CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“YOU DIDN’T LOCK the door,” Meyer said to Fisher in confusion.
“I have my own key,” Rowdy reminded him, calm, even. “I would have gotten in anyway.”
“You knew we were here?”
“I’ve had you watched, both of you.” Not exactly true, but a lie didn’t bother Rowdy if it got him the desired results—which in this case, would be the upper hand. “You can still leave.”
Meyer shook his head. “No. It’s too late for that.”
“It’ll only be too late if you hurt anyone else.” Arms out to his sides, Rowdy advanced on Meyer. “If you want to leave now, I won’t touch you, I swear.”
Meyer laughed. He looked at the women, then back at Rowdy and he laughed some more. “You think it’ll be that easy?”
He didn’t dare look at his sister or Avery. If he did, fury would take over and he’d be on Meyer, gun or not, in seconds. “I think you value life. I know you love Sonya.”
“My Sonya.”
“Think of her, Meyer.” Rowdy counted on Avery’s mother being Meyer’s one weakness. “Where will she be if you die today? If you go to jail for life?”
“She’s all I’ve ever thought of!”
“Good. That’s good.” Sanity was such a fragile thing. Had Meyer always been nuts? “You know she loves you, too.”
“She wanted her fucking daughter back,” Meyer spat. “But Avery was too selfish—”
Adrenaline pumped through his blood. “Look at me, Meyer.” Rowdy steadily approached. “That’s over now. Avery understands how much Sonya needs her. But she needs you, too.”
“No.” Meyer caught Pepper trying to stray closer and his face contorted in rage. “Stupid bitch, you will back up right now.”
Pepper froze.
“She’s not going to do anything, Meyer. You have the gun. Now look at me.”
“I will when she backs off.”
Instead of Pepper doing the reasonable thing, she held her ground. And Avery, damn her, crowded in next to Pepper.
Rowdy had lost far too much in his life. He would not lose Avery or Pepper. “Meyer, does Sonya know where you are?”
“She hasn’t a clue.” He eyed the women. “She’s so busy being stoic, pushing forward with a smile intact. She’s beautiful.”
“Yes, she is.” Rowdy only had a few more feet to go. Then he’d be close enough to rush Meyer. “Beautiful and smart and kind. You’re a lucky man.”
“You’re not.” Meyer eased the gun from Avery to Pepper and back again. “Which one should it be, Rowdy? Your little sister or your lover?”
Fisher said, “Jesus, Meyer.” Face pale with pain and blood loss, he squeezed his leg. “Let it go.”
“You are a disappointment.”
Fearful, Fisher glanced at Rowdy, but Rowdy looked only at Meyer. “I want you to put the gun down.” Put it down before I jam it down your goddamn throat.
“Not until you choose.”
Holding on to the pole, Fisher tried to stand. “We’re not getting out of here if you don’t stop. Let’s go now.”
“We have nowhere to go,” Meyer told him.
“I could use a fucking hospital!” Fisher got mostly upright, slumping against the pole. “Be reasonable.”
“You’re not as smart as I thought, Fisher. There’s no cleaning this up. I know it even if you don’t. So let me have my fun. I’m not going down without taking one of them with me.” He smiled. “I’ll be generous, Rowdy. You can keep one. Which is it to be?”
Before Rowdy could come up with a reply, Avery stepped forward. “Let Pepper go.”
Rowdy’s heart stalled. In his head, he whispered no.
Then his sister joined Avery. “Screw that. I’m not going anywhere. Let Avery leave.”
Cursing low, Rowdy gave up subterfuge and strode forward. “You won’t hurt either of them, you miserable fuck. Before you get off a shot, I swear to you, I will rip out your twisted heart.”
Just a few more steps, Rowdy thought. And then he’d be close enough to jump the bastard.
Meyer must have realized it, too. Panicked, he turned the gun on Rowdy. “Stop!”
Relieved to again be the focus, Rowdy kept going. “Fuck you.” If Meyer didn’t manage a killing shot, Rowdy would disarm him. Either way, Pepper would know to react. She and Avery would find a way to get safe.
Meyer took aim, his finger squeezing the trigger.
Rowdy braced himself, ready to lunge—and a bullet hit Meyer in the chest. For a split second Rowdy stared, dumbfounded, as the force of the shot sent Meyer stumbling backward. He tripped over one of the kitchen chairs and landed flat on his back, a blood blossom expanding over his shirt.
On instinct, Rowdy launched himself at Avery and Pepper, hastily pushing them both to floor behind him. He had no idea who had fired the shot, if Fisher was now armed, as well. He twisted to survey the danger.
Reese stepped in, gun drawn as he searched the scene. “Rowdy? Are you hurt?”
