Two Months Later

“If you don’t stop looking at me like you’re about to devour me, I’ll never finish stripping off this stage makeup.”

Bishop’s sexy smile didn’t ease up for a second. “I do so love to watch you strip, Firefly. Nothing new there.”

No, nothing new at all. Bishop and I had spent a good week in Justice after the incident at my house. Incident—because that was how I reconciled someone’s death at Bishop’s hands. The man who’d come barging in, who’d tossed me to the floor and held me hostage, could have easily killed me and likely would have. Bishop had defended me and taken care of the problem in the quickest, most concise way possible. I refused to see anything wrong with that.

After that day, we’d spent all our time together. Lots of hours alone, in bed, at the kitchen table. Hours of talking, buckets of tears from me and maybe even some from him, though I’d never tell anyone that. He wouldn’t either. We had a rule to tell each other everything, so his secrets were safe with me.

And when my time had been up, when I’d needed to return to Vegas for booked dates, he’d come with me. We’d had to separate a few times over the last two months—usually because he was needed back in Justice for something to do with the Soul Suckers or the flooding that had destroyed three houses along with Bishop’s truck. Those times were hard—long distance sucked, but we made the best of it. Chatting, texting, video calls—we never went more than a couple of hours without being in touch. And when we got back together? When he walked off a plane in Vegas or I drove into Justice? Explosive. We couldn’t keep our hands off one another, which had led to another blessing in our crazy story.

I was pregnant.

I’d known when we’d reconnected that Bishop not wearing a condom was a bad idea, but I hadn’t addressed it with him. I hadn’t wanted to. Maybe deep down, I’d craved that link to him—the permanency of a child together. Or maybe I’d simply not wanted anything between us after so long apart. I don’t know for sure where my head had been at, but we’d been blessed with a second chance to have a family, and this time, I wouldn’t screw anything up. This time, I’d get to tell him about the baby. Soon. Real soon.

I finally wiped away the last of the makeup that made me look just a little younger under all those lights. As I threw away the tissue, my tarot deck caught my attention. The urge to pull one card, to peek at the future, was one I couldn’t resist. So I spread the cards out a bit, and I took my time choosing one. The right one.

I hadn’t pulled the three of swords since I’d told Bishop why I’d left Justice. The streak lived on.

Bishop’s warm, smooth voice wrapped around me as he asked, “What card is it tonight?”

“The empress.” I ran a finger over the face on the card, smiling. “It means femininity and beauty—”

“Definitely the right card for you tonight.”

It also meant other things, like nature and abundance. Like fertility.

“I think you’re right,” I said. “Definitely the right card.”

I stood, heading for the rack of clothes in the corner. Bishop stopped me, though. Grabbing me around the hips and yanking me down into his lap.

“You’re beautiful, Firefly, but you seem anxious,” he said as he nuzzled my neck. “Talk to me.”

Anxious was an understatement. Excited, terrified, elated, worried…all better descriptors. I should have known he’d recognize that I had something going on. The man might as well have been psychic when it came to me, always searching, investigating, watching. Always striving to keep me happy. To keep me with him. He had no idea how much it would take to tear me away, a fact I’d need to remedy. Soon. But first, I had a surprise for him.

“I wanted to wait until we got back to my place,” I said as I ran a hand over the muscles in his shoulder. So tense—the man must have been worried about bad news.

“Now,” he said, not giving me an option to hide anymore. “No secrets and no hiding. Tell me now.”

Our rules, laid out for me. A good reminder. I ran my fingers through his hair, staring into those gray eyes I loved so much. “I want to put my condo up for sale.”

He frowned. “Okay.”

“And I want to move back to Justice. For good.”

His frown only deepened. “But you love being on stage.”

“I do. I love reading tarot cards and entertaining tourists. But I love you more.” I leaned in to kiss him, my nerves firing in rapid succession and making my hands shake as I braced myself against his chest. Readied myself for the real news. “And I think I’m going to love being a mom most of all.”

Bishop froze, stiff and unyielding beneath me. “Anabeth—”

The awe in his voice, the excitement…it made me grin. Made me lean in as I nodded. “I’m pregnant.”

His arms wrapped around me and tugged me closer, his lips finding mine and claiming ownership. Deep, slow kisses led to wandering hands and clothes pushed aside. Led to his hard cock in my hand as I straddled his hips, led to him thrusting deep inside me as he chanted my name.

And when we were done—sated and sweaty and still wrapped around one another—he finally spoke.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. I went to the doctor this morning before picking you up at the airport. I wanted to make sure the tests I took at home were accurate.”

His hands moved to my stomach, holding me. Holding us. “A baby.”

