Catfish has moved over to Garrett and is holding his hand. Guess that’s what it looks like when a man’s not afraid his brothers will belittle him for showing softness. “Remind me not to fuck with either of you,” Catfish says, wincing.
It takes another minute to turn Paltrow around and position him because his legs keep collapsing. He vomits profusely, throwing up his own cock, struggling with blood loss and shock as I complete the second half of Garrett’s promise.
At this point, Grudge and Atom let him go as he falls to the floor in a ball. But Grudge drops to the floor and grips Paltrow’s chin. “You fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us. Who told you where Jackal was?”
Paltrow shakes violently. “You’re killing me…whether I tell you or not.”
Grudge dips his head lower to meet Paltrow’s eyes. “You tell us who told you where Jackal was, and I’ll put you out of your misery. Don’t, I’m gonna let Jackal fuck you with that knife until he gets bored.”
I shove it in him again, then tug my knife from him and wipe the blade on his ass cheek.
He’s not going to tell us, I know it. I pull my gun from beneath my cut and walk back to Garrett. “You want in on this?” I ask.
His breath is coming fast. “Yes.”
My brothers move back and give us some space. Paltrow is too far gone to move or fight. Almost takes the fun out of it.
I kneel down next to Garrett, put the gun in his hand, place my finger over his on the trigger, and together, we send Paltrow to hell.
“It’s done now,” Grudge says. “Give your gun to Atom. He’ll make sure it’s disposed of. Let’s bury him outside. In the trees.”
“We don’t have shovels,” Smoke says.
“I do,” Butcher says, walking into the mine tunnel with a spinal board. “They’re in the ambulance. Let me and your brothers move Garrett. You should go check on Isla.”
And with one last kiss to the forehead of the man I love, I leave the mine and walk to the woman I love just as much.
EPILOGUE
SHADE
Iwake up before Kai and Isla.
Not just because it’s now July and the dawn breaks earlier every day, but because I’ve been sleeping through the night more and more. My bouts of insomnia have become a thing of the past.
But to wake up before these two is one of my favorite things, because I get to see how we slept.
I always sleep in the same place. Isla and Kai switch around depending on who is going to bed first or who has to get up earliest in the morning. This morning, Isla is between us, lying on her side, her hair fanned across Kai’s chest, her hand anchored on my thigh as I spoon up behind her. My arm is over the two of them.
She’s naked; we all are. Something I love more than I ever thought possible.
My chest feels so full of the good kind of ache that there are days when I fear it’s going to split wide open.
I ease myself out of bed, kissing the top of her head as I go. She sighs but doesn’t wake.
Kai’s eyes crack open. “You good?”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “Stay with her.”
He studies me, for a second, then nods, pulling Isla closer.
Downstairs, the kitchen smells like coffee within a minute of me switching on the pot. Kai appears five minutes later anyway, barefoot, shirtless, hair a mess. He’s pulled on some plaid pajama pants that sit low on his hips and reveal the outline of his cock.
In other words, he looks good enough to eat.
“I said stay.”
“You did. But I missed you.” He walks into my open arms, and we stand there in the kitchen, holding each other. I rub my hand down his back; he puts his in the back of the jeans I pulled on to come downstairs.
