Page 116 of Where We Promise

No.

His fingers went to his patch but stilled.

“What is it you really want, Tuck? You want revenge, then let’s go outside. You want the club?” He slid the cut off his shoulders and tossed it at Tuck’s feet. “It’s yours, but I will not part with my wife or my son. Not in this life or the next. They are mine. If you need blood, then spill mine. Let them go free.”

Tuck smirked.

“Penelope is Chaos King royalty. She’ll return as Luke’s widow, and the baby will be raised as a Holloway. I just wanted you to see that before you died.”

Tuck moved his gun from my back and pointed it at Jamie.

Jamie’s gaze remained fixed on me. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. You’ll go with me wherever I go, I promise.”

Unbidden tears began sliding down my face as I watched him fall to his knees. His hands were up, and his eyes refused to leave mine.

I moved so that I was kneeling across from him, Connor tucked protectively in my arms. “It was always you, Jameson. It always will be you forever. I only chose Luke because I had to move on from you. But you’re in here for always.” I pointed at my heart as tears blurred my vision.

The gun went off.

The shot seemed to sail through me as the sound reverberated around me. My eyes closed, too terrified to open them and see my husband with a bloodstain on his shirt, or worse, his face disfigured. A sob caught in my chest as more tears tried to slide free. I’d used the blanket and my chest to protect Connor’s ears, but he still stirred and began to fuss, my eyes remained closed. Silent tears slipping down my dust-streaked face.

Warm hands gently gripped me, thumbs swiped at my tears.

“Open your eyes, Penelope.”

I blinked, and Jamie came into focus. His warm smile, his soft brown eyes.

My hand went to his jaw to trace it and make sure it was real.

“Did you get shot?”

He laughed, pinning his forehead to mine.

“No, baby.”

I twisted my neck to see who had shot Tuck, but I didn’t recognize the person standing over Tuck’s body, holding a shotgun. He had dark hair, his skin ashen, and body frail.

“Who is that?” I whispered to Jamie.

Wes suddenly limped into view, then froze at the sight of the man.

“That...” Jamie’s face twisted in confusion, looking up. “Is Simon Stone…who is supposed to be dead.”

There were at least fifty or so Stone Riders in what was left of the clubhouse. Brooms were grabbed, vacuums and hammers. Within a few hours, the front of the club was boarded up. People flipped over the bullet-torn couch and plopped down on it as if nothing had ever happened.

Callie and Wes were long gone, the entire ordeal very traumatic for everyone. It was concluded that the reason Simon had apparently come out of hiding was because Silas had made a call, and the old man, even sick, had arrived to protect his daughter, Callie, and help Wes. There was a long history there I knew nothing about, but I had hugged the former president and thanked him for saving my husband’s life.

Killian had Laura in his lap; she was tucked into him as if she were worried he’d disappear, and he was staring off into space as if he wasn’t sure he’d actually survived what happened. Jameson had to be treated for the gunshot wound. The club doctor was too far away, so I suggested they go to Dr. Beckett.

She had a soft spot for Simon Stone, and if he were the one to make the request, there was no way she would turn it down. Sure enough, I was right. My husband was bullet-free, stitched and currently using crutches.

I had stuck close to the kitchen, helping with fixing all the broken glass and whatever else I could in-between nursing and changing Connor. Near midnight, Silas walked into the club looking like death himself, there to claim a soul.

Killian stood and went to intercept the Death Raider. “Silas, thank you for coming today. You saved us.”

Silas took Killian’s outstretched hand and shook it. “I told you I’d come back for what’s mine someday. I’m here to collect.”

His…did that mean Natty?

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