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  Whenever her mother picked a boyfriend over her, she’d never known this kind of pain. Covering her face, she sank down to the floor, and sobbed her heart out. She loved a man that killed people. What was she supposed to do with that?

  Brian arrived a couple of hours later, and he looked at her, opening his arms. She hugged him tightly, pleased that nothing had touched her brother. She would never forgive herself if anything was to happen to him.

  “Jack asked me to take care of you,” he said.

  “I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”

  “We’re not moving in with him yet, are we?” he asked.

  “I’ve got to figure some things out first, Bri. I can’t rush this.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “With all my heart.”

  He didn’t say anything else, and they stayed on the sofa watching cartoons.

  ****

  “Are you okay?” Drake asked.

  Jack poured himself a generous shot of whiskey and drank it down in two gulps. “I’m fine. More than fine.”

  “I have a guard posted outside of Piper’s apartment. She and Brian will be taken care of.”

  “Of course they will. I doubt there’s any threat left for them. Ronald certainly made sure to fuck up my life before he died, the miserable bastard.” Pouring another shot, Jack sipped this one, wondering what oblivion would truly feel like.

  “How is Piper?”

  “Shocked, scared, probably questioning everything I’ve ever done. She’s just so perfect, and I’m not.”

  “You love her, Jack.”

  “Yeah, and that love has never felt so painful before.” He rubbed at his chest. “I advise you never hide who you are. When it comes and bites you in the ass, it’s going to sting a hell of a lot more. I feel like I’m dying inside.”

  “What are you going to do?” Drake asked.

  “I’ll give her the time she needs, and space. I want her every single need taken care of. I don’t want her hurt, or any harm to come to her, understand?” he asked.

  “Yes. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Good. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to see how much of this whiskey I can drink before the world fades away.”

  ****

  Days and weeks blended together for Piper. She didn’t move out of the apartment, nor did she change her routine. Waking up in the morning, she got Brian ready for school, dropped him off, went to college, picked him up, left him with the babysitter, went to work. When the day was finished, she went to bed, and the routine started again. It was how her life always was, only before there were little sparks of excitement. Joy at the prospect of seeing Jack, or Drake. So far, in three weeks she hadn’t seen anyone.

  No Jack.

  No Drake.

  She missed them both.

  Staring at Jack’s booth in the restaurant one Friday four weeks after being taken, she felt flooded with pain.

  “You’re starting to scare us all, you know,” Luther said, drawing her attention to him.

  “Sorry?”

  “You haven’t smiled in a month, Piper. I can’t recall you ever looking this dead.”

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

  “It’s odd that Jack hasn’t been around either.”

  “We, erm, had a fight.” She looked around the restaurant, and leaned in close. “Do you know the truth about him?”

  Luther smiled. “We all do. I’ve been working here for five years. Love it, and I love the protection being Jack’s employee offers me. It’s safe.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Before you came along, he was known as being an asshole. There was no regularity to his day. He didn’t spend more than a couple of days with any one woman. You were different.”

  “Luther…”

  He held his hands up. “I’m not one to meddle, okay? I see you hurting, and I’ve not seen Jack in a long time, but I hear rumors. You were good for each other, but it’s your decision to make.”

  She let out a breath as he left her to her thoughts.

  Closing her eyes, she rubbed at her temples. Forcing her thoughts back, she focused on serving her tables, and offering them the best ever service. Every time the door opened, she hoped it was Jack.

  Dammit.

  She missed him so much.

  No matter what she tried to think about to justify her leaving, it just wasn’t working. She loved him, and being without him was hurting her.

  Leaving the restaurant, she was making her way down the long street when a car pulled up. She saw Drake, and her heart skipped a beat.

  “Drake,” she said.

  “Hello, Piper. I was hoping I’d catch you.”

  “Oh, okay, why?” Jack wasn’t with him.

  “Do you love him?” he asked.

  “I don’t feel comfort—”

  “Because he loves you. I mean really loves you. The kind that you see in movies or you read about in fucking books. He’s dying without you.”

  “Drake?”

  “Hear me out. I get it. He lied to you, and he was never completely honest. His fortune is not the best way to make an income, but he has done everything in his power to keep you and Brian safe. He’s a very bad good man. I know it makes absolutely no sense, but it’s the truth. I like to think of myself as his friend, and your friend.”

  “You are.”

  “I can see that you’re hurting yourself, and you’re not keeping well. You both need each other, and neither of you are breaking this stalemate.”

