He shook his head, and frustration flashed in her storm-dark eyes. He had to make her understand—it was for her and the baby’s safety as well as his own. “You don’t understand, honey, they’ll keep coming. They won’t stop until I’m dead, or worse—they track down you and the baby. I can’t let that happen.”
She shook her head at him. “Savage already handled it,” Winter interrupted, her voice steady despite the exhaustion etched into her features. “While you were recovering, Savage and a few of the Bastards met with the Dead Rabbits. They convinced them you were dead.”
Jace froze, his breath catching. “What?”
“They told them you didn’t make it,” Winter explained softly. “Savage made it very convincing. He said that you bled out after the ambush. Ruby corroborated the story, as the ER doctor who worked on you, and she even faked your death certificate, leaving no stone unturned.”
“She can get into a lot of trouble for doing that,” Jace insisted.
Winter shrugged, “Not really,” she said, “the FBI gave her the go-ahead to do it, and she said that she would have done it anyway, just to keep the baby and me safe from the Dead Rabbits.”
“I knew that I liked her,” he breathed. “I owe her.”
“I’m sure that Savage and Banshee will end up taking care of your tab at some point since she’s the Harlot’s new doc. The Rabbits seemed to buy the lies. They were satisfied with Savage’s explanation and Ruby’s death certificate. They agreed to call things off and leave the baby and me alone, saying that their war was with you and the FBI.”
For a long moment, Jace just stared at her, the weight of her words sinking in. Relief warred with disbelief as he thought through everything that she had just said. “They think I’m dead,” he whispered.
Winter nodded, brushing her thumb over the baby’s cheek. “And that means they’ll stop hunting us. Savage’s plan gave us a chance to breathe, Jace. A chance to raise our son without looking over our shoulders every second. And a chance to stop running and put down roots as a family.”
Jace leaned back against the pillows, his body trembling with the release of tension he hadn’t even realized he was holding. His hand reached for hers, gripping tight. “I guess I owe Savage, too, then,” he said.
She giggled and nodded. “He said to tell you that he’ll collect too.”
His gaze dropped to the baby, and his voice broke. “You and the baby are safe, and that’s all that matters, honey.”
“We’re all safe, Jace,” she reminded. “We have a fresh start and can build the life that we want.”
“Then, I guess that I’ll stay dead for as long as it takes,” he joked. “How would you feel about being married to a dead man, honey?” he asked.
Winter leaned closer, pressing her forehead to his. “I’d say that I’d love to marry you, Jace. Besides, you’re not dead to us. You’re here, and you fought your way back to us. And now, finally, we’re all safe.” The baby stirred, a soft cry escaping his lips, and Jace closed his eyes, letting the sound wash over him. For the first time in months, the storm inside him began to quiet, and he finally felt like he was home. Winter and their son had become that for him—his home, and now, he’d never have to let either of them go again.
EPILOGUE
The doctors called it a miracle that Jace had pulled through his near-fatal gunshot wound, and he knew that his recovery had everything to do with Doctor Ruby’s quick thinking. The Royal Bastards called it a victory that the Dead Rabbits believed he was gone. But for Jace, it felt like something else entirely—a chance to start over. He was going to start a new life with his woman and his son by his side, and he couldn’t believe that he had gotten so lucky.
He sat in the hospital bed, his son cradled in Winter’s arms, and listened as Savage explained the details to him. Since he was able to convince the Dead Rabbits that Jace was dead, he’d need a new name, a new identity, and a clean slate. At first, the idea of erasing himself felt like a betrayal. He had worked hard to become who he was. He had built his career in the Bureau and made a name for himself. The only problem was that the Dead Rabbits figured out that he was an agent, and he blew his cover. That’s when his life started going downhill. Maybe Savage was right. Maybe a fresh start was just what he needed. When he looked at Winter and the tiny boy nestled against her chest, he realized it wasn’t erasure of his old life—it was a rebirth. Theman he had been was gone, buried in blood and violence. The man he would become had a woman he loved by his side and a son who needed him to stick around to raise him. Becoming a ghost gave him that opportunity.
“I like it,” Jace admitted quietly, his hand brushing Winter’s. “A fresh start is just what we need. There will be no ghosts chasing us anymore, and we won’t have to run. We can put down roots—just us.”
“The three of us.” Winter smiled, tired but radiant. “Then we’ll take this second chance, together.” Jace wasn’t sure where they were going to end up, but he was excited about the idea of the three of them making their way in the world together. As long as the Dead Rabbits believed him to be dead, he’d have that fresh start with Winter, and for that, he was thankful.
After the New Year, they would pack what little they had and drive. He had thought about going north since they left his cozy little cabin, but he wondered how Winter felt about returning to his place. His little cabin waited for them, silent beneath a blanket of snow, its rough-hewn walls a reminder of where they had survived before, and that thought made him smile. If he could get Winter to agree to going back north, this time, it wouldn’t be a place for hiding. It would be a place of healing and a new start for them as a family.
They sat around the fireplace at Savage’s place, planning their future as their son slept soundly in a crib. Savage had insisted that the three of them stay with him, Dallas, Bowie, and their kids, until they could figure out their next move and get the documentation that he and Winter would need to start over.
Winter leaned against Jace’s shoulder, her voice soft but certain. “We don’t have to know what comes next yet. We just have to decide it together.”
Jace kissed the top of her head, his arm tightening around her. “That’s the only promise I’ll ever make you, honey,” he said. “Whatever comes our way, we will face it side by side.”
Winter nodded, “I think that we should go north and take our time deciding our next chapter,” she said.
“To the cabin?” he asked, hopefully.
She smiled, “Yes, to the cabin. I like the idea of starting our new lives there. It’s the place that brought us together and kept us safe. It felt like home.” She shook her head, “I never thought that I’d ever want to leave Huntsville, or the Harlots, but I never thought that we’d have the chance at a fresh start. I say we go north for a while to consider what that fresh start is going to look like.” He wasn’t sure how he had gotten so damn lucky, but he wasn’t about to start questioning his luck now.
“I’d like that, honey,” he said.
Savage stood from the chair that sat next to the fireplace in the corner. “It’s settled then,” he said. “You three rest up, and we’ll get you up to the cabin to start your new lives. Bowie will get started on securing your new identity so that you have it for your travels.”
