Beside him, his country superstar wife smiles at me, proving that tonight can’t get any more surreal.
“No harm, no foul,” Gabe adds.
“Still, I feel responsible for that, and to make amends, I’m forgiving the debt you owe me. Congratulations on winning tonight, Legend.”
Beside me, Gabriel goes still. “But . . .”
“Please,” Holly says with an apologetic smile. “It’s the least Crey can do.”
I had almost forgotten Creighton Karas loaned Gabriel money, but I remember vividly now. Whoa. He doesn’t want it back?
Gabriel steps forward, offering his hand. “Thank you,” he says, his voice hoarse, as Creighton shakes it.
“Great fight. Have a good night. We’ll get out of your way, Legend. Ms. Priest.”
Creighton inclines his head as he presses a hand to his wife’s back. As they turn toward the door, Holly meets my gaze.
“I know this isn’t really the right time . . . but I’d love to see your store before we head back to Nashville next week. I’ve heard amazing things. But only if you’re up to it. I’ll be back again.”
I can only imagine that my eyes are as wide as dinner plates. “Of course. I would love to have you come to Curated.”
Kelsey springs toward them, holding out a piece of paper. “Here’s her card. Scarlett’s cell is on the back.”
My friends are amazing, I think as Holly takes it.
“Thanks. Talk soon, Scarlett. We’re both so glad you’re okay.”
As soon as the billionaire and his wife leave the office, everyone seems to release a breath.
“Well, shit,” Q says with a wry grin. “Maybe we should have fights more often.”
Gabriel hugs me close to his side. “Let’s table that discussion for another night. Right now, all I want is my woman, a shower, and an ice bath.”
“You killed it in the cage, man,” Silas says, coming forward to shake Gabriel’s hand. “I won’t take up much of your time. Just wanted to tell you I was impressed as hell, and congratulations.”
Gabriel gives him a nod. “Thanks to you. I couldn’t have done this without Jeb. He’s a mastermind.”
“Damn right I am,” Jeb says from the corner of the room with a laugh. “But you made it easy. Worked your ass off. This one is all you, Legend. It was a pleasure to be in your corner. Now, go get that ice bath, or you’ll be useless tomorrow.”
The corner of Gabriel’s mouth tugs upward as he meets Silas’s gaze again. “I’d stay and chat but . . .”
Silas shakes his head. “No worries, man. I’ll be around. You haven’t seen the last of me.”
Gabriel gives him a nod, and then he looks down at me with his battered face, which is swelling as we speak. “You ready?”
“Absolutely. Let’s get you home, champ.”
He leans down to kiss my nose. “I like that one, ladybug.”
Fifty-Eight
Legend
“Rolo didn’t make it,” Q says when he calls the next morning after Scarlett and I devoured all the fluffy scrambled eggs she made, and the pancakes I added to our spread. “But they got his confession about killing Lucy, at least.”
“Damn,” I whisper with a shake of my head. “Does that mean they’re looking for Moses?”
“The detective didn’t seem too concerned about justice for him, if you want to know the truth. He said Lucy Byers’s family was practically cheering when he called them to let them know.”
“That’s morbid.”
“They don’t believe she would pull a gun on Scarlett, and they want the whole thing swept under the rug. The detective made it clear that he has been ordered to consider the investigation closed.”
I stare at Scarlett, standing at the sink, washing dishes. While I was in my ice bath last night, she and I had a long discussion about all the possible ways we could handle this.
Her request was that we keep it as quiet as possible so as not to embarrass Lucy’s family or hurt the club. It was hard for me to swallow, but I can’t say no to her.
“And the cops are going to go along with that?”
“Unless Scarlett pushes for a full investigation.”
I scratch the back of my neck, not believing it’s all finally over. “She won’t.”
“Then, yeah. It’ll all be tidied up, and Moses will walk. You sure that’s what you want?”
I think of how I felt with Moses holding Scarlett with a gun to her head. I wanted to kill him, but more than that, I just wanted Scarlett safe. Her well-being trumps everything.
“If Moses had wanted all of us dead, we’d be dead,” I say quietly, but Scarlett hears me anyway, dries her hands, and comes to me. She slides her arms around me and presses a kiss to my cheek. “But that’s not what he wanted. You heard him. He was playing chess while we played checkers. Wherever the fuck he’s headed, good riddance.”
“Fair enough,” Q replies. “I hope that woman he’s after is smart enough to turn his ass down. I’m thinking we should call in some favors and keep tabs on him, just to be safe. I’ve been doing some digging. Did you know he’s from New Orleans, not Biloxi?”
I think of the few conversations I had with Moses back in the day. “No. But it doesn’t surprise me, given that Creole blood of his. Call in the favors. Keep tabs. It’s time for us to learn to play chess.”
“On it, Gabe. Have a good morning. Tell Scarlett I said hi.”
I hang up the phone. “You hear the rest of that?”
She nods. “Yeah, and sadly, New Orleans was on my bucket list.”
“As soon as Moses gets shut down by that woman he’s after, we’ll go visit. Get you some Cajun food and beignets.”
“You think she’ll shoot him down?”
I stare at Scarlett, loving how her gray eyes get even softer when she’s close to me. “You don’t?”
She shrugs, and the oversize sweatshirt she’s wearing slips off her shoulder. “I don’t know.” She wraps her other arm around me. “But as long as he’s far away from us, I’m happy.”
I lean in to kiss her lips, carefully, because of the cut near the corner of my mouth. “As long as you’re happy, ladybug, I’m happy. I fucking love you.”
“I love you too. Now . . . are you ever going to tell me what your real last name was? I’ve been dying to ask, but there hasn’t really been a good time.”
I grin. “You really want to know?”
“Of course.”
“It was Champion. Gabriel Champion.”
Her mouth drops open, and she starts to giggle as she shakes her head. “Only you would want to upgrade to Legend.”
I steal another kiss. “Just wait until I make you a Legend, ladybug.”
Epilogue
Scarlett
“Are you sure you’re up to this? We don’t have to haul the picnic basket all the way out here. We can sit by the sidewalk,” I say to Gabriel as he leads me to a spot in Central Park on Monday morning.