Epilogue
Abigail
One Month Later
Life went back to normal a few days after Big John's attack at the penthouse. Well, it didn't go back to normal. Rather, Jacob and I made a new normal.
With Big John out of the picture, I was free to visit my mother again. I was spending most of my days at Shaded Glenn, sitting by her bedside. She rarely woke, and when she did, she didn't know who I was.
The end was coming. I knew it, but at least I'd be with her.
I usually got home in time to make dinner, or like today, I cooked ahead of time. It had been a long day, but dinner was warming in the oven and I was curled up on the couch with a mug of tea, waiting for Jacob to pry himself free of the office.
He worked late more often than not. I imagined once I finished school and got a job of my own, I'd have a few late nights myself. While I waited, I flipped through the course atlas for the upcoming semester.
Without asking me, Jacob had put in an application to Emory and begun the process of having my credits transferred.
High-handed, but I was used to that. Since I'd love to go to Emory and wasn't sure I had the grades to get accepted on my own, I wasn't going to argue. I had a position waiting for me as an intern in the Winters Foundation, so I could get the job experience I needed while I finished school.
My start date was still undetermined. The way things were going with my mother, I didn't want to get invested in school and work. I wasn't sure how much time we had left, but I knew it wasn't much.
The door to the penthouse opened and I got to my feet, carrying my tea with me to the foyer. Jacob dropped his gym bag on the floor—he'd played racquetball with Vance that morning—and came toward me, his lips curled in a smile.
"Good day?" he asked, pulling me in for a kiss. I held my tea away from him so I didn't dump it on his suit and leaned into his kiss, breathing deeply of his familiar scent.
The after work kiss was one of my favorite parts of being with Jacob. No matter how late he worked, I always got a kiss as soon as he walked in the door.
"Long day, but good," I answered. "You?"
Jacob took my tea and set it on the table in the foyer before backing me down the hall to the bedroom. "Good enough. Vance cancelled on racquetball, so I didn't get a workout in."
"That's too bad," I said, laughing into his lips as he dropped another kiss on my mouth. He crowded me though the bedroom door, stripping off his suit as he walked.
"You know, I don't like to miss a workout," he said, pushing his suit pants to the floor, his hard cock bouncing free, jutting aggressively in my direction.
"I know," I said, my hands going to the zipper on my dress. All innocence, I asked, "Did you want me to work out with you?"
"That's the idea," he growled, tossing me on the bed the second my dress pooled around my ankles. He was on me a heartbeat later, raising my arms to the discrete leather loops in the bed frame.
"Hold on," he ordered. I did, gripping the leather hard as he pressed my thighs apart and swiped his tongue over my pussy. Sometimes, Jacob took the time to buckle me into the restraints, but other nights, like tonight, he was too impatient to bother.
He knew he didn't have to strap me down. I had no problem following orders in bed. Not when they came from Jacob.
I was already coming when he lined up his cock and sank inside me. Pulling on the leather restraints, I lifted my hips and wound my legs around Jacob, fucking him back as he filled me over and over. It didn't take long before orgasm took us both.
Jacob rolled to the side, idly stroking his fingers over my breasts while I lay sated, loosely holding the leather loops.
"Are you hungry?" I asked, my own stomach threatening to growl.
"Not anymore," Jacob said, pressing a kiss to the side of my breast.
"For food."
"Oh, food. I could eat. What are we having?"
Reluctantly, I let go of the restraints and rolled from the bed. After a quick stop in the bathroom to clean up, I headed for the kitchen, Jacob following behind.
"I made a polenta casserole with sausage and mushrooms. Rachel gave me the recipe."
"Sounds good." Jacob got the plates, and I dished out the meal, carrying it to the table while he poured us wine.
Tonight, I was eating in my robe, as I often did. This wasn't the first time Jacob's after-work kiss had ended up in the bedroom. Some nights, I still ate naked, decked out in the entire set of erotic jewelry he'd bought me.
More than a few times, I'd cooked wearing nothing but my apron. Those nights, I made sure I picked a recipe that didn't need much attention.
We didn't talk about anything of importance over dinner. Life was wonderfully quiet for the moment. Nothing more had come from the mysterious picture of his aunt and uncle's murders.
I'd eventually told Jacob about the tie, but as I'd suspected, the Sinclairs had already found it, and no one knew what it meant.
They'd all agreed to ignore it and hope it was a one-time thing. I didn't think they had much choice, with no more clues to go on.
The Jordans were no longer a problem. Lucas Jackson had steered clear of us, but Cooper kept us updated on his activities.
He'd led the Raptors into a full-scale attack on Big John's criminal empire, stripping the remaining Jordans of product and associates until there was nothing left, just as Lucas had promised.
To everyone's shock, once the Jordans were destroyed, he'd handed the Raptors over to his Vice President and dropped out of sight.
I didn't want to get mixed up with a biker club, especially not the Raptors, but I wished I'd had a chance to thank him. If Lucas Jackson hadn't been looking out for me, I might never have made it to Jacob in the first place.
Maybe someday, he'd turn up again. For now, I wasn't looking for trouble. I was happy with the quiet life as long as I could spend it with Jacob.
After dinner, we went into the living room to watch a game on the TV. I wasn't interested in the game. Sports weren't really my thing, but I didn't feel like reading, so I lay draped across Jacob, my head on his chest, drawing random designs on his t-shirt with my fingertip.
His phone, lying on the cushion beside us, beeped with a text. Holden.
You talked to Vance today? He's not answering his phone.
Jacob read the text and typed something back, then held the phone to his ear, stroking a hand over my hair as he waited for an answer.
He must have been denied, because he looked at the phone, tapped it again, and put it back to his ear. The third time, I heard a click followed by Vance's voice, sounding out of breath and irritated.
"This had better be an emergency."
"Holden's trying to get you. Why aren't you answering your phone?" Jacob demanded, "Where are you?"
"I'm at home," Vance said. "And I can't talk right now, okay?" The loud, squalling cry of an infant cut through his words, so loudly I could hear it clearly, despite my distance from the phone.
"Is that a baby?" Jacob asked, sounding incredulous and amused. "Why is there a baby in your house?"
"It's a long story," Vance said, sounding tired. "I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Vance—" Jacob didn't get a chance to finish whatever he was going to say.
A woman's voice interrupted, yelling, "Vance Winters, you put down that phone and get that bottle over here right now, or so help me, I will end you. Do you hear me?" She sounded frazzled and furious.
"Is that Magnolia?" Jacob asked, not bothering to hide his laughter.
"Yes, and she really will kill me if I don't get off the phone. I can't afford to piss her off right now. I need her help. I'll call you tomorrow."
We could hear him yelling something back at his assistant before the phone cut off.
"Now I really want to go over there and see what's going on," Jacob said, still laughing, and tapped out a text on his phone.
"What's Vance doing with a baby?" I asked. "Is it Magnolia's? A relative?"
"I have no idea, sweetheart, but I'm going to find out."
"Tomorrow," I said, taking Jacob's phone and tossing it on the coffee table. "I don't think he can handle an invasion of family right now."
"Tomorrow," Jacob agreed. "I have better things to do tonight than bug my cousin."
"Better things?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Like you, sweetheart. Always you."
He clicked off the game and rolled over on the couch, pinning me down with his long body. Then he proceeded to show me exactly where I ranked on his list of priorities.
At the very top.
Just as he'd promised, he showed me how much he loved me. More than anything, always and forever.