Finnley's phone rang, and the conversation lasted mere seconds. He pressed a b.u.t.ton and spoke to Charlie. "We are on Plan B," Finnley said. We turned left, and I watched the line of SUVs and vans follow the other limo. My heart raced like crazy, and I looked at Finnley, who was completely calm, as if he knew this would happen. I couldn't count the amount of vehicles that were in the caravan following the limo. It was a mixture of danger, and I was scared.

He pulled me close to him and smiled. "They really aren't the smartest people in the world, are they? I thought at least one would follow us," Finnley said.

Charlie slammed on the gas, and we travelled at high speeds to the house. Finnley opened a briefcase that sat in the seat next to him. Inside it were guns, bullets, clips, and silencers. He placed a clip in the bottom of the gun and racked the slide, then handed it to Luke, who took it and placed it inside his jacket. Finnley repeated the process for two more guns, then placed a holster around his shoulders and slipped the two guns on each side of him. A few knives were pa.s.sed around too. He glanced over at me and swallowed. His nostrils flared, and I knew at that moment the threat. Charlie zoomed down the driveway to the house and pulled close to the door.

Finnley opened the car door, and I followed quickly behind him. As soon as my feet hit pavement, I heard the click of a gun. Finnley's mouth dropped open, and so did mine when I saw Jesse coming toward us from the side of the house, alone. I slammed the door shut so she wouldn't know that Luke and Caitlyn were in the limo. Adrenaline streamed through my body, and I wasn't sure I could handle it all. My hands trembled, and all I heard was the beating of my heart echoing through my ears.

Finnley pulled me close to his body and slowly reached to his side to pull the gun from his holster.

"Drop the f.u.c.king guns, Finnley," she said, then burst into hysterical laughter. She was proud of herself, always too proud of what she had done.

Chills formed on my skin, and my arm hair stood on end. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Finnley dropped the guns.

"You really didn't think you would get away, did you? Please tell me you aren't that stupid. You're smarter than that, Finnley. Much smarter," she said, and I knew it was nothing more than the calm before the crazy Jesse storm. She would lose it. She always did.

Jesse stood a few feet in front of us. The front door of the house was right there, just on the other side of her. Why couldn't we have run to it or slipped back inside the limo? Hindsight really was 20/20. She stared me down while disgust spread across her face. Her eyes were deep sockets of pure blackness with nothing behind them. I think that was more frightening than the end of the gun she rested on my forehead. Finnley grabbed my hand and squeezed three times. Jesse threaded her fingers through my hair then jerked my head with all the strength she had until I looked into Finnley's eyes.

"You chose her? Her? Look at her. She's a f.u.c.king child. She has nothing going for her. She's weak. You make me sick, Finnley. You could have had me. All of me. I would have died for you and now I'll kill because of you," she said. A single tear streamed down her face, then quickly, she pointed the gun at Finnley. I turned my head, and he stared her down with nothing but disgust and hate in his eyes.

My nightmares flooded me. My nightmares were becoming a reality.

"Now she will die for you. Do you have anything to say?" she asked.

He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. Finnley didn't say a word. He was too strong to give her the satisfaction, to provoke her.

"Is it worth it? Is she worth it? Is she worth dying for?" Jesse's voice was low and menacing as if the devil himself was forcing her to speak.

I had to do something. I had to stop this. She released my hair, and I inched forward as she focused on Finnley, then Jesse pointed the gun in the air and shot a silenced round straight up.

"f.u.c.king stop. Don't you f.u.c.king move, or I'll kill you both right here where we stand. I'll do it. I'll f.u.c.king do it," she screamed at the top of her range and her hand shook with anger.

She took another step toward me and placed the metal under my chin.

"I want to do it so badly. I want to watch you bleed out. I want to watch you take your last breath," Jesse said and pulled the trigger of the gun.

Click.

No bullet.

She laughed. "Oh, you're so lucky you didn't get one of my three rounds."

A tremor of fear rushed through me. She pulled another gun from the back of her pants and pointed it at Finnley.

The thought of Caitlyn and Luke sitting inside the car watching this killed me. I didn't want to die today. I didn't want to die until I was supposed to, and it wasn't my time, not like this.

I opened my mouth to speak, then shut it when I saw something move in my peripheral. I focused on her dark eyes and the hatred that swirled within them. Her hot breath brushed against my face, and I swallowed while tears streamed down my cheeks. I hoped she wouldn't play bullet roulette with us again, but I knew we wouldn't be so lucky. After a few more seconds, she placed one gun to my head and one to Finnley's.

