Raven was already picking up the gun my aunt had dropped. Rushing forward, she kicked Aunt June in the ribs, but the woman didn’t move. Bending, Raven checked for a pulse then shook her head as she stood.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t the least bit sad that my dad’s sister was dead. If anything, the knot of anxiety that had lingered since the night before unraveled, and I was finally able to take a deep breath.
Kelli stepped over Aunt June’s body like she was nothing more than unpleasant trash. Cupping my face, she spoke slowly. “Are you okay, honey?”
I gave a ready nod. “Th-thank you,” I spoke aloud.
Her tense face softened. “No thanks needed, sweetheart. The bitch had it coming.” Her arms wrapped around me in a tight hug just as the door filled up with Bash and Reid. But they were both pushed aside when I spotted Max’s head over Kelli’s shoulder.
His chest rose and fell in rapid, hard breaths. That wild, feral look was back in his eyes, but it didn’t scare me. If anything, it calmed the fear that was still through me like a runaway train. Smartly, Kelli stepped back before he reached me only seconds later, and he lifted me into his arms. His entire body seemed to tremble as he molded my body to his own, his hands running over me in an attempt to reassure himself that I was unharmed.
Pulling back, he cupped each side of my face. “Are you okay?” he demanded, so upset he couldn’t sign, but I read his lips easily.
I nodded, the rest of my fear fading away completely now that I was in his arms.
His thumbs tucked under my chin, making sure I was looking right at him, but there was no need. All I saw was him. “I love you,” he spoke each word slowly, making sure I understood each one of them, while his wild eyes stared into mine. “I love you, treasure. So fucking much.”
“I-I love you too,” I whispered—or at least I thought I did. But no matter how loud I spoke, I knew by the flare of his nostrils and the way his eyes darkened that he heard me.
Max pulled my head to his chest, kissing my hair, the side of my face, and down to my neck over and over again. I could feel how hard his heart was pounding against his ribs, and I pressed my palm into it, wanting to soothe the poor organ and wipe away his fear.
He hadn’t even been like this the night before. He’d killed three men like it was nothing. But I’d learned afterward that he’d had the whole thing under control even though he hadn’t been there at first. There had been men and guns on Lexa’s house the entire time, and I’d realized I wasn’t in nearly as much danger as I’d first thought.
But this time, Aunt June had come out of nowhere. There was no warning, no plan of action. If Kelli hadn’t come over when she did, I didn’t even know what might have happened.
Max and I stood like that for the longest time before his attention was pulled to everyone else in the room. Keeping one arm around me, he shifted us so we were facing the others. No one was signing, so I knew they didn’t want me to know what was going on, but I could read their lips for the most part and got the gist of what they were talking about.
They debated whether to call Ben and decided against it. Bash and Reid assured the others they would take care of the body, and then Reid and Max would clean up and replace the carpet themselves to hide the proof of Aunt June ever being there. The entire time, it felt like they were discussing her like she was nothing more than extra trash that needed to be cleaned up in the mess that was our apartment, like the ruined mattress that was leaning against the wall to be hauled away.
I honestly didn’t want to know how they were going to get rid of her body, any more than I cared about them hiding everything from the sheriff. I wasn’t going to tell anyone a single thing about what had transpired there that day. For one, I wanted to forget all about the nightmare of both Uncle Tony and Aunt June. For another, I didn’t want to chance anyone getting in trouble, especially not Kelli, who had saved me.
Raven and Kelli tugged me away from Max and into the living room. Reluctantly, he allowed me to leave him, telling me for the second time he loved me. Raven suggested we get something sweet to eat to combat the shock of what had happened, and then the three of us would go shopping for all the stuff we needed for the apartment.
Just like that, we were putting what had happened behind us, and truthfully, I was kind of relieved. I didn’t want to think about the evil I had been surrounded with for the past eight years. Now, I only wanted to concentrate on the new family I’d been given thanks to falling for Max Reid.
Epilogue
Max
Four Years Later
I lowered the car I’d just finished changing the oil in and then had one of the prospects who was interning at the garage drive it out of the bay. Walking into the shop, I gave my sister the slip for the customer.
“Unc!” Finn yelled from where he was playing behind the counter. “Is my new baby cousin born yet?”
Lexa, who had her five-month-old daughter, Tali, strapped to her chest in one of those wrap things, shot me an eye roll as she punched in the report on the computer in front of her. The beautiful little replica of my sister was sound asleep with the sound of her mother’s heart as her lullaby. I doubted the baby girl would have even flinched if someone drove their car through the front window. She was a hard sleeper and being cradled against Lexa the way she currently was tended to be her favorite place in the universe.
For the past few months, Finn asked me that same question every time he saw me or his aunt Delaney. And each time, I had to disappoint him by telling him, “Not yet, bud. But soon.”
At least, I hoped so. Delaney was a week past her due date and so miserable that she couldn’t find a comfortable position, no matter what she did. Sitting up. Propped body pillows on either side of her. Being held by me. She was getting cranky because she couldn’t sleep from the discomfort of our son putting pressure on her lower back and other places.
Thankfully, she was at Mom’s today instead of working in the office doing all of our orders and the books. After she’d gotten her GED the summer we’d gotten married, she’d started taking business classes at Trinity and began working at the shop. I’d told her she didn’t ever have to work if she didn’t want to, but she hated sitting around doing nothing. She was stubborn and didn’t want anyone to think she was with me only because of what I could give her.
No one had ever thought that, or if they had, they’d known better than to run their mouth. Not only would they have had me to deal with, but also Mom and Aunt Kelli as well. Plus, every other member of our family, River and Lexa both topping the list of those overly protective of my little treasure.
“I’m taking off,” I informed my sister. “If you need anything, the prospect is shadowing Trigger for the rest of the day.”
Lexa gave me a smile. “Give Delaney a kiss for me. Let me know if anything changes. I promised I would call Tavia as soon as there was activity suggesting Ronan is on his way.”
“She should just wait and fly out at the end of the week when they come to pick up Nova for the summer,” I grumbled.
“You’re just grumpy because you know everyone is going to be gushing over Delaney, and you won’t get any cuddle time with your wife and newborn son.”