An Act of Redemption (32 page)

“Thankfully, they acted civil…well for the most part,” Anna adds with a smile.

He grunts. “No punches were thrown. They were very civil.”

“True.” She snickers. “Anyway, glad you’re here, I need to make a few phone calls before we leave. You can take care of him while I’m gone.”

My gaze shoots to hers, narrowing in annoyance. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” I grumble, not appreciating the babysitter. Well, except for her, but she has to be naked while doing it.

She rolls her eyes. “Fine. He can keep you company. Is that better?”

She giggles at my silence and moves in to give me a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. “Don’t frown, Logan, or your face will stay like that,” she says in a deep voice, attempting to replicate mine. I glare harder at her, not finding her sassy ass as funny as she does. “Okay, okay, I’m going now. Be good for Cooper.” Giving me a saucy little wave she walks out the door, her laughter trailing after her.

I glance over at an amused Cooper. “Welcome to the club.”

“What club?”

“The one where you’re in love with a smart-ass. It’s a secret club us guys have. You can be a part of it now. I’m the president because my wife is the biggest smart-ass of all.”

I’m not going to disagree with him there. Kayla definitely holds the cake for being a smart-ass. I chuckle, flinching slightly when pain radiates across my chest.

“Still hurting?”

I shrug. “Not nearly as much as last week.”

He sits in the chair against the wall, across from me; a moment of silence stretching between us as I wait for him to say whatever’s on his mind.

“Everything okay?” I ask, when he doesn’t say anything. “Did something happen with the case? Don’t tell me Charity went back on her statement.”

“No, nothing like that.” He pauses, running a hand through his hair. “I came to apologize.”

My brows furrow in confusion. “Apologize? For what?”

“For what happened to you. To find out your cover was blown thanks to a dirty fucking cop in my department…” A heavy breath leaves him as he talks about Deputy Cunningham, a cop the mayor had under his belt. When suspicion was raised, he went snooping around Cooper’s office and found my file. He also helped set up the accident Cooper was called out to that night so no one would be around when those assholes showed up at Jaxson’s.

Dirty motherfucker.

He’s not the only one. Throughout these past few weeks many prominent members of society have been named—judges, lawyers, politicians, to name a few. They all would have been at that final, taking pleasure in watching someone beat a guy to death and it’s all done for entertainment and another way to make more money. It was just one big ring of fucking corruption. I was happy to know Kolan wasn’t a part of it. Cooper did some digging around and found nothing linking him to this at all and his name wasn’t brought up with everyone else’s. Guess it wasn’t him I saw at the club that night after all.

“Jesus, it drives me fucking crazy to know that prick worked for me for five years and I had no idea,” Cooper says, drawing me from my thoughts.

“You don’t need to apologize. What happened to me isn’t your fault. It would have happened either way. Those assholes were planning on ending me, even without knowing my cover, for the simple fact that I lost them a fuck ton of money,” I say, talking about the Sons of Death.

“I still feel like shit about it. If not for Cunningham your cover wouldn’t have been blown. I hope the feds don’t cut him any deals, and the asshole gets charged to the fullest extent.”

Prison sucks for anyone; I can’t imagine what it will be like for him. “I’m just glad this shit is finally over with, especially for Anna’s sake. The past few weeks have really messed her up. I just want to move on and make it better for her,” I admit.

Something flickers in his sharp gaze. “So tell me, what’s your plan now?”

“What do you mean?” I know exactly what he’s asking. I just don’t have an answer for him.

“Now that you’re done with the feds. What’s your plan for work? After you’re done healing, of course.”

I shrug. “Truthfully, I don’t know. I thought about checking out EFC but Anna doesn’t want me to fight. I’m not sure I have much of a choice though, not if I want to make a decent living.”

He nods. “I talked with Anna a while ago, just before everything went down. She told me you always wanted to be a cop.”

My girl and her big fucking mouth.

I shake my head. “Yeah, well, that was a long time ago, and we both know it’s never going to happen so let’s change the subject,” I say, not in the mood to talk about this shit right now.

