Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Seth, Matt, Nik, and Beck stepped in close, forming an inescapable circle around him, glaring at the monster.
Gene’s chest rose and fell in labored breaths. Calculating and desperate, his stare darted around the four men hovering over him.
He knew he was trapped.
“So this is it? You’re just going to kill me in cold blood?” Gene let out a bitter laugh. “You’re no different than me.”
Seth crouched, bringing himself eye-level with the bastard. His voice was cold. Controlled. “Oh, I am. The difference is, I protect people. You take advantage of them.” He paused for a moment to let his words sink in before an icy smile tugged his lips. “I haven’t read it all, but I’m pretty sure I have enough evidence to send you and all your corrupt buddies to prison for life. All those dirty cops—especially a high-ranking detective like you—won’t fare well among the criminals they’ve incarcerated over the years. Then again, being ass-raped is too good for you.”
Nik leaned in, his shadow falling across Gene’s face. He flashed an ugly smile. “I have many associates in prison. I make sure they take good care of you.”
Gene’s jaw clenched. His breathing quickened. For the first time, real fear flickered in his eyes.
“Just kill me,” he ground out through gritted teeth.
Seth straightened slowly. He looked at Matt.
His brother’s face was hard, his jaw clenched so tightly it ticked. He’d been silent through all of this—watching, waiting. But Seth saw it in his eyes. The same grief. The same rage.
Matt had suffered when they’d lost their father, too.
Seth nodded his brother’s way.
Like lightning, Matt moved in. He kicked Gene in the ribs. The crooked cop grunted, rolling onto his belly with the force of the blow.
Then Matt lifted his boot and brought it down on the back of Gene’s head, slamming his face against the hardwoods and breaking his nose with a sickening crack.
Gene howled.
Matt stepped back, his chest heaving, his jaw still clenched. No doubt, he had more liquid violence thrumming through his veins, but he stepped back and nodded Seth’s way.
Seth crouched again, this time beside Gene’s head. The bastard was wheezing now, blood and spit pooling on the plastic beneath him.
“Beg me,” Seth said quietly.
Gene’s breath hitched.
“You made my dad beg, didn’t you?” Seth’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Made him beg for his life? For his family? Before you put a bullet in his skull?”
Gene turned his head just enough to meet Seth’s eyes. Blood smeared his teeth when he smiled. “Fuck you.”
Seth didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink.
He rose to his full height, pulled the gun from his waistband, and aimed it at the back of Gene’s head.
“No,” Seth said, his voice arctic and brittle. “Fuck you.”
He settled his boot between Gene’s shoulder blades, pressing down just enough to feel the bastard’s ribs shift beneath his weight.
In his mind’s eye, he saw his father—laughing at the dinner table, tossing a baseball in the backyard, ruffling Seth’s hair. He saw Autumn, radiant and beautiful, her hand resting on her swollen belly. He saw baby Tristan, tiny and perfect, his fingers wrapped around Seth’s thumb.
This is for you, he thought. All of you.
The room went utterly quiet.
Nothing moved.
No one spoke.
Seth squeezed the trigger.
Once.
Twice.
The shots cracked through the air, sharp and final.
Seth didn’t look down. Didn’t need to.
The bastard who’d destroyed his family was dead.
Seth lowered his weapon, his hand steady, his breathing even as he heard the bedroom door upstairs burst open.
Quickly, Seth gestured to Matt and Nik, who flipped the sides of the tarp over Gene’s body, concealing the gore from view.
Satisfied, Seth turned his back on the scene, tucked the gun out of sight, and slung an arm around Beck’s waist. The surgeon bit back a grimace and shuffled as Seth helped him across the family room.
Then Heavenly appeared at the top of the stairs, her eyes wide and searching. The instant she caught sight of her men, whole and alive, relief smoothed the fear from her face.
She raced down the stairs toward them, her blinding smile filling Seth’s heart with love.
Tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, Heavenly bounded off the last step and flung herself at them, wrapping them both in a warm embrace. She didn’t say a word, simply cupped their cheeks—as if making sure they were alive and real—and stared into their eyes before peppering their faces with watery kisses.
Seth closed his eyes and hugged them both tighter.
His past was truly behind him now.
Whatever came next would be the life he’d fought to live—with the people he loved.
Los Angeles
January 1
* * *
Heavenly stood in front of the full-length mirror in the master bedroom of their new house and studied her reflection—face bare, hair loose around her shoulders, silk robe tied at her waist.
Today, she was finally getting married, and she couldn’t stop smiling. And like everything else in her life, nothing was traditional. So nothing about this wedding would be, either.