Page 109 of Legacy

Steel walks up to me when he finishes with Soul. “I need you to take Ricky and Venom to get this shipment back to storage. I’m going to have Soul follow you with whatever we find here.”

“You got it, Prez. Want me to circle back once it’s unloaded?”

“No, Havoc’s doing a sweep, but there’s not much else besides our guns.”

It should be a relief, but it means we still haven’t found where the Iron Sinners are housing the women they’re trafficking. And until we can secure that location and cut them off at the source, we’re left hanging.

“You and the guys can head back to the compound when you’re done,” Steel says. “Church at ten.”

“Eleven,” Chaos argues because he’ll probably head to the strip club after this.

I don’t stick around for the final decision. They’ll text me, and I’m too anxious to get back to see Reagan.

I sent her to my bed when I left. Knowing that’s where she’ll be when I get home makes me want to get to that part of my night sooner rather than later.

Is it so bad to let myself think that this could last? Because I’m not stopping here. I’m not done until she’s everything.

My old lady.

My wife.

The mother of my children.

I want it all with that woman.

31

Legacy

The house is silentwhen I get home. I strip off my cut inside the door and walk upstairs, stopping at Bea’s room first. She’s sound asleep, not stirring when I give her a kiss on the top of her head.

Many nights, this is the only peace I get. My daughter dreaming of a world that’s hopefully better than this. Her quiet exhales ground my feet back to the earth and remind me why I do what I do.

As usual, she’s kicked off her blankets and is nestled between a couple dozen stuffed animals, so I shift them around to give her more room. She’s wearing a tutu over her pajamas, and she looks so sweet and peaceful. I don’t know what I did to get so lucky that I was blessed with her in my life, but I’ll do everything to make sure this little girl has all the love she needs.

“I love you, Honey Bea,” I whisper.

She won’t hear me, but maybe it will filter through her dreams.

When she rolls over, I slip back out of her room and down the hall. I’ve been sneaking into Reagan’s bed every night for the past few weeks, but there’s something different about knowing she’s in mine.

Knowing that I’ll be moving her clothes up here the second I have the chance, whether she realizes it or not. She still seemed to be a little in shock when I had to leave her earlier, but in my mind, this is it. She’s agreed to us, and I fully intend to live up to everything I promised.

I’m going to move her into my room.

My life.

I’m going to be honest about how I feel and stop holding back.

A few months ago, I almost bled out in the back of the van. What if I’d left things unsaid with Bea? What if something happened now, and I haven’t told Reagan what she really means to me?

She deserves to know that her walking into my life was a flower crawling up through cracks in the concrete. She brought beauty into my world.

I step into the bedroom and shut the door behind me. Reagan’s breathing is steady and deep. A calming sound after an adrenaline-fueled night.

The air is pungent with the scent of her lotion. Something floral and sweet that smells nice from the bottle, but on her skin, it’s something else entirely.

I’m tempted to crawl straight into bed, but I need a shower, so I slip into the bathroom to rinseoff first.

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