Page 55 of Ours to Keep

“We all have a dark side. It’s the affliction of being human. No person is all good or all bad. But you’re a good man, River. It’s why I love you.”

Without replying, he lowers his mouth to mine, seeking entry. My lips part, allowing his tongue to meet mine in a slow, lazy kiss.

When he pulls back, I run my thumb over his swollen bottom lip. “I’ve got your back, Riv. Just promise you’ll be careful.”

He nods. “I promise, El. The same goes for you, too.”

“Of course. We’re in this together.”

“Always,”he replies with a finality that brooks no room for doubt.

And then we seal our words with another kiss, losing ourselves to one another for a few more minutes.

Chapter Twenty-Six

RIVER

The last thing I want is for Elliot to worry about me, at least not on top of everything else. Catching up to Richard and getting Mia away from him safely is all we should be focusing on.

I get it. He’s worried I’ll lose my cool—but if that means even the slightest possibility of him, Jax or Mia getting hurt in the process, then I’ll do everything to keep my wits about me.

“I’m going to go get my shit together,” I say, pointing over my shoulder. “I want to be ready once Jax lets us know the next steps.”

He nods. “I’ll do the same.”

I leave Elliot to go pack a bag. I also want to get my knives ready. I have no doubt that Jax will be making the necessary preparations to have some weapons in our arsenal, but I still feel better having my own knives at my disposal.Because something tells me we won’t be heading to Monaco in commercial. We’ll need to go incognito. And we most definitely need some additional help—power in numbers and all that. I know that there’s only a handful of people he’ll trust with something so personal. We’re already down a man while Tommyis with Lily. Getting Mia back to Lily safely and making that prick suffer for what he’s done is all I can think about.

It’s been too long since we last saw Lily; sure, we’ve spoken on the phone and on video calls, but it’s not the same as being in the same proximity as her. It’s impossible to ignore how much this is taking out of her, too.

I return to Elliot’s and find Jax already there, his bags by the door.

“We have just over twenty-four hours before we need to be at the airport?—”

What the fuck? That’s twenty hours too damn long.

“What? Wh—” Jax holds up his palm to stop my interruption.

“Because our flight isn’t until then. And I’ll have eyes on the Yacht within the hour. Besides, we have somewhere else to be in the interim.”

I cock a brow, waiting for him to enlighten me.

“We’re going to pay a little visit to see our girl.”

His response has my pulse racing. “Lily?”

He nods. “Yep, I think we all need to see her before heading out, don’t you?”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” I ask, hooking my thumb over my shoulder, ready to get our arses on the road.

Jax’s lips lift into a small smile at my eagerness. “For El to get all his gear together,” he says as the man in question continues packing up some of his equipment.

“Right, yeah, of course. Does Tommy know we’re coming?” I question.

“Yeah, I just spoke to him. He said it’s just what Lily needs. He’s going to let us surprise her.”

That makes me smile. The thought of finally seeing her again, holding her, and kissing her lightens some of the darkness festering away. The fact it will be before we take down that cuntonce and for is all the motivation I need.I would have happily got on that plane right now.But knowing in a few hours, we’ll all be with her isn’t even a choice. It’s a deep-seated need.

It takes us just under four and a half hours to reach Torquay and, fuck me, Tommy and Lily were not exaggeratingat how amazing this place is, and we’ve not even seen inside yet. Being close to the coastline and knowing that Lily will be wrapped in my arms shortly, finally makes me feel like I can breathe again.

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