“If you let me out of these handcuffs, I’ll make you the happiest man in New York City,” I muttered.

My fingers searched for an impossible way out of the tightly closed cuffs.

“Keep walking.”

“You don’t understand. You’re just holding things up. It’s only a matter of time before—”

As we walked, the cop jerked my bicep. “Keep your mouth shut.”

“One hundred dollars,” I said.

The cop pushed me forward, and I stumbled against a raised portion of cement. “Don’t shame me,” he said. “These days, you can’t even buy a candy bar with a hundred dollars.”

“Five hundred,” I stammered.

He laughed. “Sure, five hundred. Keep talkin’, and I’ll lay your ass on the curb myself.”

As we approached the police vehicle, I became frantic. “Please,” I said. I learned very quickly that pleading wasn’t going to do the trick. He threw his fist forward and hit me straight across the jaw.

I stumbled forward, cheek dragging down the side window. A fast and alarming ache rose across my face. “I told you to shut the fuck up. Now, I’m going to read you your rights, and you’re going to agree and get in the back seat of this car.”

“My rights?”

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say—”

I sighed. “Alright. Five thousand.” The officer stopped talking and took a step forward. Closing my eyes, I braced for impact yet again.

But when I didn’t feel the blow, I slowly opened them again. “Five thou?” The cop ran his tongue across the underneath of his lower lip.

“Five thousand. Cash. I’ll have my secretary wire it over to you today,” I said.

He started to chuckle, but he stopped himself after realizing I was willing to do anything to get out of this. He put out his hand and clenched his fingers. “Give me your wallet.”

He reached into my pockets, fingers twisting around my crotch and other more sensitive areas. “Watch it.”

Holding the wallet over my head, his eyes scanned the sidewalk. “This is leverage. If I don’t get that money by tomorrow morning, I’m going to have my guys bust your door in.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I mumbled.

“I’m not fuckin’ around,” he said.

He slowly unlocked the cuffs. Feeling the wind around my wrists was like a breath of fresh air. “Tomorrow morning. I got it.”

I started running back to the scene. “One more thing,” the cop shouted. “If this gets back to my boss, you’re dead.”

Noted.

Jack was standing around the corner, eyeing the police as they stopped their men in front of Matthew. I quickly checked my phone, adrenaline pumping. The people I needed by my side hadn’t shown up, or if they had, they were swept up in the chaos of the crowd.

“Dammit,” I hissed.

If they weren’t coming, I’d have to try and do this on my own. I had a plan. I just didn’t know if it was going to work or not.

Jack stepped toward the line of police. “Come on, boys. I need to get home for dinner. Let’s end this game once and for all.”

Luckily, the police chief forced him back. “Tone it down, Dobson. This doesn’t fall into your jurisdiction,” he said with a pointed eye.

Jack smiled and stepped back a few steps, arms stretched out at his waist. “Don’t mind me, chief. I’m just an innocent bystander.”

I hung back by the corner and listened, ducking behind a parked truck. “My men don’t take orders from you. You shouldn’t even be here right now,” the chief muttered.

“Listen very carefully, chief. Nobody’s going to be giving any more orders if this project doesn’t get pushed to close by tonight,” Jack said.

The look on the chief’s face confirmed my suspicions. Whoever Jack worked for wanted this done as soon as possible. And since the city was involved, it was the same old story. Corrupt city officials in bed with the rich.

Jack lowered his voice, and I carefully moved to another car to hear him. “It’s about the message it sends,” he muttered. “If your guys can’t stop one bothered citizen, how do you think the rest of the public is going to behave?”

“The people trust us,” the chief said.

“After what happened here five years ago with the last guy in charge?” Jack scoffed. “Right.”

Caught in a bind, the chief leaned forward and accepted his position. “We’ll bring in a spray kit, but if I get thrown under the bus because of you, I’m going to show up at your front door.”

What the hell is wrong with this city? I thought. Everyone was running around kicking in and busting through people’s front doors.

Jack nodded, satisfied. He had seen and heard all he needed to, and he started walking toward the set of cars I was sitting in between. I anticipated his next move.

Ducking under the front bumper, I kept an eye on his footsteps. Meanwhile, more officers walked through the line of caution tape. They stood in front of Matthew bearing large pepper spray canisters.

I dragged my body to the other side of the vehicle and slowly lifted myself from underneath. I sat and waited a brief moment, watching Jack as he stepped into his Oldsmobile.

It was a miracle I had gotten everything pulled together in time. Three vehicles sped around the corner, cutting off the intersection. Slowly, the men enclosed around him, weapons drawn.

“Jack Dobson, hands behind your head. You’re under arrest.”

The look on Jack’s face was one of expressed shock, but he stayed adamantly silent. As they read the man his rights, his eyes prodded for an escape.

My cousin was right. His business dealings caught up to him, and luckily, I got my money out just in time.

I scanned the crowd for Sawyer and Marcus, but they were nowhere to be found.