“Our baby.”

“And you want this?” he asked, looking up at me with so much hope in his eyes. “Me, the baby, to come home to Justice… Because I won’t make you. You can keep working here, and we’ll figure things out. Whatever makes you happy.”

My silly man. “You make me happy. Being away from you hurts too much, and this place isn’t where I want to be anymore.” I kissed him again. And again. Only pulling away when those kisses were about to turn into more again. Not because I didn’t want him, but because I still had things to say. “You’re my home, Bishop. I want to be where you are, and I want the quiet, small-town life Justice will give us so we can raise our family.”

His grip tightened on my hips. “We still have trouble with the Soul Suckers. It’s not as safe as when we were kids.”

“Will you let them near me?” I dragged his hand over onto my belly, pressing it against where someday soon, a child would make it swell. “Would you ever let them near us?”

His eyes hardened in an instant, and his voice turned rough. Mean. SEAL Bishop showing his face. “Not in a million fucking years.”

“Then I’m not worried about them. I just want you and our baby—I want a family. And I want that in Justice.”

Bishop sighed, pulling me close for another sweet kiss before resting his forehead against mine. “I love you, Firefly, and I’ll do everything I can to make you happy. To keep our family together and safe. I promise you that.”

“I know you will, which is why this isn’t a hard decision for me.” I pulled his face closer and pressed my lips to his before sitting back with a smile. “So how about we go back to my condo and you make me extra happy. We should really make sure we’ve christened every room before I sell the place.”

“I don’t know. Shouldn’t you be resting? You’re in a fragile state.” His grin belied his words, though. As did the way his hands kept roaming over my bare skin, sliding under my silk dressing gown that hung from my shoulders.

“True. We probably should take it easy.” I bit back a laugh when his smile fell. Two could play his game. “I mean, if you don’t want to slide that thick, hard cock inside me again…”

I trailed off as I teased him, running my fingertips over the tip of his cock where it sat wedged between us. He jerked and hummed, pulling me closer. Nuzzling my neck before placing a hard bite there.

“I always want to be buried inside your sweet pussy, my little tease. It’s my favorite place to be. My heaven.”

“Then let’s go home. We can celebrate.”

Bishop smacked my ass lightly, giving me a stern frown. “No business calls or interruptions.”

Yeah, I was bad about that. My industry tended to keep weird hours, and my constant connection to my phone while in Vegas was something he wasn’t the biggest fan of. But tonight would be ours. “Just you, me, and a lot of hours being naked together. Promise.”

“I like the way you think.” He helped me stand, tucking his cock away before refastening his pants when he stood up. And then he was on me, holding me tight, cupping my face in his hands as if I was something precious to him. As if he couldn’t stay away. “This is a gift, Firefly. You, me, the baby, moving back to Justice. All of it is such a dream come true. One I promise not to take for granted.”

My heart melted, tears coming fast and hard to my eyes. “I know.”

“I’ll protect you both. Come hell or high water, no one will get near you. I’ll blow the whole damn town apart before that happens.”

“I know that too.”

And I did. Which was why I felt safe returning to Justice.

“The Kennards would never allow a family member to be hurt,” Bishop said, holding me tight. “I want you to be my family.”

“I am. We will be.”

“No, not just because of the baby. I’ve waited fourteen years to give you this. I don’t want to waste another second.” He reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out a little black box before dropping to one knee. “Marry me, Anabeth Monroe. Marry me, and let’s be a family together.”

Every wish, every dream I’d ever had, was coming true. Somehow, I’d earned a second chance at the life I’d always wanted, and I would never take that for granted. So I nodded, unable not to tell the man I’d loved for over half my life yes. Chanting the word in a whisper barely loud enough for me to hear, let alone Bishop. But I didn’t need to worry about that. He knew. He knew, and he took control as he always did. He slid the square solitaire ring onto my finger, placed a gentle kiss against my bare belly, and rose to his feet, wiping away my happy tears before tugging my dressing gown off.

“Drive-thru chapel’s open. Get dressed, and let’s go get this done.”

“Now? You want to get married right now? Just us?”

“I lost you once, lost a chance at a family too. I won’t go through that again.” He cupped my belly, holding my gaze with those steely gray eyes I wanted to wake up to every single day for the rest of my life. “I love you, and I want you tied to me in a legal way—with ink and big capital letters that say you’re mine. So be mine, Firefly. Right now. Forever.”

How could I possibly say no to that?

“Yes.”

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Thank you for taking the time to read this RETALIATE. Reviews are greatly appreciated! And make sure to keep keep reading for a look at , the third Vigilante Justice novel.

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