I heard clapping and looked down to see my mom at the base of the lighthouse, Locke a few feet behind her, keeping guard. He was blushing, of all things. I couldn’t help it. I giggled.
Mom called up to me. “He wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to marry you right away, was he?”
I loved seeing her happy, after watching the sadness in her every day. Despite everything my dad had done, we still missed him. Finding out the truth about my dad had truly broken me, and if it hadn’t been for Dom and the rest of my family, I wouldn’t be where I was today. Forgiving him was hard, but he was my father. And he should’ve been here with us, sharing in this moment. Tears of a different kind slipped from my eyes.
Knowing what I was thinking, Dom grabbed my hand and pulled me into an embrace. “I am sorry, baby,” he whispered. There was a tightness in his voice. The little time he spent with my dad, he’d developed some respect for him.
Looking down at my mom, I saw her wipe her eyes. She was battling the same thing I was. After a few minutes, we left the lighthouse and I met her at the bottom.
I took her into my arms and she squeezed me tight. “Oh, honey, your dad would be so proud of both of you.” She pulled back and touched the side of Dom’s face. “I am proud to have you as a son, sweetie. I know you’ll protect our princess.” She kissed his cheeks.
With all of us sniffling, they both looked at me, and Dom wrapped his arms around us both. “I promise you both that I will protect you. Nothing will happen to you again. I promised Sal before he passed that I would keep you safe, and I’ll keep that promise.”
Heading back, despite how happy I was, I still had the nagging sense of terror. Like any moment, something would pop up and destroy that happiness. I looked over at Dom. “What about John?” I asked, unable to keep my fear at bay.
Dom gave me a look like he was trying to determine how much to tell me.
“I want to know.” I demanded quietly.
He nodded, his lips a thin line. “John is totally off the grid. The bastard is lurking around, but just out of reach. We have some leads, but right now we’re just going to go on with life and wait for him to show his hand.”
Looking down, I fumbled with the hem of my shirt. I couldn’t fight the fear. When and where would he finally show up?
Dom grabbed my hand. “Babe, don’t worry. We’re ready for him and we will stay ready. I will bring that fucker down.” He kissed my hand and gave it a small squeeze.
I smiled, swallowing the terror and latching onto the trust I had in the man I loved. We’d made it this far. We could get through anything. I determined right then to not let John win. We’d go on with our lives and be happy.
We’d be the ones winning.
Epilogue
Jules
6 months later
Things had settled down a little at the compound. We knew the threat could always come back, but we were prepared for it. We were all still on the lookout for John. We all knew he was coming. But the atmosphere of the compound had changed.
The best news was that Leah spent a lot of time at the clubhouse lately, even though she was told she could go home. I wasn’t sure if it was because we hadn’t found John yet or if it was because she and Viper were still getting to know each other. Watching him with her, I knew he’d protect her with his life. Either way, they were getting closer.
Mom seemed to be doing better. She was spending a lot of time with Locke lately. I was a little worried because she didn’t really know what to do with herself. For so long she was a wife and mother, not really living for herself. All that had changed now. Dad dying had been hard on everyone. But she seemed to be moving past it.
Storm hadn’t been home. Convincing her to stay at New Day a little while longer wasn’t very hard. She wasn’t crazy about the idea of being home. We found out at a group session one day that John had her the longest amount of time. The torment she went through had been unbearable agony. She was still fighting through it and the thought of being out in public caused a real issue for her.
The only men she really trusted were Dom and Smokey. And she’d started to trust Duke, though how much remained to be seen. The doctor had said she suffered from PTSD and panic attacks, as well as social anxiety. Possibly with therapy, and family and friends rallying around her, we could get her through it. Dom thought he might know a way to help her and he was trying to work it out.
We tried every day to overcome our fears and not let what happened get us down. We’d found our happiness where we knew it thrived, with family and friends. We were finding the light to chase away the shadows and get us through the darkness.
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