Chapter Twenty-Four

She only needed butterfly bandages on her cheek but the bruise managed to blacken the outside of her eye. The swelling limited her range of vision, so she held Givon’s hand through the hospital. The ER doctor wrote her a prescription for pain medicine and sent her home with an ice pack.

Only she had no home.

Where would they stay?

“Hey,” Givon murmured, kissing he hand. “You okay?”

“I think so,” she answered.

“Allis,” North said, halting them. “You did what you had to do.”

“I killed a man,” she whispered. “How do I live with that?”

He cupped her face. “Allis, Daniel Two Feathers was messed up. He was going to hurt you, probably kill you. He deserved what he got. The only thing I wish is that you had been spared the horror of that act. Just remember, you’re a good woman, Allison Evening. You’re our good woman.”

She sniffed and wiped her cheeks. “You’re using my words against me.”

“No, I’m reminding you that we protect one another. Givon protected me. You protected us. And I’ll protect both of you.”

“It’s going to take time, sweetheart,” Givon said as he pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I know guilt can feel overwhelming. How the remorse and self-condemnation plays over and over in your head like a broken record. I’m a cop. I’ve been in your shoes. So has North. We can help you through this. Okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Now, we’re going to be staying with the Wolves until I get an apartment set up,” Givon announced. “Which will be tomorrow. No offense, North. Your club is great, but those walls are thin. Do you know what I heard last night?”

* * * *

The sun sparkled on the water as Allis lay her head on Givon’s shoulder. He held fishing pole and watched the bobber float in the water. The bait seemed widely ignored by all the fish. The day was warm, but she knew that fall was coming fast and any day the colder air would take over, making any fishing get-aways almost impossible.

She couldn’t help but remember the last time she was in this clearing and thanked the heavens every day that her men had been in the right place at the right time. It had been a testament to her taking control of her life by even coming here and facing the nightmare that had haunted her. Now, she was free. Free from Daniel Two Feathers and the place that had almost been her burial site.

A beer can popped and she looked behind her to see North walking up to them. He wore his cut over his T-shirt and his trademark headband and wallet chain completed his bad-ass biker look. Only she knew how much of a softie he was under his leathers. He sat next to her and handed an unopened beer can to her and Givon while he took a deep drink of his own. Then he leaned over and kissed her soundly on the mouth.

“You doing okay?”

She nodded. “I needed this.”

“We all needed this,” Givon replied as he popped the tab on his beer with one hand. He took a long drink of the cold beverage before setting it down.

It had been almost a month since everything had happened near Bull Lake, and Allis was finally starting to believe she could have a normal life.

“Let’s make sure we come here every year for our anniversary,” she said, looking between both men.

“Anniversary, eh?” North asked teasingly. “Years and years with that asshole?”

He thumb-pointed at Givon. Givon waggled his eyebrows.

“Still can’t have me, dude.”

“You wish,” North taunted back.

Allis laughed. “You guys love each other and you know it.”

“Well, you realize to have an anniversary there should technically be a marriage,” North said.

Allis blinked. “I could never marry one of you and not the other.”

North held her gaze. “I realize you’ve not had a very positive experience with Tribal Law, but we can get married on the reservation.”

Givon picked up her hand and held it. Her head whipped back and forth. She tried to say something but no words came forth.

“The Federal Government won’t prosecute and polygamy was widely practiced among Native Americans,” he said.

“I see someone’s been reading Wikipedia,” she murmured, smiling. “But is that something you both want?”

“I love you, Allis,” Givon murmured, kissing her temple.

“And I love you, Allis,” North seconded.

She smiled tenderly at them. Both men were so alike and yet their differences were subtle enough to complete her heart.

“I love you both,” she answered softly. “So, so much. Okay. I will.”