  “Jack’s not been to the restaurant.”

  “Jack killed a man in front of you, Piper. He told you the truth and watched you recoil. You needed space. What do you expect him to do? Not listen to what you need? You asked for space, and this is his way of giving it to you.”

  She started to cry. “I shouldn’t want to be with him.”

  “Who cares? So you don’t love the boy next door, or the star business partner, or the star athlete? You love a killer. That killer will never turn on you. Jack is more than that. He’s the man that came to you. He found you, and he’s done everything to make sure none of this bad shit came your way.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Either forgive him, or finally cut him loose. Right now, he needs some closure, and to know you’re okay. Can you do that for him?” he asked.

  Piper nodded.

  She had to do something. There was no way she could go on living like this, with all of this pain.

  ****

  Jack stared out of the window of his apartment. It was dark outside, and he’d turned all the lights off so he could look. He wondered if Piper was happier. Since she asked for some space, he’d not even gotten updates from Mark about her life at Exquisite. The men who took care of her reported on her safety. She was doing well in college, but right now she was on a break. Christmas was around the corner, Thanksgiving was already past, and he’d spent it alone in his apartment. The first one in four years where he’d been completely and utterly alone.

  His apartment door opened and closed. He didn’t bother to look around. If it was an enemy they could kill him now, and save him all of this pain and heartache. This was the worst kind of torture in the world. He couldn’t stand it. Most mornings he didn’t want to wake up.

  When nothing tried to kill him, he figured it was Drake.

  “Did she get home safely?” he asked.

  “Why don’t you ask me yourself?” she said.

  Jack spun around and froze. There in his apartment was Piper. She wore a long jacket, and he noticed instantly that she’d lost weight. Even from all the way across his apartment, he saw how poorly she looked. “Piper.”

  “Hello, Jack.”

  “I didn’t know it was you.”

  “That’s okay. You don’t look so good,” she said.

  “You’re not looking so well yourself.”

  She smiled. “You kill bad people.”

  He didn’t say
anything.

  “Only bad people?”

  “Yes.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Do you try not to kill them?”

  “Don’t ask me that, Piper. This is my world, and I know no different.”

  She licked her lips, and he saw her look away. “I had no idea what you did for a living. No idea at all.”

  “It’s all I’ve ever known.”

  “I get it. Well, I don’t completely get it, but even as I think of you being this person, I can’t stop remembering how nice you were to me. You didn’t have to remember me, or bring me back that book. You certainly didn’t have to do what you’ve done. Allowing me to bring my brother up in a home that doesn’t have violence, or where I’m afraid that one boyfriend may be too strong for me to fend off. You did all of that for me, and you didn’t even know me.”

  “You’re an angel, Piper. It’s not a line. It’s not something that I’ve spent ages trying to figure out. That day on the steps, I wasn’t in pain, I wasn’t hurting. I was impatient, and you sat beside me even though I was a stranger, and gave me a book to help me feel better. No one is like that anymore. I wanted to tell you the truth about who I was so many times, but I didn’t want you to lose your love in the world. I wanted it to remain precious, untainted, loved.”

  “Jack, you can’t control everything.”

  “I wanted to for you.”

  She stepped up close to him, and he breathed in her lemony scent. “Drake asked me to either end it with you, or give you a chance.”

  The last thing he wanted to do was end it. There was more between them. “I’ll accept whatever you decide.”

  “I love you, Jack. You are my white knight in not so shining armor.” She cupped his cheek, and his whole world stood still. He was waiting for her to end it, to stop being his woman, and move on. Jack couldn’t blame her. He would spend the rest of his life making her happy. “I can’t leave you,” she said.

  “What?”

  “I love you too damn much, and I can’t leave. I don’t want to leave, but you can’t keep me in the dark anymore. You have to trust me. Tell me the truth, and try not to kill anyone.”

  Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close, holding her as tightly as he could.

  “You’re hurting me, Jack.”

  “I will do whatever you need me to do.”

  “All I need is for you to be honest with me, to love me, and to accept whatever craziness I have.”

  “Baby, I love you with all my heart. I didn’t even think I had one, but with you, I do.”

  “Good, now kiss me.”

  His lips slammed down on hers, and she moaned. For an entire month he’d been dying inside, and with Piper back in his arms, he could finally breathe again.

  “I would have told you all of that if you’d come to the restaurant at least once in the past few weeks,” she said when he broke the kiss.

