Reunion Series-

 

 

Chapter One

After the battle at Lost Sons MC

Boone, Gunner and the others dragged the wounded men to the front gate of the Lost Sons MC. They would await the ambulance and the Sheriff.

 Afterwards, Boone looked over at Gunner and Skeeter. “I think I’ve seen that scarred man before and I think it was on a wanted poster,” he spoke quietly.

Gunner gasped. “What? Are you sure?” He paused, then said, “That isn’t going to go over very well.”

Boone nodded. “Only he’s not wanted under the name of Travis Conrad.”

Skeeter grabbed his phone and began flipping through the various wanted posters he had access to. Then he paused and stared at one in particular. He looked up at them. “Was the name Cole Cimarron?” He flipped his phone so they could see the picture. There in living color was the face of the scarred man, his photo clearly visible.

Boone stared at it and replied, “That’s the guy. That poster is only a few weeks old?”

“The poster may only be weeks old,” Skeeter said. “But the original assault took place three years ago. Seems he got into a bar brawl and really hurt the other guy. Either way it went, the law is looking for this guy and as an officer of the law, I have to take him in, like it or not.” He shook his head. “And Tate Young isn’t going to like it.”

Gunner looked troubled. “It isn’t Tate not liking it that I’m worried about. You might be looking more at Renegade and Augusta, maybe even Mira.”

Skeeter shook his head. “I can’t take that into consideration. I have to do my job. So far, he’s only a person of interest, so this is me just taking him in for questioning. What happens after that is up to the Bureau.”

“They still aren’t going to like it.” Gunner sighed.

Skeeter looked around as he spoke, “I have to do my job, he’ll go in and speak to someone on the charges he walked away from. Everyone should be held accountable for the choices they make. This guy chose to walk away and now law enforcement is looking for him. I can’t overlook this situation.”

Gunner shook his head. “No one is asking you to, all we’re saying is to move carefully. After everything that’s just gone down, nobody is going to be happy about the long lost lover being arrested.”

 “We don’t even know what this is all about yet,” Skeeter replied. “I’m just taking him in for questioning. That’s all.”   

Boone nodded. “Yeah, but first, you have to get him to cooperate, don’t you?”

Skeeter shrugged. “You just have to know how to ask.”

Gunner shook his head. “I don’t like this one bit.”

The three men entered the clubhouse.

Tate and Silas were sitting at one of the tables in the main room.

 Skeeter walked over to them and brought up the wanted poster on his phone. “I know this isn’t going to be welcome, especially tonight but it was brought to my attention that this was out there and I just can’t let it go.”

Tate looked at him then peered down at the wanted poster on the cell screen. He studied it for a long time. Silently, he handed the phone to his father.

Silas gazed down at it then he looked up at Skeeter. “We invited you here to help. We appreciate it too. But are you looking to arrest this guy? If you are, that’s a slap in the face to everyone here.”

“Dad,” Tate exclaimed.

Boone raised his hand up. “I sort of agree with ya Mr. Young, but I suppose this needs to be cleared up.”

Tate nodded. “I agree on all counts. But let’s do this. Come on.” He motioned to them as he stood from the table.

Silas got up as well. He walked with his son as they made their way to the bedroom where everyone was gathered. 

Skeeter, Boone and Gunner followed them.

When they stopped at the doorway, they looked inside.

 Mira and Travis were sitting on the bed quietly talking. 

Augusta and Renegade were standing near the bed, talking as well. 

Renegade saw them all first. His head rose and he stared at the men beside the doorway. Then he looked over at Tate and Silas who had already stepped into the room. “What is all this, Tate?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“I hope it is all just a huge mistake.” Tate shook his head at him then looked over at Travis and just came out with it, “There's a wanted poster out on you. Did you know that?”

Travis looked puzzled and replied, “No, I didn’t. What’s it all about?”

Skeeter shook his head and walked further into the room. He raised his phone and showed the poster to Travis. “Seems you got into a bar fight a few years ago and nearly beat a man to death then got yourself arrested. You got away before you could be cuffed and you disappeared. Anything there, ring a bell?”

Travis took the phone and studied the poster carefully. He handed it back and stated flatly, “That’s not me.”

Skeeter paused to look at the poster again. Then he stared at Travis. “Sure as hell looks like you.” He growled.

