Gorgon
“Talk to me,” Buck said, stepping up beside him.
“No,” Buck agreed. “He’s digging in.”
Buck glanced at him. “Good?”
Buck studied him for a second, then nodded. “And the feds?”
Gorgon’s jaw flexed. “They want a case, so we’ll give them one.”
“Not how we usually play it,” Buck countered.
“This isn’t a usual situation,” Gorgon insisted, because Kimi wasn’t a usual problem. She wasn’t something to fix, or move, or eliminate. She was—his, and that thought hit hard and settled deeper than he liked, but it didn’t change anything.
“Get the boys ready,” he said to the men standing around him. “We move at dusk.” He turned and walked to the clubhouse. Inside, the place was quieter than it should’ve been. It was almost like the old building seemed to know and was waiting for whatever came next.
Gorgon found Kimi where he expected—by the window in her room, watching the storm like it might give her answers. “Kimi,” he breathed. She turned to face him, no fear in her eyes now. That alone told him everything had already shifted between them.
“You’re going after him,” she said. It wasn’t a question. Gorgon nodded. Her throat moved as she swallowed. “Then I’m coming with you.”
“No,” he breathed. The word came fast and final.
Her chin lifted. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”
“I do when it could possibly get you killed,” he spat.
“It’s my life,” she hissed, sounding like a petulant child.
“And if you’re with me, it will become my problem when you’re standing in the middle of a firefight. That will only put my men and me in danger. You’re not coming,” he said again, this time with a bit more heat.
Her eyes flashed. “This is happening because of me, so I should be there.”
“No,” he said, stepping closer. “It’s happening because Cole doesn’t know when to stop.”
“And I do?” she shot back. “Because last I checked, I’m the one who’s been running from this.”
“And you’re done running.” The words landed heavily between them.
She stared at him. “You don’t get to make that call for me.” He stepped closer still, close enough that he could see the fight in her, and the fear under it, along with the strength that hadn’t broken no matter what she’d been through.
“I already made that call, honey,” he said quietly.
Her breath caught. He was in dangerous territory, and he knew it, but he didn’t step back from her.
He could see it in her eyes, though. If he left her behind, she’d find a way to get to him.
There was no way that Kimi would miss out on this fight, and leaving her to her own devices wouldn’t end well for any of them.
Gorgon sighed, realizing what he had to do. It didn’t mean that he had to like it, though. “If you walk into that storm with me,” he continued, voice low and controlled, “you don’t hesitate. You don’t second-guess my orders. You stay where I put you.”
“I’m not one of your men,” she reminded.
“No,” he said. “You’re not.” Something shifted in her expression. “Which is why if it goes bad,” he added, “I won’t choose my club. I’d choose you.” Silence filled the room as she stood in front of him, seeming stunned by his admission.
Her voice dropped. “You’re their president.” He nodded.
“And you’re my woman,” he quickly added. That was the truth of it—raw, unfiltered, and unavoidable. He’d kill for her because without Kimi, he would no longer be himself. In such a short time, she had become his world, and he’d burn the entire place down to save her.
“You can’t do that,” she said.
His gaze locked on hers. “Watch me.”
Cole’s compound wasn’t hard to find. Kimi gave him exact directions, and they rolled right in through the front gate. Cole didn’t hide, but men like him didn’t believe they had to. He didn’t look surprised to see them either—almost as though he was expecting them.
Gorgon parked just outside the tree line and jumped out of his truck, the snow crunching under his boots as his eyes locked on the building ahead.
The lights were on, and men were moving like rats trying to abandon ship before it sank.
Gorgon’s men were in place—a well-oiled machine, ready for his command.
He planned to make sure that he got every one of them out of there alive, even if it cost him his life.
There was no way that he’d sacrifice his men or Kimi and live to talk about it.
He turned back to Kimi as she started to climb out of the truck behind him. “Stay put,” he ordered. She had agreed to do as he said, but from the look on her face, she wasn’t happy about his demand.
“But I—” she started. He shook his head at her, and she climbed back into her seat. Gorgon shut the door while she continued to mean mug him. If they weren’t about to go to war, he’d find the entire scene funny.
He quickly found Buck in the tall brush, and the rest of his men around them. “What’s the word?” Gorgon asked.
“See for yourself,” Buck insisted, handing him the binoculars. He quickly looked the site over as Buck gave the men orders.
“Positions,” Buck murmured. Gorgon didn’t respond right away because something felt off.
He looked around, trying to figure out what it was that had the hair on the back of his neck standing at attention.
Then he saw it—movement inside. There were no guards, and none of Cole’s usual chaos. It was too clean and controlled.
“Hold,” Gorgon said sharply, but it was too late. The doors blew open as the floodlights snapped on.
“Federal agents! Drop your weapons!” Everything went to hell in a second. There was shouting, and guns lifted into the air. Chaos colliding with control, as Kimi’s voice cut through it.
“Gorgon—” He turned just as a shot rang out—Cole.
He was still standing, still breathing, and had his gun aimed straight at her.
Gorgon moved before his brain could catch up.
The impact hit hard as pain tore through his side.
He had taken the bullet meant for her, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t even slow down.
Gorgon fired one shot—clean and precise, and Cole dropped for good this time. The world tilted for a second as sounds dimmed around him. But he stayed standing because she was there by his side, helping to hold him upright. Kimi was still breathing, and that was the only thing that mattered.
The feds swarmed, and he gave the order for his men to lower their weapons. The feds shouted orders, but none of it mattered—not really, not to him. Kimi was in front of him, her hands were on him as her voice broke through the haze.
“You’re bleeding—Gorgon,” she shouted.
“I’ve had worse,” he insisted. It was a complete lie, but he was trying to calm some of the worry that he saw in her eyes.
“Don’t—don’t do that,” she snapped, panic cracking through. “Don’t act like this is nothing.”
His hand came up, gripping her wrist—not hard, but just enough to get her attention. “Look at me,” he ordered. She did—her eyes wide and fierce. “You’re okay,” he said.
Her breath hitched. “Yes, because you took a bullet that was meant for me.”
“And I’d do it all again, to keep you safe.” That was the point. That was always the point.
Her eyes filled, but she didn’t look away from him. “Why?” she whispered. The question hung there between them. Everything they hadn’t said, and everything he hadn’t admitted to her, was all demanding to be spoken now.
“Because I’m in love with you,” he breathed. That was the simple, honest truth. He loved her from the first minute he saw her, and for some crazy reason, he wasn’t afraid to admit that now—to her or to anyone else. He wanted forever with Kimi, and it was about time that she knew it.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
He nodded, pulling her into his body, and trying not to wince at the pain that small action caused him. “Good, then how about you marry me?” he asked.
“Marry you?” she stuttered.
He smiled down at her and nodded again. “Yes, marry me, Kimi,” he said. She smiled at him through her tears, and when she finally nodded her agreement, he felt like the luckiest damn man on the planet.
Gorgon had finally found the person he wanted to spend his life with—even when he never believed it could happen. He knew that his grandmother’s spirit was what had led Kimi to him, and there was no way that he’d ever let her go again. Kimi wasn’t his secret anymore—she was his whole damn future.