Heathen: A Dark Enemies to Lovers Romance (Redwood Rebels Book 2) by Rachel Leigh (sight word readers .txt) 📕

We walk away and I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. My heart is full, my head is clear, and the woman of my dreams is carrying our baby. Come what may, I’ll give my last breath to protect my girls.

The End.

Epilogue

We’re headed over to Marni’s house for a surprise birthday party that her dad is throwing her. Apparently he’s been kissing her ass to make up for selling her to the devil—the devil being Talon. I think Anderson is starting to learn that we’re not all as evil as he took us for. We’re just loyal as fuck to each other and we prefer to eliminate toxicity. I mean, only two out of the four of us are murderers, so we’re not all that bad.

We’re creeping down the driveway when Willa stops me halfway down. “Hey, back up.”

"Why?"

"Just do it."

I shift into reverse and roll the car backward. "Stop! That," she points up, "is that a camera?"

Leaning forward, I get a closer look. "Yeah. It looks like one, why?"

"If Josh was hit right in front of the house, shouldn't there be some kind of footage on that camera?"

"Hmm, I guess. Maybe. But if Anderson thought he killed Josh for months, I'm sure he's checked into it."

"Yeah. You're probably right."

Shifting back in drive, we keep moving forward. There are only a few cars here. Probably just Marni's close friends and family. Wouldn't be surprised if that shithead Axel and his nitwit friends are here. Still can't stand those guys, even if they did help us out when Zed lost his mind a couple months ago. They weren't there to help us—they were there for Marni.

They actually remind me a lot of us. They're tried and true, we're ride or die.

Memories of my stay here with Willa hit me as soon as I walk through the door. From bickering to mental breakdowns to making up and making love. It's been a whirlwind, but the future is looking bright for all of us.

Tommy and Talon are sitting on the couch, and when I spot Marni, I realize we're late. "Shit man, you said eight. Happy birthday, Marni." I swat Talon on the back of the head. He actually said seven, but I won't admit that. Willa and I had a hard time getting up today and spent most of the day naked in bed. It definitely beats yelling surprise to someone who probably already knew she was having a party. Talon's a whipped little bitch, and there is no way he kept it from her.

I take a seat next to Tommy and pull Willa down on my lap. "What are you guys talking about?"

Talon looks at the older group across the room who must be friends of Anderson's, then he leans forward, bringing his voice down a few octaves. "I was just saying that someone out there is wondering how the fuck Josh's car went into Lake Ruin and how his body ended up in the pastor's basement. I mean, they've gotta be shitting balls right now."

"No kidding. I was thinking the same thing. We're clear for now, but someone out there knows something."

"Is it possible that Rick really is the one that hit him?" Willa shrugs her shoulders and looks from person to person.

"Nah, too obvious. And it certainly wasn't an accident. When we found Josh, it looked like he had been mulled to death. Like someone ran him over and backed up a few times to finish him off. Then, of course, Marni's dad came flying down the road and smooshed his ass even more."

Willa cringes. "Ugh, that's disgusting."

"You should have seen his face, it was—"

"No." I shake my head to Tommy. "Don't go there."

Willa gives me a nudge. "Ask about the camera."

"What camera?" Marni asks.

It's probably a dead end, but what the hell. "There's a camera about halfway down your driveway facing the road. I'm sure your dad already checked it, but it could have caught something."

Marni taps her finger to her chin. "Hmm, I don't remember a camera in the driveway. Hey, Dad?" she hollers across the room, "come here."

Anderson makes his way over to us with a glass in his hand. The ice clinks against the side of the glass sloshing the caramel-colored liquor. "Is there a camera in the driveway?"

He raises a brow and thinks on it. "Tiny white camera?"

Marni looks at Willa. "Yeah, it was white," Willa says.

"Oh yeah. It's from the old system. That cheap piece of shit that wouldn't pick up a pack of wolves coming down the driveway."

"Is it armed?" Talon asks.

"Nah, I don't think so. That system was set up through a third party. I'm pretty sure we dropped them when we switched to a private system."

"What's the name of the company?" I ask, pulling my phone out, ready to search the company name.

"Umm, Whitlock Security."

"We're gonna look into," Marni tells him. "I'll let you know if we need anything to log in."

He nods and walks away, but not before giving Talon a death glare. Some things never change.

In a matter of seconds, I've got the company pulled up. "It looks like they have an online system where you can see all saved footage from the start of service. Doesn't hurt to try. Go ask your dad what his log-in info is."

Marni jumps up and goes to talk to him.

"It could be nothing. But it could be something." I shrug. "Good catch." I nudge Willa.

Fifteen minutes later, she returns with a piece of paper. "Holy fuck, what did you have to do, track down the software developer?" Tommy teases.

"Sorry. My dad doesn't know this shit. I had to search his office. Call his former assistant. Anyways, I got it." She hands me the paper and I log him in.

"Bingo. We're in." I scroll down and there are at least a thousand pages of motion-activated footage. "Holy shit. These have today's date on it." I click