Cole (The Ride Series) (23 page)

“Not one step closer,” I said sharply.
I saw Jake’s entire body freeze and I held my ground, bracing for whatever was
in store. I couldn’t even look at Cole for fear of the look on his face.

“You fucking cunt!” he roared, turning
the full extent of his rage toward me. He looked completely demented as he took
a menacing step toward me.

“Not another step. I swear to God Jake
I will fucking shoot you,” I said sharply. Adrenalin raced through my veins as
I held the gun facing him, my feet planted firmly on the ground. “Give me your
gun,” I commanded.

He snorted. “You’re going to have to
come get it,” he leered, raising the front of his shirt so I could see the gun
that was shoved down his pants.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

“So what’s the plan now, baby?” he
taunted.

My plan was to have the guys come
bursting in at any moment, but for now it looked like I was on my own.

Understanding showed on his face and
he smirked. “Got friends
comin
’, huh? Well, if you
think for one second I’m going to stand here and wait, then you are out of your
fucking mind,” he hissed.

“And if you think I’m going to let you
walk out of here only to let you continue to fuck up my life, then you’re out
of yours,” I retorted. “Don’t fucking move.” I was shocked at how calm and
collected I felt. I was beyond done letting this psycho fuck with me.

“Not
gonna
let me walk out, huh? Well if I’m staying I won’t be breathing soon, no
confusion about that. So if I’m going, I’m taking you with me. He can come, too.
He said, gesturing to Cole with a manic glint in his eye.

Shit, I was going to have to shoot
him. I really,
really
didn’t want to
do that. It wasn’t that I cared about Jake’s well-being. He’d done enough to me
to ensure that. But I still didn’t want to be responsible for taking someone’s
life.

“Jake,” my voice was practically a
whisper. “If any part of you still cares about me – if you ever cared
about me at all, then please do not make me do this,” I pleaded. It was the
first time I’d shown any real emotion since I’d walked into this mess.

“Don’t you get it, Scarlet? I care
about you more than anything. That’s why I can’t let you go. If I’m going,
you’re coming, too.” he replied, his own voice hoarse with emotion.

The resulting shot that rang out lit
up the dark bunker with blinding light and a thunderous sound.

Chapter Nineteen

“Baby, wake up, we’re home,” Cole’s
deep voice murmured as I felt a warm hand brush against my cheek.

I woke up groggily for a moment before
remembering that I was in the back of Wes’s SUV. It was very early morning with
a hint of dawn in the air as I stepped out in front of our house. I looked over
at Cole, relieved to see him standing whole and strong in front of me.

A large amount of the blood I’d seen
on him had been from the initial head wound he sustained when Jake took him by
surprise with a tire iron. During the drive, I’d gotten the story that the guys
had indeed called Cole out for a club errand. Jake must have been following him
because he jumped him at a gas station and sedated him with something.

We’d stopped at a hospital on our way
back to get Cole stitched up. I couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to only
need ten stitches to sew up the gash. I was still reeling from everything that
had transpired, and I stood on wobbly legs trying to pull myself together. I
knew I’d done well during the ordeal, but now that it was over I was on the
verge of a meltdown. I’d almost lost Cole, I’d almost been killed. Cal, Wes,
and Sal had arrived just in time, and Cal shot Jake once in the chest. I didn’t
think I’d ever get Jake’s expression out of my head. It was as though he was
shocked that it was over, that he’d lost. He looked more pissed off than
anything. But I watched him die, and it would take a while to recover from that,
if I ever did at all.

“Cole, man,” I heard Wes warn as my
knees started to give out. I was swept up in Cole’s arms before I had the
chance to fall and he carried me into the house.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he said softly
in my ear.

I laid my head on his shoulder,
wrapping my arms more firmly around his neck, trying to get as close to him as
possible. Chief was all over us as soon as he opened the door, but Cole
commanded him softly to be still. I was vaguely aware of Cole carrying me into
our bathroom, of my bloody clothes being peeled off. He got me into the shower
and tenderly cleaned my body and hair. I just closed my eyes and let him care
for me. I knew he must be tired, he’d been through the same ordeal as me and he
was injured. But he needed to do this and I needed to let him.

When we finally got into bed, the sun
was out and a new day was beginning. Cole pulled me into his body and stroked
my bare back. He hadn’t bothered with clothes for either one of us. The skin to
skin contact was just what I needed. I fell asleep almost immediately,
relishing in the comfort of his hold on me.

When I woke up, I realized I had
barely moved. I was still lying on Cole, my legs entangled with his. I looked
at the clock to find that it was nearly dinnertime. We’d slept all day.

I looked up and found Cole’s blue eyes
staring into mine. “Hey,” I said, my voice raspy.

“Hi,” he said as he smiled tenderly,
leaning down to kiss me.

“How do you feel?” I asked as I eyed
the bandage on the side of his head.

“Okay, bit of a headache,” he replied.
“How do you feel?” his eyes were full of concern.

“I’m okay, we’re okay,” I amended,
swallowing audibly. I paused for a beat before I could continue. “It will take
me a long time to recover from what I saw, but I knew it needed to happen in
order to save us. I just…you know his expression,” I drifted off as the lump in
my throat got bigger.

“I know,” he murmured, squeezing me.

“But I’m here and you’re here. I’d
give anything for that. I’d go through anything for you,” I said quietly while
staring up at him.

