Page 71 of The Eraser

Callie gets to her feet, then bends down and presses a kiss to my cheek. "I'll come back in a few days. I'm glad you're doing better, Jess."

Watching her and Denis leave, I realize that I'm truly content with my life now. I'm not upset, nor do I harbor any hatred toward anyone who didn't see that I was in pain. They had their own lives, their own problems. While I was a child, I also had a dad who was supposed to take care of me. But he didn't. He was abusive and neglectful. That isn't on anyone but him.

I'm actually happy. I have amazing people around me, people I love, and I have my husband, a man who would go to Hell and back for me if needed. I'm blessed, utterly blessed to have such a great support system around me now. I know that in the future, I'm going to get past the pain and let go of any hatred I have for my dad, but if it doesn't come, I'll be okay. I have everything I could ever want, right here in this house.

Epilogue

STEPHEN

Six months later

"Happy birthday,"Jess cries as she wraps her arms around Mallory.

She's fully healed. Her scars are just that, scars, badges of the pain and suffering she endured. My wife has grown from strength to strength. She's gone through her recovery like a trooper and come out the other end stronger than ever. Her confidence hasn't dwindled. In fact, she's only grown more confident. She's so fucking beautiful and she has no idea just how sexy she is.

"Thank you," Mallory responds as she hugs my wife back.

The two of them are still as thick as thieves. Not long after Jess came out of hospital, things with Mallory came to a head. Turns out that Mallory's son, Shay, is the son of one of the men of the Fury Vipers. When Mallory found out he was in Ireland, she went to him when shit hit the fan. Raptor is a man who doesn't take anyone messing with his family, especially when someone worked over his woman.

"I'm surprised Stephen let you out of the house," Mallory quips, and I watch as Jess' cheeks flush with heat.

My wife is pregnant. It wasn't planned, but fuck it's wanted. I never expected to have children. I had a shit childhood, but I know I'll never become my father. I'll never treat my child the way my da treated me. Finding out that Jess was carrying my child, something in me shifted even further. I've become even more protective. I need her to be safe. I need them both to be safe. Losing Jess is my worst fear. I tasted that fear for almost a day and it brought me to my knees. I never want to go through it again.

"There was no way in hell I was going to miss this. Now where's my nephew?" Jess asks, glancing around. "Hey, that's not fair. He gets to hold him all the time," she whines when Raptor steps forward with Shay in his arms.

"Jess, he's his father," Mallory says, trying to hold in her laughter.

"And?" Jess replies as she reaches for Shay. The little boy doesn't hesitate to reach out for my wife, and the moment Jess has him in her arms, the little boy plants a kiss against her lips.

A low rumble echoes through my chest. I hate anyone touching my wife. I don't give a fuck if it's a child or not.

I hear a gasp and see Jess staring at me. "Did you just growl?"

"He's jealous," Mallory laughs. "Don't worry, Pyro's the same when Shay kisses Chloe," she says.

Jess shakes her head. "He's a child, Stephen," she tells me.

I give her a blank stare. Like I give a fuck?

She turns back to Shay and starts cooing at him.

"That little fucker does it on purpose," Pyro growls as he stands next to me. "I swear he loves the reaction."

"Seriously?" Chloe hisses. "He's a child, James, a damn child. Besides, it's cute to have snuggles and get a kiss from him."

Pyro glares at her, and then the two begin to argue. I move away, not wanting to hear their domestic.

I take a seat, making sure Jess is in my line of sight, and settle back. She's happy with her friends. I'm not going to be an asshole and not let her come here. I'll do whatever it takes to put that smile on her face.

A shadow looms over my table and I glance up to see Denis standing there. "You good?" I ask, wondering why he's here. This isn't really his scene.

"Yeah. Callie wanted to come and celebrate Mallory's birthday. I think it's to spend time with Jess and Chloe. But that's not why I'm here."

I raise a brow. "Oh? What's going on?"

"You heard from Maverick today?" he asks, and a chill goes down my spine.

"Not today. Why?" I ask, needing to know why he's querying it.

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