"On the count of three, we are going to see who drops dead first. One of you, maybe both at the same time. This is going to be fun," Jesse snarled.

Finnley squeezed my hand.

"Three. You should have chosen me, Finnley. Two. This is the biggest mistake you've ever made. One."

That's when I saw Luke run in a quiet sprint toward Jesse. A glint of something reflected from his hand as he stayed light on his feet. I couldn't quite see what he had. I swallowed and watched as he jerked Jesse by the hair, took her into a chokehold, and whispered something in her ear. Fear covered Jesse's face, and she had enough time to look at me then Finnley before Luke sliced through her carotid artery. Blood sprayed across Finnley and me, and Jesse dropped one of the guns and grabbed her neck to stop the bleeding. With her last ounce of her strength, she pulled the trigger of the other gun before she dropped to her knees. Click. No bullet.

When Jesse's face hit the pavement, darkness poured from within her.

Luke dropped the knife and looked at me. I had no words as tears streamed down my face. Everything that I had been holding back released itself forcefully. My emotions were consuming me like a black hole consumed matter. I was stuck in a singularity where nothing made sense. Finnley pulled me close. Caitlyn rushed out of the limo and slammed herself into Luke's blood covered body. Tears ran down her face. She was a sobbing mess.

"I can't lose you," she whispered.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "We are safe now."

I sucked in air trying to comprehend everything that had happened but I couldn't. Thick and heavy shock moved through me. I was trembling, and Finnley held on to me tightly. Adrenaline and shock had that effect on people. He whispered in my ear as I let every built up emotion pour out of me. "Babe, it's okay. We are okay. You're okay. We are safe. No more worries. It's over. I love you."

Luke walked over to us and we exchanged hugs and tears.

"Sometimes love is worth killing for. She made me do terrible things that are still hard for me to live with. No one messes with my family," Luke said. He opened both arms, and we stood there, all three of us hugging each other. Cait squeezed in and my family was complete. We were together. We were safe.

Charlie stepped out of the limo and pulled us all away from the b.l.o.o.d.y scene.

"We need to call the police," Charlie said.

"Yes, of course," Finnley said, calm, cool, and collected.

Caitlyn and Luke kissed each other between tears. Finnley wrapped his arms around me and ran his fingers through my hair. Blood coated our clothes, and I couldn't stop replaying what had happened.

Finn looked down at me, then grabbed my face and forced me to stare into his eyes. I felt myself falling into a solid state of shock. Finnley repeated himself, and the chains broke inside me, releasing me from fear.

"It is over. She's gone," I said in a whisper, allowing it to fully sink in.

"I'll never let anything happen to you. I promised you that. I love you so f.u.c.king much." He pulled me into his chest and the warmth of his breath lingered on the nape of my neck.

Charlie called the police and explained that we had been held at gunpoint and one person was dead. Self-defense.

Finnley grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the house. Before we stepped in, a black limo sped down the driveway and slammed on its brakes. We all stopped. Finnley pulled out his gun, ready to shoot, but when he saw Abbot, he placed it back in the holster.

"What the holy f.u.c.k happened?"

He glanced at us, at Luke and Caitlyn, and then at Charlie, before he saw Jesse's body on the ground with the knife and guns beside her. He bent down, grabbed Jesse by her hair, inspected the wound, then dropped her face on the pavement. None of it fazed him, but I hadn't expected it to.

I couldn't watch. It was too much. Bile rose in my stomach, and I dry heaved.

"Nice f.u.c.king work. Clean cut. I wish I had been here to kill the b.i.t.c.h myself though. Who's responsible?"

"I am," Luke said.

Abbot gave him a nod and a smile. "I'm here to talk about this if you need it."

A silent conversation pa.s.sed between them and I knew it was over.

It was all really over.

FINNLEY.

Thirty-three.

Weeks had pa.s.sed since the incident, and our lives were beginning to settle down, to become some sort of normal, which I enjoyed. Abbot and his men had traveled back to London. The mobsters, gangsters, and bikers had been paid to keep quiet, and we had made a pact. It was over, and now we could all move on as if it hadn't happened.

I hadn't felt this happy in years. Finally, I was myself again. Jennifer's love was like the white sand in Hawaii. Somehow it had pushed itself into the smallest of crevices of my heart, filling all of my voids, and I could never get her out of there. I didn't want to. For once, I had a reason to live, and I was no longer married to my job. It was time to start living again, and I couldn't wait. Truth be known, I had been living since the day since I kissed her. A smile met my lips when I thought back to that moment and how feisty and beautiful she was. Jennifer was different, eccentric, and beautiful in her own way. She was mine.

