Page 61 of Twisted Empire

I glanced over at Logan. “It seems like your mom will be going away for a while.”

He shrugged, though I could tell from the tensing of his jaw that he still had complicated feelings about the woman who’d raised him for the first several years of his life. “It’s what she deserves. Maybe she’ll get herself sorted out while she’s in there… or maybe she’s a lost cause. Either way, at least the truth is out.”

Beckett stopped by the side of the sofa and looked down at us. “Speaking of the truth, did you find out why the cops were after you guys the other day?”

Dexter perched on one of the armchairs as he answered. “Doom’s Seed must have had the manager at the Fresh Catch Seafood Market call in a complaint that we’d broken in and stolen something. They were following up on that accusation, wanting to question us.”

Beckett’s eyebrows rose. “But the police aren’t bringing charges?”

Slade snorted. “It was all hearsay. They didn’t have any proof. We said we snooped around a bit while the market was open to explain the pics Dex had of the shipping containers, but there’s nothing illegal about walking into a back room without even touching anything.”

“And they were too excited about getting to take a huge criminal kingpin down to be very worried about a little petty larceny anyway,” I added wryly, and tipped my head back against the arm of the sofa. “We are going to have to testify in court once the cases against Logan’s mom and some of Doom’s Seed’s top dogs go to trial.”

Slade dismissed my remark with a wave of his hand. “Not for a while. We’ll be totally recovered by then and ready for it. Especially now that this crazy case is off our plates.”

Beckett focused on me. “You’re not in any trouble over stabbing Doom’s Seed, are you?”

I shook my head. “It was clear self-defense. I have the bruises and scratches to show he attacked me, and he’d already shot Logan—Yvonne confirmed that even if they hadn’t believed us. I guess the scene must have shown a pretty obvious struggle too.”

“Well, a whole lot of Doom’s Seed’s empire is about to crash and burn, with the organ transplant trade going first,” Beckett said. “From what I hear, some of his people that the cops rounded up are already cutting deals, turning over evidence and testimony that’ll implicate even more people and shady businesses.”

“Good,” I muttered. That’d always been the most important goal to me—knowing that I’d finished what Dad had started and brought down the business that’d been exploiting so many people. Hopefully he could rest easier now, wherever his soul had departed to.

Logan ran his hand over my calf and started to massage my foot. I wanted to melt into his touch, but too many questions were still whirling through my mind.

I twisted at the waist to get a steadier look at Beckett. “Now that he’s gone… who will the next Doom’s Seed be? Do we have to worry about them picking up the pieces and starting over?”

“Or trying to get revenge for his death?” Dexter piped up.

Beckett rubbed his chin, his expression turning pensive. “I’m honestly not sure who’ll step up. It’s possible he had children, at least one of whom would have been raised to take over from him when necessary like my dad raised me. But even if it’s someone with a personal stake, with the police so involved it’d be madness to try to attack any of you again. And I’ve shown that the Storm isn’t anyone to be screwed over.”

“What if he didn’t have kids?” Logan asked.

“Then the Devil’s Dozen will confer about who to offer the position to. It could be we’ll decide an associate of his could fill his shoes the best. Or we might invite someone totally new to take his spot at the table. Either way, I’ll have some say on the subject since I’m officially taking over as the Storm now. No matter how my dad feels about it.”

His voice hardened a bit with that last sentence. I shot him a reassuring smile. “I know you’ll be amazing at it.”

He’d make sure to pick someone who wouldn’t try to resurrect the worst parts of Doom’s Seed’s empire. Beckett had been with me every step of the way, and he’d seen the conflict through to the end, no matter how dangerous it’d gotten for his own family legacy.

A wave of emotion washed over me, and tears welled up in my eyes. “It’s finally over,” I said, swiping at them. “We can get back to our regular lives without this hanging over us.” The cops had already escorted Mom, Holand, and Summer back to their homes—well, in Mom and Holand’s case, to a more local hotel while they sorted out the insurance from the house and decided whether to rebuild or buy something new.

We were all going to get to rebuild now, in our own various ways. And the five of us could build somethingtogether, enjoying the trust and loyalty we’d found with each other.

I reached out to squeeze Logan’s forearm and let my gaze travel over all four of my guys. “I’m so happy to be here with you. I can’t wait to see how good life can be once we can focus on simply living it.”

“Cheers to that,” Slade said with a grin, and my guys closed in around me in a joint embrace.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

One year later

Madelyn

Somehow Summer always managed to have perfect timing. I was just walking into the house when my phone pinged with an incoming text.

Inhaling the lingering floral scent from the wax burner Mom had given me as a housewarming gift, I pulled my phone out of my purse.

You’ve got to be home by now,Summer had written.How did the presentation go? I need all the deets!

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