Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

Nic instantly stands taller and faces them with his hands out, ready to be cuffed. “It’s time,” he tells them, already knowing each of them by name. After all, they were all investigating Kian before he died, and that investigation then fell onto Nic's shoulders. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

The cops don’t hesitate and instantly step into him, cuffing him behind his back and reading his rights. They start pulling him away, but Nic stops and looks back at me with love shining through his eyes. “While I regret it all, I’ll never regret you,” he tells me. “Maybe once this is all said and done, we could work on going back to how it used to be.”

A small smile pulls at my lips as Colton steps into me and curls his arm around my waist. “Yeah,” I whisper, longing for that day, though knowing that it may never come. He’ll be locked up for a very long time. “I think I’d like that.”

Nic nods and not wanting to drag this moment on, he starts walking toward the cop car ready to make amends for everything he’s done and finally pay for every single one of his crimes. It’ll be a long road, and who knows how long he’ll be in there for. I just hope when he comes out the other end, he’ll finally have become a better man, someone that we can all be proud of.

It’s bittersweet watching him walk away but deep down, we all know it’s for the better. With me in charge of the Wolves and Kai now taking over the Widows, this world is going to be a much better place. We can finally begin to turn everything around, and my hometown can start to be somewhere that doesn’t need to be feared.

Nic is put into the backseat of the cop car, and not three seconds later, the cruiser is pulling away, and Nic is driven off into the metaphorical sunset. It’s not exactly a horse and carriage, but for now, it'll have to do.

“Come on,” Colton tells me, gently pulling on my waist. “Let’s get out of here. I need to prepare my lawyers. They're going to have their work cut out for them this time.”

“Okay,” I tell him, glancing back at the boys. “Just give me a second.”

Colton nods, and I turn back to the boys, who all stare at me with big puppy dog eyes. “Don’t,” I say, feeling the guilt washing over me. “Please don’t hate me.”

Kai shakes his head. “We could never hate you,” he tells me, pulling me in for a big hug. “Am I a little surprised that you tried to shoot him down? Sure, but is it anything that the rest of us haven't done before? Not exactly.”

Sebastian hijacks our hug and throws his arms around the two of us. “It’s for the best. Nic is going where he needs to be, and hopefully, he’ll seek out the help that he needs to find the old him.”

“Yeah, what he said,” Eli adds, joining in on the group hug. “Now, get your ass out of here before any of our guys see us fraternizing with the enemy.”

I roll my eyes and pull away from them, knowing that this isn’t goodbye. “I’ll catch you dorks later,” I tell them. “Try not to burn down anyone else’s homes for a while.”

“We make no promises,” Sebastian calls after me.

I can’t help but laugh, hating how easily those idiots can make me forget about the heaviness of the day. I make my way back to Colton, knowing that either the boys or Colton’s security will take care of the Audi again, and as I go to open the car door, my phone buzzes in my jeans pocket.

I hover in the open door, feeling the eyes of the guys on me as I read over the text.

Christian - Consider Snake handled.

I raise a brow as Kairo calls out. “What’s that about?”

I glance up, meeting his gaze as I try to cover my surprise with how quickly the Wolves get shit done. “Wolf business,” I tell him.

Kai shakes his head, unable to help his grin. He winks and the little gesture fills my chest with happiness. Assuming my message is about some form of payback, he raises his chin. “Bring it on, pretty girl. I’m looking forward to it.”

I roll my eyes, and drop down into Colton’s car, and as he takes off down the street, leaving the Audi behind, I work on my reply.

Ocean - Nic got arrested and will be locked up for a very long time. I know that’s not exactly what you had in mind, but as far as I’m aware, the war is over. You can all sleep soundly tonight. Then tomorrow we figure out how the fuck I’m supposed to faze myself out and leave the Wolves under your command.