“Then we’ll stay up all night talking. And if you’re tired and want to go to sleep, I’ll stay awake and watch over you.”
She reaches up, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I kiss her. “My mom is going to be so excited to meet you. She’s the best cook. Oh, and she does a lot of charity work, like your mom did.”
Zuri listens while I talk—talk about anything and everything I can think of. She shares some stories, too, but mostly she listens, strokes my hair, lets her eyes flutter closed, but then forces them open again.
When hours pass, dawn teasing behind the window, she finally gives in and goes to sleep, and just like I promised, I watch her, ready to wake her if she has a nightmare, willing to slay any demons that face her, just like I know she will always do for me.
*
It’s almost lunchtimebefore Zuri and I make it downstairs. The house is quiet, but we find Tiernan and Dean in Tiernan’s office.
“Hey,” Tiernan says. “Are you both good?”
“Yes.” I squeeze Zuri’s hand. “Everything’s good. We just wanted to check and make sure everything was sorted out last night.” I don’t really need the details. There’s no doubt in my mind that they took care of everything, but I know it’s important for Zuri to hear.
It’s Dean who answers first. “Yeah. I dealt with the school’s cameras and security system. Cillian went and saw the dean in the middle of the night. Rory and Shai took care of that piece of fucking shit who put his hands on Zuri. I went through his laptop. He’s been looking up some fucked-up shit. He definitely got lost down those rabbit holes full of weak fucking men who hate women and think they owe him something. He wrote some disturbing stuff…not just about Zuri, but women in general.”
“I can’t—” She shakes her head. “I thought he was a nice guy. A little weird, but that’s it.”
“They want us to think they’re nice guys. It’s how they get away with what they do,” Tiernan says. “But the world is a better place with him where he is. I called Rian, too. We brought some guys in. Everyone is doing their jobs, and none of this will come back to us.” He looks at Zuri. “You’re safe…in every way.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what I can do to pay you all back for this.”
“You don’t owe us anything,” my brother tells her. “Just be good to Ash.”
She turns and looks at me, biting her bottom lip sweetly, and I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. I’d like to be the one biting it. “I will,” she says.
“You guys wanna go out for lunch?” Tiernan asks.
“Wow. This is a once-in-a-lifetime offer. Tiernan usually doesn’t want to be around anyone. We should take him up on it,” I joke.
“No shit,” Dean confirms.
“I’d like that,” Zuri says, so that’s what we do. The girl I love and I, along with my brother and my best friend, head out together to share a meal, and for a little while, the things that happened last night are behind us.
I know how it works, know that these things never really go away. I haven’t dealt with it, and Zuri hasn’t either, but we will. We’ll deal with the emotional aspects together, the way we’ll do everything from now on.
Me and my girl.
EPILOGUE
Zuri
Six Years Later
“Ican’t believethis is ours,” I say before turning to Ash as she’s peeking into the oven in our new house. It was just furnished and set up by movers yesterday. Ash and I spent the day grocery shopping and getting ready for a houseful of O’Sheas this afternoon, and it’s absolutely perfect.
I turn back to the vegetables I’m chopping on the counter, and a moment later, Ash’s arms wrap around me from behind. “Believe it, Dr. Alexander.” When we got married, we decided we would keep our own last names. Ash is an O’Shea, and I can’t imagine her being anything else, but I also wanted to keep my tie to my parents, and figured the name recognition of O’Shea might not go well with my chosen field.
“Not a doctor yet…just a resident.” I’ve just started my residency at a hospital here in Boston. It’s a lot of work for much less pay than most people would assume, but I love it.
“You’re a doctor to me. In fact, if you want…we could play doctor.” She slides her hand up my torso and grabs my tit.
A laugh tumbles from my lips. We do that together so often, just laugh and love. Really, that’s what life is all about. “I think that might need to wait until later, considering our family will be here soon. But I’ll give you a full examination tonight for the first time in our new bed.”
We bought a house right down the street from Fia—well, a house was purchased for us right down the street from her. We’ve gotten so close over the years. She really is like a momto me—they’re all like family to me, and I feel so lucky to have them.
