Chapter 21 Olivia
One Month Later
“I don’t need a babysitter, you know,” I grumble.
Blade looks down at me and smiles. “You seem awfully grumpy today, Olivia.”
“That’s because I never get a moment to myself. Is there a reason you guys are hovering around me so much?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Blade says with a laugh.
“Bullshit. You and Winnie are new. You should be together at home, building your lives together—not babysitting me.”
“I’m pressure washing my woman’s house. That’s all.”
“Yeah, right, Blade. You two don’t even stay here.”
“The penthouse is just easier,” he says with a shrug.
“Okay, so why has Cross been staying here?”
“He likes you and wants to spend time with you?”
“Again, I’m going to say that’s bullshit. Now, are you going to level with me, Blade?” I ask, studying him.
“Fine. You know we’ve been doing our best to track down your brother the last few weeks—I mean, even more so than before.”
“Yeah, Cross mentioned it. Although since he’s been practically living here since you kidnapped Winnie, I figured something was up.”
“Is it weird for you?” he asks, studying my face.
“Is what weird?” I question, confused.
“To know I’m in love with your best friend. To see us together? To know we’re practically living together?”
I smile at his earnest face and shake my head. “First of all, there’s no practically about it. You can’t tell me that Arwen doesn’t have more of her clothes, toiletries, and so on there than she does here. You’re living together.”
If Blade has ever blushed, the faint color on his cheeks would testify to it being right this moment. He shifts uncomfortably. “We don’t want to hurt you, Livy,” he says, using my nickname for the first time since all this has happened.
“You’re not. I’m genuinely happy for you. I loved you, Blade, but I think we both know it wasn’t the love you’ve found with Winnie. It wasn’t the love that refused to leave my heart for …”
“For my brother,” he supplies, and I nod. “I wish we could go back. If Bear had just confessed about his feelings for you before we ever met …”
“You wouldn’t have even been attracted to me,” I laugh.
“Now, that’s where you’re wrong. You’re a beautiful woman. I would have noticed, maybe even envied my brother. I just wouldn’t have acted on it.”
“If you had told me Bear was your brother, I wouldn’t have either. I would have warned you about Douglas. All three of us screwed up and have regrets. Maybe that’s why all of this is shifting so easily. Whatever the reason, I feel like things are exactly how they are supposed to be,” I confess.
“Except Bear’s not here with us.”
I shake my head in disagreement. “Bear’s always with me. I just wish it was in a different way.” I let out a shuddering sigh—enduring it as it rocks my body. “Now tell me. Have you found Douglas?”
“We know where he’s been hiding out. We moved in, but he must have gotten wind that we were coming, because he was gone by the time we arrived. He left his buddies to face our wrath.”
“Of course he did. Douglas knows nothing about loyalty. Do you think he’s trying to leave the country?” I ask, voicing my biggest fear.
“No. He’s got too many warrants over his head. He’d had to sneak through the border, and he doesn’t have the skill to do that on his own. More than that, though, is that Eyeball is stupid. In his mind, he can still kill me and take over my club.”
“How would he do that? Even Douglas can’t be that stupid. Your men are loyal and they hate his guts. There’s no Ranger helping him out this time.”
“No, but he knows my weakness.”
“Winnie,” I nod, instantly afraid for my best friend.
“Well, if he watches closely, yes—which is why I have two men on her at all times. I think it’s more likely, however, that he sees you as my number one weakness.”
I huff. “So that’s why you have Cross staying here.”
“No, not really. I’d get one of the men to step up, but Cross is here because he wants to be. He views you as the daughter he never had. Cross loves being near you, Olivia. You shouldn’t doubt that.”
“Okay, so what’s the game plan? Are you expecting him to show up soon? Should I move to the ranch now instead of waiting?”
“He was spotted one county over. One of the members of the Savage Brothers—Crusher—spotted him. He tried to move in and get Eyeball, but his old lady was there, and he made sure she was safe first. By the time he came back …”
“Douglas was gone. I swear my brother has more lives than a damn cat,” I mutter, frustrated.
Blade laughs. “It’s okay, Livy,” he says, slipping back into my nickname.
