Night falls upon us as we drive for miles and miles. Finally, just outside of Vegas, Machete takes a right to a side road and we all follow. Stopping in the middle of the desert, he keeps his truck running and climbs out. Putting my bike on its kickstand, I go to help. This is my mess after all.

“Simone awake?” I ask, not wanting her to see this.

“Nope, both of them are out. Perfect time for this,” he grunts. Dropping the tailbed, he drags the body out of the back. No matter how tough Raven is, Machete does his best to protect her.

Veer’s body falls to the ground hard, the trash bag still wrapped around his corpse when Machete pulls his blade out and starts hacking at limbs.

“Jesus!” I jump away, not wanting to be bladed into pieces. Blood and bone fly everywhere, so I take a step back and watch the crazy fucker do what he does best. I swear he was a butcher in his past life.

Glowing eyes circle us, foxes, coyotes, snakes. It’s as if they know it’s feeding time. They stay a perfect twenty feet away from us, not one of them coming any closer as they wait for their meal.

“You better hurry before our friends get impatient,” Felix informs from his bike, noticing the animals circling us as well.

“They’ll wait,” Machete states, out of breath.

“You do this often?” I can’t help but ask, and I get a maniacal laugh in return. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing he feeds the starving wild animals, or a bad thing he’s feeding them body parts on a regular basis.

It doesn’t even take him twenty minutes before he’s completely sawed the man up, and is chucking pieces of the body out to the desert animals. The sound of growling and chomping making my bones chill.

Machete roars, thumping his chest like a wild animal himself, and I worry he’s going to wake Simone. I don’t want her to see this shit, and he knows that. She’s not like the rest of us.

There’s a place between good and bad, and Simone is right in the middle of that. I want to keep her there, right within my reach.

“King Kong! Can we drive home now?” Felix whines.

Machete laughs, throwing his bloody blade in the bed of the truck, and climbing back into the cab.

Straddling my bike, I start it and follow him back to the club. I’m just glad all this is fucking over.

Vegas lights shine through the back window, waking me from my sleep. This dress is so uncomfortable my back is soaked in sweat. I can’t wait to get it off. Sitting upright, I pull at the suffocating fabric for some relief.

The Sin Casino comes into sight, and I nearly start crying, the uncomfortable dress forgotten. I’m going to see Catori in a matter of minutes. Raven sits upright in the front seat, glances in the back seat with tired eyes and smiles. Her black hair is a mess, and she has bags under her eyes.

“You excited to see, Catori?”

“God, yes!” The words fall out as if I’m saying a prayer.

Machete pulls in the back lot of the casino, and I don’t even wait for the truck to stop before I’m jumping out and running into the casino. Adrenaline rushes through me, my heart racing like I’m on drugs. I need to see Catori now. I need to know she’s safe, feel her against my skin, and hear her cries.

“Simone!” Mac’s voice has me stop near the blackjack table, and I wait, letting him catch up.

He grasps my elbow and pulls me in the opposite direction.

“This way!” He escorts me to a black elevator to the side, men in leather cuts guarding it. It’s a private elevator that will take us straight to the room.

Stepping inside, he presses the button to the top floor and locks his fingers with mine as we descend upward. His fingers interlock with mine perfectly, both of our palms sweaty. The song “Rockabye Baby” by Clean Bandit plays through the speakers.

My heart is drumming in my chest so fast I can’t catch my breath, my tongue dry and feeling like sandpaper in my mouth.

The doors finally open, and I hurry into the hall finding Bishop with a gun pointed at us. His surfer looking hair swept in front of his determined eyes as he aims at us. But I don’t stop in my pursuit. He’s going to have to shoot me to keep me from entering that room and getting my baby.

“I got it from here,” Mac tells him, and he drops his gun, taking a step back.

“Just want to be safe,” Bishop whispers, and Mac gives him a brotherly pat on the shoulder.

Mac pulls his key out and unlocks the door. Pushing it open with both hands, tears fall down my face, my bottom lip trembling with the adrenaline rushing through me as I step inside.

The familiar smell of the suite greets me as Alessandra, Felix’s ol’ lady, rocks Catori in the main room. Her ol’ lady leather cut greeting me, and her dark hair in a messy ponytail spilling around her face.

With a smile, she whispers to Catori. “Look who’s home!”

