But fuck, he loved her.

He loved her enough to let her go.

“Finley disappeared because we picked him up. He’s dead, and Prez is next,” Remy announced. “I’d been on their backs for a while now. They were doing things that benefitted themselves than the good of the club.”

“Yeah, I know all about that.”

“Yeah, well, that shit’s unacceptable.”

Jaxon looked… disappointed. “I was hoping for a bit of revenge after Finley sent the men after us.”

“Believe me,” muttered Remy with a bored look, “he sang loud and clear a lot of things. He got what he deserved.”

“I guess I’ll take your word for it then.”

Remy sighed. Time to end this shit. “I know you took her because you hoped the Jackals wouldn’t jeopardise the arrangement over a woman. You’re right. My guys want peace. We can keep the business relationship going as smoothly as before and vow no more trouble with your men. I want their heads pulled out of their asses, though. You’re in charge now, I take it?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Yeah, well, you clean up that shit mess of a club you got then. Give them a code to abide by. Teach them to fucking respect their women. You got that?”

Jaxon licked his bottom lip as he stared unwaveringly into Remy’s eyes. “I got that.”

“Then get the fuck out of here.”

Jaxon went to turn when a hand grabbed at his arm. He looked at Remy, a foot away from him now, thunderously eyeing him.

“You do anything to hurt her,” he began, his voice taking on that Reaper’s edge in him, “I will kill you without thought.”

With just as much resolve, Jaxon replied, “I’d kill myself before you got to me. I would never hurt her.”

Remy believed it. Jaxon had risked everything for her. The man loved her with everything he had.

But he was still a fucking douche.

When Remy let go, he knew that would be his last encounter he’d ever have with Jaxon Barlow again.

Jaxon

He watched her standing there, outside of Damien’s house with tears in her eyes and the look of clear shock on her face.

She didn’t think he’d be coming back. To be fucking honest, Jaxon didn’t think so either. He thought that was it, he was a dead man. While he hoped the Jackals wouldn’t come after him, he figured Remy would. That man had a terrifying reputation after all. Jaxon never thought there was a merciful bone in his body, especially when it came to Sara. And yet… Remy let her go. He put aside his selfish need when he didn’t have to. He gave her up, and Jaxon had never felt more grateful.

“It’s done,” were Jaxon’s first words. “We’re okay, Sara.”

Six years of pain. Six years of wondering and aching. Six years down a road that was destined to tear them apart, and yet they fought for each other. Now they were here, finally, and the hope was raining down on them as bright as the sun in the sky.

She went to him, uncaring of the filth on his clothes, and hugged him. He took her tightly into his arms and felt his heart expand in his chest like never before. She was his, and she wasn’t going anywhere ever again. It was done.

“I love you,” she whispered into his ear.

“I love you, Tiny.”

Love. The word wasn’t enough for him. How he’d always felt for Sara went far deeper than a four letter word. She’d been his weakness since he was ten years old, and yet she was his strength in the darkest of times. She had lived in his thoughts every waking moment, always present in him, but it was never enough. He needed her by him, needed her to fill the emptiness he felt without her.

She was a match, lit with fire the second he drew near. And if he got close enough, she ignited him, and together they burned.

Epilogue

Bad things fuck you up. But good things heal you just as much.

It wasn’t easy returning to life after leaving the clubhouse and all the horror I’d endured behind. At first the wounds were fresh, and I’d buckle under the memories of everything I’d done and feel the worthlessness consume me. What made someone a good person? Could I be one after everything I’d done?

Dreams of blood and the dead faces of those I’d witnessed die had plagued me for months. I was too scared to close my eyes and relive it all over again.

But time did heal me, and so did the people around me.

Every time I opened my eyes, tears streaming down my face, and whimpered from the memories that wouldn’t go away, his warmth closed around me and pulled me into the safety of his arms. There he’d whisper things into my ear while he stroked my hair and kissed my face until the tears dried and I could breathe again.

For the first few months the only thing I wanted was the feel of him. I never wanted it to stop. I wanted his touch the second I woke up and the second I fell asleep. I did nothing but live inside our apartment, unwilling to leave in fear of the outside world disrupting our bubble.

After four months, he had enough, and the speech he gave me forced me out of my fear and back into the real world.

“You have to stop being so scared,” he’d said after cornering me in the bedroom of his apartment – or, rather, our apartment now. “Look at all we’ve been through, and look how amazing things are for us now. We’ve been through hell and back, and we have nothing to be afraid of anymore. Mom will be with you every step of the way when I’m not here, and with me running the businesses, you’ve got nothing to worry about. The clubs have never been better.”

He was right about that. He was running the club now with Damien, and they cleaned it up since Finley’s passing. Though the men were just as rowdy with the women as before, there was more respect all around. It allowed some men to actually venture off into their own relationships without the old expectation of sharing to taint it.

Jaxon was still a ruthless bastard nobody wanted to cross, but he wasn’t violent like Finley had been. He even got along with the new President of the Jackals.

Edge.

Transferred out of the Northam chapter, he was voted in by the MC. I don’t know why, as I would have assumed they’d have preferred picking one of their own. I think it had something to do with how close he’d been to Remy and because he was like him in a lot of ways – an experienced VP himself and a damn good leader.

But Remy…