I looked down at Willa lying in that hospital bed, looking so damn small and fragile. Walking into that room after hearing her scream my name, seeing her like that, the blood. Christ, I wanted to hold her to me and never let her go.

White bandages covered her upper arms; the rest I couldn’t see, concealed under her covers. But I knew what was there, I knew the scars they’d leave, and not just marking her skin.

Since Jennifer’s arrest, we discovered a lot more about her. Her father had been a minister, but left the church to form his own. It was more like a cult, and she’d run to escape it. She met Raul’s father, Samuel, and after working for him in the club for a while, they started a relationship. Jennifer struggled, her religious background causing her guilt, and she eventually broke it off with Samuel because of it and went home. Whatever happened back there wasn’t good, and between then and now, she’d formed her own little cult, her son Donny being her righthand man. She’d never gotten past her father’s disappointment, his abuse, her fear that her “sins” would send her to hell. Somehow in her twisted mind, she’d decided killing those women would set them, and her, free.

I scrubbed my hands over my face, and went to stand, needing to move. There was so much restless energy, so much anger I didn’t know what to do with, still throbbing through me.

Willa’s fingers curled around my wrist, stopping me.

I didn’t even know she was awake. “You’re back,” I said. Christ, was that my voice?

“I knew you’d come. I knew it,” she said, voice raspy, raw from screaming.

Her words annihilated me where I sat. “I’ll always come for you, sweetheart, always,” I choked out.

“I know.” Her fingers tightened around mine. “Thank you. For saving Tilly, for saving me, for being here now.”

“Don’t thank me for that, beautiful. Christ, I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” I said, brushing her hair back from her face. I was exactly where I was supposed to be, and I wasn’t leaving her side.

Tears overflowed, streaking down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Jude. For what I said…for what I…” She started to shake.

I kissed the top of her head. “Hey, don’t talk now. You just rest, can you do that for me?”

She nodded again, and another wave of tears slid down her cheeks.

Shit. I wanted to take it all away, all her pain and fear, all the memories. “You close your eyes and rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Promise?” she whispered.

Another gut clench. “Promise.” I kissed the top of her head again. “You’re safe now. Tilly’s safe. Just rest.”

I was about to move to the chair across from her bed, but her hand shot out again and she grabbed onto me. “You promise you won’t go?”

My throat tightened. “I promise. I’ll be right here.”

I’m never leaving you alone, beautiful. Not fucking ever.

* * *

Willa

Tilly clutched my hand as we walked to the bus.

She hadn’t said much about what happened a month ago, but she was having regular counseling sessions, and she seemed to be handling everything okay. Thank God. She was resilient, a fighter. I liked to think she got that from me.

Trent was being held in custody until his court case, and Jude told me Tomas had spread the word that I had nothing to do with any debts Trent might have, and if anyone touched us, it was a direct attack against him and The King agency, which would be considered a declaration of war.

I didn’t ask what that meant, I just appreciated the hell out of it. Appreciated the hell out of all of them.

Jude had been by our sides every step of the way. But we hadn’t discussed the future or my decision to leave before everything that happened. I hadn’t had the energy to deal with the boxes and suitcases I’d packed, and I hadn’t thought anything of it until I noticed him looking at them this morning. We hadn’t really had much in the way of alone time. I’d been in hospital for the first week, then Tilly had slept with me for the next few. I’d also been healing, and Tilly had needed to be close to me, we’d both needed it. He hadn’t left us, though, watching over us, making sure we were okay.

“You happy here, Tils?” I asked my niece.

“Yep, it’s the best.”

“I think so, too,” I said. “Your mom, she wanted me to look after you on my own. Her and I…we haven’t exactly had much luck with guys, she thought it should just be you and me,” I said. My decisions affected her, she should have a say. We were in this together now.

Tilly frowned. “Why would she want that?”

“She thought it was the best thing for you, I guess.”