My arms out wide, I strut to her. Alessandra gently gives me my baby, and I press Catori into me closely. I can finally breathe, and I inhale the smell of her baby soap. The feel of her soft skin and the sound of her little snore when she sleeps has me crying.

God, how can you love something so much, so hard. It’s not fair. It’s blissful as it is hurtful.

My knees giving out, I slip to the floor with Catori tightly in my grasp.

“I’ll never leave you again. I swear.” I sob into the top of her black hair. Regret for leaving her floods my body. Regardless if I was saving her, it hurt so bad to leave her behind.

“Thanks for watching her, Alessandra.” Mac sits on the couch, watching me and Catori reunite.

“Absolutely, she was amazing.” Alessandra’s voice cracks with exhaustion.

Running the pad of my finger over Catori’s chubby little cheek, I pray to the gods, thanking them all for bringing me back where I belong. I don’t deserve happiness, but I’m so thankful for it, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to everyone around me.

“I’m going to go, catch a ride home with Felix,” Alessandra informs.

“I’ll walk you down,” Bishop states, standing in the doorway with a weapon in his hand. He seems more at peace with a gun than a textbook.

Sniffling, I look up at her with swollen eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much!” I tell her, trying to pull myself together. She winks, tears in her own eyes from our homecoming.

Lips pressed into a thin line, I rest my head on Catori’s. I love being a part of an actual family who has each other’s back. I will forever owe them for this and look forward to the day I can repay my debt.

Looking down at Catori, she never wakes. She’s out solid. God, she’s so beautiful. Lacing my finger around hers, our matching toffee skin, I feel our heart beat as one. We sit like that tangled up on the floor for at least an hour. My incision hurts, and this dress is killing me, but I don’t want to move. For I’m afraid if I do I’ll wake and this will all be a dream.

The jar of butterflies I let go won’t be free, but dead.

“Let’s go lay her down.” Mac rubs my back and my head snaps in his direction.

“I can’t put her down,” I whisper.

“Let’s put her in our bed then, I don’t want to be away from either of you.” He stands, holding his hand out to me. Looking down at Catori, rocking her, I think about it.

Raven enters the suite, dressed in all black with a rifle in her right hand. My eyes bulge at the sight of her. I swear she’s G.I. Jane’s sister.

“I’m keeping guard, mind if I grab the couch?” She juts her chin to where Mac was sitting. I open my mouth to speak, but I can’t form the words. This woman hardly knows me and yet is going out of her way to protect my family.

“Not at all,” I wave toward the cushions.

Glancing down at Catori, her hopefully dreaming of lambs and kittens makes me agree to lay her down somewhere where she’s more comfortable. I’m exhausted myself. I might have slept a lot the last few days, but without Catori next to me, it’s as if I haven’t really slept at all.

“Let’s go lay down,” I whisper, kissing her forehead.

“Yes, go lay down. I got this!” Raven insists, plopping down on the couch with more weapons than I’ve seen on one woman.

Inside the bedroom, it’s just like I left it. The sheets a tangled mess from me and Mac trying to sleep.

I lay Catori down in the middle of the bed and step out of the uncomfortable dress, I grab a shirt from Mac’s closet and slip it on. The smell of it making me bring it to my nose and inhale. I’m home.

Climbing in on my side of the bed, I keep my hand on Catori’s chest. I’m too scared to close my eyes for I fear I might blink and she’ll be gone. My eyes are glued to her, watching her chest rise and fall as she sleeps. Mac is on the other side of her, his arm thrown across us both, staring at me closely.

“I love you,” I whisper. He shakes with a silent laugh, glancing at Catori before me again.

“I love you too.” His brows furrow, and I frown.

“What?”

“It’s just… It’s weird to say. I’ve never said it to anyone. Ever.”

Swallowing the tears that threaten to spill, I grab his hand and lay it on my arm. How did I fuck everything up, only to have it all fall into place perfectly?

This man loves a child that’s not even his own blood and it goes to show that bloodlines don’t mean a damn thing. It reminds me of what Mac said about life handing you a deck of cards, I thought he was crazy. But, he’s right. It doesn’t matter which cards come from what deck. You can still play the game with them.

Life gives us blessings disguised as accidents but the truth of it is… it’s those accidents that lead the pathway to something bigger.

You just have to hold your breath and hold on for the ride.