Nikki didn’t recall much of what happened after that. Seth had driven the truck like a madman, winding his way through the storage compound, the occasional sound of gunshots still echoing behind them as he raced for the entrance, cursing loudly as he punched in the code and paused for the gate to slide open. He barely waited until there was enough room to pass, even knocked off the right side mirror in his anxiousness to get out of the compound. Most of the bikes followed, one or two staying behind likely to surprise whoever had been still aiming at them on their way out.

He drove to a predetermined location a couple of miles away, pacing anxiously outside of the truck while Stacey and Nikki clung to one another inside the cab, wordless in their joy and relief. After a while, the others began to arrive, Levi driving another truck, Shakespeare and the lock-pick guy in the cab, two more in the truck bed.

She remembered looking out the shattered rear window of the truck Seth had driven, feeling a surge of relief that none of the others had been injured, wanting to ask what happened to the Jokers, if the cops had come, a million other questions racing through her mind, but then she had turned to her sister. At that moment, none of it mattered.

They had gone back to the compound, and she and Stacey had stayed in Seth’s cabin for a couple of days. Alone. Seth had given them space, staying in the main building. He had been in and out of the compound, taking care of some business, he told her. The next several days had revealed a lot; more than Nikki could have imagined.

The dude at the storage facilities office had indeed been working for the Jokers—a cousin of one of their prospects. Thankfully, he hadn’t been that imbedded in the gang. When he’d recognized Seth, he’d waited until he was clear of the lot himself before calling it in. The suddenness of the intel had left the Jokers scrambling, and only a handful of those who had been in the immediate area had responded in time. As much as she would punch the guy right in the face if she ever saw him again, Nikki supposed even he played some part in why they were still alive. The thought of facing off with the Jokers at full strength still chilled her to her bones, even with Seth’s warm and strong body wrapped around her. She’d pushed the thought to the back of her mind. There would be time to worry about what was to come later. For now, it was time to be with family, both old and new.

Stacey told her that the Jokers had learned that she’d found out about their deal with Roger, her boss. The Jokers used his shop at night to move drugs from Columbia, up through Mexico, and into New Mexico. Some designer drug, potent, easy to make, and worth millions on the street.

So, it hadn’t been Nikki’s fault. She hadn’t inadvertently tipped anyone off working on her exposé. Feelings of guilt and relief all at once had swamped her all over again when she realized exactly how close a call it had been. God, regardless, she was never doing anything like that again. She was done being a journalist of any sort. She also didn’t want to go back to Albuquerque, and neither did Stacey. She wanted a change—of location, of jobs, of everything.

Just this morning, Nikki had said goodbye to Stacey, who was leaving the Southwest and moving north, to Minnesota. Seth had given her enough money to start over. Stacey had suggested Nikki could go with her, start over together, but even as she suggested it, it was obvious her twin knew the score. They would always be sisters, but Nikki had a new life of her own to start right here. Even now, days after her entire world had exploded, just the touch of Seth’s hand on her arm was enough to send her into a tailspin. The warmth of his hand heated everything within her, and her arousal sparked just from the sight of his green eyes glinting at her from across the room, his intentions obvious.

She grinned in reply. She had fallen for him. Hard.

They were moving, he’d said, into a little fixer-upper near Callie and Grady’s place. He hadn’t so much asked as informed her that that was the way it was going to be, but Nikki had absolutely no objections. Waking up wrapped in Seth’s arms every day? That was definite heaven.

Meanwhile, though, she had something else in mind. She was sure, if they tried hard enough, they could find a surface of the cinderblock cabin they hadn’t christened yet.

She walked over to Seth and grabbed his hand, whispering into his ear, her satisfaction and arousal growing higher when her mere words made the bulge in the front of his jeans grow and thicken. Moments later, she was screaming his name as she was bent over the card table in the cabin, Seth’s thick cock pushing inside in one deep thrust and sending her headlong into orgasm. There’d be another, maybe two, if he had his way, before he’d thrust impossibly deep inside her, his cock pulsing as he found his own pleasure. And she’d enjoy every single moment of it.