Page 206 of Into These Eyes
Breaking the kiss, I rest my forehead against hers. “Benny saved us.”
She grins. “Okay, Mr. Won’t-take-credit-for-anything, how about we say it was a group effort?”
I grin back. “Perfect. And when we see Benny …” A sudden knot forms in my stomach. “The gun … what’s happened with that? Benny can’t go back—”
Pressing a finger to my lips, she stops me again. “I had to tell Pete a few lies about that. I told him we found the gun in Dad’s safe when we found the letters, and that I was going to contact him after Christmas to find out what I should do with it.”
Jesus, how much more amazing can this woman get? After everything she’s been through, she still had the presence of mind to protect Benny. “So fucking smart, J. And he believed you?”
“Oh, he knew I was lying, but he went with it. It made sense. And he owes me. Big time. He’s agreed to a couple of other favours I’ve asked of him, too.”
“You’re busting his balls?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” she says, sinking her fingers into my hair. “He almost destroyed us. I think it’s only fair that he makes up for it.”
“Well, I don’t know the guy, so I trust you know what you’re doing.”
She snuggles against me, our eyes locked. “It’s almost visiting hours. You know you’re about to get swarmed by your family.”
“My family?” Those words sound so foreign to my ears, but I like them. A lot.
“Anika, Benny and Lach. They’ll be here by now. But before they come in, there’s something serious we need to discuss.”
I lean back a little and watch her eyes dance with amusement. “Spit it out.”
“I heard my sister saw your junk.”
I laugh, then groan when pain spikes through both of my injuries. “Yeah. I thought that was kind of funny … until I realisedmysister also saw my junk. Then it just became disturbing. Do you think she’ll be traumatised for life?”
“Let’s hope so,” she giggles.
Then, just as I’m about to kiss her, a barrage of knocks come from the door, and the rest of my family burst into the room.
One Year Later
Chapter 49
Gavin
Ipark my shit-box of a car in the empty garage and kill the engine. It might be a piece of junk, but I love it for everything it represents.
Freedom.
Clutching the wheel, I check the time on the dash. Half an hour and she’ll be home.
My heart flip-flops in my chest before setting itself to a brisk pace. Thirty minutes to get ready and calm the fuck down so Ican act like there’s no difference between this day and all the others we’ve spent together.
I hightail it into our ensuite, get in the shower and think about everything that’s happened since last Christmas.
Jamie quit her job, studied estate planning and conveyancing, and has now opened a boutique law firm, freeing her from the constant barrage of evil that criminal law presents. She’s put together a great team, which also gives her the option to take time off when she needs a break.
Three months ago, my conviction was officially overturned, allowing me to start my own career. I’ve been visiting prisons and counselling inmates, which I’ll continue to do. But I also want to run a private practice. I’ve been putting out feelers for an office, though I’m not quite sure if that’s the sort of clinical environment I want for myself or my clients. What I’d like, is to operate out of our home. Unfortunately, the layout of this house doesn’t allow for a homely office that won’t involve taking clients through our sanctuary.
But as of this morning, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem anymore. We’ve talked about moving a few times, mainly because of the shadow of Jamie’s father and the fact we both almost died here.
We want to make new memories,ourmemories.
And now we can. When I checked my banking app this morning, I discovered I have fifteen million reasons why we can now make that happen.