“Except that guy has green eyes and mine are blue,” Travis said. “And take a look at the scars, man. They aren’t the same as the ones I got in prison. And I don’t think those scars are real.” 

Mira snatched the phone from Skeeter and studied the poster. She gasped as she raised her other hand to cover her mouth. “How did this happen?”

Skeeter looked confused as he stared at her now. “How did what happen, ma’am?”

Mira looked up and whispered, “This isn’t Travis, it’s Matthew.”

“Mom, are you sure?” Augusta asked. 

“I’d know those eyes anywhere, honey,” Mira whispered. “All the hate in them is pure Matthew. If you look close, you can see the hint of insanity in them as well. Only now it’s more prominent.”

“But he didn’t know Travis was still alive,” Augusta argued. “That’s what he told us as he held a knife to my throat.”

Mira shook her head. “The man was born a liar. I think he’s always known Travis was alive. He might not have wanted to face the fact but he knew, deep in his heart he knew. He just tried to outrun it. I don’t think he knew where Travis was and I think he used his brother’s name whenever he wanted to escape the authority he turned his back on a long time ago.” Then she paused to think about it and nodded. “Yeah, he knew. Before he beat the hell out of me a few days ago, he said something I didn’t understand then but now it all makes sense somehow.”

Travis stared at her and asked, “What did he say?”

She turned to look at him then raised her hand to cup his cheek before she admitted, “He’s been looking for me ever since I left Houston after you went to prison. He said he did everything to stop you from walking out of that place but when you did, he tried like hell to find you. You still had something to pay for. He even found you once and set you up again. But this time it wasn’t just a small debt you had to pay but this would at least be a start on the debt you owed him.”

Travis shook his head. “But I never owed him anything. I never understood why he believed that. Owe him for fucking what? That was the thing with him. For every step forward I took, he tried to follow but while I did things the right way, he got darker and darker. He thought money earned illegally was just fine. His ego got bigger and bigger along with his empire but it was all built on sand, wasn’t it? Oh yeah, he went underground and built a house of cards, he threw money around like water but he had to cross a line in the sand. Now his whole empire is crumbling into nothing and he died by the violence he lived by.”

“He wasn’t known to be sane or honest,” Mira agreed.

Travis took her hand and looked up at the group of men standing there. “His lies are coming home to roost and there’s no one left to jack him up again. His whole life was nothing but stealing from Peter to pay Paul and now it's over. Well, over for him anyway. His people will have to deal with the pickings and either take over to try and run things or they’ll just take the money he lived for and run into the shadows.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find the money isn’t real or even his to spend. Matthew always had a dream of being wealthy without doing the real work. He got rich but he had to watch his back continuously to keep his ill gotten gains. He never worried about his lies coming back to bite him in the ass either.”

Skeeter just shook his head. “We need you to come in and clear this up. It's too bad that he isn’t around to admit his guilt but you are all we got and he used another name anyway.”

“That name wouldn’t be Cole Cimarron, would it?” Travis asked.

Skeeter nodded. “As a matter of fact it is. Do you know that name?”

Travis looked spooked as he nodded slowly. “Yeah, I do know that name.” 

“How?” Gunner asked.

“After I recovered from the attack from Louis, he ended up dead in prison and I ended up being airvaced to a civilian hospital. While I was there, the governor put me in WITSEC. Cole Cimarron was the name they gave me and I lived under it for years. When I came out of hiding I was still using it until about a year ago when I began watching Matthew’s empire.”

Mira looked angry. “He found that out and tried to use it against you. He was setting you up again to take a fall that wasn’t yours!”

Travis nodded. “That little fucker.” He looked over at Skeeter. “And now I have no way to prove it. He's beyond your kind of justice and again I’m left behind to take the blame that isn’t mine to take.”

Skeeter crossed his arms over his chest and just stared at him for a long moment. “I know none of this is fair, but we need to get this settled one way or another. Set the record straight and just maybe we can clear your name, once and for all. Since he’s dead we don’t have anything to fight him on. This is not going to be easy to prove. There’s eye color but contacts can change that. The scars? Also can be changed. But we can try to get to the truth.”

Travis nodded then reached for his weapon. “I am just giving it to you.” He handed it to Skeeter without his fingers being anywhere near the trigger.

