“I can’t make any promises, Cedar,” he said softly. “But I miss us, too.”
“So we get through this shit and then figure it out.”
“Yeah, we figure it out.”
I looked at my sketch then glanced back at him. “Did you bring Tom?”
Took him a second before he grinned. “The turkey?”
“Yeah.”
“No, but Babe, turkeys only live about five years.” He studied me before he asked, “Why?”
“I could have sworn I heard a turkey in the woods near my house.”
He had a thought on that, but kept it to himself.
I wasn’t sleeping when Killian came to bed. The door locked, his focus on me. I never realized how much could be said without speaking a word. He grabbed the back of his tee and pulled it off, his jeans followed then his briefs. My eyes traveled over him, from his wide chest and shoulders, to his six-pack, his thick thigh muscles and settled on his cock. I pulled my lower lip between my teeth. My gaze drifted to his face when I crawled across the bed to him. Kneeling, I held his hot stare and fisted the base of his cock, ran my hand up to the tip, twisted a bit and dragged it back down. His abs tensed. I pressed a kiss there, then moved my mouth lower, tasting the salt on his skin, before I reached his cock, looked up at him through my lashes and took him into my mouth. His focus never wavered, that look only intensified. I pulled him in deep and sucked hard, ran my tongue along the underside of his shaft, twirled it at the tip, sucked him deeper, finding a rhythm. His fingers threaded through my hair, his hips moving in time with me, a moan falling from his mouth, followed by a groan as he fucked my face. My fingers were digging into his ass, the heel of my hand pressing into the sac between his legs, as I fisted the base of his cock and took him deeper.
“Fuck,” he growled, taking over until he came, filling my mouth. I swallowed and he moaned.
He dragged me up his body, slammed his mouth down on mine, kissing me hard. Then he studied me. “You okay?”
“I will be when this is all over.” I touched his cheek, this man who was putting his life on the line for a stranger, hell for someone he didn’t even like. “Why are you doing this?”
He ran his thumb along my lips, held my stare and whispered, “For you.”
Oh my god, this man. “I love you.”
He wrapped his arms around me, climbed on the bed and dropped me on my back. “You better.” Then he showed, without words, just how much he loved me.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Brock
I was outside getting air, having a surreal moment with my past and present colliding, but after my talk with Cedar earlier, I wanted to hunt her down, wanted my girl, but she wasn’t that girl anymore. She’d been beautiful at eighteen, but she was exquisite now. She was wearing her glasses. Her shirt was bright and bedazzled. And she’d been sketching her designs. The memory hit like a fucking punch, but she was coming back to herself, and as much as I hated to admit it, she was because of him.
I’d been her past. But we lost that. She found her present and future, and as much as I’d always fucking hate him, he would keep her safe. If I had to let her go, at least I was letting her go to someone worthy of her.
Iron Guardians were my family now, but hearing Cedar earlier. Was it possible to have both? Not the way I wanted, but she was family, too. And I fucking missed her. I wasn’t sure how the sheriff would feel about it, but maybe, we’d all lost enough.
To say I was surprised to see Damian Tate, among everyone who had gathered, was an understatement. Never worked with him, but I’d certainly heard of him. Our odds just improved significantly, even more so with Anton Scalene. He worked on being legit, but once a crime boss, always a crime boss. And yet, he’d found a life, a family. His past didn’t define him.
I couldn’t go back, I didn’t want to, but I could have more than I’d allowed myself. The door closing turned my head to see Donnelly. For someone I’d never met, he sure as fuck had a big influence on my life.
“Your case is the kind detectives dread,” he said, looking out at the bikes lined up side by side. “Knowing who pulled the figurative trigger, but knowing they aren’t the bad guy.” He glanced my way. “Can’t say that’s the case anymore.”
“You’re not taking me in.” And he wouldn’t. I’d kill him before I let that happen. I might want more, but I wasn’t going to be caged.
“No. Not going to try. I’m here for the kid you were, for Cedar. The law is supposed to protect people, but sometimes, it works against them. Can’t say I wouldn’t have taken the path you did had I been in your shoes.” He turned hard eyes on me. “That said, you could choose to be a better man. Not saying join the fucking PTA, but choosing to not become your father.”
Fury rushed through me; my hands fisted as I turned into him.
He didn’t back down.“He deserved to die, but all those who followed...they were for personal gain, nothing more. And that is Kenneth Callahan. You can stand on the other side of the law and still do the right thing. Your past doesn’t have to define you.” Those words rocked me. He turned back to the gym and stopped. “There was once a kid who helped steal a turkey because the idea of it dying broke the heart of a young girl. Be the man that
