Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Cormac and I burst through the door at the same time.
"Callum!" Hope sobs.
"Run, baby. Go."
She sobs again, but obeys, stumbling past me out of the house.
Silas grabs Kieve by the collar, flinging him across the room. He lands on the couch, yelping. I don't think he's hurt though. I think he's just offended. Blood drips from small wounds on Silas's hand as he fumbles for the gun he dropped.
I don't give him time to get his hands on it.
"You piece of shit," I roar, cracking him over the back of the head with the butt of my gun. I toss the gun aside and land a blow against his right cheek, and then another to his nose. Cartilage crunches beneath my fist as it breaks. I hit him again, and then again, and then one final time before I let his sorry ass fall to the floor.
"You're lucky you're in her home or you'd be dead right now, you sorry motherfucker," I growl, dragging him up by the collar of the shirt to look him in the eye. "That's the only reason you're still breathing right now. You come near her ever again, I'll bury you so deep no one will ever find your body."
I toss him back to the ground, stepping away from him.
"Good man," Cormac says, clamping a hand on my shoulder as Dillon and Finn step forward to haul Silas to his feet. I never even heard them come in. Dillon didn't even try to stop me from beating the hell out of him. Guess he knew the fucker had it coming. "Go take care of your girl. We've got this little bitch."
"Kieve, tar anseo."
He inches toward me, hesitant to approach.
I squat, holding out my hand for him. "Come here, boy. I won't hurt you."
He whines and then darts forward allowing me to pick him up.
I carry him outside with me.
"Callum!" Hope sobs, rushing toward us.
I wrap one arm around her, dragging her up against my chest and holding on tight as Kieve jumps up to lick her face. She's safe. Thank fucking God. She's finally safe.
Chapter Thirteen
Hope
Two Weeks Later
"I love you." Callum reaches across the console for my hand, bringing my fingers up to his lips to press a kiss to them.
"I love you too."
"It'll be okay," he promises.
I smile at him bravely. We're going back to the store for the first time since Silas destroyed it. I haven't had the heart to go back since. After he killed Thomas Huntington and tried to force me to sell the land to him, Callum hired someone to board up the store and took me away for a few days. We just left everything behind and went to Nashville for a week with Kieve.
I needed the change of scenery. I needed time and distance to process and deal with everything that happened. Spending time with his family helped. His parents are amazing. Meeting his mom was bittersweet. It reminded me of everything I've missed with my mom but made me appreciate the time I did have with her.
It also reminded me that the last of the plants may be gone, but my biggest connection to her will always be my memories. Those aren't in the plants she grew with my grandfather. They aren't in the house she grew up in. They aren't in the land she played on as a little girl. Those I carry with me everywhere. So long as I carry her in my heart, she'll live on.
I needed that reminder. I think I've needed it for a long time.
I'm looking forward to making new memories with Callum's mom. I already love her. She's so sweet. She'll never replace my mom. She wouldn't even dream of trying, but it's nice to have a warm, motherly hug and a loving ear again. I've missed that so much since my mom and then Granny died.
We got back into town a few days ago, but I've been avoiding going to the store. Not because I wasn't ready to face it again, but because cleaning it up is going to be a nightmare. I don't like cleaning on a good day. The store looks exactly like someone drove a vehicle through it. It's going to take forever to sort through everything and take stock of what is salvageable and what isn't.
But I'm ready to do it. Silas doesn't get to win. He doesn't get to take a single damn thing from me. Not my dreams, not my store, not hope. Nothing. I refuse to allow him to do it. He's a monster, and monsters don't win in the end. They die miserable, exactly like they were always supposed to. That's what's in store for him.
He's facing life in prison for murder, and then about fifteen additional felony charges including kidnapping, burglary, three counts of attempted murder for trying to run me off the road and then trying to shoot Cormac and Callum, and various other crimes. Dillon even made sure he was charged with stealing my mail. It's a small thing given everything else he's facing but seeing that charge on the list made Callum's whole day. It made mine too.