  “I didn’t want you to think I was trying to manipulate you. You asked for space, and I gave it to you.”

  “Never stopped you before.”

  “Before I didn’t have anything to lose. This time, I had you to lose, and I didn’t want to. I’d gladly lose everything else in my life, but not you. Never you.” He stroked her cheek, marveling at how she made him feel. “I’ve never known anything like this. I never want anyone else but you, for the rest of my life.”

  “For the rest of your life. My brother may want to renegotiate the terms. He also believes you suck.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’ve not been around, and you promised him toys, which you have yet to deliver.”

  He took her hand, leading her across the apartment toward the bedrooms. He opened the door that was two down from his bedroom. There was Brian’s bedroom.

  “You did this?”

  “I was hoping that you wouldn’t leave me. I figured I had to keep myself occupied doing something, and so I prepared Brian’s room, complete with all the toys that I should have gotten him.”

  “He’s going to love it.”

  Jack went down on one knee, holding her hand.

  “Jack, what are you doing?”

  “I’m going to ask you to be my wife. Right now, the fact you’re here with me, loving me, it’s a miracle. I’m going to take another chance, and ask you to marry me. Piper Johnson, will you marry me?”

  “Yes.”

  All of his life he’d been a bad man. A man that killed to get what he wanted, and fought to be feared today. When it came to Piper, he just wanted to be the good man that she deserved, and now as she accepted his proposal, he knew he could spend the rest of his life proving that she made the right choice. He’d do whatever was needed to protect her, even if it meant hurting people to do that. He couldn’t live without her.

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  “The baby is coming,” Piper said, screaming from the kitchen.

  “What did she say?” Jack asked, looking up at Drake and Brian. They were in the garden trying to assemble the tree house when they heard her scream.

  “Something is coming?” Drake looked to Brian. “What did you hear?”

  “A scream. She probably burnt some cookies,” Brian said.

  Jack went back to tightening the screws when her screams came, and with it, clarity on what she’d said.

  “Holy shit.” He threw everything down, and rushed inside.

  “Where the hell were you?” she asked.

  Her waters had broken, and he was panicking.

  “Shit, I didn’t even hear you. I’m so sorry.”

  “Keys and the car, Jack.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Sosa.” He urged her toward the car with Drake and Brian following behind him. He got her in the car, and was holding her hand as he rushed toward the hospital.

  “It hurts.”

  “I know, baby, I know.”

  Two years they had been trying for a baby, and then nine months ago last September, they had finally conceived. Life with Piper, being married to Piper, was pure bliss. It had its ups and downs, but for the most part, it was perfect.

  He never told a lie, always told her the truth, and never hurt anyone that didn’t deserve it.

  In the early days it had been difficult. He didn’t want her to know the truth, but the more he told her, the easier their life become. He no longer needed to hide, and this gave them both a freedom. Jack still killed people. His line of work meant he couldn’t stop. Piper never needed to know about the people he killed or the reasons why. Providing he protected her, it didn’t matter to her.

  Parking in front of the hospital, he was about to ease Piper out when she screamed, and started to push.

  “Get the fucking doctors,” Jack said, moving beside his wife. “Piper, tell me what to do.”

  “He’s coming, Jack. Our son is coming. I can’t—”

  She stopped and released a scream.

  Kneeling down in front of her, he lifted up her dress, and nearly fainted himself. He saw the head of his son, and he was coming.

  “Holy shit.”

  “Please don’t leave me,” she said.

  “Never, baby. I made a vow remember. I’ll never leave you.”

  And so there in the parking lot, Jack helped his wife give birth to his son, who he had in his arms as the doctors came out. He’d wrapped their boy in his shirt, and was holding him. Everything became a blur as the medical staff took over. He wouldn’t let their son go. In one arm he held his son, and in the other, he held his wife’s hand.

  Once Piper was taken care, and safe, he handed their son to her.

  “Oh, Jack, we did it,” she said.

  “No, you did it.” He kissed her head.

  “We did it. I love you, Jack,” she said. “The best day of my life was meeting you.”

  Pressing his lips against hers, he smiled at her. “You saved me that day, and you showed me what life really is all about.”

  Stroking a finger down his son’s cheek, he smiled. He ha
d a family, a woman who loved him, and he truly believed he had friends.

  Piper really was his angel.

  The End

  www.samcrescent.wordpress.com

  Other Books by Sam Crescent:

  www.evernightpublishing.com/sam-crescent

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