When they’re gone, Slater appears, bloodied and battered, but alive. Thankfully fuckin’ alive.

Together, we fuckin’ hustle into that warehouse, past the dead bodies, the ones groaning in pain from injuries that will soon kill them. The warehouse is a mess, blood splattered on walls, furniture tipped over, guns lying everywhere. It’s a damned war scene. I don’t give a fuck.

I just want Charlie.

I just need to see if she’s okay.

Fuck, please let her be okay.

We run down a set of stairs to a basement, where a few men lay dead outside the door. The door that is cracked open.

“Fuck,” Slater hisses. “I left that locked.”

Which means somebody got in there. An unfamiliar feeling crushes my chest, and for a second, for a split fuckin’ second, I think about what life might be like without Charlie in it. The only person since Brax, that understands me. The only person I’ve let in. And a pain I’ve long locked away, rises to the surface and I hold my breath, I hold it, terrified of what I’m about to find.

We shove through the door, and the first thing I see is two people on the ground. One of them is crouched over the other, staring, sobbing, hands holding a gun.

She’s fuckin’ alive.

Charlie is alive.

She’s fucked up, so fucked up if it wasn’t for her gorgeous hair, I’d have trouble recognizing her.

What have they done to her? What the fuck have they done to her?

I rush in, shoving past Slater, and drop to my knees, carefully cupping her face and turning it towards me. She’s crying, blood tinged tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Baby,” I rasp out. “Fuck.”

“H-h-h-h-h-he’s not dead, Koda. He’s not dead. And I can’t shoot him again. I can’t. I thought I was s-s-s-strong enough, but I’m not. I can’t...but he’s not dead.”

I glance down at her father laying on the ground, gasping for air, blood bubbling out of his mouth. I’ve waited for this moment since I watched the life sucked out of Braxton’s eyes. But I find myself turning back to Charlie, the beautiful broken girl, that has fought so hard, her whole fuckin’ life, against this monster.

“You can do it,” I say, holding her face, forcing her to look at me. “Because you’re the strongest girl I know. Fuck me, Charlie. I have lived only years of my life with the pain I feel, you’ve lived an entire existence of it. And you can still smile. You can still laugh. You can still lay your life on the line for other people. Don’t you ever let me hear that you’re not fuckin’ strong enough.”

She shakes her head, and hiccups. It sounds raspy, her breathing ragged. She needs a hospital. Urgently.

“I c-c-c-can’t, Koda. I can’t.”

“You can. Because this man here, he took your life, and everyone you love. He took it, and he crushed it in his hands. You told me you wanted him gone, and now is your chance. Your chance for freedom, the one you’ve fought so hard for. I fuckin’ believe in you, Charlie. You’re the first person I’ve believed in, since my world was crushed. Do it for me.”

She hiccups.

“And for your mother.”

Her bottom lip trembles.

“And for Oliver.”

She clenches her eyes shut.

“And for Braxton.”

Her eyes open at that, and with a ragged cry, she says, “Will you do it with me? Will you help me slay the monster?”

I smile at her, weakly, fuckin’ wound up so tight I want to explode. And knowing, right here in this moment, that I fuckin’ love this girl.

I love her so fuckin’ hard it hurts.

“You’ve wanted this as much as me,” she croaks, her eyes going slightly hazy. “You want it, too. So, will you do it with me? Will you do it for them? For all of us?”

I stroke my thumb over her cheek. “I’d fuckin’ do anything for you, Charlie. I nearly lost you once, because of how fuckin’ foolish I was. I won’t do it again. Not to him. Not to anyone.”

“It’ll be just me and you against the world, Koda...”

“Yeah, baby. Me and you.”

I slide my hands from her face, and glide them down her arms, and to the gun. I curl my finger around hers, and we aim the gun right at where Shanks’ heart lies. He looks up at us, and for the first time, he has no power. He has nothing. A flash of fear crosses his face, when he recognizes me, and I smile.

“This is for all of them,” I grin at him.

And then, I use my finger over Charlie’s to pull the trigger.

His body jerks, and the bullet glides through with ease.

And I watch as the last breath leaves his body, and everything goes still.

Charlie slumps back into me, her body trembling, and I cradle her in my arms.

“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again,” I murmur into her ear. “Never again, Charlie. I’m so fuckin’ sorry. From here out, I’ll never let you down. You have my word. You’re mine, and fucked if anyone will ever hurt you again.”

“I think you might be falling in love with me, Dakoda,” she whispers, then chuckles with a wince.

“I think you might be right, even if you are a pain in my ass.”

“That’ll never change.”

I grin. “Wouldn’t want it to.”

“So that’s really it? I’m free? I’m really free?”

“You’re free, honey.”

“We did it. We really slayed the monster?”

“Yeah,” I chuckle, holding her close. “We fuckin’ slayed the monster.”

For now. At least. 

I turn to Slater, looking him in the eyes. He watched the whole thing play out, and didn’t say a word. He let us do what we needed to do, even though I’m sure he wanted more answers from Shanks. He did it for us. That means a fuckin’ lot. He nods, his face battered. I reach out a hand, and he steps forward, taking it. I grip his tightly.

Owe him Charlie’s life.

Owe him a fuckin’ lot.

“You put your life on the line for us tonight, and you saved my girl. Now, we’ll help you save yours. That’s a damned promise.”

He makes a throaty sound, and rasps, “Appreciate it.”

“Welcome to the Iron Fury MC, Slater.”

THE END