of that once already, and hearing your story, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there’s not a goddamn person on this earth who would blame you for not doing it a second time. Especially with all you were dealing with. The fact is, when you needed her, she wasn’t there. But her death is not on your hands. You have to let it go.”

  He stared at me in silence for several seconds before he spoke again and proceeded to rock my world. “You’re the first woman I’ve kissed since her. First woman I wanted in a way that was more than just physical. I made a promise to you when you were layin’ in that hospital bed. I promised you that if you’d fight to come back to me, I’d fight for us. You kept your promise, and now it’s my turn.”

  My chest stuttered as a fresh wave of tears welled in my eyes.

  “Never had a woman who was willin’ to fight for me. Not once in my life, baby. Not until I met you. You started fightin’ the moment you decided you wanted me to be your friend, and you haven’t stopped since. Not for one goddamn second. You fought for me when I didn’t deserve it, and you did that because it’s just who you are. You’re a fighter, Sage. For what you believe in, for a fresh start, for respect, for your fucking life. If you want it, if it means anything to you, you fight for it, and you don’t stop. That’s why I love you. You made it impossible not to, just by bein’ you. You don’t need anyone to protect you or take care of you. You don’t need to be saved.” His hands came up, palms resting on the sides of my neck as he pulled me close and pressed his forehead against mine. “Never expected it, not in a million years, that a short, sexy, pain-in-the-ass biker chick full of way too much goddamn attitude would be the woman who’d save me. But you did, baby.”

  I grasped his forearms as I pulled back, my gaze penetrating his. The shadows were there, they probably always would be. You didn’t live a life like the one Xander Caine lived without reminders, but the love he felt for me was shining through them, so much brighter and stronger, pushing them back from the surface.

  “Is this real?” I asked, afraid I’d wake up at any moment and discover it was all just a dream.

  “It’s very real, Shortcake. For the past eight years I’ve lived in darkness. Then you showed up and lit my world, and I can’t imagine ever goin’ back.”

  “This is real,” I repeated, only it wasn’t a question, it was a realization.

  “Yeah, baby. It is. But I’m warnin’ you now. You got your work cut out for you. I got a long way to go. I’ll break my back to make you happy, but there are gonna be times when I can’t keep it in check, and I fuck up.”

  “That’s okay,” I replied, a huge smile stretching my face. “That’s totally okay. When that happens I’ll just put you in your place, then help you get through it.”

  “You’re not gonna have a choice, ’cause I’m not lettin’ you go ever again.”

  Bear, who’d been snoozing silently through the whole ordeal chose that moment to wake up and let out a low woof in agreement that made me laugh.

  “There it is,” Xander whispered, brushing his thumb across my cheekbone.

  My laughter died as I stared into his eyes. “There’s what?”

  “My light.”

  Yes, I thought as I leaned in to press my lips against his in a kiss that started slow and ended passionate. Oh yes, this is very, very real.

  That hole I’d been living with inside me since my whole life was ripped from me eleven years ago was suddenly filled to overflowing.

  I was finally whole. Totally and completely.

  Thank God.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Xander

  It had been two days since I gave it all to my Sage. Two days in which she’d gladly helped me carry the load I’d been holding on to alone all these years.

  Two days in which we began to heal together.

  And now the real world was invading.

  “I don’t like this.” I turned from watching my woman to Judge. He was standing with me at the back of the room, his shoulders pressed to the wall, arms crossed, booted feet planted wide, with his eyes to his girl. “Don’t like this one fuckin’ bit. She shouldn’t be here. Already endured enough.”

  There was a part of me that agreed with him, but it wasn’t my call. It was Sage’s, and she’d wanted to be there when we pulled her mother in. Insisted on it in such a way she’d have made us all miserable if we didn’t give in to her.

  “You can’t just keep me here!” Lorelei Winthrop’s shout pulled my eyes to the two-way mirror that led into the room in the back of Alpha Omega where we’d brought her for questioning as soon as Dalton and West tracked her down thanks to the GPS hack I’d done on her phone. “I know my rights. I’m pressing charges!”

  If the bitch wasn’t using her pussy to con men out of their cash, she was stupid as all fuck. Her looks were the only thing she had going for her. It was clear from looking at her that her daughter had inherited her height and curves, but where Sage’s appeal was natural, this woman’s was desperate, which made her unattractive as hell.

  She’d been blowing up Sage’s phone after jacking Davenport’s money because she was on the run and actually thought Sage would help her out, even though she’d been banging her own daughter’s husband behind her back for months.

  She’d finally given up, but the dumb bitch had kept and was using the same phone. Davenport was using it to hunt her, but he didn’t have the skills I did, so he was always two steps behind, since she thought if she kept moving she was golden. I’d gotten the number from Sage’s phone, hacked it, and tracked her GPS so we’d know exactly where she was at all times.

