Chapter 30 #2
“Well, if you wanna live in that little beach house, then yeah, baby. We gotta move.”
“But…” I chewed at my bottom lip. “Your friends. Coworkers. Fellow… criminal gang members. You’re leaving that all behind? For me?”
“Yeah, for you.” He stroked his fingers through my hair. “You’re worth it, honey. I’ll miss the guys. They’re like my brothers now, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop talking to them or that we can’t come up here to visit.”
“But… your job,” I said. “Not the parlor, your… other job.”
“My other job?” he repeated with a laugh, grasping my chin softly and pulling me in to peck my lips.
“I’m not sure what to call it.”
He nodded slowly, the look on his face suddenly getting all serious.
“I have something to come home to now. This isn’t just for the baby.
I was thinking of getting out before you told me that news.
I used to go into those houses only caring about what I could steal, but now I keep thinking about what I could lose if something went wrong.
I don’t want to be without you. I don’t ever want that, baby.
Not after not having you for five years.
I want that life with you forever. House on the beach, you painting every day, our baby. That sounds perfect to me.”
Eyes wet with tears, I took in his words, letting them settle over me. I want that life with you forever. I wanted that with him too. Bridger was my forever, my destiny, my everything.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” I finally said, eyes still a little watery. “And we’re about to get it?”
“Yeah, sweetheart, we’re about to get it.”
“It sounds so perfect. It still doesn’t feel real…” I let out a shocked laugh, head shaking a little. I still couldn’t quite believe how much good Bridger had brought into my life, but he had done that the first time we had fallen in love, and now he was doing it again. “How is this happening?”
“I know. Almost feels too good to be true, but it’s real. It’s happening. We’re gonna get that life we both always wanted. The one we should have had a long, long time ago…”
“I can’t believe my parents did all of this just to keep you away from me.
I mean, I kinda can believe it, actually…
” My voice trailed off, remembering a little too vividly how eager they were to sell me off to Gordon when I was just eighteen.
How okay they were with taking two years away from Bridger.
How both of our lives were nothing but a game they were desperate to control. “My dad knew…”
Bridger hissed, the sound long and sharp. “Yeah, and I wanna fucking kill him for doing that to you.”
Chewing at my bottom lip, my eyes flickered to Bridger’s. “You’re not joking when you say that.”
His head shook, eyes dark. “No. No, baby, no. Not even a little bit. I want him dead for the shit he pulled. Prison, keeping me away from my parents for that long… and for you. Fuck, what he did to you is the number one reason I wanna put a bullet in his head. Fuckin’ selling you off like that…
” Shifting in his seat, he swiped a hand across his jaw.
“It makes me so damn angry, Juliette. Makes me wanna kill him.”
“Would you?” I whispered, fully aware of what I was asking of him. The biggest favor anyone could ask another person. “Before we leave?”
“I’ll do anything for you, Juliette,” he said, one hand reaching out to grab at mine. “Anything you ask, I’ll do it. I’ll do it in a second.”
I nodded, taking in those words. I was pretty sure I wanted it. I wanted to see my father dead. Not just because of what he did to me, but because of what he put Bridger through.
“I can’t wait to live the rest of my life with you,” I said, voice soft.
Bridger gave my hand a soft squeeze. “And we’re getting that. We are. I hope you don’t mind if we make a pit stop on our way to Avon…”
My head tilted. “Oh. Yeah, of course. We’ll probably need several pit stops. It’s a long drive.”
“I don’t mean for breaks. I mean…” He exhaled deeply. “My parents.”
My eyes widened. “Do they have any idea we’re back in each other’s lives?”
“Nope. And a phone call ain’t gonna cut it. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, anyway, so I gotta stop by. What do ya say? You wanna meet up with your future in laws?”
“They hate me,” I said. “I don’t blame them for hating me.”
“Hey, shh,” he said, his thumb stroking against my chin. “They’ll see what I see. What they used to see. They’ll be mad at first, but once we explain the situation and everything that happened, things will be okay. I promise, baby.”
“I really miss them,” I admitted softly.
“Yeah, me too. And I bet deep down they miss you too—even if they won’t admit it.”
Biting at my bottom lip, I nodded. “We’ll go. We’ll see them. You want to see them and I want to see them and… I want things to get back to how they were. To how they were supposed to be. And to think I wouldn’t have found you again if you didn’t break into my house…”
“Nah, I have a feeling I would have found you eventually,” he murmured. “We were always gonna find each other again, Juliette. Always.”