Luc looked furious with me, but the expression changed to curiosity again as I reached for his gun, pulling it out and stepping toward the door.
“Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run.” I muttered the words of the nursery rhyme Dad had taught me. I remembered summers on the beach, where he’d chased me around singing the song, him as the farmer and me as the rabbit. I ached with grief again.
Amber was ambling down the hallway away from me, her path not quite linear, cradling her broken arm.
“Don’t give the farmer his fun, fun, fun.” Maybe I was the product of my upbringing. I had been raised with the belief that I was the rabbit, that I was the prey. But what if that wasn’t the truth? “He’ll get by without his rabbit pie.”
Luc was stood behind, watching me. I wanted to see what Amber would do if I let her go. She left. She thought that I would allow her to apologize, make empty promises and leave. That I would let her walk away when she brought Link into this. For that to happen, hell would have to freeze over. She didn’t even look back. When it came down to it, Amber only wanted to save herself. She had the luxury of worrying about her own survival while I had the honor of protecting an entire family. All except for one. All I could do for him now was to avenge his death.
Perhaps this wasn’t the most honorable way to do it. I made a pact with myself there and then, that if the need ever rose again I would do it differently. I would at least let them know I was coming for them. I would never take another shot when someone’s back was turned, but Amber didn’t deserve that small mercy, because she hadn’t shown Dad any. Lifting my hand, I aimed at Amber down the hallway as she started to climb the stairs.
“Run.”
Bang.
“Run.”
Bang.
“Run.”
Bang.
Chapter Forty Eight
Lucas
When I realised what Mia had planned, I was prepared to pick up the pieces. I’d seen her reaction to death, watched as the love of my life sank in on herself at the realities of the family business. She had done what she needed to do, and I would carry her the rest of the way. But my guiding hand appeared to be unnecessary.
The moment Link was born, a darkness had settled in Mia, hidden under the guise of maternal love. Suddenly, she had something worth protecting, even if it meant tipping over the edge. It lurked at the surface any time someone held Link or spoke about him. She weighed every word and the way they behaved, and it had taken control of her today. Instead of falling apart when Amber’s body hit the floor, Mia had calmly told me that the mess needed to be cleaned up and that she wanted Link back home. It took less than ten minutes for Dante to appear with Link and another five for Michael and Theo to turn up before we set about tying up the loose ends that remained from Mia’s work.
When I returned home, Mia was sitting on the sofa, cradling Link in her arms, besotted with him as always. She cuddled Link into her, pressing a soft kiss to his head and speaking to him gently. It was a drastic difference to the woman who had stood downstairs and fired each shot with decent aim. Hector had taught her well, because none of us had trained her with a gun.
“He looks tired,” I said, joining my family. Link struggled to keep his eyes open in his Momma’s arms. “How about we put him down?”
Mia rose from the sofa carefully and walked upstairs and into Link’s nursery before placing him down in the crib. She watched as he fussed at being out of her arms but soon settled again. After a few moments of silence, I took her hand and led her into our bedroom.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, stopping her in front of me and taking her in. There was something mesmerizing about watching the way Mia had transformed from hunted to hunter.
“Honestly? I’m not sure,” she replied. “I don’t know. I know I should feel something but…”
Shaking my head at her, I said, “You had a reason. It was justified, Mia.”
Gently, I pulled her into my arms and Mia buried her face into my chest, letting out a deep breath. I placed a kiss on the top of her head, and she looked up at me through her lashes. “I need you,” she told me quietly.
There would never be a time in my life where I would tire of hearing those words. She buried her face back in my chest, but my hand found her chin and tipped her head up before I hungrily took her lips with mine. I’d missed her body, and in that moment I desired her more than I ever had. By the way she gripped my shirt and responded to the kiss, she was after the same thing. Mia had done all that was needed to look after our family, and I would look after her. Whatever she needed from me, I would give it to her without question.
Clothes were shed across the bedroom floor as we made our way to the bed between hungry, desperate kisses and wandering hands. She was after a remedy for the emptiness that settled after a job was finished. Something that could warm her soul and make her feel alive. Mia straddled my lap, sinking onto my throbbing cock, and a satisfied moan escaped her lips. “Fuck me,” she breathed.
“Exactly what I intend to do,” I told her before capturing her lips in another kiss.
My fingers sank into the flesh of her hips. Mia’s body had changed for pregnancy and birth. She was softer, curvier, and wore scars in the form of stretchmarks from growing Link. I’d caught her occasionally looking at herself in the mirror, assessing the changes but not appreciating them the way I did. Nothing would ever be able to turn my head away from the glory of this woman that I called my own. I’d worship her until my dying breath.
We rocked together, finding a rhythm. My mouth moved across her body, nipping, licking and sucking at whatever bare skin I could find. The was nothing rushed about our movements. We were too entwined in each other, in the moment and the connection. I brushed strands of dark hair from her face and Mia rested her forehead against mine as our hips continue to pulse. Looking into her deep, brown doe eyes, I knew that I would do anything for this woman. A million times over, I would put myself at her mercy, allow her to destroy me as long as she belonged to me and me alone.
“Luc.” Mia bit on her plump bottom lip, closing her eyes, and I felt her tighten around me. “Don’t stop. Please.” Her nails dug into my upper arm and I bucked my hips up into her. Muscles tensed and grips tightened as we both fell over the edge into bliss. Mia’s body rested against mine as she relaxed, coming down from the high she’d experienced. Breaths in sync, I kissed the top of her head and she moved it to look at me, eyes hazy from her orgasm.
“I love you, Mia,” I murmured against her lips after a kiss. Mother, murderer, soon to be wife; whatever title she wanted to wear I would forever be wound around her finger.
