Page 127 of Commit

“You don’t have to thank us, Kitten. It’s all part of the badass package we offer,” Kenzo says, winking at her.

She shakes her head before looking at me. “Abbot?”

“He’s okay. He’s recovering down the hall with Trix, Kenzo’s better half.”

“Wait, Kenzo has a girlfriend? Did you pay her?”

Atlas laughs.

“I didn’t need to pay her, thank you very much. My woman is smart. She knows quality when she sees it.” Kenzo crosses his arms across his chest.

“No, but seriously, how much did you give her?”

I grin, my eyes drifting closed even as my grip on her tightens.

I listen to her banter with Atlas and Kenzo and feel something ease inside me.

It might take me a while to let her out of my sight, but I knew we’d be okay, and none of it would be because of me. It would be because of my beautifully broken wife, the strongest woman I know.

She’s already proven she knows how to dance with monsters and survive. Like fuck will she let Landon be the reason she crumbles now.

Epilogue

Starling

Nobody thinks about the aftermath. When you’re fighting to survive, your moments are measured by the breaths you take.

The hard part is when the dust settles and your body and mind have nothing left to do but heal. The important part is that we survived. Hudson, Abbot, and I came home in one piece, even if those pieces were changed forever.

It’s been six months since that fateful day—a period of pain and guilt, anger and sadness, and recurring nightmares. But we came out of it stronger. Despite all the bad, there was healing, love, and acceptance. I clung to that when the urge to cut creeps back in from the dark corners of my mind.

I fought monsters and won. My demons don’t stand a chance against me anymore.

“I thought I might find you here.”

I look up from my Kindle and smile as my handsome husband sits beside me under the cherry blossom tree.

“I must have zoned out. I’ve been staring at the same page for the last five minutes.”

He reaches over, lifts me off the ground, and pulls me into his lap. His thumb lightly brushes over my lips. I know he’s looking at the tiny, dot-like scars. Compared to the 14 carved inside my upper thigh and the jagged scar on my shoulder from the knife, the dots are nothing to me.

But to Hudson, they’re another reminder of that day and how close he came to losing me.

I nip his thumb with my teeth, making him grin before his mouth is on mine and his hands slip beneath the hem of my dress.

“How long do we have?”

“Long enough,” he growls as his hands find my panties. “I thought I told you to stop wearing these. I like being able to thrust inside you whenever I want.”

“And I like it when you tear them off me,” I say, feeling bold.

“Up on your knees, Birdie.”

I kneel over him as he pulls a knife from inside his jacket pocket. That’s another thing that’s changed since then. Hudson, Atlas, and Kenzo all make sure they carry knives now. Apparently, seeing me tied to a dead man’s anchor made a lasting impression.

He cuts the lace from my body before dropping the scrap of material and knife beside us. “Get my cock out, Birdie. It’s been too long since I was inside you.”

I chuckle as I lower his zipper and reach inside for his cock. “You fucked me in the shower this morning.”