There he went again, showing how well he knew me and the lengths he’d go to make me happy. “I hate Chad for what he did, but I’m also thankful because that whole mess led me to you, and you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“I’ll be sure to pass on your gratitude if I ever see the motherfucker,” Nova promised before he kissed his way down my body to kick off our engagement celebration with the first of many orgasms.
Epilogue
Nova
I pulled up to the specified address and parked around the back of the large warehouse. The nondescript building got lost in the sea of other warehouses around it that looked exactly the same.
After pocketing my keys, I climbed off my hog and quietly let myself in through an old, rusted metal door. It took a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust to the lack of lighting, but I knew instantly that I wasn’t alone.
A tall, well-built man in a black T-shirt and jeans stepped out of the shadows.
“Merrick?”
He nodded. “This way,” he said in a low, raspy tone.
I followed him down a hallway barely lit by the few working industrial sconces high on the walls. Eventually, he stopped and pushed open a door, then gestured for me to enter first.
The room was a little brighter than the rest of the place, but it was dull due to the heavy black fabric hung on all the walls.
“Noise-reducing curtains. There’s no one around to hear anything, but I take every precaution,” Merrick explained, seeming to read my thoughts. Which was creepy as fuck.
I forgot all about how spooky the hired killer was when I spotted the sorry excuse for a man standing in the center of the room, his arms suspended in the air by chains attached to the ceiling. His body and clothes were as dirty and greasy as his soul. At the sound of Merrick’s voice, Chad’s head lifted, and I smiled at the look of complete terror on his face.
Then his eyes swung to me, and he studied me, probably trying to decide if I was there to save him or assist Merrick. Finally, he asked, “Who are you?”
“Let’s just say, I bought your debt from the Ukrainians.”
“I don’t have any money,” he whined pathetically.
“Oh, I know,” I assured him as I took off my cut and handed it to Merrick. I’d ditch my clothes after this, but I didn’t want to deal with cleaning blood off the leather. “I’m gonna take it out of your body. Piece by piece.”
Chad whimpered like a little bitch and began to beg for mercy.
“Would you have shown Rylee any mercy if she’d begged you not to sell her to the mob? Before you answer, lying will put your tongue at the top of the repayment plan.”
“Rylee?” he whispered.
“Gotta say, though, I’m grateful you’re a fucking piece of shit because it brought Rylee to me.” I held out my hand, and Merrick placed a wicked sharp blade in my palm. “Unfortunately for you, it’s the piece of shit I’m focusing on and not the gratitude. Guess I’m just not the forgiving type.”
I walked forward and—
“Nova! Did you hear me?”
Patriot’s voice snapped me out of my memories, and my reflexes kicked in to catch the package he threw at me before it hit me in the face.
“Nice catch,” he jibed with a ridiculous grin.
“We’ll try catching your face with my fist next time,” I growled.
My phone was still in my hand, and I quickly wiped the text from Merrick that had caused my reminiscence. All it said was, “Done.” The rest of the worry that had been weighing me down disappeared with that one word. I’d rid myself of most of it once I’d spent thirty minutes with Chad. But now that was behind us, and Rylee and I could move on completely.
I glanced at the return address and grinned. Perfect timing. “Be back in ten!” I shouted to Patriot as I jogged to the door. Thinking about what was in my hands, though, I popped my head back in and yelled, “Make it an hour!”
Then I hustled my ass to the garage where Rylee was helping Dom pull the engine on a 1950s era Bel Air.
“Stealing my girl for an hour,” I told Dom before scooping Rylee into my arms and heading to the clubhouse.
“Nova!” she protested. “I’m working.”
“Lunchtime,” I grunted as I took the stairs two at a time.
“It’s three in the afternoon,” she muttered dryly. She knew exactly what was happening, and by now, she’d learned there’d be no changing my mind.
“I have a present for you.”
Rylee lit up and grinned, her green eyes dancing merrily. “A present?”
My girl loved surprises and presents. It was cute as hell.
Once we were in our room, I set her on her feet and began tearing off her clothes. When she was naked, except for her ring, she turned to crawl on the bed, but I stopped her with a hand on her hip. “Stay, angel.”