“Positions,” Buck murmured. Gorgon didn’t respond right away because something felt off. He looked around, trying tofigure out what it was that had the hair on the back of his neck standing at attention. Then he saw it—movement inside. There were no guards, and none of Cole’s usual chaos. It was too clean and controlled.
“Hold,” Gorgon said sharply, but it was too late. The doors blew open as the floodlights snapped on.
“Federal agents! Drop your weapons!” Everything went to hell in a second. There was shouting, and guns lifted into the air. Chaos colliding with control, as Kimi’s voice cut through it.
“Gorgon—” He turned just as a shot rang out—Cole. He was still standing, still breathing, and had his gun aimed straight at her. Gorgon moved before his brain could catch up. The impact hit hard as pain tore through his side. He had taken the bullet meant for her, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t even slow down.
Gorgon fired one shot—clean and precise, and Cole dropped for good this time. The world tilted for a second as sounds dimmed around him. But he stayed standing because she was there by his side, helping to hold him upright. Kimi was still breathing, and that was the only thing that mattered.
The feds swarmed, and he gave the order for his men to lower their weapons. The feds shouted orders, but none of it mattered—not really, not to him. Kimi was in front of him, her hands were on him as her voice broke through the haze.
“You’re bleeding—Gorgon,” she shouted.
“I’ve had worse,” he insisted. It was a complete lie, but he was trying to calm some of the worry that he saw in her eyes.
“Don’t—don’t do that,” she snapped, panic cracking through. “Don’t act like this is nothing.”
His hand came up, gripping her wrist—not hard, but just enough to get her attention. “Look at me,” he ordered. She did—her eyes wide and fierce. “You’re okay,” he said.
Her breath hitched. “Yes, because you took a bullet that was meant for me.”
“And I’d do it all again, to keep you safe.” That was the point. That was always the point.
Her eyes filled, but she didn’t look away from him. “Why?” she whispered. The question hung there between them. Everything they hadn’t said, and everything he hadn’t admitted to her, was all demanding to be spoken now.
“Because I’m in love with you,” he breathed. That was the simple, honest truth. He loved her from the first minute he saw her, and for some crazy reason, he wasn’t afraid to admit that now—to her or to anyone else. He wanted forever with Kimi, and it was about time that she knew it.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
He nodded, pulling her into his body, and trying not to wince at the pain that small action caused him. “Good, then how about you marry me?” he asked.
“Marry you?” she stuttered.
He smiled down at her and nodded again. “Yes, marry me, Kimi,” he said. She smiled at him through her tears, and when she finally nodded her agreement, he felt like the luckiest damn man on the planet.
Gorgon had finally found the person he wanted to spend his life with—even when he never believed it could happen. He knew that his grandmother’s spirit was what had led Kimi to him, and there was no way that he’d ever let her go again. Kimi wasn’t his secret anymore—she was his whole damn future.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
The snow was gone, but that didn’t mean the damage was too. It meant change, and that had nothing to do with the changing seasons and everything to do with the woman who had agreed to spend the rest of her life with him.
Gorgon leaned against the railing outside the clubhouse, watching the yard come alive in a way that it hadn’t before. The place seemed stronger, if that was possible. It was his—well, it was theirs now. Kimi had agreed to move into the clubhouse with him, and that was where they planned on beginning their lives together. He couldn’t think of a better plan. He could have his club and his woman. He didn’t have to choose, and that meant everything to him.
He heard the footsteps behind him, and he didn’t turn. He didn’t need to because he could feel her before she even walked into the same room with him. Kimi stepped up beside him, her shoulder brushing his like it belonged there.
“You’re staring again,” she said. “Should I be worried?” She knew that when he watched the horizon, it usually meant danger was on its way. But things had been quiet lately.
“I’m thinking,” he said.
“Well, that is dangerous. I guess I should be worried,” Kimi teased. He huffed a quiet laugh.
“Do you regret it?” she asked.
He glanced at her. “Regret what?” he asked.
“Keeping me,” she breathed.
