Page 101 of Bourbon and Proof

“Where you think all men should be,” I say, pushing past the roughness in my throat so she can hear me clearly. Her eyes dart around my face, more tears streaking her flushed cheeks. “Where. You. Prefer. Me.”

And like the good fucking girl she is, her eyes widen as it registers what I’m asking her to do. She deadweights her body and drops to her knees. Hawk moves fast from behind them, taking the opening and shoving Wheeler just enough that it knocks him off-balance. I tug the gun from Seraphine’s back, and in one fluid motion, flip the safety, raise, aim, and fire off one clean shot.

The sound of sirens is faint in the distance, just as another firework pops off above. The glow of red and white bleeds from the sky and lights up the mess around us—Wheeler slumpedover on the ground, eyes open with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.

Hadley’s in my arms again in the next breath as I lift her to her feet, her chest heaving from crying. “You’re okay, I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” I tell her softly, holding on and kissing the side of her head.

Pulling back, my hands frame her face now covered in tears and dirt.

Her face squints as she kisses me. “Tell me this is over now,” she says with a labored breath.

“It’s over. You’re safe,” I say, taking a few deep breaths to get her to calm down. There isn’t a single ounce of regret for killing that bastard.

She lets out a choppy exhale from pursed lips, head jerking in a shaky nod as she repeats, “It’s over.”

I run my fingers through Hadley’s hair and hold her tightly, pressing my lips to her forehead. “We’re okay. I’ve got you.” I keep repeating it to soothe her and maybe myself as well.

Like I need to confirm it one last time, I look over and see there’s no movement from her father. It should’ve happened sooner, but at least now, he’s gone. Hawk hovers over his brother, who doesn’t seem to be moving either. Seraphine collects the gun that Wheeler had and holds it to her side.

“Don’t think about going anywhere,” she says, pointing at Hawk. He doesn’t seem ready to up and run. If anything, he looks numb.

Hadley’s attention flicks around, following where Seraphine just was, before her head turns to look behind me. My chest aches as it registers where she’s looking. Her body tenses, eyes widening, just before she’s sprinting from my arms and in the direction of, “Griz!”

Chapter 41

Ace

“You’re thinkingawful hard over there,” Hadley says as the triage nurse cleans and bandages the road burn that’s scraped up her torso. She said she hit the concrete hard when her car exploded. If I believed in it, I would think it was divine intervention and coincidence mingling like old friends trying to keep one of the best people on this planet alive and okay. Whatever it was, I’ll never stop feeling grateful.

Sitting on the gurney across from me, she stares at the ceiling, and I give her some quiet moments to process what we’ve just survived. Her chin wobbles, trying to hold in what she can. I can tell she doesn’t want to shed any tears for a man who had hurt her in so many inconceivable ways. And that pain is only amplified by the fact that she watched her father do monstrous things tonight, threaten her life, and then be shot dead.

“I’d like to hold you.” I look down at the stitches being sewn into my wrist. “As soon as this is done...”

She nods and wipes away the tears, batting them away, like she’s mad they’re even falling. “I’m not crying over him dying. It’s for everything we’ve just survived.” She pinches the bridge of her nose, eyes closing as she speaks softly. “Wheeler and I had the same taste for spicy foods. We’re both left-handed and thought horses should have ridiculous names.” A breath whooshes from her mouth as she shakes her head, working through it. “But that’s it. That’s where our similarities ended. The things that made me feel close to him when I was younger didn’t outweigh all the lies. He showed me how much hedidn’tlove me for much longer than showing me he did. I don’t want to be sad about him being gone now.”

“You mourn however you need to, but don’t for one second feel bad about it. You can be sad and angry or forget about him tomorrow. Doesn’t matter to me. That’s for you to handle and for me to make sure you’re okay. I’m here when you need me. And I’m not going anywhere.” Inhaling deeply, I try to ease the tension in my body. I’m still wound so fucking tight from everything that’s happened. “I didn’t expect all this...”

She tilts her head to the side, listening as her eyes search mine.

“This wasn’t how this was supposed to go down. In the end, Wheeler still ended up dead, and I should be content, but I almost lost—” I close my eyes, trying to wipe away the thought. I can’t even think about the reality of losing her; it makes me sick to my stomach. “Your father and Hawk...” Meeting her gaze again, I shake my head. “I had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right, but I didn’t?—”

“Save the day?” she finishes for me and stands to move closer. With her bottom lip pouting, she settles into my lap, ignoring the nurse still suturing my wrist. “Sometimes, it’s the unexpected hero. And baby, I saved the fucking day on a whitehorse and all,” she says with a beaming smile. “Well, me and Seraphine.”

“You called her?” I ask, a bit surprised.

Her arms slide around my neck. “She decided to try one of my cocktails, have a chat, and leave me her number in case I ever needed it.”

I sniff out a laugh. “‘Course she did.”

She leans in to kiss me, and it feels so good to have her in my arms and safe.

Smiling against her lips, I say, “You saved my ass and, I’ll be honest, I feel like you’ve been saving me without trying for a long time.”

“Just following your lead, baby,” she responds. “Saving each other kind of feels like our thing.”

Fiasco General isn’t allthat large, but between an explosion during the Fourth of July festivities and the showdown that took place along the riverside at The Holey Donut, the entire place is buzzing. We both didn’t want to leave until we knew what was happening with Griz. It had been six hours since he arrived by ambulance and was wheeled into the ICU. Soon after we were cleared from the ER, I passed out in a chair in the waiting room with a sleeping Hadley in my arms.

Buzz buzz buzz.

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