"Luckily, that wasn't necessary," she said, sighing. "Wanda is dead. Like dead for real."
"I heard. I'm sorry, darling."
"It feels like the end of an era. Even though I hadn't used her since we got together."
"There were a lot of good memories there," I said, giving her hand a squeeze. We had the pictures on a gallery wall, all her favorites from her adventures with Raven. Across from that were her favorites with me. Then with both of us and Bee.
"How is Raven?"
"Just a little banged up. She's already on her way home. She wanted to stay," I told her. "Roman nearly had to have her sedated to get her to leave you. But her kids were worried."
"Thank God she's alright. The other driver?"
"No injuries."
"Where is Bee?"
"With your sister-in-law. Your brothers are here. But they are downstairs. They couldn't come up to this floor."
"Everyone's all shaken up over a little nothing."
"It's hardly nothing. And, yes, we were all worked up. You have a lot of people who love you, darling," I reminded her.
"What is that smile for?" she asked a moment later. "What's so funny?" she pressed when a chuckle escaped me.
"I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"Your old lady driving. I think it saved your life today."
"So maybe you can stop teasing me about it."
"I guess I can do that."
"Don't look so sad. I'm sure you can find something else to tease me about."
"Like the fact that you're now part cyborg?" I suggested, touching her arm.
"That will do," she agreed, reaching out with her good arm to pat my head.
Wasp - 20 years
"How dare she grow up to be so damn practical," Fenway grumbled, tapping his fingers on the kitchen table beside his coffee cup.
"I know you tried your hardest to make her into a spoiled socialite with cotton candy for brains," I told him, smiling. "Somehow, someone imparted some good sense in her."
"I will never forgive you for it," he told me, giving me small eyes.
Bee was leaving for college.
And Fenway was having separation anxiety about the whole situation.
I couldn't blame him. She'd always been his little baby. And a daddy's girl. The two were as close as could be.
"She is just going away to school," I reminded him, patting his hand.
"She doesn't have to go to school. She could be like one of those people who are famous for no other reason than being rich," he insisted.
"Even if she did want to live the shallow socialite life, Fenway, she would want to leave home. I don't know about you, but I would much rather she go off to school to become a neurosurgeon than party all across the globe, getting up to no good."
Bee had, as it turns out, become nothing like either of us.
She was calm, rational, collected, sure of what she wanted, and dogged in her pursuit of it. She wasn't prone to the outlandish or the reckless. She enjoyed the simpler things in life.
And, now, she wanted to make a living helping people.
I couldn't have been prouder. Even if my heart was breaking a bit too.
"We could cut her off," he suggested, clinging onto straws. "Then she couldn't go."
"She needs to have her own life. We are going to see her all the time."
"I don't know what we will do without her around."
"Well, I sort of had an idea," I suggested, having been pondering it since Bee came to me and asked if she could bring Leonard to her off-campus townhouse with her, giving us even more freedom than we had been anticipating.
"What's that?"
"It's been a really long time since we had an adventure," I told him, watching as his gaze found mine, interest there. "I mean, when was the last time we toured the world? There have to be thousands of new things to be seen. Besides, we have been saying we wanted to take an anniversary trip back down to Bali, to that cave, for old time's sake. Now would be a great time to do that, don't you think?"
"It would be nice," he agreed, still a little hesitant. "If we took the jet. And the yacht."
It was ridiculous.
Just like him.
"I think we can arrange that," I agreed.
"Did I ever tell you how happy I am that you conned me into loving you," he asked, reaching to pull me onto his lap.
He had.
Every single day.
Of every single month.
Of every single year.
And I never got sick of hearing it.
I never would.
DEAR READER
This book is a completely standalone novel.
But once upon a time, a town called Navesink Bank was founded. It was full of outlaw bikers, loan sharks, fixers, hired muscle, and the mob.
All those people do have books.
If you read this book and are intrigued by some of the side characters mentioned here, the team of "fixers" can be read about in my PROFESSIONALS SERIES. The biker brothers are from my HENCHMEN MC SERIES. Eamon Awan and the crew at the casino can be found in my RIVERS BROTHERS series.
On the following pages, you can find a comprehensive list of all my series and standalone books, so you can know where to start :)
<3 Jessica
PLAYLIST
"Hell on Heels" - Pistol Annies
"Wild Child" - Kenny Chesney
"Lady Like" - Ingrid Andress
"I Can Break Hearts Too" - Carter's Chord
"Boy Like Me" - Jessica Harp
"Chasin' Me" - Caroline Jones
"Strong Enough" - Sheryl Crow
"Get Away With It" - Lacy Cavalier
"Eyes On You" - Chase Rice
"I Don't Know About You" - Chris Lane
"All I Need to See" - Mitch Rossell
"Love That About You" - Filmore
"Best Shot" - Jimmie Allen
ALSO BY JESSICA GADZIALA
If you liked this book, check out these other series and titles in the NAVESINK BANK UNIVERSE:
The Henchmen MC
Reign
Cash
Wolf
Repo
Duke
Renny
Lazarus
Pagan
Cyrus
Reeve
Sugar
The Fall of V
Adler
Roderick
Virgin
Roan
Camden
West
The Savages
Monster
Killer
Savior
Mallick Brothers
For A Good Time, Call
Shane
Ryan
Mark
Eli
Charlie & Helen: Back to the Beginning
Investigators
367 Days
14 Weeks
4 Months
Dark
Dark Mysteries
Dark Secrets
Dark Horse
Professionals
The Fixer
The Ghost
The Messenger
The General
The Babysitter
The Negotiator
Rivers Brothers
Lift You Up
Lock You Down
STANDALONES WITHIN NAVESINK BANK:
Vigilante
Grudge Match
The Rise of Ferryn
OTHER SERIES AND STANDALONES:
Stars Landing
What The Heart Needs
What The Heart Wants
What The Heart Finds
What The Heart Knows
The Stars Landing Deviant
What The Heart Learns
Surrogate
The Sex Surrogate
Dr. Chase Hudson
The Green Series
Into the Green
Escape from the Green
DEBT
Dissent
Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance
Unwrapped
Peace, Love, & Macarons
A Navesink Bank Christmas
Don't Come
Fix It Up
N.Y.E.
faire l'amour
The Woman at the Docks
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica Gadziala is a full-time writer, parrot enthusiast, and coffee drinker who enjoys short rides to the bookstore, sad songs, and cold weather, and who had developed an unhealthy obsession with acquiring houseplants. She lives in New Jersey with her three dogs, seven parrots, and eleven chickens.
She is a strong believer in snark, strong secondary characters, and badass women.
STALK HER!
Connect with Jessica:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaGadziala/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/314540025563403/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13800950.Jessica_Gadziala
Goodreads Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/177944-jessica-gadziala-books-and-bullsh
Twitter: @JessicaGadziala
JessicaGadziala.com
<3/ Jessica