  “No one knows you’re here,” Lincoln told her in a calm, conversational tone, like he had all the time in the world to put up with this woman’s shit. “And once we let you go, your shit’s gonna be so fucked that tryin’ to get anyone to believe you were bein’ held against your will is gonna be the least of your problems.”

  Her back went straight and she locked her eyes on Linc. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Pushing the chair he’d been sitting in back on two legs, he kicked his feet up on the table and crossed his ankles. “It means we already found the pussy-whipped fucker you used to help set Judge Winthrop up to go down for attempted murder, and his videotaped statement has already been handed over to the authorities. And before you think you can get to him and manipulate the stupid SOB into recanting with a blowjob or somethin’, you should know, he’s in federal custody. He won’t be available to service for a long, long time.”

  Her eyes got big and her face went pale beneath her caked-on makeup, but as quickly as the fear came, she covered it up with bravado. “I’m not worried about that. It’s his word against mine.”

  “Wrong. It was his word against yours,” Lincoln corrected. “Now it’s his word, along with all the very detailed emails and text messages between you two regarding how to frame your ex-husband for a felony, against yours.” She blanched again, but Lincoln kept going. “See, my guys are skilled, they can dig shit up you thought you’d b
uried so deep it became compost. The moment you walk outta this room, your ass is bein’ sent straight back to Tennessee where the authorities are already waitin’. And sweetheart, hate to be the one to break it to you, but you’re lookin’ at some serious fuckin’ jail time.”

  Her mouth opened and closed several times before she shrieked, “You can’t do this!”

  “Already done,” Lincoln stated, pushing out of the chair and heading for the door. “Only reason for your pitstop here first was ’cause we needed your phone to track down Davenport. Got that. Now we’re done with you.”

  He exited as West entered, moving to the woman, taking her by the arm, and pulling her from the chair.

  I moved to the door of the observation room and opened it, meeting Judge’s eye and indicating he should head out with a jerk of my chin. He did, giving Rox a whistle and a crook of his finger. The second she was within reach, he hooked her around her shoulders and led her with him. I moved to Sage and did the same, holding her stiff body against me as we headed for the reception area where Judge’s boys were waiting.

  West was leading Lorelei Winthrop through there on her way out, and I wanted them all to get a chance to witness her fall.

  Keeping my woman pressed firmly into my side, I maneuvered us so she was standing between me and her father with his whole crew—their family—at our backs for support as West rounded the corner with the bitch in tow.

  Her eyes landed on her ex first, and her lips parted on a silent gasp. “Judge,” she gasped, shocked to find her ex out and breathing free air.

  But before anyone else could say a word, Sage broke from my hold and stomped over. Her hand flew through the air so fast it was a blur. Her palm connected hard with Lorelei’s cheek, and the crack that sounded through the room was so loud I winced and heard several of the guys behind me suck in a hissing breath.

  I’d experienced one of my girl’s slaps, and that fucker had hurt. But she hadn’t put half as much juice in mine as she did the one she just gave her mother.

  When West righted her and she turned her stunned, tear-soaked gaze back to her daughter, that handprint glowing like neon on her face, Sage leaned in and hissed, “You took eleven years from him. From us. But even then, he had his friends. He had his family. He knew he had people who loved him, and that got him through. Now he’s out. He’s got his crew, and a new woman who’s so much better than you, you couldn’t even wish to be half of what she is in your wildest fantasies. You’ll have no one. You’ll be all alone. And even if you get out before you do the world a favor and stop existing, you’ll still be alone. I hope you remember that every night when you lay your head down, and I hope it’s the first thing you remember when you wake up.” Then she turned to West and issued, “Get her the hell out of here. She’s not even a memory anymore.”

  That done, she spun on her kick-ass, sexy-as-fuck motorcycle boots, walked right to me, and face planted in my chest.

  The room remained silent as I wrapped her in my arms.

  Then Scooter spoke. “Fuck me, girl. Felt that slap in my balls. Think they shriveled up into my stomach.”

  Danno spoke next. “Shit made my butthole pucker up real tight. Christ. Bitch’ll be feelin’ that for a while.”

  And just like that, Sage felt the burn, let it wash through her, and pushed it out. And I knew this because, at their words, she looked up at me with a beaming grin just a moment before she threw her head back and laughed.

  * * *

  Stepping away from the prick who was currently on all fours coughing up blood, I grabbed the towel off the table and wiped my hands.

  Then I scanned the room.

  All my brothers from Alpha Omega. Judge. His crew. They were all gathered around the room, lining the walls. Sage wasn’t allowed in on this one. I’d put my foot down.

  I gave my full attention to Judge, who’d been keeping track for me.

  “Right. Broken nose and fractured cheekbone done. What else did this motherfucker give her?”

  He inclined his chin and answered, “Still got a ways to go, but your choice what’s next. We got the lacerated liver or the broken ribs. But on that last one, you gotta make sure one of ’em punctures a lung.”

  I looked back to John Davenport to find he was staring up at me, fear apparent in his eyes.