“Okay, let’s change the subject.” He reaches into the inside pocket of his coat and pulls out a sealed envelope before holding it out to me.

“What’s this?”

“Open it and find out.”

Taking the envelope, I open it and pull out the folded legal document. I spend minutes reading it. I read it over and over again, swearing it can’t be real. “What the hell is this?”

“It’s a pardon.”

I stare at him in complete and utter shock. “Are you for fucking real right now?”

“I would never joke about something like this.”

“But…how? How did you do this?”

“I went to the feds and told them they owed it to you. You deserve this. I know it, the feds know it and I think you do, too.” I continue to gape at him, completely speechless. “Look, what happened all those years ago was an accident, and we all hated that you paid for it. You were given a chance to make things right, and you more than did that. Not only doing what you did for the feds, but you also ran out of the house that night, laying your life on the line to save everyone inside. My family included. You would make a great fucking cop, Knight, and you deserve this chance to do it. Your record is wiped clean. I have a spot held for you at the police academy that starts up in a month if you want it. I could use another deputy after you finish.”

I shake my head, not believing this is happening. “I don’t know what to say. I…” I swallow thickly, my words gruff.

“Say you’ll accept it. Take this second chance to do what you’ve always wanted to do and come work for me.”

I don’t think twice about taking it. I nod, not being able to form words at the moment.

You got this, brother.
Conquer the world.

At the sound of Lewis’s last words, I drop my head in my hands, my throat and eyes burning like a motherfucker. I hear the door open and know who it is before I even hear her.

“Hey,” Anna greets quietly. “Everything all right?”

I keep my head down, unable to look at her right now, or anyone for that matter.

“Yeah, we’re good. I just finished giving him the pardon. I think he’s in shock,” Cooper explains with a chuckle. Clearly, this is something she already knew about and why she left us alone. “I gotta run, I have a meeting, but we’ll talk soon, Knight.” I nod as he claps me gently on the shoulder.

At the sound of the door shutting, Anna comes to stand in front of me. I grab her around the waist and bury my face against her slender stomach. “Thank you.” I choke out the words, knowing this is all because of her.

Her fingers slide in my hair as she leans down, bringing her mouth to my ear. “I’m just glad it worked out and Cooper could do this. You deserve this, Logan. You deserve to be happy and live all of your dreams.”

Jesus, I’m the luckiest motherfucker alive to have this girl.

I lean back to look up at her. Her hands immediately go to my face as she stares down at me. Encircling her wrist, I kiss the palm of her hand. “As long as I have you, Anna, I’ll always be happy. I don’t need anything else but you.”

She graces me with one of her pretty smiles. “The nurse has everything we need to discharge you. Let’s go home.”

“Yeah, baby. Let’s go home.” After signing the discharge papers and stopping at the pharmacy for my prescriptions, that’s exactly what we do.

I walk up the stairs to my apartment building with Anna close to my side, fussing over me and trying to take my bag. “I can carry my bag. I’m good.”

She finally relents with a huff. “Stubborn,” she grumbles, bringing a smirk to my lips. As soon as we walk in the apartment, I slam the door, pin her against it and claim her sweet mouth the same way I want her body. A sexy moan slips past her lips and her fingers clutch my shirt to bring me closer, her tongue matching mine, stroke for stroke. My hands move to cup her ass, bringing her against me. “Jesus, I fucking need you.”

“But the doctor said—”

“Fuck what the doctor said, he’s stupid.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she breathes against my lips.

“The only thing hurting right now is my cock. I need to feel you, Anna. I need to be inside of you.” I need this girl more than I need my next breath, and if loving her brings me pain, so fucking be it.

“I need you so bad, too.” She whimpers.

Reaching between us, I slip a hand in the front of her shorts, my fingers gliding through her soaking wet slit. “Then let me inside this sweet pussy of yours, let me take away your ache, baby.”

Instead of letting me do exactly that, she pushes me away, careful of my wounds. I groan in disappointment and reluctantly remove my hand from her shorts. Bracing my hands, on either side of her head, I drop my forehead on her shoulder, thinking I’ve lost this battle, and it makes me want to weep like a fucking pussy. She frames my face and brings my gaze to hers, a smile gracing her sexy mouth.

