“Well, isn’t this touching,” someone sneers and we both turn as a woman steps out of the woods with a gun in her hand, aimed at Juliette. My stomach drops and my heart jumps into my throat as the woman advances on us, her fury aimed at the love of my life.
“Nico?” Juliette gasps and my eyes widen as I try to piece it all together. Nico? Her friend? Why the hell is her friend pointing a gun at her? “What are you doing?”
Nico scoffs. “What am I doing? I’m getting what I’m owed.”
“What you’re owed?”
My eyes never leave the gun in Nico’s hand as I stand up and tuck the ring back in my pocket. She turns to me, pointing the gun in my direction.
“Don’t you fucking move!”
I hold my hands up, happy to have the gun off of Juliette. “Okay. I’m not moving.”
“Nico… what is it you think you’re owed?” Juliette asks and I bite back a curse as Nico turns back to her. The gun in my waistband feels even heavier as I slowly move my hand behind my back, careful not to move too quickly and alert Nico.
“The money, Juliette!” Nico screams. “Did you really think Gavin was working alone?”
Juliette’s mouth drops open. “You? But you were my friend?”
“Yeah, and let me tell you what a torturous few years that was.”
“But why?” Juliette asks.
“Jason and I were happy, you know? Before you came along anyway.”
I arch a brow. “Jason?”
“Gavin,” she growls, flicking an annoyed glance at me. “See, we’ve been working together, running cons on people just like you for years and he was mine but then the idiot has to go and fall in love with you for real. Now, all of the sudden, he can’t possibly take your money or leave you and do you know where that leaves me?”
“Screwed,” Juliette answers and Nico nods.
“And heartbroken. He was the only man I ever loved and you had to take him from me,” she hisses, taking a few steps toward Juliette. Sucking in a breath, I whip the gun out of my back before leveling it at her.
“Don’t move!”
She turns to me, her gaze flicking down to the gun in my hand before she grins. “You’re not going to shoot me.”
“Yes, I will,” I growl as I pull the lever back and blow out a breath. The sound of sirens fill the air and Nico starts backing up toward the trees as she looks wildly between Juliette and me. I glance over and notice the phone hidden behind Juliette’s back at the same time Nico does and she surges forward, the gun stretches out in front of her as she shakes with rage but I don’t give her a chance to fire, pulling the trigger.
The bullet tears through her shoulder and she screams as she collapses into the dirt, clutching the wound. Police cruisers tear into the lot but I don’t take my eyes off of Nico or the gun until two policemen rush over and order her to drop it. It falls to the dirt and Juliette releases a breath as she launches herself at me. They drag Nico up off the ground and lock her in handcuffs. Holding Juliette tight with one arm, I slip the gun back into my waistband and bury my nose in her hair.
“I swear, I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” I whisper and she nods, clinging to me as her tears seep into my t-shirt. Fuck, I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost her. She pulls back and meets my eyes.
“Where’s the ring?”
I search her eyes for a moment before grinning. I set her on the ground and pull the ring out of my pocket before slipping it on her finger. Once it’s on, she launches herself at me again and presses her lips to mine as I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her off the ground.
“Is this enough of an answer?” she asks in between frantic kisses. “Or does it need to be official?”
I shake my head and kiss her again. “Naw, angel. I think I got the message.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
Juliette
Big, white fluffy clouds, the kind you only find on a perfect summer day, roll across the deep blue sky and the sun shimmers on the surface of the lake just through the trees, beckoning me to dip my toes in the water. Rubbing my hands over my expanding belly, I take a deep breath, obsessed with how peaceful I feel out here. Sawyer walks up beside me and sets the box in his hands down before slipping his arm over my shoulder and pulling me into his side.
“You did real good, angel.”
I beam as I stare up at the stately southern style home we’ve spent the last year designing and building as pride wells up in my chest. Before Sawyer suggested that we build our dream house out here on the same land he proposed to me on, I never even thought about designing a house but looking out at our surroundings, I knew just what this place needed. It’s elegant without being too flashy or over the top, homey despite its size and the kind of place that I can see all our friends and family hanging out around for years to come.
Glancing over to the spot where Sawyer dropped down on one knee and popped the question, all I can do is smile. Some people can’t understand how I can still live here after being held at gunpoint by someone I thought was my friend but for me, after everything else that happened, it was a nice little piece of closure. After that night, for the first time in a month, I knew I was safe. Gavin, or Jason as we later found out, and Nico were both charged with my father’s murder as well as the two attempts on my life and the attempt on Sawyer’s life in addition to a slew of lesser charges they managed to rack up during their little scheme and they accepted plea deals for twenty-five years each, which means I don’t have to worry about them ever again.
I suck in a breath and scowl, pressing my hand into the side of my belly as our son delivers a swift kick to my ribs and Sawyer glances down at me.
“You need to go sit down, baby. I’ll take care of the last of these boxes.”
I nod and release a breath. As much as I want to yell at him for trying to tell me what to do, my feet are killing me right now and it’s a billion degrees out here. “Okay.”
I turn to him and he gives me a quick kiss before picking the box up off of the ground and carrying it into the house as I waddle behind him. As I turn to the water, I smile. The lake is one of my favorite things about this property and I can’t wait to sit out on the back porch with a big glass of sweet tea to watch the sun set over the water.
“Woman,” Sawyer calls, stepping out onto the porch. “Hurry your ass up.”
I level a glare at him. “You try carrying this linebacker around, you ass.”
“Fine,” he says with a shrug as he jumps down the stairs and runs over to me. I scream as he picks me up like I weigh nothing at all and carries me to the house. “Doesn’t seem that bad to me.”
“Let’s trade, then. You can be pregnant and I’ll just run around, drink beer, and make jokes.”
He grins. “Have I mentioned today that you’re absolutely stunning, Mrs. Michelson?”
“Don’t you try to butter me up!” I yell, twisting my lips to try and hide my smile. He laughs.
“What if I tell you that I love you?”
I nod. “You damn well better. Your son is boxing my bladder.”
“Is he now?” he asks as he carries me into the living room and sets me down on the couch. Kneeling in front of me, he presses his hands against my belly.