Rowdy drew a breath, still with a death grip on Avery and Pepper. “No.” He sounded hoarse, and took a second to breathe. He stroked a hand over Avery’s hair, ran his other hand over his sister’s back. “Fish is bleeding like a stuck pig, but we’re okay.”
Logan, the one who’d taken the shot, came in next, his gun still at the ready. He went straight to Meyer, disarmed him and then said, “Pepper?”
Cannon stood in the doorway, taking in the destruction.
Safe. They were all safe.
Rowdy was still hugging Pepper on one side, Avery on the other, when Pepper struggled away from him and ran to Logan.
Logan caught her up with one arm, squeezing her hard. For only a moment, Logan closed his eyes in relief.
He’d misjudged him, Rowdy realized. Logan was a cop through and through, and no matter how personal things might get, he had a cool enough head to do what needed to be done.
Pepper stuck her face in Logan’s neck and damn, the way her shoulders jerked, Rowdy thought she might be crying.
A suffocating pressure squeezed his chest. He’d never felt anything like it, but now, knowing Avery and his sister were both okay, it should have eased.
It didn’t. It got worse and worse, painful, frightening.
Until Avery gulped in air, once, twice, then gave a soft sob. Everything inside him turned to mush. He pulled her up and into his lap, cradling her close. “You’re not hurt?”
She shook her head, her hands on his face, big tears tracking down her cheeks. She had a bruise on the left side of her face.
“Who did this?” Rowdy asked, brushing gently with his thumb.
She shook her head, letting him know it didn’t matter. Not now. “You scared me so badly.”
“Oh, babe.” He pulled her in, kissed her forehead. “Scared doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
Going from soft and shaken to furious in a single beat, she slugged him. Hard. Right in the shoulder. “What the hell do you mean, Rowdy Yates, daring that maniac to shoot you?”
“I didn’t.” Not really. His only thought had been to keep Avery and Pepper safe.
Suddenly Pepper was back, her expression mean as she dropped to her haunches to give him a shove.
Rowdy almost toppled backward. “What the hell, Pepper.”
“You bastard!”
Rowdy stared at her. Never had his sister cursed him.
She reached past Avery, who still sat on his lap, to grab his ear. “You could have been killed!”
“Jesus.” He caught her wrist—gently, because he loved her more than life—and freed his ear. “He was going to shoot you.”
“I wouldn’t have let that happen,” Avery said around another sob.
“And you!” He pulled Pepper down beside him again so he could give his attention to Avery. “I had it under control, honey. You should have stayed back instead of—”
“Doing what you did?” She struggled up and away from him. “I love you, damn it.”
Rowdy stared up at her. Half the neighborhood had probably just heard her shout.
“He’ll live,” Reese said as he checked on Fisher. “But he probably won’t be walking anytime soon.”
Cannon came to stand by Avery. “Ambulance will be here soon. I can already hear their sirens.”
Rowdy thought about sprawling back on the cold floor, taking a minute to get himself together, to come to grips with all he felt. Avery stood there heaving, Cannon looked expectant, his sister openly cried while clutching his arm and Reese and Logan were handling everything.
But it was his apartment, so he manned up and stood, then pulled two chairs away from the table. “Sit down,” he said to Pepper.
“We’re going to talk about this,” she insisted. “About this warped way you have of putting yourself at—”
“Sure, kiddo.” He got her to sit, then messed up her hair. “Whatever you want.”
“And don’t you patronize me!”
“Wouldn’t think of it.” He glanced toward Logan, but his brother-in-law looked carved from stone—probably his way of keeping his shit together until he got done doing his job. Rowdy leaned down to Pepper’s ear. “I think he needs a little comfort, kiddo.”
“He needs to work first,” Logan said. “She can comfort me later.”
Yeah, he didn’t want to know about that. Rowdy didn’t quite look at Avery yet, but in every fiber of his being, he was aware of her standing there, shaking, upset. “Do you need me for anything?” he asked Logan.
Reese glanced up at him, then at Avery. “At the moment? No. But don’t take off.”
Where the hell would he go?
Because Cannon looked like he wanted to help, Rowdy said, “Get her something to drink, okay? Stay with her until Logan finishes up.”
“Sure.” Cannon rubbed the back of his neck. “Jesus, what a mess. Tonight, whatever I can do to help out at the bar, just let me know.”
“Thanks.” Rowdy gave one last kiss to the top of Pepper’s head. “You did great, kiddo.”
“My phone is still under your bed.” Bracing her feet on the edge of the chair, she pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her shins. “It was the only way I could think of to let you know what was happening.”
“It was perfect.”
“She’s perfect,” Logan said. Then he announced, “This one’s dead.”
Rowdy glanced toward Meyer, and his only thought was of Sonya. She’d have Avery in her life to help her through the loss, and personally, he thought that was more than the woman deserved.