“Cross, Hangman, Money, and Sasa are all tracking him. In fact, the reason I’m here this morning and not them is because Hangman was pretty sure they found his hideout.
They were moving in about thirty minutes ago.
He’s going to call me as soon as he can. ”
“What? You’re lying.”
“I’m not. Why would you say that?” Blade grumbles.
“Because. If they were getting ready to move in on Eyeball, you’d be there. You would want to be the man who killed him to avenge your brother,” I needlessly explain.
“We may not have worked out as a couple, but you do know me,” he laughs. “Or at least, the me that I used to be.”
I scrunch up my face. “Okay, now you’re spouting bad rhymes and not making sense,” I chastise, making him laugh harder.
“It means, the old me would have been the first to ride in for vengeance. Now, I’m doing as my brother would want me to do. I’m protecting the woman he loved with everything he had. I’m making sure she’s safe. Which is what he asked me to do in his letter, and it is exactly what I’m going to do.”
I feel tears sting my eyes. “I didn’t think you’d ever forgive me for that night,” I whisper.
“I see that night clearly now. When you begged me to kill you, you wanted to die, didn’t you, Livy?”
“It would have been better than to go back and have them continue to …”
“Don’t think about it anymore, Livy. You survived. They didn’t break you. Let’s both concentrate on our future. I’ve missed you, Livy,” he says with a genuine smile.
I walk over to hug him. “I’ve missed you, too. More than you know, Blade.”
“Is this a private party or can anyone join?” Winnie asks, sounding pissed. Viper is standing beside her, scrubbing the side of his face, looking uncomfortable. I feel Blade tense against me, and I shake my head.
“Quit terrifying your man,” I giggle.
Winnie stares at me for a minute and then cracks up. “You should have seen your face, Blade.”
“You little witch,” Blade growls as he walks over to her, pulling her into his arms and kissing the hell out of her. I smile as I watch them together.
Viper comes over to join me. “Blade is a fucking lucky bastard,” he grumps. I elbow him. He hugs me closely and I lean on him.
“Do you think they’ll find my brother?” I murmur to Viper as Blade and Winnie come up for air.
“That’s actually why we’re here. They’ve found Eyeball early this morning—or at least they think they have.”
Blade’s head whips around to look at Viper. “What the fuck does that mean and why has it taken so long for them to tell us?”
“I’m getting to that, man. The boys tracked him down to an old, abandoned house on the edge of Norris Lake. There were three of them. One was serving as a scout. He got off a warning shot before Sasa could take him out.”
“Why do I feel like this story is about to piss me off?” Blade huffs, pushing his hair out of his face.
“Because it probably will. There was a firefight. Our guys were concentrating on the windows. Two men were inside and they made it out before we could surround the place. They were in an old Ford Ranger—”
“I don’t give a fuck what truck they were in. I want to know what happened, damn it.”
“He’s getting there, Blade, calm down. You need to hear what he says,” Winnie responds, going on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek.
Blade exhales but nods his agreement.
“In the gunfire that followed, we think one of the guys hit the truck’s gas tank. It exploded with two dead bodies inside.”
“Motherfucker,” Blade hisses.
“So, there’s no way to make sure Eyeball was in the truck?” I ask, my heart running away with me. I’m imagining my life in the future—always being afraid my brother is going to jump out of the shadows to kill me … or worse.
“Well, the last stint in jail that Eyeball did, he had to have his appendix removed and his DNA is on file automatically. The Prez for the Savage Brothers called in a favor with the coroner. They were able to ensure that the DNA matched. Eyeball was one of the men, Livy.”
Relief hits me so strongly that my knees weaken. Viper tries to hold on to me, but I slip slowly to the ground. “It’s over,” I whisper, looking up at Winnie and Blade as tears trail down my face. “It’s really over.”
Winnie is the first to make it to me, wrapping me in her arms and getting down on the ground with me. “It’s over, Livy. He’s dead. He’ll never hurt you again.”
I hold on to her tightly, my gaze lifting to look at Blade. He’s smiling at me. “Bear can rest easy now, Livy. It’s finally over.”
I nod and bury my head into Winnie’s shoulder, with only one thought in my mind, so I send up a silent prayer.
We finished it, Bear. I’ll be safe until I’m with you again.