“There’s nothin’ to be smilin’ about right now, Anna.”

She giggles, finding something amusing. “Actually, there’s a lot to be smiling about right now. The fact that you’re alive to even want me is something that’s worth smiling about forever.”

She’s got me there.

She takes my hand from the door and presses a kiss to my palm before twining our fingers together. “Come here, I have something to show you.”

My heart pounds in anticipation as she leads me to the bedroom. I’m praying she’s changed her mine and she’s going to show me what she has under those clothes. I come to a halt as we enter the room. There are hundreds of balloons floating around, all different colors with messages written on them.

“From friends and family,” she explains, before handing me a purple one that’s from Annabelle.

I take it from her and sit on the end of the bed. The words:
You’re my #2 hero,
is written on it with felt pen. A smirk touches my lips, assuming Jaxson is
#1
. Anna passes me a yellow one next, from Hope and Grace, telling me they’re creating a hero pie just for me and wishing for me to get better soon. Next is a green one from Sawyer. I grunt when I read:
Get well soon, pussy.
My mom and sister share a blue one, with a message telling me how much they love me and how proud they are.

I go through each one, emotions I’ve never felt before swirling inside of me as I read all the messages. I get to Jaxson’s near the end and read the words:
Maybe you’re not so bad after all. I declare you good enough for my sister. I declare you a brother.
I stare in shock at the words, something I didn’t think I would ever get from him because, let’s face it, no one is good enough for Anna, and I’m the first one to admit it.

The last balloon that Anna passes to me is from her. In bold letters she took notes from Annabelle but switched it up a little.
You’re my #1 hero. Love your Anna, forever.

Those are the best words I ever could’ve gotten from her. They are the words I’ve longed to hear from her—that no matter how close she and Jaxson are, I’m her number one.

She is mine.

At the sound of shuffling, I look up to see her pull her shirt off, revealing full, perfect tits covered in purple lace. All the blood from my body rushes south to my cock, turning it painfully hard. With a sexy smile on her face she comes to stand between my legs. My lips immediately find the smooth surface of her flat stomach while my hands go to the button of her jean shorts. Unfortunately, she stops my attempt and steps back.

My gaze snaps to hers. “Now is not the time to play games with me, Anna. I’m about to throw you down on this bed and fuck you into next week.”

She bites her bottom lip, stifling a smile. “One game, Knight, and we play it my way.” Dropping to her knees she starts tugging at my shirt. “I do all of the work.”

I help her with it, wanting to speed this along, then allow her to push me to my back. I do not like to give up control, but I’m totally digging this shit right now. “Sounds like a plan to me, baby. I’ll just lay here and enjoy the view.”

She stands and shimmies out of her jean shorts, revealing her matching purple lace panties, making my dick jump at the sight of her. Leaning over, she goes for the button of my jeans, her mouth hovering enticingly over my cock. Her breath hits my hot skin as she removes my pants, my jaw clenching at the powerful need thrumming through my veins.

She grasps the length of me in one of her smooth hands then leans over and takes it into her hot, wet mouth. With a tortured groan, I grip her silky strands gently as she takes me all the way to the back of her throat before sucking her way back to the top. “That’s my girl, suck my dick, baby, just like that.” She whimpers around my cock, loving my dirty words. My balls draw up tight as she slides back down and relaxes her throat, swallowing. “Ah fuck,” I grit out, feeling close to exploding already. I tug on her hair, drawing her mouth away. Her hooded eyes meet mine. “As much as I enjoy fucking this pretty mouth of yours, baby, I need you more. I need to be buried inside your warm body.”

She places a kiss to my abs, close to one of the bandages, before I feel her squirm to remove her panties. It’s something that I want to do but I stay where I am, following her rules, because no way in hell do I want this shit to end. She crawls over and situates herself on top of me. My hands grip her hips as she sinks down on me, her hot, wet pussy sucking me greedily into her tight depth as our groans of pleasure burst through the air.

This, this right here is everything. There’s nothing else in the world that feels as good as she does.