She shook her head, chin stubborn, and crossed her arms. “Dad hurt Mom, and Evan hurt you before we left Ashwood Falls. But Jude’s nothing like them, he never could be. He’d never hurt us, Willa.”

This kid, she was too smart for her own damn good. “I know…”

“Mom’s gone,” she said. “She never met Jude.”

“No, she didn’t…”

“She loved me, right?”

I tugged her to a stop. “Of course, more than anything.”

“The lady you took me to talk to after Mom died said she wouldn’t want me to be sad all the time. Well, Jude makes me happy. He makes me laugh and smile, and he has a cool Harley.”

“He does…”

“And he makes you smile and laugh, too, Willa.”

A lump formed in my throat. I nodded.

“If Mom wants us happy, that means she’d want us to stay here, to stay with Jude.”

My heart pounded behind my ribs as everything she said hit home. “You’re right, I think she would too.”

We carried on to the bus stop and after I waved her off, I headed back to my place. As I passed Fay’s house, the door opened, and Raul walked out. He pulled Fay in for a long kiss, then jogged down the stairs and left.

I watched her watch him as he walked away, the look in her eyes. She was happy. Happier than I’d ever seen her. She saw me then, and her face turned pink.

“Get in here,” she said. “I need a coffee and by the looks of you, so do you.”

A few minutes later, I was sitting at her kitchen table, a mug in front of me, squirming under Fay’s direct, all-knowing stare.

“You’re staying?” she asked.

I paused, I don’t know why. “Yes.”

Fay sipped her drink. “What about Jude? Does he know?”

It was like the woman could read my mind, and just like that, just the mention of his name had a wave of emotion hammering me. The good kind. And it overwhelmed me. I gave her a soggy grin. “God, I’m so damn sick of crying.”

She took my hand. “You know what I’ve recently learned?” She squeezed my fingers. “You can’t let your past hold you back from happiness. It’s what I’ve been doing, it’s what you’ve been doing for the longest time. It’s only natural all that emotion you’ve been locking down is going to come out now. Let it. Don’t be afraid to feel.”

I was struggling to breathe all of a sudden. “I made a promise to Rebecca. Do you really think I can let it go? That I won’t spend the rest of my life thinking I let her down?”

“I made a promise to Mateo, but he’s gone now, and so is Rebecca. We can’t live for the people we lost, we have to live for the now, for ourselves. We have to live our own lives. Raul and I, we missed a lot of time together because I didn’t understand that, because I couldn’t let Mateo go. Because I felt guilty for loving someone else. Don’t make the same mistake I did.” She gave my hand one last squeeze. “Don’t waste a damn single second of the time you have on this earth.”

I bit my lip. “You really think it’s that easy…”

“No, but it’s worth it, I promise you that.” She sat back in her chair. “What do you think Rebecca would have thought of Jude if she’d met him?”

“She wouldn’t have trusted him,” I said honestly. “She would have told me not to either.”

“And did you…trust him when you met him?” she asked.

“No.” I’d let him know it as well.

“Exactly. Jude worked for it, he showed you time and again, that you could believe in him. If Rebecca was still here, knowing how important she was to you, you know damn well he would have worked to gain that trust from her as well, and he would have succeeded. He won you over, didn’t he?”

Fay was right. He would have, he would have won Rebecca over, because above all else, Jude was a good man, the best. People who wore masks, hiding who they truly were, couldn’t hide forever; eventually the ugly showed though. Jude had never worn a mask, not ever. Those kind eyes of his hid nothing. Rebecca would have seen that, even if she hadn’t wanted to.

“Does he love you?” Fay asked.

“Yes.” I knew that truth down to my soul.

“Do you love him?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. But it wasn’t about me. As much as I wanted this, and as much as I trusted Jude, I had to play my own devil’s advocate. It was hard to change the habits of a lifetime. “What about Tilly, what if this doesn’t work out, what if…”

Fay held up a hand, shutting me up. “Do you want Tilly to grow up like you and Rebecca? Never trusting anyone, never letting anyone close enough because she’s afraid they might hurt her? Or do you want her to see what real love and respect looks like? How a man should treat a woman? How a relationship is supposed to be? Choosing a life filled with love and joy is the best lesson you could ever teach her, honey, it’s a precious gift.”

