Page 35 of Dark Knight

“Do you think we haven’t before?” Holden challenges, and I see the wheels turning in the unfortunate man's eyes when realization dawns.

“Sheriff Grey.” Standing next to Holden, we share a look and a sick grin. Dwayne Grey was our first kill together.

“We found him beating the shit out of his wife and child.” The Empire helped them both get away. New life, new identities, but Grey wouldn't give up. He harassed the woman’s family. Eventually, the father wound up having a heart attack after one of Grey’s interrogations. Now, they’re free, living happily on the West Coast.

“You killed him,” he hisses; we chuckle.

“Just like we’re going to do to you.” Whipping the knife out of my back sheath, I bury it into his gut. His screams echo around the marsh, disrupting animals as they sleep. Blood drips into the water below, causing a ripple effect as a set of eyes rises to the surface.

Pulling the blade out of the guy's flesh, I wipe the blood off on his pants. Additional glowing orbs pop up as more blood slides into the murky water.

“You want to draw this out, Nol, or be done and home to your girl? I, for one, have a woman waiting on me at home, and I’d like to get back to her before the boy wakes up.” Anticipation clouds Holden’s words. I can only imagine how that goes with them.

Glancing at the knife in my hand, I raise my arm and cut through the rope, watching as the cop screams for the two seconds before he hits the water. His insipid cries slowly die as he’s torn to shreds. Bursts of blood and shredded clothing float to the surface, and after a few minutes, there’s nothing left of the man.

“That was…”

“Satisfying,” I finish for Holden. I know he normally spends more time with his victims, torturing them the way they've tortured others. But this time, I just wanted it over with. Needed the job done.

What I have at home waiting for me is worth more than any revenge. Bea is free, and she wants to be my wife. Has secretly confessed that she hopes she’s pregnant with my child even though she’s terrified that she’ll forget again. However, I plan to spend the rest of my life showing her that even if she does, we’ll be there for her. Loving her. Protecting her. Proving that she’s worth more than any amount of money in the world.

Epilogue

Bea

Nine months later.

“Breathe, little girl. Nice and slow.” The deep cadence of his voice lulls me into a sense of profound safety. No matter how tumultuous our last few months have been, Nolan was the one constant I could always count on.

“I am,” I whine. “It isn’t working.” Gritting my teeth, my jaw locked and tense, hands squeezing the sides of the garden tub to the point of pain, I feel like my body might explode.

“You can do this.” His confidence nearly shatters me.

“Do you want to get out?” Lake asks. She’d been so shocked when I asked her to be with me for the water birth that she cried for two days straight, saying no one had ever trusted her like that.

“I’m okay,” I hiss through another contraction as the doctor finishes her exam.

“It’s time, Bea. On the next one, you’re going to push.” Her smile is encouraging, but I want to collapse and weep with frustration.

Everyone is here. I was informed I could have whomever I wanted in the room when I gave birth since we’re in the home Luther and Ariel had built after they moved out of The Castle. They stand ready at the baby warmer they ensured would be here.

Damien waits outside, claiming he doesn't need to see his sister-in-law's girly parts. Nolan holds me up from behind, and Lake is at my side. There are two doctors and three nurses here as well. Luther wanted to ensure everything would go smoothly for me.

“It’s coming,” I groan, panting and leaning my head back against Nolan’s shoulder.

He whispers in my ear so no one else can hear, “Be a good girl for Daddy and do what the doctor says. Push, baby.” I wail through the contraction as the doctor’s hands work between my legs.

“That was a good one, Bea. Bear down again in the next one. “ Her smile is encouraging.

The contraction hits, I scream, everyone says something positive, telling me how great I’m doing, and then finally, finally, there’s an intense pop of relief, and the baby is lifted out of the water. We opted to keep the sex a surprise.

“A beautiful little girl,” the doctor says, holding her up for us to see before handing her off to the midwife so she can take her to the warmer and clean her up.

“A girl,” I whisper, amazed. I was almost positive it was a boy.

“Fuck me,” Nolan groans from behind. “I’m so fucked.” Luther laughs, glancing at his own daughter with love in his eyes and the lingering worry.

“Oh, Bea, Nolan, she’s absolutely beautiful,” Ariel croons over top of our daughter as she gets checked out. “Just perfect.”

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