Skeeter took the weapon and reached for his handcuffs. 

Travis shook his head and said, “You won’t need those, I’m not going anywhere unless it's with you. I’m tired of being labeled as a criminal. So I happen to need to get this finished once and for all.”

Augusta glared at Skeeter. “They waited years and years to be together. Even thinking the other one was dead. Now, you come and ruin it.”

Skeeter paused and stared at her.

Travis looked over at her. “Baby girl, it isn't his doing.”

Renegade placed his arm around August to comfort her.

Skeeter slowly shook his head then motioned for Travis to leave the room. 

Travis turned to Mira and gathered her into his arms. “Please wait for me. I’ll come back for you and Augusta.”

Mira nodded as tears ran down her face. “I’ll be here, waiting for you.”

 Everyone watched as Travis left the room and Skeeter walked out after him.

Tate looked at Gunner and asked, “Is he going to be okay?”

Gunner and Boone both nodded. 

“Skeeter will make sure of that,” Gunner replied. “He isn’t going to just turn him over and walk away. He’s going to work with the system and get the answers we need. Skeeter isn’t one to leave things alone.”

“I hope so,” Augusta was crying now. “My father has been through hell and now this? Our family should be celebrating not watching him being taken back to jail.” She turned and wept into Renegade’s chest.

Chapter Two

Darrin made his way to the main room. He found it empty so he wandered down the hall. When he saw everyone in the room Mira had been given, he went in and looked at Tate and cleared his throat. 

Tate looked over at him.

  Darrin nodded at him and said, “I don’t know what this means, but I went to the back area to collect Matthew’s body and it wasn’t there. Unless the other men moved it? I distinctly remember it had been covered up with a blanket just an hour ago. He was the only one that died as far as we know. But his body seems to be missing.” 

The room went silent. 

Finally, Silas asked, “It isn’t there?”

Darrin looked at them all and said, “I had my men looking and they didn’t find it. Or at least they haven’t yet.”

“Damn,” Tate swore under his breath as he turned his head to look at Gunner and Boone, Patriot and Gypsy. “Come with me boys. Let’s go find him.”

Silas shook his head. “Like you’re gonna track a dead guy?” He rolled his eyes.

The men all filed out the door and headed into the woods, more men had joined them. After a few minutes, they arrived at the clearing where Travis, Tate and Renegade had confronted Matthew.

 Gunner knelt down on his heels and looked at the scene. He could see disturbances along the ground that told a story of a scuffle taking place. He could even see a few drops of blood staining the ground but then he paused. Looking over his shoulder, he asked Tate, “Where is all the blood?”

Tate looked up at him and asked, “What?”

Gunner motioned at the scene that was supposed to be where a shooting took place. “Where is all the blood? If you guys killed him, then where is the blood?”

Silas nodded. “He’s right, there should be some where he dropped and if he got away, where's the trail of blood?”

Everyone broke apart to look for the blood trail. They found a small splatter of blood here and there. But they didn’t find any real blood trail or any sign of someone injured and fleeing the scene of a shooting.  

Darrin went ahead of everyone, deeper into the trees, then something caught his eye and when he walked over he found a vest, apparently a bullet proof vest that carried three bullet holes. They were all center massed in a pattern that suggested they were all aimed at the heart of the man who wore the Kevlar. He looked up and called out to them, “There’s something here you all need to see here.”

In just a minute or two, everyone joined him.

“Seems that sonofabitch escaped justice yet again,” Darrin stated as he looked pissed.

 When Gunner knelt, he saw the vest and swore under his breath. He could see the pattern of the bullets. The three different bullet holes. His expression looked grim as he dug into his pocket for his phone and texted Skeeter. He needed him here immediately. 

Skeeter texted back that he had to get Travis from the station first then he would return. 

Gunner took a photo of the vest and sent it to him.

Skeeter texted a moment later, “We’ll be there.”

Gunner nodded and glanced at Darrin. “Glad you never touched it. We need to keep the chain of evidence.”

Twenty minutes later …

Skeeter and Travis joined them in the woods. 

Skeeter saw the vest laying on the ground and he swore under his breath, “What the hell?”

Travis froze for a moment then he growled. “That little cocksucker. He had this all planned. And like fools, we played his game again.”

Gunner looked at Skeeter and said, “No one has touched it.” He glanced at Darrin.

