Epilogue
ZINNIA
One Month Later . . .
“Gunner,” I whimper breathlessly, my body ready for the release he’s building inside me. The slow thrusts are nearly too much and torturing me.
“Fuckin’ love you, baby,” Gunner rasps, adjusting himself over me to brace his weight on one arm and reaches up to cup the side of my face. “Marry me?”
I blink, meeting his eyes, surprised. “What?”
“Marry me, Zinnia.” This time he isn’t asking me. He’s telling me. “I want my ring on your finger, and I’m not waiting any longer.”
Gunner starts thrusting faster, hitting the mark that drives me over the edge. On my release, I arch and cry out my answer to him. “Yes!” I dig my nails into his shoulders as he picks up speed and pounds into me, taking me over the edge. Moments later, he joins me groaning my name.
Panting and trying to catch my breath, I run my fingers along Gunner’s shoulders, smoothing out where I dug. Thankfully, I didn’t break the skin, but I know when I see his back, there will be marks there. There always is.
“Now that you’re marryin’ me, the next thing is to give Delilah a sibling,” Gunner declares, slipping his still hard shaft from my entrance and falling to his side.
My eyes widen, and I whip my head in his direction to meet his gaze. “You can’t be serious?”
Grinning, he lifts himself up and leans into me.
“Baby, we’ve always been meant for each other.
I lost nine years of you. I told you I’m not waiting around or dicking with you.
You just agreed to be my wife. You’re my ol’ lady, and that’s how it’s supposed to have always been.
We’re gonna grow as a family, and that means knockin’ you up.
Giving Delilah a sibling, but in doing so, I get to do something I didn’t get to do with her.
I get to watch our baby grow inside you. ”
Tears well in my eyes, because I feel everything he’s just said.
I know I’d give it to him. I just didn’t think he’d want it so soon.
Then again, the man doesn’t use protection when it comes to being inside me, and I’ve not once said a word about it.
Guess we’ve both had this unspoken agreement between us that if it happens, it’ll happen.
“I love you,” I whisper and smile, roll to my side and curl into his front. I use my body to give him my answer in regard to giving Delilah a sibling, and I do this by rolling him to his back and straddling him. I know we’ve got a party outside to get to, but the two of us are going to be late.
Standing next to Gunner, his arm holding me close, I listen to him talking to Cy, Dagger, Rogue, and Malice.
I could easily leave his side and go hang out with the other ol’ ladies, but Gunner’s made it clear where he wants me. At least for the time being. I don’t mind giving this to him because my near-death experience makes me fear the thought of losing him myself.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Savage, one of Gunner’s brothers, heading in our direction. I tense when I see who’s on his arm.
“No.” I breathe in shock.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Gunner asks, having heard me.
Savage makes it to our group before I can answer him and introduces her. “Hey brothers, meet Tia.”
“That’s not her name,” I blurt, my face going white as a ghost as I meet the other woman’s gaze and she sneers at me. “It’s Sarai, and she’s Basa’s father’s toy.”
A toy that he unleashes when he wants someone to bleed.
Everyone tenses and Sarai takes that moment to launch herself toward me, her nasty blade aimed for my throat. Savage jumps in the way, and the knife sinks into his side.
Chaos ensues, and Sarai goes running before anyone can catch her. I rush after her and tackle her to the ground. There’s no way I’m letting her get away with this. She was going to kill me. Basa’s already tried, and I had survived.
I grip the back of Sarai’s head and start slamming it backward on the concrete and screaming in her face that she’s not going to do this to me. That I’m not about to lose anyone else, because of those bastards.
Arms wrap around me, and I’m pulled away from Sarai and turned to face Gunner.
“Baby, calm down,” he states sternly.
I blink up at him and burst into a fit of tears, knowing it’s not the end of the De La Rosas trying to end the happiness I’ve found for myself once more. But I know Gunner and his brothers would do everything in their power to keep anything else from happening to those they care about.
GUNNER
Stepping into the waiting room of the hospital, I spot my brothers and stalk toward them. I don’t want to be here, but I’ve got to check on Savage. I need to know how that stupid bitch had got to him.
This whole evening has been nothing but a cluster fuck. From the moment he’d walked up and introduced her, only to have Zinnia shock everyone. She barely got out the fact the woman wasn’t who she’d claimed to be when everything happened.
Savage had saved my woman by jumping in front of her, but nothing could save Sarai from my woman’s wrath. Zinnia killed the bitch by slamming her head repeatedly into the concrete of the parking area.
“How is he?” I demand, stopping next to Dagger and Malice as I look at Hammer.
“He’s gonna be good. A nurse came out just a few minutes ago and told us that he’ll be released soon. The knife didn’t hit anything vital,” Hammer answers, his jaw ticking.
“We know anything yet?” I cross my arms and adjust my stance.
“Cy’s looking into it,” Malice states.
“You know what this shit means?” Dagger sneers.
I nod and glance at each of my brothers. “War.”
“Damn right, and I’ll make the motherfuckers burn before I’m done with them,” Hammer snarls.
He won’t be the only one. The De La Rosas don’t know what they’ve set loose. We had already intended to go after them as it was. Now they’ve fucked up. We would make sure no one, not even those associated with them, survive the hell we’ll bring down on them.