“So, what happens next?” Lily asks, her voice shaky and hesitant.
Barrington smiles. “We’ll finish our investigation and charge everyone we can. And you’re free to go back to your life.” He glances in my direction. “I’d like to warn you to make a better choice for a partner, but it seems it’s too late for that.”
Lily huffs a laugh, and I roll my eyes, even as I fight my own smile. He’s still an asshole, but maybe only occasionally.
I stand and help Lily to her feet. “We have got to stop meeting like this, gentlemen. I’m going to take Lily home now. Call me if you need anything else from either of us.”
Barrington and Wilcox stand as well. I remove the blanket from Lily’s shoulders and drop it on the table.
Grabbing Lily’s hand, I start to walk to the door when a tug on my hand stops me. I twist to see Lily looking back at the detectives.
“Thank you for saving me today.”
They both nod in response, and she turns back to me with a small smile. She grips my hand tight as we walk out of the police station for what I hope is the last time.
The late spring sun beams down on us as we step outside. When we get far enough away from the building, I stop and pull Lily into my arms, needing to hold her.
Wrapping her arms around my waist, her voice is low, despite us being alone in the back of the parking lot, since that was the only parking space I could find. “I’m still in shock. It’s like I don’t believe I’m not being arrested.”
I kiss the top of her head. “I know, baby. But it seems like we’re in the clear.”
She pulls back a little so she can look up at me. “But what about the…you know?”
Smirking, I run a thumb along her cheek, knowing thatshe is referring to the infamous skillet. “Ah, don’t you worry about that. I have a new client who took care of that for us.”
She stares up at me, her eyes crinkling in confusion. I’ll tell her about Tony one day, but not today. Today, we’re going to just enjoy the first day of the rest of our lives.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go home to Hank and tell him the good news about his new brother or sister.”
EPILOGUE
Chris
ONE YEAR LATER
Lily moans into our kiss, and I hug her tighter. Her arms wrap around my shoulders and hold me to her.
As if I’d let her go.
“We should cancel,” I mutter, not removing my lips from hers.
She pulls back and breaks the kiss, but she still doesn’t let me go. “We can’t do that. Not after we finally got added to the Nash Family Dinners. This is our first time hosting.”
Sighing, I reluctantly release her. “Fine, but everyone better leave by nine.”
She laughs and shakes her head as she returns to prepping dinner. Jack and the guys of Nash Security have had these family dinners for years. Italternates who hosts, and not everyone can always make it, but we started getting included, and Lily loves it. She was honored when Ella, Jack’s wife, asked her to host this time.
I enjoy them too, even though I’m annoyed about it impacting the ability to have sex with my future wife right at this current moment. It’s not my fault that she’s sexy as fuck.
“Are Tom and Seth coming?” Lily asks as she chops veggies for a salad.
I slide into a seat at the kitchen island to watch her work. I’ve offered to help multiple times, but she refused. I think she’s enjoying the prep too much to let me take over some of the duties.
I check the time. “Yep, they should be here soon. Tom said they’d get here early.”
Since the original deal Tony offered me fell through, I decided we could reach an agreement on something else instead. I’m now the permanent attorney for the Valentini family. In exchange, Christy admitted to killing her mother for the insurance policy. Well, and for him getting rid of the last thing that tied Lily to what happened to Blake. When I asked Tony if he knew how to dispose of things someone didn’t want found, the only question he asked was how big of an item were we talking about. I never told him why or what it related to, but he assured me, no one would ever find that skillet.
As for Christy, I have no idea what Tony said to her to get her to walk into the closest police station and turn herself in, but I’ll be forever grateful. Getting Tom out of jail and then getting him custody of Seth was no easy feat, but the moment the paperwork was finalized was one none of us will forget. I still get choked up thinking about watching Tom walk out of jail as a free man.