He shook his head and raised his hands and said, “Never touched it.”

Skeeter growled as his hand roamed over the back of his head. He glanced at Tate then looked at Gunner. “I’m going to have to call this in, you know that right?”

Gunner met Tate’s gaze as he nodded. “Sure, I know, but when we all give our statements it will be on the record then.” He glanced at Travis. “This is going to explode all over the place. But the thing is, if you tell the truth and can back it with official evidence, Matthew isn’t going to have a place to hide. He can’t use his normal officials to hide behind either. They will freeze all his accounts until everything can be sorted out.”

Travis nodded. “I got nothing to hide, I never did. Matthew always had more to hide than I did. When Mira gave over the evidence that cleared me and Louis died after attacking me inside the pen, all the evidence tracked right back to my brother. The men he paid off tried to bury it all but even they knew they couldn’t destroy real evidence. You may have to really look for it but you can still find it.”

Gunner nodded then looked at Skeeter. “Make the call.”

Skeeter reached for his phone. 

An hour later, a crew of US Marshalls drove up to the compound. They got out of their SUVs to do their job and question the entire MC.

By dawn the next morning, they had everything on record and all the evidence was put into a van. 

Skeeter’s friend Marcus suggested, “Maybe you should stay close to Travis. Just to keep an eye on him. I mean his story is real and we’ve confirmed part of it, but this Matthew guy is beginning to become unhinged. He’ll come after his brother. Perhaps even the old girlfriend and the daughter they had together. He’s one of those psychos so blind with crazy that he’s going to strike out and he’s going to  make it hurt. He's also on the losing end this time and from what we’ve heard tonight, that’s not a place he’ll be happy with. He’s used to coming out on top or sliding away clean. The good thing though? We’re aware of him now and we can work to shrink his world.” Marcus paused to look around at the people standing there. “We’re gonna take his empire down brick by fucking brick. We’ll find his secrets and blow them up one by one.”

Travis  spoke up and told him, “One thing you might want to look at is the money.”

Marcus tilted his head at him. “The money?”

Travis nodded. “Matthew never gave anything away when he could help it. He made a deal with Joshua Moon. Handed him 14 million dollars in cash in exchange for half the value of a gold mine on Indian land. The gold mine couldn’t be his and I think he knew it but he made the deal anyway. If I were you, I would check the money and see if it was even real or not.”

Tate crossed his arms over his chest and gave Marcus a nod. “The money is sitting in a Houston bank, in a safety deposit box with Joshua Moon’s name on it. He thought he could park the money there, so in a few years he could collect it and live like a king. He told us that the same day we confronted him and his brothers before they all went to prison. Only his brothers had no idea Joshua had this secret and they were pissed. But they will all be old and grey before they ever get out. ”

Marcus just shook his head. “We can always get a warrant and check things out. If the money isn’t real, then we got another charge for Matthew.”

Tate nodded then handed over the paperwork to prove their claim. “That’s the contract Joshua signed, but he never used his own name. Michael Moon was his father’s name and Crysta is his mother’s name. Michael threw Crysta out of his home twenty years ago after beating her so badly she lost her eyesight. Joshua never knew if she was dead or alive when he put her name on that contract. She’s here if you need to talk to her.”

Marcus shook his head. “We know where she is if we need to talk to her and we might but for right now, we’ll just leave with what we have.” He looked at Skeeter and asked, “Are you staying here or going home?”

“We’ll be going home again after we get things done here,” Skeeter told him. “I’ll make sure Travis is with us.”  He shrugged and added, “Personally, I don’t think he has anything to hide and I think he’ll cooperate with every step. He wants to end this as much as we do. There is a wanted poster out on his alias from a couple of weeks ago but he claims it isn’t him and I think he’s right. He says the man in the poster has green eyes and his are blue and his scars don’t match the man on the poster. I believe him. Mira says the man on the poster is Matthew and I think she could be right about that.”

Marcus nodded. “We can check on that as well. This Matthew has balls and really chases the win. I'll give him that much, but he won’t be free for long.”

“You have to be very careful,” Skeeter warned him. “If and when you find him, he’s got the mindset that nothing can touch him. He thinks he’s bought and paid for the very system we work for. That makes him dangerous and stupid.”

