He wipes over the countertop and drops the mug in the sink. He drops his head back and looks up to the ceiling with a huge sigh. I stand next to him quietly for a moment and put my hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Spike,” I whisper. This is all my fault.
“Ari … Just stop, okay?”
“But—”
“No. It’s not your fault. That crazy motherfucker would have done something sooner or later. It was always in the cards, we just didn’t know it. So enough with the apologies.”
I nod. Trying to accept the truth in his words, but it’s so hard.
“Lottie just left,” I say quietly.
He blows out a breath and rakes a hand over his face. “I know.”
“You could have—”
“Don’t even say it, Arianna,” he warns. “It’s bad enough that I have to live with this shitty existence day to day. I won’t do that to her too.”
“Spike.”
“It’s not up for discussion. She’s free to live her life now, with a man that can be a man. With someone that can treat her how she deserves to be treated.”
“What if someone treats her like dirt?”
“Then I’ll find that person and make them wish they were never born.”
“But she’s leaving for London, Spike. London!”
“Don’t you think I know that, Ari?” His voice starts to rise. “Don’t you think it’s going to kill me not to see her beautiful face every day? Not to hear her voice…Fuck. I love her. I fucking love her more than life itself. Which is why I have to let her go. She deserves more than I can give her. I’m no use to her like this,” he says angrily. I wrap both of my arms around him from behind the wheelchair and squeeze him tight. I hate that he feels this way. I hate everything that has happened. I hate that I can’t do a damn thing to make this better for Spike, or Lottie. It hurts to see them so miserable. I just hope and pray that Lottie will come back soon, and Spike will see that she loves him no matter what.
Everyone has been affected by Jonny. Everyone has been tainted by his cruel obsessions. But he’s not here anymore, and life goes on. The more we dwell on the past, the harder it is to move forward, and the stubborn girl in me will most certainly not let him win from beyond the grave.
Epilogue
Denham
Istand outside of Chique and watch my girl as she finishes up for the day. She doesn’t know I’m coming to meet her; I thought I’d take her by surprise.
After what has probably been the hardest couple of months of our lives, things are finally starting to settle down.
Amy is currently serving a sentence in the Nevada women’s correctional center, for aiding criminal activity. Her dealings with Jonny went deeper than we realized, and she had gotten herself in way over her head. However, I couldn’t feel sorry for her. It was karma for every shitty thing she’d ever done to anyone. Not only had she sold me out, but she had used her tits and ass to seduce Dom, my tech guy. Which in turn, led him to help her fuck with the security and CCTV systems. If it wasn’t for them, it would have been much harder for Jonny to get toArianna. But I’m sure he would have figured out a way somehow. It was lucky for Dom that the LVMPD got to him before I did, and he doesn’t ever want to show his face around here again. Fucking sad excuse for a man.
Spike is doing really well; he’s dealing with his paralysis better than I ever thought he would. As much as his condition sucks, it won’t beat us. I would rather have him around like this, than not at all. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard, but he’s a fighter. I’ve tried to talk to him about Lottie but he won’t hear me out, I guess it’s just going to take time. He has the rest of us: me, Ari, mom, and Tara, and I will spend every day trying to make it the best for him. He’s my brother and my best friend, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.
There isn’t a foreboding cloud hovering over us and The Kingdom like there was before, and the mysteries from the past have been solved. Who would have thought that Jonny Ellison was the cause of everything for all those years? But with him gone, there are no threats. There’s no reason to look over our shoulders for fear of repercussions. So we can move on. Move forward with our lives, together. And now that I have Arianna back, I’m not ever letting her go.
“Hey, handsome!” Ari chirps as she bounces through the double doors. Fuck, she never gets less beautiful. “What are you doing here, is everything okay?”
I push myself off the wall with a smile, and plunge both of my hands through her hair, cradling her nape and pulling her lips to mine before she has a chance to say anything else.
“Happy Birthday,” I murmur against her lips.
“Thank you. Although I think you wished me a happy birthday this morning.”
“Oh, Stunner, that was just for starters,” I growl and nip her neck with my teeth. She yelps then laughs, and although I know it didn’t hurt, I suck gently to soothe any sting it might have left.
“I love my bracelet.” She beams, admiring the diamond eternity band around her wrist. She tilts it so it catches in the light, and her eyes sparkle with happiness. I love to see her smile, her pure spirit and now unguarded happiness; she makes me feel like the luckiest man in the world.
