Restitution (The Edge of Darkness, #3)

by Leigh Rivers

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You’re okay. You’re safe with me,” he says softly as he strokes my hair, letting me cry into his chest. “I found you, little one.”

“Don’t be afraid of me, Freckles,” he calls, spitting out blood that’s leaked into his mouth. “This is for us.”

Because he’s mine.

Barry looks around the room. “This is going to be horrible to clean up.” “What can I say? My son is an artist.” We all grimace. Tobias leans down and picks up the severed foot. “Think fast,” he says as he throws it at Barry’s face. He catches it automatically, then jumps back and drops it on the ground. “What the shit?” I bite my lip as Tobias winks at me, and I know he was just trying to cheer me up. He’s so goofy sometimes.

The last thing I hear are whispered words in Russian. “Moya vechnost

Everyone dies at some point. It’s inevitable. Death is strange and unavoidable. The endpoint to every living thing. There will be a quiet moment in our lives when the world stops moving, our lungs stop working and we close our eyes for the last time. And that terrifies me.

“I would have killed him sooner. If you’d told me, I would’ve never let you go back to that house, and I would have strangled him to death. Or kept him alive but incapacitated, so he could watch me fuck the woman he tormented, watch her marry me and give birth to my kids. I’d make him watch every fucking second that you loved me.” I have no idea why, but I smile. “I think the nails in his eyes were better. Your dad hit Barry with his foot.” He huffs out a laugh. “I knew they’d get along.” “They did. Sort of.” I lower my voice.

What is Base now? I honestly feel like I’ve come home to a fairy tale.” Luciella wipes away her tears of laughter. “A billionaire crime lord basically. He made a deal to marry a mafia princess and take over from his grandfather. I think he was the Don or something. I can’t be mad at him, because it was to save me. I just… miss him.” “And Kade runs his own organisation…” “Yep,” I reply. Tylar shakes her head. “And Dez lives with his grandma. How come I landed the normal one?” We all break into laughter again.

Dez leans back in his chair. “Tylar loves it. Sometimes she prefers anal.” “So does—” Base pauses, looks at me and Ewan then shakes his head. “Never mind.” I grimace. Ewan stands. “I’m leaving before I hit one of you.”

“Don’t you get it? You are my life.” My voice cracks. “You’re my life too.” The door opens once again, and my heart sinks. She doesn’t fight as the officer pulls her away. “I’m going to wait for you,” she tells me. “I’d wait forever for you.” I nod and let the first tear fall. “Forever, Freckles.”