  Good.

  “Liver next. I wanna take my time on the ribs. I’m thinkin’ one at a time. Slowly.”

  He’d kept my woman for three hours.

  I kept him for five.

  Thirty minutes after I was done, an unconscious John Davenport—sporting all the same injuries he’d given to my Sage and many, many more—was dumped on the steps outside the Hope Valley police station.

  Ten minutes after that, an anonymous call was put in to his loan shark, informing him which prison he’d eventually be able to find the man responsible for losing his five hundred grand.

  Needless to say, John Davenport’s days were numbered, and I didn’t even feel a little bad about that.

  * * *

  Sage

  One week later

  Dad’s buds were leaving.

  They were heading back home to Redemption, Tennessee, and I was more than a little heartbroken to see them go.

  There were two silver linings. The first was that they’d all be back with their families for Thanksgiving, which Xander and I were hosting at the cabin, and the second was that my dad wasn’t going with them.

  He was staying in Hope Valley. Permanently. He had me, he had his new woman—who was a good woman—and now that his name was cleared, he’d landed himself a gig as a mechanic where he’d spend his days working on motorcycles. His dream.

  “Gonna miss you, li’l bit,” Scooter said in a quiet voice as he pulled me in for a hug.

  Banks, Fletch, and Danno had already gotten their goodbye hugs and had moved out to let Scooter and Cannon have their turn.

  “I’ll miss you too, Scoot,” I replied with a sniffle. “But I’ll see you in a few weeks. Be sure to bring your appetite.”

  “You know I will, girl.”

  He pulled back, gave me a grin, then moved the other guys waiting a distance away so Cannon could get in there.

  That wave of nostalgia I’d been feeling for weeks, having him back, washed over me again when he pulled me into his familiar embrace. “Gotta admit, I kinda hate this, chestnut,” he murmured softly in my ear, making my arms grow tighter. “Part of me always hoped you’d come back. Guess I’ve been waitin’ eleven years for a day that’s never gonna come.”

  He felt me tip my head and leaned back so he could look down at me. He really was so damn handsome. “I’m sorry, honey,” I returned softly.

  He looked to Xander who was standing a yard away, giving me my time with my family. When his hazel eyes came back to me they were wistful but still smiling. “Don’t be sorry for findin’ yours, baby. Fuckin’ sucks it wasn’t me, but doesn’t mean I’m not still happy you got it.”

  “You want it bad enough, honey, keep your eyes open, and you’ll find yours too.”

  The wistfulness faded so he was flat-out grinning. “Maybe. But in the meantime, think I’ll enjoy the hell outta variety.”

  He winked as I giggled, then moved away.

  As I stood in Xander’s drive, watching my family head out, my man came up behind me and wrapped me in his strong, safe embrace. “You good, Shortcake?”

  “Yeah,” I answered on a sigh, leaning back into him. “Sad, but good.”

  “You know they’re welcome here any time.”

  I turned in his arms and looked up with a smirk. “Even Cannon?”

  I wasn’t blind; after that kiss in the hospital, I knew my ex-boyfriend was not my current boyfriend’s favorite person. I had to give him credit, he hid it well, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to have fun messing with him about it.

  “Long as that fucker accepts he’s never gettin’ you back and doesn’t kiss you again, he’s welcome, just like the rest of them. But if
he does, word of warnin’, Shortcake. They’ll never know it was me, ’cause they’ll never find his body.”

  I burst into laughter, and when I was done, I looked up at him to see him smiling full-on down at me.

  Damn, but I loved my man’s smile.

  * * *

  Three days later

  My nails dug into the flesh at Xander’s back as my other arm shot up to brace against the headboard. My hips snapped up, meeting his as he drove his cock into me.

  “Fuck,” he hissed, then ordered, “Baby, you gotta stop movin’. You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

  I’d been cleared for sex just the day before, with strict instructions from the doctor to take it as easy as possible, but sex with Xander was just too damn good, and I couldn’t help myself.

  “Harder, baby,” I coaxed, lifting my head and trailing my tongue across his neck.

  “Slow,” he countered, fighting back all his instincts to fuck me like I wanted and keep it slow and gentle. I loved slow and gentle, hell, I loved everything he did to me, but I wanted my man to lose control.

  His head dipped down and his nose ran along the side of mine as he spoke against my lips. “Just feel me, Sage. Feel what you do to me, how fuckin’ hard you make me. Christ, I can’t get enough of you.”

  “Xander.” That one word came out as a whimper as the tension in my core built and built. “Gonna come...” I threw my head back on a cry as my orgasm washed over me.

  “Best I ever had,” he grunted as he picked up rhythm, chasing his own release. “Jesus, you feel so fuckin’ good.” He went over the edge with a low growl, his muscles locked tight as his cock twitched.

  When he finally came down, he lowered gentle on top of me, giving me a slow, languid kiss that melted me into a puddle.

  “Love you, Shortcake.”