Preparing himself, because he knew it wasn’t going to be easy, Rowdy turned to Avery. She was a terrible crier. Mascara tracks ran down her bruised face and her nose was already redder than her hair. Her skin had turned blotchy, her eyes swollen.
God, he loved her.
He stood there, staring at her, drinking it in, accepting that he loved her and that no matter what, he needed her. With him. In his life. A part of him.
Day in and day out, whatever life dealt.
She wiped her tears, sniffled. And waited.
She’d been waiting on him for so long that he felt like a complete and total bastard. And a coward.
In two long strides he reached her and drew her in. That got her sobbing pretty good again. She clutched at him, forgetting his stupid stitches, his injury, as she burrowed closer.
“It wasn’t you,” she told him brokenly. “This happened because of me. Because of my life.”
“Yeah, I know.” He’d been so worried about Avery deserving more than he could give her. He didn’t want her put at risk because of him, because of where he lived and the business he owned, the associations he’d made.
“It was my background...and it endangered you and your sister.”
“Shhh.”
From the kitchen table, Pepper said, “Avery?”
Avery drew a gulping, shuddering breath, then said, “Yes?”
“Cause a scene.”
Half laughing around her tears, Avery squeezed him close again.
Rowdy had no idea what that exchange meant, but he picked her up and went to the couch. On the way, he managed to kick Fisher, who groaned weakly.
The prick.
Avery sniffled another laugh. “Did you do that on purpose?”
Amazing, unique, wonderful Avery. He didn’t know any other woman who could find humor in the situation. “If he wouldn’t get more blood all over my apartment, I’d take him apart for slapping you.”
“I’d help you.”
“Maybe we’ll get our chance yet.”
“I was so afraid,” she said, her voice going high and thin again. “But...but I tried to hide it from him. I wanted him to know what a sick and weak...nothing he is.”
“I heard.” Rowdy rubbed his face against her hair, his heart so full that it hurt. “Pepper called me. I could hear you talking. You were incredible.” He hugged her tighter. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Proud.” She wiped her eyes on his shirt. “Great. I feel so much better.”
Sarcasm at a time like this was almost as amazing as the humor. Rowdy couldn’t take it a second more. “And I love you.”
She went perfectly still, then jerked back to see him.
Rowdy touched her face, so blotchy from her crying jag. “I love you so damn much, Avery, it scares me. But losing you scares me more.”
From the kitchen table, Pepper said, “There, you see? My brother is a very smart man.”
Cannon said, “Yeah, I know.”
Paramedics arrived along with some unis. Reese and Logan ran the show, so Rowdy didn’t have to do anything but hold Avery.
When she sat there staring at him, he asked, “What did my sister mean about you causing a scene?”
Her eyes were round and watchful, as if she didn’t quite believe him yet. “I told her if you asked me to leave, I wouldn’t. Cause a scene I mean.”
“But Pepper likes you enough that she’d want you to, huh?”
Pepper chimed in, saying, “I love you enough, brother, that I wanted her to do what was right for you.” Then she thought to add, “But yeah, I like Avery a lot, too.”
Rowdy smiled, easing Avery’s untidy hair away from her ravaged face. “Do you want to go in the bathroom?” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “You’re kind of a mess.”
She slugged him again, but she was smiling. “Yes, please.”
Again, he lifted her.
One of the EMTs asked, “Is she okay?”
He waited, but Avery didn’t answer, so he said for her, “She’s just upset because I love her.”
“Rowdy!” She kept her face tucked in close, hiding.
He grinned as he carried her into his bathroom and sat her on the side of the tub. He rinsed out a washcloth in cold water, handed it to her and then splashed his own face.
His hands were shaking.
“You really love me?”
Such a small, uncertain voice. “Yeah.” He dried his face and sat on the tub beside her. She’d missed much of the mess, so he took the cloth from her and tried to help remove some of her ruined makeup. “I really love you.”
She inhaled.
“Will you marry me, Avery?”
Her lips started to tremble again, so he kissed them. Just a soft kiss at first, but this was Avery and soon he had a hand in her hair, holding her close while he reaffirmed that she was safe, and that she was his.
Logan tapped at the door, then pushed it open. “You’re both okay?”
“He loves me,” Avery said. “We’re going to get married.”
Logan half smiled. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Her formality was as unique as everything else. Rowdy couldn’t stop touching her, and he knew he’d never stop loving her.
“I hate to do this right now, but we need to talk to each of you. Alone.” Logan held on to the doorknob, his gaze sympathetic. “And Avery, as next of kin, we need to let your mother know that Meyer is gone.”
She nodded.
Rowdy said, “We can do it together.”
Avery straightened her shoulders. “May I wash my face first?”
Logan said, “Sure. No problem.” He stepped back out of the room.