Fay always knew the right thing to say, but she hadn’t finished.

“Keeping promises are important, Willa, but not at the expense of your and Tilly’s happiness. No one, not even Rebecca, would ask that of you.”

Rebecca hadn’t believed love existed, not between a man and a woman, but if she’d had a chance to see it, to see Jude and me together—I knew she would have wanted this for me, I knew it with everything in me. And most of all, she would have wanted it for Tilly.

I shot to my feet. “I need to go.”

Fay laughed. “Go, girl, you go find him,” she called after me as I headed out the door.

* * *

When I walked into The King Agency, my heart was sitting in my throat. I don’t know why I was so anxious, I knew Jude would never hurt me. I also knew that he wanted this, me…us. But I couldn’t contain the nerves fluttering their wings in my stomach.

Lulu was at the reception desk. “Hey,” she said, and shot to her feet. “I’m so glad to see you.”

I believed her, the expression on her face was one of serious relief. “Good to see you, too.”

“How’s Tilly doing?” She squeezed my arm. “How are you doing?”

God, these people, how were they so damn nice? So genuine. “She’s getting there. We’re both getting there.”

Lulu smiled. “That’s good. We need to get together soon, yeah? Have some girl time. Let the kids hang out, ’cause seriously, Josh doesn’t stop talking about your girl.”

I swallowed, hard. I wanted that. I did, more than she could ever know. “I’d really like that.”

She gave my arm another squeeze. “Awesome. I’ll give you a call later, and we’ll work out a time.” Then she turned me, directing me toward a set of stairs. “Man, I’m glad you’re here. Jude’s been a surly, snappy pain in the ass all day. The guys don’t know what to do with him.”

My stomach twisted. “Oh, well, I…”

She gave me another little shove toward the stairs. “He’s down in the gym. Go. Go kiss the frown off his grumpy face, would you. I can’t take much more.”

Lulu hustled back to her desk and I headed down the stairs. The sounds of muffled grunts and growls came through the door, and I hovered there for a moment, trying to sort out what I’d say. I wanted to do this right.

He’d said he wouldn’t give up on me. And after all the drama and uncertainty, I hoped like hell he still felt that way.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open—and froze at the threshold.

In the middle of the floor, Jude and Zeke were locked in some kind of hold. Both were hissing through clenched teeth, muscles straining, as they both tried to take the other down.

Zeke finally broke away and Jude came back at him again like a bulldozer. Both were shirtless and sweaty. Jude’s massive body glistened, every bulging muscle displayed to perfection, rippling and rolling with every brutal move.

His head suddenly twisted toward me, like he’d sensed I was there. His intense, wild stare locked onto me, and my breath stuck in my throat. He looked…savage.

And sexy as hell.

I’d missed him. Missed him touching me. Missed his arms around me at night.

Missed the feel of his big body covering mine, moving inside me.

Jude’s nostrils flared and his eyes darkened, like he’d read my thoughts.

Zeke took advantage of Jude’s lapse of concentration, and took him down. I was sure the floor shook beneath us when the pair of them hit the mat with force.

That’s when Zeke spotted me.

He jumped to his feet, and offered Jude a hand. Jude took it, standing as well, then after a hello chin lift to me, and a back slap for Jude, Zeke headed out the door, grabbing a bag from one of the benches in his way out—leaving us alone.

The door closed with a click and the room was engulfed in silence.

We stared at each other. Oh yeah, I’d definitely missed him. And I couldn’t get enough of the sight of him like this.

“Hey,” I said, and curled my fingers into a tight fist, so he wouldn’t see how much they were shaking, how overcome I suddenly felt.

Jude’s gaze moved over me. He’d missed me just as much. I saw hope in his eyes. I also saw a wariness I’d never seen when he’d looked at me before. I hated it.

