Epilogue - One Month Later
Nate
The bell above the door to the gym jingled, and I looked up from where I was training Liz.
Training might be a stretch given that one of my hands was up her shirt and I was way more focused on teasing her nipples than on her fight form.
We quickly separated and got to our feet.
She had a sexy flush to her chest, and I could see her nipples through her shirt.
If it was anyone but Brock at the door, I’d tell them to fuck off so I could get back to my girl, but the guy took a knife to the thigh for us so we kind of owed him.
“Training hard I see.” He gave me a look.
The words were his usual teasing ones but the glimmer in his eyes had dimmed since the incident with Liz’s ex.
He’d had to get surgery to repair the internal damage caused by the stab wound.
It had only resulted in two nights in the hospital but the rehab since had been tough.
Dani had been working with him, but the progress was slower than he’d like and the limp he tried so hard to hide was clear.
“So, Kyle’s sentencing was today. I know you didn’t want to be there for it, but do you want to know what happened? ”
I looked at Liz and when she nodded, we went into my office to talk.
Brock eased himself into the chair, his lips pressed in a straight line. “The prosecutor ended up charging him with assaulting a peace officer causing bodily harm, criminal harassment, and breaking and entering. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to fifteen years.”
I looked to Liz as she breathed a sigh of relief and slumped in her chair. “So, it’s really over now? I still have so many questions.”
Brock readjusted in his seat and winced.
“When he was first brought in, the detective interrogated him for a bit before he asked for a lawyer. He basically said that he was trying to scare you back to him. He figured that if you thought someone was out to get you and had to quit your job, you’d have no choice but to go back to him.
When he saw you with Nate, he thought of it as you cheating on him and his scare tactics went a little too far—his words. ”
“A little too far? I’d hate to see what a lot too far would be.” Liz pulled her arms tight against her chest.
“Believe me, I know.” Brock gestured to his injured leg.
“The important thing is that this whole shit-show is over, and you can go to sleep at night knowing he is in a very uncomfortable bed in a very small cell for a long time.”
We both thanked him for the millionth time, knowing it would never be enough. He kept saying that it was his job but that didn’t make it mean any less.
After he left, Liz turned to me and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“So, it’s over now. I can’t quite believe it.”
I shook my head. “Neither can I. I still worry about you, you know?”
She buried her face into my chest. “You don’t have to.”
I swallowed. “I do though; I think I know why I worry about you so much.”
She pulled back and met my eyes. “I’m not going to be a victim, Nate, not ever again.”
“That’s not it. I know you’re strong. I worry about you because that’s what you do for the people you love.”
She stared at me for a moment, before hooking her heel around my calf and knocking me over backwards. I landed on my back on the mat with the woman I love straddling me. “Say it again.”
“Say what?”
She brought both of my arms up over my head, pinning them to the mat and I let her. She pressed her lips lightly against mine. “Say it.”
“I love you, Liz.”
She kissed me long and deep, a tear falling from her eye and landing on my cheek.
“I love you too.” The words sounded good from her lips.
I had never felt love this deep before, so while I distracted her with my tongue, I flipped her so she was on her back and proceeded to show her how much I loved her.