Page 66 of Ronny

“She has a mother, one that would die to keep her from harm, to make her happy. A mother that is going to love her, take care of her.”

I grit my teeth angrily. “She is not going to know that her mom was willing to give her away for a measly fifty thousand dollars.

“She is not going to know what it’s like to have a mom that chooses everyone over her. Madeline is going to have a bright future, and you will be in hell where you belong.”

She’s horrified at what I’m telling her. I hope it fucking hurts her to know she tried to ruin a baby’s life.

“She is worth the whole fucking world. You had an angel but now you are going to hell.”

I reach behind me, taking my gun and pressing it under her chin.

“Please, I will do better,” she starts to beg me, but it doesn’t faze me a single bit.

I stare into her eyes as I pull the trigger, the same eyes as mine, turning lifeless as her head slumps back.

“This fucker just died too,” Reid tells me, and I turn around to face my brother. The hole in my heart heals a little bit because I may not have gotten revenge on my biological mother, but it’s like I’m putting that part of my life officially to rest. And now it is over.

I’m not that kid that begged for scraps on the streets or hid my toys under my bed so my mom wouldn’t sell them.

No, I’m a Grim Sinner, and this is my family.

“Ready to go home, son?” my dad asks me.

I smile. “Yeah, Dad, let’s go home to our ole ladies.”

EPILOGUE

OLIVIA

Nine Months Later

I smile at the soft whispers as Ronny reads to Madeline who woke up wanting milk. It’s hard to believe our sweet girl is now ten months old and I just had a baby a week ago.

Ronny is lying in the bed right next to me, and I open my eyes to see him holding Madeline against his chest as he reads her a story about a strong little girl that could do it all.

One of the biggest obstacles I had to learn once her hair started to grow was learning how to style it and what products to use but with Bell’s help, I got it down pat.

Ronny is such an amazing dad, it hits me all the time how blessed I am to have him. He has been so hands-on, especially since I had to have a C-section and wasn’t able to run around like I thought I would.

I thought about talking to my mom a lot over the past year but now that I have kids myself, I know that there is no way I would have let them go the way she had.

I would choose them first, no matter what, and drugs wouldn’t be the most important thing to me—not even men or whatever the hell she thought was more important at that time.

No, my babies are going to come first in everything in my life. Seeing how precious my babies are, I just can’t fathom it.

Madeline’s little eyes flutter closed and she sticks her thumb in her mouth. It seems like yesterday she was a newborn and now she is starting to walk.

Ronny stands with her, setting her in her crib that we moved into our room because we couldn’t bear to have her in another room while she sleeps in case she needed us during the night.

Right on cue, our son Miles starts to let out a sharp little cry. I sit up in bed as slowly as I can so I don’t hurt myself.

Ronny picks him up. “I believe someone is hungry, Mommy.” Ronny hands him to me easily and helps me get him situated on my nipple to breastfeed.

“You are doing so good, sweet girl.”

I lean over and rest my head on his shoulder, exhausted, but I have never been happier. “It’s hard to believe that within a single year, we went from living apart to being parents of two.”

“It’s what I always wanted for us.”

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