As the police inched closer to Matthew, I cursed and felt my blood boil. I was about to run toward him when I raised my head and locked eyes with Sawyer.

“There you are!” I exclaimed, running to wrap my arms around him. His partner, Marcus was right behind him, holding the hand of their son. Theo followed closely behind.

“We got caught in the traffic. The cops shut down the whole area. The media is going crazy with this story,” Marcus said.

“I don’t mean to spoil things any more than they already have been, but Matthew needs us now. Did you get ahold of Jordan?” I asked.

Sawyer reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a thin manila envelope. “I had a little meeting with the judge and him when I woke up.”

“What did they say?”

Sawyer nudged his head. I could tell that he was still a little sore about me, but now was not the time to fight proxy battles. “He waved the charges, in exchange for some minor community service.”

“And the zoning issues—did you take care of them?”

Theo held up a thick contract. “We can start building once they give us Matthew.”

“Good. Now that Jack’s out of the picture, this project can end once and for all,” I said to myself.

“Chief!” I called out, holding the papers in my hand. “Shut this down!”

The chief turned. Radio in hand, he ground his teeth against his lower lip. “I don’t need to see the papers. I just got the orders,” he bit back.

“Let me in there. I need to get that omega to safety. He’s pregnant with my child.”

Sawyer, Marcus, the rest of the gang stepped forward to join me. Austin, in particular, wanted to say something. Nudging at the chief’s pants, he got his reluctant attention and pulled.

Austin beamed at him with bright blue and innocent eyes. “Can’t my uncle go home, Chief?”

Marcus pulled his son back, but the chief threw his hand into the air, nodding to himself. After a moment, he made the call.

“Stand down!” he closed his eyes and yelled. “Bring it in!”

As the police backed away from Austin, the confusion spread throughout the crowd. The dense sea of people roared with so much support you could feel the asphalt beneath us shake.

In the sky, a news helicopter spun and beamed its light over Matthew’s head. I saw him staring at me with love in his eyes, staring because we were right for each other.

We just had to take it one step at a time.

I ran toward his trembling body and held him. We were both speechless and lost. “Hunter, I—”

I held my palm against his chest, right where his heart sat pounding. “It’s okay. We don’t need to talk about that now,” I said.

Matthew lowered his eyes. “No, I mean, I don’t have the key to unlock myself.” A short laugh came from his mouth.

“Oh, uh. Sure.” I stumbled back toward one of the officers and asked for some assistance.

There were more cheers from the growing crowd, and it looked as if the whole neighborhood had come to give their congratulations.

When he was out of the chains, the family gathered around Matthew, hugging them when it came to be their turn. Picking up Austin, he sucked in a breath while looking proud.

The two brothers connected. Sawyer ruffled his hair before taking a step back. “I’m sorry that I didn’t back you up out there, that I didn’t believe in you,” Sawyer said.

Tears glazed Matthew’s eyes as he faced his older brother. “It’s been a rough year for both of us,” he said.

“It’s no excuse.”

Matthew hugged him again. “You can make it up to me by making me a partner and giving me my own bar.”

Sawyer looked at Theo who subsequently nodded his head. “Yeah. We’d been discussing some things.”

Matthew shifted the heavy backpack against his shoulders. “And…”

“And we’d love to have you as our partner,” Theo said. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Matthew grinned. “Well, I’ve certainly put in my time at the Sixty-Six.”

It was my time to leave, so I turned to face the sweet New York City sunset, complete with the tallest skyscrapers in the country. For the first time in my life, I felt at peace. I was hopeful about figuring things out with Matthew, but I wanted to give him some space to think about this.

I walked across the street. Shivering, I ran my hands together and blew. Suddenly, I felt the light feel of soft fabric wrap around my neck.

Turning around, Matthew pulled against the cloth and brought me closer to him. “You look cold,” he said.

I leaned forward and kissed his perfect lips, his rounded cheeks, and every single soft spot on his neck. I loved him to death, and I didn’t want to lose him.

I couldn’t let go of everything we made together.

Reaching forward, Matthew’s hands grabbed mine, pulling until they were on his small belly. “It’s really going to happen,” I whispered. “My entire life was made for this.”

“You’re going to be here from now on? No more shady dealings?” I shook my head as he placed his finger against my lips. I opened and bit down. “No more business calls at three in the morning. Promise me.”

Matthew pinned me against the bars that enclosed the entrance to the subway. I closed my eyes and listened to the next train come to a grinding halt. “Matthew, I’m retired. If you want a loyal daddy, you’ve got your man right here.”

He laughed and held his chin. “Quite a role reversal.”

“I’m kinky like that,” I said.

Rocking back on his heels, Matthew looked over at the stalled cabs on the side of the road. “Well, here’s our chance. Should we get out of here, captain?”

I took his hand and squeezed, threading each finger together with his. “Let’s take the subway,” I suggested.

Matthew pulled me forward. “We’re not taking the subway.”