30. Jax
Jax
The Marshals office in Timber Creek feels warmer than it ever has. Sunlight streams through the big windows, catching on the polished wood floors and the American flag hanging behind the main desk. Ava stands tucked against my side, her small hand wrapped tight in mine.
The lead federal agent from the regional office finishes reading the report, his voice professional but carrying a note of finality.
“With the majority of Carlo’s key players either deceased or in federal custody, the threat level to Miss Simpson has been downgraded to minimal.
WITSEC is no longer required. You’re free to resume your life, ma’am. ”
Ava lets out the softest, most relieved breath I’ve ever heard.
I squeeze her hand, my thumb stroking over her knuckles, feeling the delicate bones and the way she leans into me like she was made to fit right here.
Pride swells hot in my chest. She did this.
My brave little librarian fought like hell and came out the other side.
I pull her closer, my arm sliding around her waist, fingers splaying over her hip. She’s never leaving my side again.
“Thank you,” Ava says, her voice carrying that adorable, breathy lilt that always hits me straight in the gut. “For everything. I can go home. Well… to our home.”
She glances up at me with those bright sparkling eyes and I have to fight the urge to kiss her right here in front of everyone. Instead I lean down and press my lips to her temple, inhaling her sweet scent. “Our home,” I murmur against her skin. “Where you belong.”
Mason steps forward then, clapping me on the shoulder with a rare grin cracking his usually hard face.
Riley stands beside him, tucked under his arm just like Ava is with me.
The two women look at each other and something soft passes between them.
Recognition. Shared survival. Shared luck in finding men like us.
“Riley Thompson,” Mason’s woman says, extending her hand with a warm smile. “I heard you had quite the adventure. Wrong place, wrong time?”
Ava laughs, that light, musical sound that fills the whole office and makes my chest tighten with love.
She shakes Riley’s hand eagerly. “Ava Simpson. Former accidental witness and current very happy librarian. Yes. So wrong place at the wrong time. I was just finishing up at the library. Next thing I know I’m in a blizzard with a possessive marshal and cartel men chasing me through the woods.
But… maybe it was the right place after all. Because it led me straight to Jax.”
Riley’s eyes sparkle with understanding.
“I know exactly what you mean. I witnessed something I never should have and ended up locked in a cabin with this one during the worst storm of the year. One bed. One very protective marshal. I was terrified. But looking back… it was the best wrong place I could’ve been.
It brought me Mason. And now this whole crazy Steel Mountain family. ”
The two of them fall into easy conversation, voices bright and animated as they compare notes on grumpy mountain marshals, the terror of being hunted, and the unexpected joy on the other side.
I watch Ava light up, her cheeks flushing that pretty pink I love, her hands gesturing as she tells Riley about the Alpha Pig and the self-defense moves that helped her escape. She’s glowing.
Mason catches my eye and nods once, that silent brotherly approval passing between us. Brock, Kane, Colt, and Ryker lounge nearby, all of them wearing satisfied smirks. The team is whole. The cartel’s broken. And our women are safe.
I pull Ava back against my chest when she finishes talking, wrapping both arms around her from behind.
My chin rests on top of her head, breathing her in.
“You hear that? No more WITSEC. No more hiding. Just you and me in Timber Creek. Big porch. And one very permanent bed where I plan to keep you for the rest of our lives.”
She tilts her head back, smiling up at me with pure joy. “I can’t wait. I’m going to organize all your spices alphabetically and you’re going to growl at me for it. Then you’re going to remind me who I belong to. Every single night.”
“Every night,” I growl low against her ear, nipping the shell just enough to make her shiver. “And every morning. You’re mine, Ava. Forever.”
The office fills with easy laughter and congratulations.
Handshakes. Back slaps. Riley and Ava exchange numbers, already planning some kind of girls’ night that’ll probably involve way too much talk about us growly bastards.
I don’t mind. Seeing my woman happy, safe, and making friends in this life we’re building means everything.
Later, as we step out into the bright sunlight, snow melting off the rooftops in steady drips, I lift Ava into my arms right there on the sidewalk. She squeaks in surprise but wraps her legs around my waist, laughing that perfect laugh.
“Jax! People are watching!”
“Let ‘em watch,” I say, kissing her deep and slow. “I want the whole damn town to know you’re mine.”
She melts into the kiss, her fingers threading through my hair as the world fades around us. The Steel Mountains stand tall and proud in the distance, no longer a place of danger but the backdrop to our forever.
Ava Simpson’s going to be Ava Hartman soon. And I can’t wait to spend every day showing her exactly how deep my love is.
Our HEA. Exactly the way it was always meant to be.