“You’re doing so good,” he says, voice gritty and raw wrapped in velvet. His thumb strokes over my knuckles in slow circles that make my breath catch. “My team’s already in place. This ends tonight.”
I nod, trying to keep my hope alive even as my voice comes out a little wobbly. “I know. I trust you, Jax. It’s just… I keep picturing those men from the parking garage. The way they looked at me. But then I look at you and remember how you feel when you’re holding me. How safe I am when you’re inside me. That makes the scary parts feel smaller. Sort of. Okay, maybe not smaller but at least manageable.”
A low chuckle rumbles from his chest, deep and reassuring. He lifts our joined hands and presses a kiss to the back of mine, his stubble scraping deliciously against my skin.
The snow falls heavier now, blanketing the road in white. Jax drives with steady confidence, one hand on the wheel and the other wrapped around mine. The wipers sweep back and forth in a rhythmic hush, clearing arcs through the flakes. Looming pines line the narrow road, their branches heavy with freshpowder that glows under the headlights. It’d be beautiful if I were not so terrified of what waits at the safe house.
I squeeze his hand tighter, drawing strength from the solid heat of him. “Tell me again that we get our happy ending after this. A quiet cabin somewhere. Me organizing your bookshelves and you growling at anyone who comes too close. Lots of one-bed situations. Maybe even a real bed this time instead of an SUV seat.”
His grip tightens protectively. “We get everything, Ava. I’m going to marry you one day soon. Put my ring on this finger so the whole world knows you’re mine. Then I’m going to spend every night showing you exactly how deep my love goes. Filthy and slow and hard until you can’t remember your own name. Just mine.”
Heat floods my cheeks and pools low in my belly despite the fear. I shift in my seat, pressing my thighs together at the memory of him stretching me so perfectly. “You can’t say things like that right now, Marshal Hartman. Not when I’m trying to be brave bait lady. It makes me want to climb into your lap again instead of facing dangerous criminals.”
He glances over, eyes dark with hunger and love. “Soon. After we end this. Then I’m taking you somewhere no one will find us and keeping you in my bed for days.”
The safe house comes into view up ahead, a sturdy cabin tucked just off the road with warm lights glowing in the windows to sell the story. Jax slows the SUV, his jaw set in that strong, alpha line I love so much. Snow crunches under the tires as he pulls up close. His team’s out there somewhere in the trees, invisible but ready. I can feel their presence like a shield around us.
I hold onto his hand for one more heartbeat before we step out into the cold. Flakes land on my lashes and melt against my flushed skin. Jax pulls me against his side immediately, his arm wrapped tight around my waist as we hurry toward the door. The wind whips snow around us, stinging my cheeks, but his body blocks most of it, warm and solid and mine.
We step inside the cabin, and the door clicks shut behind us. My heart races faster now, but Jax turns me in his arms and kisses me deep and claiming. His tongue sweeps in, tasting of need and forever, and for a moment the fear fades under the heat of him.
“I love you, Ava,” he growls against my lips. “Stay close. Let them come. We end this tonight.”
I nod, burying my face in his chest and breathing him in. I’ve never been more scared. But I’ve also never felt more loved. With Jax by my side, I can be the bait. I can wait for the cartel to show up. Because on the other side of this storm is our real life together.
And I can’t wait to start it.
24
Jax
The safe house door clicks shut behind us with a solid finality that settles deep in my bones like the heavy bolt of a rifle chambering a round. This is the one we planned on all along. A sturdy log cabin nestled in a small clearing just far enough off the main mountain road to appear exposed and tempting, yet close enough to the Alpha Pig for Mike Delaney’s leaked story to feel believable. Warm amber light spills from the lamps, casting rich golden pools across the heavy timber beams overhead and the thick wool rugs that cover the wide-plank hardwood floors.
I inhale deeply. This place is perfect. Isolated enough to draw them in, but not so remote that my brothers can’t close the distance fast. Bait in the trap, and I’m the steel jaws waiting to snap shut.
I know my team’s out there right now. Brock, Ryker, and the others positioned silently in the snow-laden trees and rocky ridges surrounding the property. Invisible. Heavily armed. Ready for war. Their presence is a quiet hum at the edge of my senses, the kind of backup that lets a man breathe easier evenwhen the storm’s coming. This ends tonight. One decisive, brutal strike against Carlos’s cartel, and Ava becomes truly free. Free to live without shadows. Free to be mine completely.
