Page 79 of Biker's Baby

He nodded and army crawled forward. I stepped out from behind the tree and shot back at Joel, shouting more insults at him and keeping his attention fully on the woods. I didn’t want him to think there was any chance this was a distraction, but then, with the way he was shooting at me in a near frenzy, I got the impression he was more enjoying the fact he could shoot the man he hated more than anything.

“Is that all you’ve got?” I shouted. “You’re going to have to shoot better than that, or I’m going to have all your bullets before I’ve even shot half mine!”

“Fuck you, bastard!” Joel shouted.

He fired three more times, then his gun clicked. He’d have to reload. I took that as my cue and stepped out from behind the tree, shooting him twice – one in each knee. I aimed so quickly and shot so fast I’d managed to hit both knees before he’d fallen to the ground, screaming in pain.

At the same time, Trey stepped around the side of the house with Iris right behind him. They saw that Joel had been disarmed and was on the ground, so it was safe for them to come forward. And I wasn’t going to wait for them to make it all the way across the yard.

I’d thought that I’d lost them, and the relief that rushed through me now was nothing like I’d ever experienced before. I left Joel screaming on the porch of the house as I ran and gathered Iris in my arms. She was crying tears of joy as she clung to me, and Trey brought Tris along behind.

I held her tightly in my arms, stroking her hair and promising her it would all be okay.

“You found us! You found us,” she sobbed.

“You bet I did. That was smart thinking sending me your location,” I told her. “And don’t you worry. I’m calling the cops right now. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let this go without being called in,” I said.

Trey pulled out his phone. “I’ll let Glenn know what’s going on.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m going to get the cops on the phone and put this gun in a bag. They’ll want it for evidence I’m sure.”

“Evidence? You mean you could get in trouble for that?” Iris gasped.

“Don’t you worry about that,” I said. “I’m not getting in trouble for anything. I just need to do the right thing to make sure we all stay out of trouble in this rescue.”

“I’ll tell the cops everything,” she said. “I know who the villain is here, and I’m not going to let them think that you or anyone who’s here did anything wrong. That asshole has been after me for several months now, and there’s more witnesses to that fact than you can possibly imagine.”

“I’m not worried,” I told her as I pulled her close once more. “The only thing I’m worried about right now is my family. Are you okay? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“We’re okay,” she said. “I want to have a doctor look at Tris’s arm and make sure it wasn’t hurt too badly when Joel grabbed it. But I know we’re going to be okay.”

“If he hurt my son, I should kill him before he has the chance of going to jail,” I growled. “I don’t need to take care of that prick with my tax dollars knowing what he did to you and Tris.”

“As long as he’s locked up for the rest of his life, I don’t care who pays for it,” she said with a laugh. “All I care about right now is that you and I are in the clear. I don’t want to keep hiding. I don’t want to be scared anymore.”

I kissed her on the forehead. “One thing at a time, baby. We got the most important thing taken care of, and now we’ve got a few loose ends to tie up, and we’ll be free to live our lives together without worry.”

“Are you sure about that?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t tell you that we would if I wasn’t sure,” I promised her.

She smiled and closed her eyes. “Then I’m happy.”

“Good,” I said. “If you’re happy, then I’m happy, too. That’s all I want in life. You to be happy.”

“You make me happy,” she said with another hug.

She then scooped Tris into her arms, and I walked with her to the driveway where Glenn was just pulling in. I would put Iris and Tris in the truck so they were safely out of the way while we waited for the cops to show up. In the meantime, I would head back to the pullout and get my bike along with Trey, and we could ride up to the house and keep an eye on Joel until the authorities arrived.

It had been a whirlwind of a day, but I felt a lot better now than I had in a long time.

I had taken out the one man who was causing the most problems in my life, and now I could focus on my own personal issues.

I would deal with Tad next, and then I’d be free of this shit once and for all. I would finally be free to live the life I wanted with the woman I wanted most. I never thought the day would come when I would be free to live my own life, but it was within my grasp.

For the first time, I was imagining my own happily ever after, and also for the first time, there was a real chance of having it for myself. Really and truly.

And I’d never been happier.

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