Part 26 (1/2)

He watched her body go rigid ”He was tortured,” He continued. ”Gutted. Insides strung up on his own Christmas tree.”

Eva dragged herself into a sitting position, clutching her abdomen. ”Where's Frankie?” She whispered.

”Off the grid.”

”Oh my G.o.d. Chase...oh my G.o.d...this is all my fault...he didn't...I...oh my G.o.d- ”Baby,” He gripped her face and forced her to look at him. ”Listen to me good. Chase knew what he was getting into when he made that deal with you. He knew Frankie personally and he worked Frankie's cases, he knew exactly how f.u.c.ked in the head Frankie is and what he is capable of. Thing is, he wanted you so bad, he didn't care.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. ”He didn't deserve that, I mean no one deserves that but Chase really didn't deserve that,” She whispered. ”He could be a jerk but he wasn't a bad person. He just wanted to be loved; he wanted a family to love and to love him...He just didn't know how...Oh, G.o.d, Chase...Oh, G.o.d...”

She was grieving, he got that, but the last thing he wanted was to hear her cry for an a.s.shole she had f.u.c.ked and had feelings for.

Feeling the jealousy start to creep up and the anger that followed, he sat down beside Eva, took her mouth and kissed her hard.

She didn't fight him and they shared a long, slow kiss, full of wet lips and greedy tongues. When he pulled away, Eva pressed her forehead against his and sighed into his mouth.

”How is she?” She whispered.

He cleared his head. The baby, she was talking about the baby. ”She's still not breathin' on her own babe.”

Biting her lip, she nodded. ”It's not your fault,” She whispered.

Yeah it was. He opened his mouth to protest but she placed her finger over his lips.

”It was a difficult pregnancy. It's not your fault.”

His chest compressed and he sucked in air. He didn't deserve her. He never had. He never would.

”I named her,” She said softly. ”Ivy Olivia West. Ivy because it's sort of still Christmas time and Olivia after- ”My mom,” He said hoa.r.s.ely feeling like the biggest piece of s.h.i.+t in the world.

”Deuce?”

”Yeah babe?”

”The birth certificate. What do you want me to do?”

”Nothin',” He whispered. ”I'll fill it out, she's my kid.”

She locked onto his eyes, sucking him in, holding him still, making him so f.u.c.king crazy. Always making him crazy.

”Deuce?”

”Yeah?”

”No more women.”

f.u.c.k.

”Yeah babe, I know. I've been f.u.c.kin' up.”

”You get angry at me and you want to take it out on p.u.s.s.y you take it out on mine. It won't matter how mad I am, I will never deny you.” She gave a shaky laugh that made his chest ache. He'd f.u.c.king hurt his woman real bad.

”Eva baby,” He said softly. ”There's not gonna be anymore women. Already moved Miranda out; cut all ties. I promised you I'd f.u.c.kin' earn you and it's 'bout time I started doin' that.”

She let out a shuddery sigh that only made him feel worse.

”I love you, Deuce,” She whispered. ”So, so, much.”

He stared at her, she stared at him and he knew exactly why his boys had railed at him. She did love him. He was her world. He knew because he could see it in her big gray eyes. Suddenly the past didn't f.u.c.king matter anymore. She wasn't going to run and he was going to treat her like the G.o.dd.a.m.n queen she was.

CHAPTER NINETEEN:.

For the first time in a long time, Deuce knew true peace.

Three months went by and Ivy was discharged.

Eva turned half his room at the club into a nursery.

Then the crazy b.i.t.c.h gave Danny her own room at the club, helped her decorate the f.u.c.king thing too. Pink and purple as far as the eye could see. He flipped his f.u.c.king s.h.i.+t. Put a steel door on her room with a sliding deadbolt. Put bars on her window. Lined all his boys up and told them straight up his baby girl was off f.u.c.king limits. Told them if any of them looked at her the wrong way they were going to ground.

Not one of them so much as looked at her. In fact, they stopped talking to her altogether.

s.h.i.+t moved forward.

Life got good. Real f.u.c.king good.

Kami and Devin moved to Montana to be near Eva and Ivy. Not c.o.x. Kami swore up and down c.o.x had nothing to do with her decision. He might have believed her if she hadn't been in c.o.x's lap while she was spouting her bulls.h.i.+t.

He turned forty nine.

c.o.x left his wife and moved in with Kami.

Danny got a boyfriend.

Danny's boyfriend broke up with her and he swore he had nothing to do with that.

c.o.x finalized his divorce. He put a diamond ring on Kami's finger. She didn't like it and bought herself a bigger, more expensive one. And matching earrings. And he thought he heard c.o.x muttering about taking away her internet access. Something about shoes that cost several thousand dollars.

Devin turned five.

c.o.x bought him a dirt bike and Kami beat the c.r.a.p out of him with a cooking pot.

Eva turned thirty one.

Kami kicked c.o.x out. Something about not liking the way he'd been looking at a supermarket cas.h.i.+er. He was more interested in how she'd managed to get c.o.x in a supermarket.