Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Epilogue
Bonnie - 1 Day
“You’re not serious,” I said when we finally made our way out of the front doors of Hailstorm.
It wasn’t as easy as just getting up and following him home when he showed up at my bedside.
Mostly because I was still gloriously drunk, which we found out when I’d tried to stand up and all but knocked us both over.
So instead of leaving, a very exhausted-looking Sully kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed with me, both of us dropping off in seconds and sleeping until the sounds of Hailstorm waking up forced us to get up as well.
“Where’s everyone?” I asked, sipping the water that was left on my nightstand. Well, not sipping. I was straight-up chugging it. I felt as dry as a corn husk from the inside out.
“Best guess? Brunch. Somewhere other than here. Gracie left a note,” he said, plucking a note off the pillow on the bed that had been hers.
“She’s a doll,” I concluded.
“The fucking heart of the girls’ club,” Sully agreed. “Yep… brunch. Oh, with Vi. Guess she’s back.”
“With a sunburn,” I confirmed.
“You had fun with the girls, huh?” he asked, shooting me a knowing smile.
“Maybe a little too much fun,” I said, done with my water, so I reached up to rub my temples to try to ease the ache banging there.
“Yeah, gotta learn to pace yourself with Layna’s heavy pours. She’s lethal. Let’s get you some more hydration, food, and some ibuprofen.”
“In a minute.”
“Okay,” he said, watching me. “You okay?”
“Are you okay?”
His gaze slid away for a second. “Guess you haven’t seen the news yet, huh?”
“Did something happen? Is everyone okay?” I asked, my voice getting higher.
“Everyone is alright,” he said, holding his hands up, palms out. “But there was an explosion.”
“To… cover evidence?” I asked, even if I didn’t love the idea of him being so reckless, risking the innocent lives of the neighbors.
“No, baby, no,” he said, giving me a head shake. “We went there, ready to… do what needed to be done. There was a fight, but then Will… went down into his basement. That was full of nitroglycerin. That shit is unstable as fuck. I got our crew out just in time… and boom.”
“But… you’re sure he was there?”
“Yeah, baby, he was there. He’s gone. By his own hand.”
“So, it’s over.”
“It’s over. And you know what that means?”
“Banging on every surface in my apartment?” I asked, making that boyish smile of his spread across his face.
“Well, I was going to say drag night at the local club. But I like your idea better,” he said, grabbing me, pulling me against him, and sealing his lips to mine.
Then he kissed me silly right there in the sleeping ward of Hailstorm.
“You know, if we get going now, we might be able to fuck on every surface of your place, take Zima on a nice walk in the park, and be able to meet up with the girls for the drag show.”
“Life with you is never going to have a dull moment, is it?”
“Don’t be silly,” he said, slipping his fingers through mine. “There will always be craft nights.”
Sully - 3 months
“I dunno, man,” I said, rocking back on my heels as I stood next to Valen in the backyard of the twentieth house we’d viewed.
“What’s wrong with this one?” Valen asked with a sigh.
“Do you think it’s big enough?”
“It’s half an acre. You literally can’t get anything bigger in this area.”
“Yeah, but there’s gonna need to be a playground, a pool, maybe a paintball course…”
“For who?”
“The kids, man. The kids.”
“Dunno how I feel about you procreating,” Valen said, smile warm. “Though, I guess Bonnie evens out some of your crazy.”
“Dunno about that, man. You shoulda seen her at the park last week.”
“What park?”
“The paintball park, man,” I told him, starting to walk the yard. It was fully fenced with wrought iron that would give the squirrels an easy out when Zima was feeling like chasing them. “She was bloodthirsty. Went rogue and killed everyone. Friendly fire and everything.”
I’d never been prouder.
“I overheard the girls saying she had really good aim at the range when they took her.”
“Steady hands for all that crafting. You know, this might work,” I decided as we walked. “Could build some epic treehouses with bridges and shit up here when the kids get bigger. Bonnie said she’d feel better about an above-ground pool,” I went on.
“So the kids don’t accidentally fall in.”
“Well, she said me,” I admitted, getting a bark of laughter out of Valen. “But the kids will apply eventually.”
“Really thinking ahead, huh?” Valen asked.
What can I say? I loved the club kids. And the first time I saw Bonnie holding one of the club babies, it did something strange to my heart and gut. Ever since, all I could think about was putting one in her, watching her hold it, raising it up, teaching it to be wild and fearless and happy.