“You got that right,” Marcus agreed. “He might have bribed or blackmailed a junior member but most lawmen worth his own salt wouldn’t allow any bribe. Don’t worry, we’ll find him and then we’ll drag him out of the hole he’s climbed into, kicking and screaming.”

 “I’m hoping you can do just that.” Travis nodded at him. “Matthew has been hiding behind a wall of fake friends and officials for years, building his empire of greed and violence and breaking the law for even longer. He’s been blackmailing good people and draining them since he was 20 years old. Always taking and taking while never thinking of the destruction behind his wake. It's long past time to stop him.” He paused, then added, “He had a knife to my daughter’s throat earlier and he didn’t even hesitate to put it there, he used her as a shield to try and get away. He beat her mother days before. If Darrin hadn’t gotten her out of that compound of his, she would have been left behind. I almost lost both of them before I even knew it.” He looked over at Skeeter. “If you want me, then they come too. I will not now or ever leave them behind again.”

Gunner nodded at him. “We won’t leave them behind either. They are more than welcome to come with us when we go home. It will be easier to protect our home compound than it is here. We already have a highly protected base due to a few of us being ex-lawmen. We know our own turf and each of my men knows and has weapons they can use to protect our families. I’m not saying your men don’t know how to shoot, Tate, because I know you guys will protect those behind your walls just as we will, but my men are trained bounty hunters. We know the law enough to know what to do.”

“I know that Gunner,” Tate replied. “While we appreciate your willingness to come to build our numbers, it makes sense that you guys are stronger on your own turf too. No worries on that account and if you need us for backup, we’ll be there.”

“I don’t think we’ll have a need,” Gunner said. “And while I’m not sure how many men Matthew had working for him, I think we got most of them already.”

Travis nodded. “I think we did too. Matthew always surrounded himself with people who would stain their hands with the blood of others, so he wouldn’t have to. This time, he watched as we dared to shoot back, something he never expected us to do. Now he knows he’s down to whoever he can get to stand in front of him. Hell…” He snorted. “He knows he’s really not safe since he took three hits from three different people, one of them being me, his own brother. That had to be something he never thought would happen. But it just showed him that he is not invincible.” He paused to look back at the clubhouse. “Now I just have to talk Mira and Augusta into coming with me.”

Silas slapped him on the back and said, “I don’t think that’s going to be as hard as you think. You got twenty plus years to make up for.”

 

Chapter Three

 

Travis made his way back to Mira and Augusta. He took Mira’s hand in his and said, “Honey, the Marshals want me to go with Skeeter to their clubhouse in Jasper. They found out that Matthew escaped. They found a discarded bullet proof vest somewhere on the property here. We hit him with three bullets but he must have been wearing that vest. He went down and we thought he was dead but that bastard was planning ahead. After we left, he took off the vest and escaped. He just walked away.”

Mira gasped and raised her trembling hand to cover her mouth. “No. I thought we were safe. Finally safe from him. So where does that leave us?” she whispered.

Travis shook his head and told her, “We sure as hell can’t just sit here and wait for him to attack. We have to move forward. I’ve been watching his compound for a while. Most of his men are gone now but he’s still alive and we have one final battle to win. I hate the fact that he’s already hurt you and Augusta.” Shaking his head he admitted, “You were right about him finally crossing that line into insanity. He’s been on the hard edge for too long and he knows he’s losing everything he’d ever stolen. All that power that he killed for. It faded away during this battle. He’s always hidden behind everyone else up until now. But he’s running out of places to hide and if we give up now, he’ll just find another rock to hide under. Then he’ll still come after us later. I for one won't let him do that again. We have to find a way to end this now.”

“What are you going to do?” Mira asked. “He could be anywhere by now.”