I still couldn't believe we were married. It seemed like a dream, and every morning when I woke up and realized this was my reality, I made sure to kiss her. Being thankful for having her in my life didn't quite describe how I felt. It was almost too much to comprehend. Love tended to do that to people. Love. She was the definition of it. She was the reason my heart continued to beat, and why I woke up every morning. Jennifer Felton, my wife, lover, best friend, and confidant was my reason to live. Now that I had her, I would never be the same. My life now revolved around her and her happiness.

The sun hadn't risen yet, but I was wide-awake, staring at the ceiling. Small breaths escaped from Jennifer, and I knew she was sound asleep. I rolled over and kissed her on the neck, then slipped out of bed.

The cold floor caused a chill to run through me. I put on some slippers and walked down stairs. The clock on the coffee pot blinked five a.m. Too early, but something was lingering on my mind, something that I had to do and that couldn't wait any longer. I poured coffee beans into the grinder and turned it on. The fragrance of freshly ground beans made my mouth water. Caffeine, I needed it desperately.

Not that it made the coffee brew faster, but I watched the dark liquid drip until it was finished, then pulled a cup from the cabinet and poured a fresh cup. Black. Hot. Steaming. Delicious. I sat at the table and sipped my coffee, thinking about what I would do.

I wished things would have turned out differently for Jesse, but I refused to blame myself for her death. Not often did people fool me so easily, but this wasn't my fault.

I took another sip of coffee and continued to stare into the blank s.p.a.ce of the living room. Then, without hesitation, I picked up the phone. After I finished my conversation, I walked upstairs and climbed into bed. Jennifer rolled over and looked at me with hooded eyes.

"Where'd you go?" She pulled the blanket up to her neck and slowly closed her eyes.

"I had some business to take care of." I climbed under the covers and wrapped my arms around her. We fit together like perfect pieces of a puzzle, and I loved it.

"I've got a surprise for you," I whispered.

"Hmm," she said, slowly drifting in and out of sleep. "I've got a surprise for you," she whispered.

I narrowed my eyes at her as curiosity swept through me.

"You go first," she said.

"You."

"Nope," she said.

I shook her arm and waited.

She opened her eyes and stared at me. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I purchased your parents' house."

After she shot up in bed, she turned her body to me and just stared with her mouth open. I reached over and turned on the lamp beside the bed. The warm glow filled the room. I could see Jennifer's hair was a mess, and a huge smile filled her face. Then, after another moment, she placed her hands over her face and quietly sobbed. I sat up and pulled her to my chest.

"What's wrong? I thought this would please you."

She didn't say a word, and I didn't force her to, not until she was finished. Minutes pa.s.sed, and she pulled away and wiped the tears from her face. "It makes me so happy. I never . . . never thought it would be mine again." More tears streamed down her face and I wiped them away with a smile.

"So these are happy tears," I said.

"What about Mr. and Mrs. Hanley?" she asked between sniffles.

"Oh, they were overly pleased with my offer, and can't wait to hand the keys over to us."

She reached over and hugged my neck, and I wrapped my arms around her waist. Next thing I knew, she was straddling me, leaning down and kissing me, and pouring herself into me.

I placed both hands behind my head and gave her my signature look. "It's your turn," I said.

She placed a finger over my mouth, and I sucked on her finger.

"Your turn, Mrs. Felton."

She shook her head, and that's when the tickle war started. She laughed so hard and tried to wriggle free to the point that I started laughing.

"You're going to make me pee myself, stop!" She tried to sound demanding, so I temporarily stopped and threatened her with my fingers.

"You've got until the count of ten until you get more tickles."

"No! Please. Not tickles."

"Dun dun. Dun dun. Dun dun," I said, moving closer to her.

She rolled on top of me and pinned my arms above my head.

"I kind of like you dominating me, Mrs. Felton. It's f.u.c.king hot."

Her face turned serious for a moment before she leaned down and kissed me. I gave her everything I had, all of me, every single piece.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered into my mouth, and then kissed me, and that's when the tears began streaming down my face. She pulled away and stared at me with a huge smile on her face, then leaned down and began kissing away my salty tears. I rubbed my hands over my face.

" You're . . .?" I had to ask again. I had to know that I had heard her correctly.

"Pregnant," she whispered.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me, as close as she could be.

"Since when? How do you know? Do you feel okay? Can I do anything for you?"

She chuckled and propped herself up on one arm. "Only a few weeks. I took a pregnancy test when I missed my period and saw a faint line. I feel fine. Love me."