She stands in the center of the main room, hugging her arms tight around her small frame. Fresh snow melts in her dark hair, turning the strands glossy under the lamplight, and tiny flakes cling to her lashes like diamonds. Even scared out of her mind, she looks so damn beautiful it makes my breath hitch.
I close the distance in three powerful strides and pull her into my arms, wrapping her completely against my chest. She fits me perfectly, her head tucking under my chin, her soft curves molding to my harder frame. My large hands stroke slowly down her back, feeling every tense muscle beneath the fabric, rubbing firm circles until I feel some of that tightness start to ease.
“Jax,” she whispers against my shirt, her breath warm and shaky through the cotton. Her voice is soft and breathy. “What happens after? If everything goes according to plan… what comes next for us?”
I slide a finger under her chin and tilt her face up gently so those big, trusting eyes meet mine. The firelight from the hearth dances across her features, highlighting the faint tremble in her full lower lip and the glistening tears already gathering along her lashes. My thumb brushes her cheek, wiping away a stray snowflake that hasn’t yet melted.
“Then I take you home,” I say, my voice a rugged promise. “My real house in Timber Creek. Nothing fancy, but it’s solid and built to last. Big wraparound back porch overlooking the mountains, plenty of room for all your bookshelves. We build a life together there. Lazy quiet mornings where you organize everything in that cute way of yours, humming while yourearrange my kitchen cabinets. Nights where I keep you in my bed for hours, buried deep inside you until you forget every bad thing that ever touched your life. Marriage if you’ll have me. A ring on this finger so the whole world knows you belong to me. Kids if you want them, running around with your smile and my stubborn streak. Everything, Ava. As long as we’re together.”
Tears spill over immediately, bright and shining as they track down her flushed cheeks. She doesn’t break into sobs, just lets them fall freely while that sweet smile blooms across her face like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. “Yes. I do. I want all of that with you, Jax. So much it makes my heart explode into confetti. A real home. With you growling at the mailman when he gets too chatty and me bringing you coffee while you fix things around the house with those big strong hands. Lazy Sundays tangled up in bed. I want it all. I want you.”
The sight of her happy tears undoes me completely. A deep growl rumbles in my chest as I crush my mouth to hers, kissing her deep and hungry. She tastes like warm peach cobbler, sweet honey butter, and the faint salt of her tears, pure Ava and pure addiction. My tongue sweeps inside, claiming every soft corner of her mouth, swallowing the needy whimpers that spill from her throat. Her small hands fist tightly in the front of my shirt, pulling me impossibly closer as she melts against my body, all soft curves and eager heat.
I back her up until her hips bump the edge of the sturdy wooden table in the center of the room, then lift her easily onto its surface. The wood creaks faintly under us as I step between her spread thighs, pressing close. The kiss turns hotter, more desperate, tongues tangling wetly, breaths mingling in hot little pants. My hands roam under her shirt, shoving it up so I can palm her full breasts through the thin lace of her bra.Her nipples harden instantly against my rough palms, and she arches into my touch with a needy little moan that shoots straight to my cock, making it throb painfully against my zipper.
“Fuck, I love you,” I growl against her swollen lips, nipping her bottom one sharply before soothing the sting with my tongue. She rocks her hips forward, grinding her core against the hard ridge straining in my jeans. Her fingers thread through my hair, tugging just right, sending sparks down my spine. The heat between us builds fast and fierce, the same electric, consuming tension that had us fucking wildly in the SUV now crackling even stronger in the warm cabin air. I want nothing more than to strip her bare right here on this table, spread her open, and bury my cock deep inside her tight, dripping pussy until she screams my name loud enough for the mountains to hear. But I hold back, barely. Not yet. Not until the threat’s eliminated and she’s finally safe.
We make out like the world might end tonight, lost in each other. Tongues stroking deep and filthy. Breaths ragged and hot. My hands grip her ass, pulling her tighter against me as I grind my aching cock against her center through our clothes, letting her feel exactly how hard and ready I am. Her legs wrap around my waist, heels digging into my lower back as she clings to me. Soft, desperate whimpers vibrate against my mouth. The cabin fades completely. There’s only Ava. Her taste, her soft sounds, the way her body gives itself to me so completely, so trustingly.
My phone pings sharply on the kitchen counter, the sound cutting through our heated haze like a warning shot.
