Aftermath (26 page)

"You have it. Of course." Cam nodded. "Yeah." His gaze remained on the rings, finding eye contact difficult right now. He watched as Austin slid the ring on his left ring finger, then swallowed hard against the emotions when a matching ring ended up on Austin's. "I love you," he muttered, only lifting his gaze to Austin's mouth.

"I love you, too." Austin tilted his head down a couple inches and pressed his warm lips to Cam's.

Austin's tattoo said it all. They'd been to hell and back together; they'd waded through feelings and obstacles in the aftermath, never leaving the other's side. Maybe things weren’t perfect. Cam still needed to sleep with the bedroom door open, and Austin kept tempering his anger issues by pushing his physical limits on a punching bag, in a pool, or while running. Cam enjoyed having family over these days, as long as he wasn’t too crowded. Riley wasn’t allowed to wake up Cam in the mornings, for fear of startling him. Austin still tended to downplay his own struggles, but he was working on it. Gale would be in their lives for years to come, and some scars would never fade.

But Cam and Austin stuck together, gun or no gun, and created their own little piece of fucking awesome in that house in Bakersfield.

As friends, lovers, partners, brothers-in-arms, and with Riley, as a family.

Work in progress…

Outcome – an Aftermath novella

Chase and Remy's story

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