Page 172 of Where Sinners Repent

“I thought I was about to watch you die!” he yells, vibrating with fury.

The veins in his neck pop and his busted lip curls.

His shoulders sag as a breath whooshes out of him.

“You have no idea what that did to me,” he whispers. “Fuck, Black Cat. I’ll never fucking forgive you for that.”

My heart cracks. But I don’t regret it. If I had the choice to redo getting back on that bus and coming back for them, I’d choose it every single time.

He steps closer, between my legs.

“You reckless, infuriating, stubborn, fucking gorgeous woman,” he growls an inch from my face. “I don’t forgive you. I can’t forgive you. But when I saw that fucking knife pressed against your neck, I realised something even more terrifying.”

He slides the back of his knuckles down my throat, goosebumps following in their wake.

“What is that?” I whisper.

“That I’m in love with you,” he mouths, so quietly I barely catch the words.

But I do.

They sink in. Heavily, impossible, unbelievable. The weight of both twins loing me makes it hard to breathe.

I shake my head, crying too hard to speak.

“So you are not going anywhere,” he adds, circling his fingers around my neck. “And you best believe I’m going to make you pay for making me feel this way.”

Although they shouldn’t, his words make me shiver with need.

“I love you,” I choke out, before turning to Kai. “Both of you. So much.”

I fall into both of their arms and hold on to them as if it’s the last time.

“As much as I hate to admit it,” I hear Griff’s scowl in the words. “That was fucking cute.”

Ash and Maddy laugh, and a watery laugh falls out of me too. Silence falls all around us, and I grip onto my broken twins. The loves of my life.

Exhausted and sore, we slump against the bar. Matt silently pours some drinks and slides them towards us, winking at me when I turn towards him.

Family.

The most insane family. But the most perfect one a girl like me could ever dream of. Maddy must be feeling the same way because she reaches her hand out to me. Our fingers slide together and we squeeze.

“How are we going to get through this mess,” she murmurs, shaking her head.

“Together,” Ash whispers.

Chapter 44

Epilogue Roxy

Although Kaleb had to pretty much carry Kai up the stairs, Kai still made sure our hands were linked the entire time. His refusal to let me go makes me want to cry.

Everything makes me want to cry tonight.

And I do cry when we step back into the apartment. The place I ran from.

Silent tears roll down my cheeks as I look around, committing the bland place to memory. It is nothing but a shell of an apartment, yet nowhere has ever felt safer.