Before I leave, I call Luther to find out where he took Lake first so I can pick her up if need be. “Saint,” Luther’s gravelly voice punches through the line. “Tell me one thing.” I don’t respond, knowing he doesn’t need me to. “Are they still alive?” Everyone has been itching to get their hands on the men who hurt Lake, so they’ll be shocked to learn I haven’t slaughtered them all yet.
“One is.”
“Good enough. We’re at your folks' place now. They’ve gone to the airport to wait for Scotty’s flight to land. I’ve also ordered a ton of food, so no one has to worry about cooking.”
“Be there soon.”
The ten-minute drive feels like an hour because all I want is to have Lake in my arms. She was supposed to be safe in my home, on my property, and those fuckers found her. I don’t know how, but I’ll damn well find out. I’m pissed she spent even a second in fear there. All because of a meeting with Seven and Severo to plan a trip to Mobile with a mother and son who need to be relocated.
Never did I believe I’d be in the smuggling business, but the more people we remove from dangerous situations, the more I know I’m doing something right with my life. Saving these people, their children, it absolves me from being unable to protect the one person I was always meant to.
Lake would hate that that’s how I think of this. She’d be angry that I blamed myself, but it’s true. From the time I realized she would mean the world to me, I vowed to protect her from men who wished her harm. I failed. Tremendously.
As I drive onto my parents' property, I see the woman in question looking apprehensive as she gets to her feet on the front steps and waits for me to get out.
“Lake.” Her name slips out with a possessive growl, and she shocks me by smiling and running into my arms. Her legs wrap around my waist, while her arms hold my shoulders, and she doesn’t hesitate to lay her lips across mine.
“You saved me,” she whispers against my mouth, nibbling my bottom lip before pushing her tongue inside and slowly fucking me with it until I lose control.
Spinning, I pin her back against my truck and kiss her as I desire. Controlling the angle by pulling her head back by the hair, squeezing her ass cheek in my meaty paw, and grinding my dick between her thighs.
“Tonight, Saint,” she gasps when I release her mouth. “Tonight, I want to be with you. I want us connected. I want to feel you moving inside of me.”
Drawing back, I study her face as my cock throbs, ready to release a big fucking load in my pants right now. “You have to know something first.”
“What?” she pants, eyes piercing me to my soul.
“I killed him.”
Her breath catches as her eyes close, and for a minute, I’m afraid she’ll push away and run from me. Instead, she leans in and presses her lips to mine, and whispers, “Thank you, Saint.” She moans, then shocks me further by requesting, “Now kill the rest.”
I’ve never fucking wanted her more.
CHAPTER 18
Lake
Caleb is dead. That’s Saint’s confession. I want the details. I want to know if he suffered. Did it hurt? Did he beg and cry for someone to save him?
It’s torture keeping the questions to myself; I have so many. But Scotty and Jax are here with all the girls. Bethany and Bellamy have gotten so big since I saw them last summer, and Blakely runs around like she owns the place. Which, from how Carver acts, she does. It’s amusing to watch such an emotionless man be so gentle and loving to his three granddaughters.
My eyes roam the room, seeking out Saint as he holds a sleeping newborn in his arms. Aria, Seven, and Severo had their first boy, Rowan, just after Christmas, and he’s so sweet. His eyes follow everyone around the room as much as he can. I’m not sure how he wound up in Saint’s arms, or how the man is so calm with such a tiny person attached to him, but I find myself daydreaming about our future. How he will be with children of our own one day.
Children.
Of my own.
For so long, motherhood has been so far out of the realm of possibility for me that, shockingly, I’m even contemplating it now.
But Saint…
He deserves the things he wants, even when he tells me I’m enough. Believing him was difficult at first, until he started to prove it. Over the years, he’s demonstrated his devotion to me, but thus far, a life outside of day-to-day survival has been elusive.
Getting to my feet, I’m halted in my trek across the room by Blakely and Ariella body slamming a hug into each of my legs before laughing and running away again. Saint watches me intently, his gaze heating up and boiling over with desire.
After my promise outside and spending the evening enjoying our families, I’m more than ready for some alone time. For once, not from being thrown into a panic, but from my need to show Saint how much I love him. How I’m every bit as devoted to him as he is to me.
Saint’s arm reaches for me, wrapping around my neck and dragging me into his body to kiss the top of my head and inhale deeply.