Did he actually think I was still leaving? That I could ever leave him now?

“Hey,” he said.

This was the first time we’d been alone together for weeks, and I felt self-conscious all of a sudden. I’d never done anything like this before. The only thing I’d ever truly fought for in my life was Tilly. I was so used to being shit on and abandoned. When someone walked, I let them. Nothing had been worth the pain of more rejection.

Until I met Jude.

Yeah, I’d been a bit slow to figure it out, but I realized I’d do whatever it took to make him happy, to make sure he knew how much I loved him. I’d fight for him until my last breath.

His hands went to his hips, his chest still pumping from excursion. Big and sexy and beautiful. “Is everything okay? Tilly?”

“Everything’s fine. I, ah…I wanted to talk to you, actually.”

He drew in a breath, like he was preparing for a blow, and I hated that I’d made him feel that way. That I’d given him any reason to doubt my feelings for him. I wasn’t the greatest with words. I could only be my flawed self and hope that was enough.

So I stopped chewing my lips and took the plunge. “I, ah, I talked to Tils this morning, about going, about us moving away.”

His nostrils flared, and he sucked in another of those sharp breaths.

“She thinks it’s a terrible idea,” I said.

Jude didn’t move a muscle, those brown eyes still locked on me. “That’s because it is.”

I started trembling, all over now, with the force of my emotions. “I also talked to Fay. She, ah… she had a few things to say.”

“Yeah?” he said, voice rougher.

“She actually made some very good points…on why I should stay.”

His breathing seemed to get harsher. “She did, huh?”

I nodded. “I won’t bore you with the long version right now, but the short version was along the lines of, my sister would want me to be happy, that she would have loved you almost as much as I do, and I’d be a fool not to keep you around.”

He took a step toward me, just one. “And what do you think?”

I was trembling so hard now, there was no way he couldn’t see it. “I think she’s right.”

“Come here, Willa,” he said, feet planted apart, hands still on his hips.

I didn’t even have to think about it. I ran at him, jumping into his arms. He caught me like I knew he would, holding me up against him with one powerful arm, the fingers of the other hand thrusting into my hair, gently fisting it, tilting my head back.

“Beautiful,” he rasped out, a second before he kissed me.

He claimed my mouth, his tongue thrusting roughly against mine, deep and honest and perfect.

Finally, he lifted his head, looking down at me. “I could never get bored of you, or feel smothered. I’ll never walk out on you, you know that, right? I need to know you know that, believe it.”

“I do.” I cupped his face. “I know it.”

“I promise you, baby, I will never risk your heart, or Tilly’s. Not ever. I’ll protect them with everything I have. Fucking everything.”

I pressed my forehead to his, and when I lifted my head again, and he saw the happy tears rolling down my face, his hold on me tightened.

I brushed my thumb over his beard covered jaw. “I never thought a man like you existed. I thought you couldn’t be real, that no one was that good and kind and sweet. I know it now, Jude.” I leaned up and kissed him, like he had me, with everything in me.

Jude stumbled back several steps, and dropped to one of the benches, so my thighs were straddling his.

“Missed you so damn much. These last few weeks have been fucking torture,” he muttered against my lips. “Are you all right like this…your stitches are okay?”

All I could do was nod as he shoved my dress up and I yanked down the front of his shorts. Jude shoved my panties aside and then he was there. I bit my lip and sank down on him, taking him all the way, until he was fully seated, stretching me in a way that made me feel complete and perfect and home.

I tightened my arms around his neck, and rode him, my mouth against his, breathing each other in as I rolled my hips, his hands on my ass as he fed me his growls of pleasure.

I started shaking again as the intensity of my orgasm flew through me, so hard and fast it took me by surprise. Jude growled again and he was coming with me.

When I finally had the energy to lift my head, I kissed him. “You changed my life, you know that?”

He hugged me to him tighter. “You made mine worth living, beautiful.” His brown eyes softened. “Thank you, for letting me love you.”

Then he kissed me again.