When You Were Mine (Stone Lake 2)

“Now, your gun, Gavin,” Atticus prompts.

I hold my gun out and Dern walks to me, taking it.

“I’m sorry, Son,” he says.

“Save it,” I tell him, not wanting to hear it.

Dern swallows and turns back around walking toward Atticus.

“I figure I’m on my way to hell, and I know for damn sure you’ll be joining me,” he tells Atticus. My body tenses, because I know what is about to happen. I can tell by the way Dern is walking and his posture. “I might as well send you there first,” Dern says and then his gun fires, but so does my brother’s.

“Luna, get Joshua!” I call, jumping on Dern’s back, and using him as a shield as we crash into Atticus. I twist so I can get my hands around my brother’s neck, choking him. Atticus is bleeding from his shoulder. The wound has instantly weakened him, but he is fighting me for all he’s worth, and there’s nothing more dangerous than a man fighting for his life.

I slam his head back against the concrete floor, my fingers tightening their hold on his neck. His face begins to turn blue, and I know I almost have him. That’s when Dern and Kingston pull me off of Atticus. I fall back on the ground, Kingston’s arm around my neck, as Dern kicks Atticus’s gun away from him.

“Trust me, Son,” he says.” I know about carrying blood on your hands. You don’t want that. You want to live free and clear with your boy and your woman,” he adds and he’s right, but he’s wrong too. I don’t think I’d care if I had my brother’s blood on my hands, even if the Bureau didn’t back me and I went to jail. Still, I don’t want to miss a moment with Luna and Joshua either.

“Get off of me, Kingston,” I bellow, and he lets me go. “Get my sister out of here and send your men in.”

“Gavin!” Luna cries. I turn to go to them, taking out Joshua’s gag first, kissing the top of his head and undoing his ropes, before turning to Luna. They both hug me the minute they’re free, and I hold them so close that I’m probably hurting them. “Oh God, I was so scared,” Luna cries.

We hear a large crash behind us, and I turn just in time to see Dern, the front of his shirt covered in blood.

“Dern—” I start, but I don’t finish because Dern coughs up blood, and falls to the floor his eyes wide open, but lifeless.

My gaze goes to Atticus who is holding a knife and smiling in victory.

“And they say never bring a knife to a gunfight,” he laughs, his voice hoarse from me choking him. He starts to move toward me. I still don’t have my gun, so I prepare for impact. Before he takes one step however, another gunshot rings out and then another one, and one more. Atticus’s body jerks with each shot and he falls to the floor, dead before his body lands. I jerk back to look at Luna who is holding the gun in her shaking hands.

“You won’t hurt my family ever again,” she says, her voice shaking almost as much as she is. I walk over and take the gun from her hand and pull her into my body. Joshua joins us, crying, but holding onto both of us tightly.

“It’s okay, Moonbeam, it’s okay,” I whisper, and from the corner of my eye I see Kingston’s men come in. Kingston’s standing with them, no longer wearing a shirt because it’s covering my sister.

“It’s over now,” Luna mumbles into my shoulder, one arm tight around me and one around our son.

“That it is. He’ll never hurt anyone again. It’s truly over,” I agree, closing my eyes and thanking God that my family somehow survived this nightmare.

Gavin

Three Weeks Later

“Gavin,” Luna pants as her hands slap against the wall. I kick her legs open just enough to make more room for me. My hand moves over her stomach, her body so fucking hot to the touch that my cock swells, knowing she’ll be even hotter when I get inside of her. She belongs to me.

Only me.

In the three weeks since I nearly lost everything dear to me, Luna and I have finally begun our lives together. I’ve moved in the house and at first, I thought I would hate it. I was anxious to find a place the three of us could call home, but after a couple of weeks it feels like… home.

I think that has more to do with Luna instead of the home, but it doesn’t matter. I never want to be away from her. She’s the reason my heart beats.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you, Moonbeam,” I groan, as my hand moves up to squeeze her breasts.