Rowdy stood with her. “We’ll take the day off. Cannon can handle things tonight. Tomorrow—”
“Tomorrow,” Avery interrupted, “I’ll return to my job as your full-time bartender.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Rowdy told her. “We can talk about it more later, but I’d like you to be a co-owner in the bar.” He held up a hand to stop her protests. “As a co-owner, you can continue to bartend if that’s what you want. But you already help in every decision there is.”
“I don’t have any money to buy in.”
His mouth quirked. “You give a lot of your time, and you give great input. Together, we’ll go over finances.”
“Together.” She let out a happy sigh. “Okay, yes.”
Rowdy kissed her red nose, her stubborn chin and her soft mouth. “God, I love you, babe.”
“This started out as such a bad day.”
He had to laugh. “Your face is bruised, there’s a dead man in my apartment and another who, with any luck, will not only be ruined, but will do some serious jail time.”
“But you love me,” she said. “And that makes it a very good day.”
* * *
MARCUS HUGGED ROWDY’S knees, then ran out to the yard with Cash racing behind him. They were due to get snow at the end of the week, but today the sun was bright enough to warm the coldest heart.
Rowdy stood in the doorway, watching the kid climb into the tire swing. Avery’s mother, bundled up in a hooded white sweatshirt, gave the tire a push to get Marcus started, then laughed when Cash ran back and forth in excitement. Avery hugged her mother’s arm.
Hard to believe how things had rolled out. Thanks to Sonya’s insistence, Meyer had written Avery into his will. He shook his head. He didn’t want Meyer’s money, but Sonya insisted. It meant a lot to her, a way to alleviate some of her guilt over how gullible she’d been, how she’d so unfairly misjudged Avery.
And so they’d agreed to take the money—which they would invest into a community project Cannon had started for at-risk kids.
It felt good. Hell, his whole life felt blessed now that Avery was in it.
Nothing seemed impossible anymore.
Behind him, Pepper said, “He’s pretty darned cute, isn’t he?”
“Marcus?” Rowdy drew her into his side and kissed the top of her head. “Yeah, he is.” A month with Alice and Reese had already made a difference. Marcus wore clothes that fit, and while he was still a skinny little dude, he looked healthier, happier. A lot more secure. He had nightmares, and he still distrusted his good fortune, but things were getting better, little by little. “He’s really coming around.”
“Love will do that to a person.”
Amen. “You and Logan ever think about having kids?” He kind of liked the idea of being an uncle.
Pepper floored him when she said, “Yeah, we’ve talked about it.”
“No shit?” He looked down at the kid sister he’d spent a lifetime protecting. She was the one person he’d thought would always be the center of his world. He still loved her like crazy, and he’d still die for her.
But the love he felt was no longer so...desperate.
“No shit,” she replied with a grin. “Can you see me all round with a baby?”
“Yeah, I can.” She’d be beautiful, no matter what. “You’d make a great mother, kiddo.” Fiercely protective, nurturing and she’d raise the kid to be strong, like her.
“We want to wait another year or two,” Pepper told him, then snuggled in to his side again. “But after that...we’ll see.”
When Avery started toward the house, her long red hair teased by the breeze, Pepper said, “She’s really something. I can see why you love her.”
“Yeah.” Every day he found more and more reasons.
Grinning, Pepper hugged him tight. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
“Thanks.” He opened the patio doors to greet his soon-to-be wife. “How’s your mom?”
“Doing better.” She turned her face up for his kiss.
Rowdy was happy to oblige. He touched his mouth to hers, then whispered, “I love you.” The words that once felt so impossible to say were now impossible to keep to himself.
“I love you, too.” She settled beside him with a sigh. “Marcus and my mother get along really well. She wants to spoil him.” Avery winced. “I hope Reese and Alice won’t mind too much.”
“We’ll talk to them, see what they say. But I think it’s good for Sonya to have a different focus now that Meyer is out of her life.”
“She wants to throw us a big wedding.”
Rowdy blanched, but only for a second. “Is that what you want?” Because if a big society wedding would make her happy, he’d throw on a monkey suit and play along.
“No.” She grinned up to see him. “I want our family and friends there, and I want the pretty white dress, but most of all I want you.” She ran a hand over his abs, something she often did. “If you want to wear your jeans, I’m okay with it.”
Rowdy had to laugh. “How did I get so lucky?”
“You hired the right bartender to run Getting Rowdy. That’s how.” She hugged him tight.
“I’ve been thinking about the name of the place.”
“It’s already established, so you can’t change it,” she warned him.
“It’s already changed. I had the sign painted.”
“Without talking to me?”
Her umbrage amused him. “It’s still Getting Rowdy, but at the bottom, in smaller print, it now says, With Avery. Because honest to God, honey, the bar wouldn’t be the same—I wouldn’t be the same—without you.”
Her smile came slowly. “Well, since I’m now officially the only woman getting rowdy with you, it fits.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from BARE IT ALL by Lori Foster.