“Wait, wait, wait!” Connor pleads with me as I press the pillow to his gut and fire three shots in different directions.
“You’ve got about thirty minutes.” I point to Connor. Then I tell Ian, “You’ve got maybe three.”
Taping their mouths, hands, and feet, we sit in the two chairs and watch as the two men slowly die.
Ian is gone in minutes, groaning the entire time while silently crying. Connor is still pleading for his life through the tape covering his mouth.
“So much for fast,” I mutter. Viking snorts.
“I like this better. They suffer like they deserve, and we aren’t gone for too long.”
Once Connor’s last breath rattles his chest, we double-check that both men are dead, toss bleach around the room, on the pillows, and over their bodies. Viking makes a quick stop in the office on the way out and tells the owner not to clean the end rooms for a few days. He hands him a wad of cash for the cleanup that’ll be required, and we ride back home to our woman before the sun is up.
Chapter 25
Logan
Four days ago, two bodies were found at a motel outside Gulfport. It was an obvious murder, and many people were outraged and shocked at how gruesome it was. So much dried blood pooled around the men from gunshot and stab wounds to the stomach that it looked like a massacre.
Normally I’d have wondered who could do such a thing and why; this time, I didn’t have to because those bodies belonged to my long-time tormentors. When they were identified, I cried so hard I made myself sick because how could that part of my life be over so easily? I was afraid I’d been dreaming, but then Viking and Priest shared a look, one filled with concern, but also knowledge. They freed me from my past and the haunted feeling of never being safe again.
“Hellcat!” My head whips up at the sound of Viking’s voice coming from the front of the clubhouse, and I see he has a large envelope in his hands and a huge grin on his face. “This is it, Lo!”
“Hell yeah, that’s a thick one!” Priest comes over from the bar.
I’m nervous accepting the white package. I applied to a local college to take a few classes until I could figure out what I want to do. I don’t want to work at Euphoria forever.
“Well, are you going to open it?” Trista asks, and she, Connie, Marie, and Finleigh join us. They helped me with the application, and thanks to Fin’s background, she was able to speak with someone at the college to expedite my application.
“Okay, okay.” I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and rip the envelope open. Removing its contents, my eyes focus on one word: Congratulations… The rest trails off, my ears ring, and my heart rate accelerates as excitement causes my euphoria. “I’m in!” I shout.
Priest takes the papers and hands them to Marie before lifting me in his arms and cheering, “Hell yeah. Our girl is going to college!” Kissing along my jaw, he sweeps his lips across mine and delves deep with his tongue until I’m hot and bothered for another, better reason.
“Knew you’d do it, hellcat.” Viking pulls me away and gives me the same treatment, gripping my ass and grinding me against his hard length, making me moan. “Fucking proud of you, woman.”
“Thank you.”
Breathless, I pull him in hard and close my eyes, leaning my head on his shoulder. I had no idea when I came here that I would gain an entire family.
“Love you, hellcat.” Viking’s words spring tears to my eyes. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to hear them from someone who chose to love me.
“How could we not?” Priest lifts my chin until my eyes open. “Didn’t know I could love someone the way we do you.”
“Thank you.” My throat constricts, and I’m overcome with emotion. “I love you both so much. I love everyone here…being here. I can’t wait to start our future together.”
We spend the rest of the day celebrating, and I finally experience the true biker party lifestyle and how crazy some of these guys can get.
I still haven’t decided how or if I’m going to work things out with my mom, but Viking and Priest are taking me back home for the first time since I left Montgomery so I can pack up the belongings I want. And we plan to return for Thanksgiving to visit with Carly and her family and again thank them for everything they’ve done for me. Despite Miles’ friend’s betrayal and the fact that he’s disappeared and can’t be confronted, I’ll forever have gratitude for my second family.
The future doesn’t seem as bleak now as it did all those weeks ago when I went on the run. Never in a million years did I think I’d have the opportunity to attend college, and now I am. I have a whole life here, and I’m so happy yet terrified at the same time, but I’ll hold on to everything I can as tight as I can.
“You’re thinking too hard.” Priest nuzzles his face into the back of my neck as the fire blazes brighter with the addition of new logs, and the music lowers just a few notches as a few people break off to head to bed. “Maybe you need us to shut that beautiful brain off with an orgasm or five?”
I love when his voice goes sultry and low.
“I wouldn’t say no.” I spin in his arms; he hoists me up and carries me inside where Viking waits for us in our room.
Quickly stripping off my clothes, I climb on top of Viking and don’t hesitate to glide down his throbbing cock until I’m nearly melting from pleasure.
