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Keeping his body hunched he raced up the deck steps, threw his shoulder into the door of the house, felt the locks give, and fell inside the house with her His body covered hers as he rolled her across the floor, forced to ignore her cries until he could get her safely on the other side of the rooainst the couch he let his hands race over, his gaze searching her body for wounds or broken bones "Rogue, talk to asped, her bruised face swelling, her violet eyes filled with rage

Zeke watched her in shock until her hand cracked against his face The stinging slap wasn’t gentle It slah force that he knew he’d be carrying the imprint of her hand for hours In the next second, his ever-strong, iue collapsed into his arms in tears

"I have you, baby" He buried his head in her hair, a shudder working through his body at how close she had coue never cried She wasn’t a whiner She didn’t co on to hi to burrow into his chest

And God help hi his arms around her, he held her to hiht the overload of fear and remorse that struck his system

He shouldn’t have left her He should have never left her, believing she would be safe

He should have considered Jonesy, but instead he had relied on the loyalty the other man had always appeared to show her Zeke knew he should have known better It was his ue had nearly paid for

"Damn, he’s in trouble," Rowdy’s low voice whispered across the room in a tone of a I bet she cuts his dick off for hirowled

"Yeah, shut up, Rowdy" Froret

Zeke lifted his head and stared back at the agent

"I have to take you in, Zeke" He sighed "This has to be wrapped up"

His ar He’d known all along that the sins of the past could never be buried or even forgotten by the DHS agent that knew the truth

"God, Cranston, give him a day or two at least," Rowdy protested "Youyou"

Zeke heard sirens wailing in the distance then Reinforceed to get in place with that sniper rifle Zeke knew it had to have been Natches, because he was the only oneat the moment

"Zeke knew our deal," Cranston stated "We need the information, those pictures, and his testimony This wraps it up, boys The pictures he sent earlier had faces of men we don’t have in custody, and he reone It’s daood" Because this group had destroyed his farandchild Because destroying the to see it finished

It finished here, just as he said

"No matter who you have to destroy?" Rowdy asked

"No matter who’s destroyed," Cranston affirue closer, already feeling the chill inside his soul because he kneould have to let her go, walk away again, and walking aould destroy hi his lips to her ear he whispered "You fill ue For the first time in my life, I knehat love was supposed to be"

Her head shook against his chest as another sob tore from her throat Her arms were like silken bands of steel around his neck, and God knew he didn’t know if he had the strength to force her to release him

"I didn’t use you" He kissed the top of her head, her forehead "I was helpless against you Know that, Caitlyn Rogue I couldn’t have walked away for anything Even my own life"

TWENTY-FOUR

But he did walk away

A week later Rogue stood in the parking lot of what had once been the Bar and stared at the debris with a sense ofrelief

She’d lost everything she owned except the Harley, but she was thankful she had a reason to walk away froone, the dangerous Dayle Mackay and his rabid revolutionists were gone Jonesy was gone

She shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants and let her gaze wander over the blackened remains of lumber where the walls had toppled in

"So what now?" Her father’s arave her a place to lean

She shrugged at his question "I bought out Natches Mackay I guess I’ave a heavy sigh as she looked up into the strong features of his still-handsome face

"I want you to come home," he told her as her mother, Brianna Walker, moved to her other side "Daone, and daht The nest is too erinned at that "Sorry, Dad This is home"