He looked down at me with an
unfathomable expression before he reached over me and grabbed something out of
his nightstand.

“I had a much more romantic proposal
in mind,” he said.
 
My eyes widened
in surprise as he opened a ring box to reveal an exquisite diamond ring. “But
life is short. I don’t want to wait any longer to put this on your finger,” he
told me, his voice gruff with emotion. “I want you to be my wife, I want us to
make the family that neither of us had,” he said, slipping the ring onto my
finger.

“I want that, too,” I whispered,
staring up at him with a love so huge it felt like my heart would burst from
it.

“Marry me,” he murmured, his lips
against mine.

“Yes,” I whispered back, smiling
against his mouth as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. True, it may not
have been the most romantic or outlandish proposal, but I couldn’t have
pictured it any other way--just Cole and me in our bed.

I snuck a peak at the ring and gasped,
pleasantly surprised. It was a gorgeous oval diamond with an antique setting.
It was timeless and classic, and I loved it.

“Like it?” his voice rumbled against
my neck.

“It’s perfect,” I beamed.

“Good, how about you show me some
appreciation?” he asked, his mouth trailing down from my neck to my nipple.

“I think that sounds like a plan,” I
agreed.

Epilogue

A month later

I ran out to meet Cole at the curb
where he sat on his bike in front of Jupiter. He’d come to pick me up from my
last day of work.

My mentality about things had changed
since the last and final incident with Jake. Life was short and I was
determined to make the most of every moment. That included quitting a job that
I’d been phoning in for years. I was going back to school for nursing. I wanted
to do something bigger with my life. I wanted to do something I could be proud
of, that my family could be proud of.

I was in my second trimester now and
my body had started to visibly change. I had slightly bigger breasts and a
small bump that grew day by day. Cole assured me every day that I looked more
beautiful than ever as I fretted over getting fat.

“You’re not going to get fat, babe,”
he’d always tell me. “You’re pregnant and you look fucking sexy as hell.”

I believed him since he proved on a
daily basis that he thought so. I could barely keep him off me long enough to
get anything done.

I accepted the helmet from his
outreached hand and kissed him before hopping up behind him. We roared off, and
I felt the same rush I always did when I was with him on the bike.

The last month had been a time for
recovery. I’d had nightmares for the first couple of weeks after Jake had been
killed. Cole had woken with me each and every time and held me until I settled
back in. His unconditional support and unyielding patience was largely how I’d
made it to the other side. The guys had all been amazing, too. Despite Cole’s
aggravation at me for pulling my stunt with Jake, the guys all seemed to think
it was pretty
badass
. I’d always had their respect,
but now I seemed to have it tenfold.

Cal in particular had become more of a
presence. He and I continued to forge a bond that had been born from a love of
my father, and it continued through our mutual love of his son. Cole and I had
dinner with him at least once a week, and I watched as their bond of father and
son grew stronger.

Aside from my own healing, the last
month had been spent healing Kat’s wounds as well. Sal had taken off a week
after Jake died. He told her he needed some space and had been vague about
where he was going or if he’d be coming back. She was understandably
devastated. Cole seemed as baffled as the rest of us, but was confident that Sal
would “get his shit straight” as he put it. Kat was determined not to wait
around. She felt like he’d jerked her around enough already. But he was her
first love and it would take time.

She stayed with us for the first few
days but had quickly moved into the studio apartment that Cole and I had helped
her find. The old place had too many memories, she needed a fresh start. I was
concerned with how quickly she seemed to want to move past it all. She needed
time to grieve, but I just tried to support her as best I could. She still hung
around with the guys sometimes, but it seemed to remind her too much of Sal for
the time being. She and I largely did our own thing when I wasn’t with Cole.
Day by day it seemed to get easier for her.

For my part, I finally felt like all
my demons had been laid to rest. Jake and everything that came with him was
dead and gone. Cole and I were building a life together, a life I was
living
every second of. My past was no
longer baggage I had to bear the weight of, it was simply that, my past. I
could bring my parents back into the light and not bury them deep in a place that
no one could touch. Instead, they were all around us. They were in the photos
that Cal had given us that we’d since hung up in our home. They were in the
stories Cal told. They’d be in our child’s smile.

My father had met a violent end, but I
knew with certainty that he had peace now that I had Cole--a man who cared for
me above all else, what else could a father want for his daughter?

The bike rumbled down our street and I
grinned as our house came into view. I’d been able to convince Cole to stay in
it for now. I’d had enough upheaval and I just wanted to settle. For now we had
more than enough room, we could always expand later.

Chief greeted us enthusiastically as
he always did when we walked in the door. He had quickly become an
irreplaceable part of our
family,
I couldn’t imagine
life without him.

I looked around our welcoming home and
sighed in contentment.

“Happy, baby?” Cole asked, coming to
stand behind me and as he so often did and he placed his hands on my belly.

“Yeah, honey, more than I ever
imagined I’d be.” I smiled, turning my face to look into his gorgeous blue
eyes.

“It’s just the beginning you know,” he
said with a grin.

He was right, our story was just
beginning and I promised myself I’d enjoy every second of the ride.

The Ride Series continues with the
story of Sal and Kat, coming soon!

Thank you so much for reading! If you
could spare a moment to write a review it would be much appreciated!

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