“Don’t you go.” Her heart threatened to stop. He was right there. He was in her arms. He couldn’t be dying. He couldn’t be bleeding out in the mud and the dirt.
She couldn’t live without him and that meant one thing. Eve had spent so much of her life allowing events and the actions of others to mold her world. She’d clung to her own submission because it was her nature. But she finally understood. She might be Alex McKay’s submissive, but she was his woman, too, and he was not allowed to die. He was not allowed to leave her alone on this earth. A well of strength possessed her. She was the passive one, the observer. It had been her life for so long, but she was surrounded by women who never gave in.
She had Alex’s strength, but she had her sisters’ strength, too.
Grace, who quietly fought for her place.
Serena, who never accepted less than a happy ending.
Avery, who refused to allow tragedy to mold her life.
And Kristen. Somehow Kristen had become her sister, too. Kristen had stepped in front of a bullet to save Alex. She was fierce in her will to do good.
They were all with her, a great sisterhood of strength.
“I guess it’s just you and me again, Eve. I’ll be the right Master for you.” Evans stood over her.
Her Master needed her. The SIG had slid beside her. She finally knew the truth. She’d almost seen her own death, but the truth had evaded her. Now it was clear. Justice didn’t really matter in that moment. Righteousness slipped away.
At the end of everything—there was only love. And it was worth fighting for.
Eve picked up the gun and fired without hesitation. No warning. No forethought. He was evil. He threatened someone good. And she was suddenly a warrior for good.
Michael Evans, terrorist, rapist, tormentor of women, stared down at the hole in his chest.
Eve fired again.
Evans fell to his knees, raising his gun.
Again, the kickback made her shudder, but she clicked again and again because justice didn’t matter. Revenge didn’t matter. Only her man mattered. He needed her.
“Sweetie, I’m pretty sure he’s dead. Please stop shooting so I can get Alex out of here.” Sean’s voice penetrated her primal brain.
She dropped the gun. Sean was here. She could move from warrior to wife again. She placed her hand on Alex’s stomach, trying so desperately to staunch the bleeding. Tears poured from her eyes, pain from her soul. “Please help him.”
She could lose him. God, she’d just gotten him back. Tears poured from her eyes. She just couldn’t lose him.
“I fucking hate reptiles.” Sean kicked at a gator, pushing it back. He knelt down in the mud beside her. “Alex! Alex McKay! You wake the fuck up right goddamn now!”
She heard the door slam again and then Jake was suddenly in her line of sight. “Evie? Are you hit?”
She shook her head. “He wouldn’t let them touch me.”
Her husband. Her Master. Her Alex. He wouldn’t let them get her. He’d sacrificed himself. God, he couldn’t die.
Please. Please. Please. She made a thousand deals with the universe in that moment. Anything to let him live.
“We killed the rest. They tried to get here, but we got them. The area’s secure, and we called a bus,” Jake said.
An ambulance. Yes. They needed one of those. She held onto Alex. She noticed Jesse behind Jake, but it didn’t really register.
Sean moved into position, pulling Alex off her body. “Keep those fucking monsters off me.”
He put his hands over Alex’s heart and pressed down five times before covering Alex’s mouth and breathing in.
Eve scrambled up and prayed to the heavens.
Chapter Twenty
Dallas, TX
Eight weeks later
Sanctum looked more like a garden tonight than a dungeon, and the smell of jasmine permeated the whole club. Alex looked out over the space, a deep feeling of satisfaction in his soul. His second wedding was smaller than the first, but the people they loved surrounded them and that was all that mattered.
Eve laughed at something Grace said and Alex felt his whole body tighten. She was so beautiful she took his breath away. And she was his. A two-carat diamond sparkled on her left hand and there were more diamonds around her throat, a collar commemorating the trust and love and connection between them.
“Alex, this is the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever been to.” Serena looked lovely in her bridesmaid dress, but he knew that look in her eyes.
“I’m not letting you interview me, Serena.” He looked around for Adam or Jake. Serena had been like a dog with a bone since she’d found out the standoff with Michael Evans had taken place in an alligator pit. Apparently she thought it would make a great hook for a book.