"That's it, baby," he whispers against my temple. "Let go for me."
And I do. Again and again, until I'm boneless and trembling, until the last of the fear and tension finally leaves my body. At some point his cock has started thrusting in and out, and I'm holding onto his neck for dear life. His rhythm falters and he groans loudly, falling over the edge with my name on his lips, holding me like I'm the most precious thing in his life.
Afterward, we lie tangled together, our skin slick with sweat and our breathing slowly returning to normal. His fingers trace lazy patterns on my back while I listen to the steady beat of his heart beneath my cheek.
"I was scared," I admit into the darkness. "Not just of them, but of this. Of us. I was scared I'd never feel normal again."
His arms tighten around me. "You are normal, Dani. You're perfect. What happened to you—that wasn't your fault, and it doesn't change how I feel about you. Nothing could."
I lift my head to look at him, this man who's become my whole world. His dark hair is mussed from my fingers, his lips swollen from our kisses. He looks thoroughly debauched and completely mine.
"I love you," I tell him, the words carrying the weight of everything I couldn't say before.
"Love you too, darlin'. Always will."
We don't talk about the future or what tomorrow might bring. Instead, we hold each other as sleep begins to claim us, our bodies still intertwined, still connected in the most fundamental way.
For the first time in weeks, I feel physically safe. Not because nothing bad can happen, I know better now, but because whatever comes, we'll face it together. It’s still to be determined if my heart is safe, but there’s one thing that’s for sure. This man, this love, this life we've built, it's worth fighting for.
As consciousness fades, I feel Devil press a soft kiss to the top of my head, his fingers still stroking my hair. Tomorrow we'll have to face the world again, but tonight, this moment, belongs only to us.
And that's enough.
Chapter 19
Devil
"Have you heard the news?" Chief Harrison asks as we meet a few days later.
"About Tommy's second in command?" I run a hand through my hair, wiping the sweat from my forehead. "Haven't heard much, just that Ethan is going to take up the slack for his daddy. I've been slightly busy."
He strides over to me. "Yeah, Ethan has picked up the slack, and he's started slinging to the teenagers in town. Hasn't your income gone down?"
My blood runs cold. I fucking hate to hear this, because I know what they like to cut their weed with. "To be honest, I haven't been paying attention like I should. Dime may have said something about it, but I assumed it was because school was back in session." My hands are at my waist and I'm calling myself a million different names. "I should've been paying attention."
"That seems to be a problem we've had recently, Officer. Have you made a decision about what you're going to do? The undercover situation can't continue if it's going to continue like this. Your personal feelings are too deeply involved in this."
I know he's right. Every bit of me knows he's right, but I'm attached to the badge as much as I'm attached to the patch. "I'm trying to figure it out. I'm assuming you called me out here for something."
"Yeah," Chief Harrison runs his hand along his neck. "I need you to talk to Keegan. Ask him about what's going on in the school."
"Why don't you have his dad ask him?" I cross my arms over my chest, rocking back on my heels.
He laughs. "Like he's going to talk to his dad. You know what it's like being a teenager, much less having a dad who's a cop." Chief Harrison's expression grows serious, the lines around his eyes deepening. "Which is why I need you to do it. Keegan sees you as someone who gets it, someone who's been where he is. He's not going to open up to his dad about what's happening at school, but he might talk to you."
I shift my weight, feeling the familiar burn of being caught between two worlds. "What exactly do you want me to ask him?"
"I need to know if kids are talking about getting weed from The Rebels. Specifically from Ethan. I need to know if anyone's gotten sick, if there's been any weird reactions, anything that doesn't seem right." The chief's voice drops lower. "And I need to know if Keegan's heard anything about what they're cutting it with."
The weight of what he's asking settles on my shoulders like the heat of the day. "You think they're lacing it with something harder."
"I don't think, Devil. I know." Harrison reaches into his jacket and pulls out a small evidence bag. "The last couple of traffic stops we've done on teenagers with weed tested positive for fentanyl too. When we asked where they got it, they all pointed back to The Rebels."
My stomach drops. Fentanyl. Jesus Christ. "How many kids?"
"Three in the last week alone. All of them said they got it from someone connected to The Rebels. One of them is in the hospital right now, barely made it through the overdose." Chief Harrison's jaw clenches. "His parents don't even know he was experimenting. They thought he was just tired from staying up late studying."
I'm going to be sick. This isn't just about moving product anymore, it isn't about being undercover and figuring out who is slinging drugs. This is about kids dying. "Has anything like this ever happened in Laurel Springs? What do you need me to ask Keegan specifically?"