Travis shook his head. “No, I have a feeling he’s still here, he’s still around this area. He can’t leave us alone because if he does that means he loses.And he can’t stand to lose. That means I’ve got to lead him away. Get him out to somewhere he can’t defend himself. But I can’t let either of you get hurt. Not again and I’ll be damned if I’ll lose you again. That about killed me the first time. I had to leave you behind even if it was only for a short time. I knew they couldn’t keep me in prison for long. The truth would eventually come out. I didn’t know you were already working to free me. Matthew couldn’t have that happen so he paid someone inside to kill me. When that didn’t happen, Matthew built his compound and surrounded himself with men he thought would put themselves on the front line.” He stared at Mira and said a little softer, “Back then when I was shackled and led away, I couldn’t protect you. I was innocent and Matthew knew it. He knew and didn’t say a word, but you did. You took the evidence to the right person and the authorities had no choice but to let me go. They couldn’t get to him, he kept putting up barriers and hiding behind the very laws he kept breaking or bending to the point they should have snapped. The real cops had to fight to clean up the cops on the take. That took longer than they figured but they finally got it done. Matthew knows now that he’s got nothing left and that’s going to make him unpredictable. But this was more or less his last stand. He believed he could come here and win but Tate and his men were able to shoot back. He’s got to come after me now. Maybe he thinks he can kill me and still get away to hide for a while. Then start over again someplace where nobody knows him. Hell, I don't know.”

Tears rolled down her face as she held onto his hand and listened.

“But this time I’m not leaving you or Augusta behind,” Travis went on. “Not ever again. I know I don’t have the right to ask this but I want the two of you to come with me. I want the chance we never had, all those years ago. I want the life we had planned. I know we’ve both changed over the years. When I finally got out of the hospital I wasn’t the same man I’d been when I first went to prison. I was harder, more determined and I tried to find you, God knows I tried but I knew you had to run. I also knew the reason why you ran and I didn’t blame you.  I searched long and hard for you, but I couldn’t find you. I couldn’t let you know that I was free.” He looked over at Augusta and said softly, “I didn’t know about the daughter you gave me. I never got to watch her grow up, to have all her firsts. I missed out on so much of your lives.”

“Oh Travis,” Mira said softly. “I was waiting for you the whole time. But I couldn’t stay where Matthew was. I couldn’t let him find me alone and vulnerable ever again. I knew I had to protect our child. I couldn’t allow him to find us and use Augusta against you or even me. I never knew you were this close or I would have reached out sooner.”

He slowly shook his head. “I wasn’t that close. I think I lost myself. For a long time I forgot who I was. I wasn’t the same man I had been. I lost a lot of years to foolishness. Then one day about five years ago, something happened and it took almost losing my life to finally wake me up.”

Mira reached out and touched his arm. “What happened?” she asked softly.

Travis sat there for a long time and didn’t say a word then he began telling his story, it wasn’t pretty and it didn’t put him in a good light but he figured she had the right to know, “I was at an all time low when this punk came up to me and tried to rob me. I was half drunk at the time and he thought I’d be an easy mark, I guess. I mean he was  maybe seventeen and I was forty. I should have just walked away but he called me a fool and I lost it. I just lost it. He looked at my scars and told me that maybe I should have just given in and let myself go, then he called me a dumb motherfucker and tried to pull a knife on me. I just saw red. He came at me and I used moves on him that I never even thought about. I disarmed him in two moves and then I began hitting him. Over and over I hit him. Somewhere in mind I was picturing Matthew’s face when I looked at this punk. He never had a chance and I almost killed him with my bare hands. I let him drop to the ground. In that moment, I took a deep breath and let the rage just fade away then I turned and walked away. The kid was still alive, I know that because I didn’t walk too far and was just sitting there when he came around again. But the look of fear on his face when he saw me, before he ran away was something I could never forget. It slammed into me and brought me to a stop. I’d almost killed a kid because he dared to call me out. I was living in Minnesota then. After that, I got into my truck and drove away. I didn’t stop until I got back here. I stayed closed up in a motel room for a solid week. I quit drinking and started making plans. I was going to watch Matthew and stop him one way or another. I made a vow that I would stop him and take down the empire he’d spent all those years building up. Then I was going to find you again and make up for what Matthew tried to take away from us.”

Shaking her head, she explained what happened, “He never found me or he knew and didn’t care until a few days ago. He reached out and grabbed me on my way home. He told me he’d known where I was for some time but he didn’t  care because he had no reason to. But I think he knew you were around and what you were going to do. He saw Augusta then and he said if I didn’t want him to go after her, I had to behave myself. Then he beat me and threw me into that damn room. When he left, he locked the door. I stayed there alone and in the dark. I thought he was going to just let me starve to death, then that man Darrin came in and he got me out of that place.”

Travis nodded. “I’d seen them drag you into Matthew’s compound but I hadn’t seen your face. I didn’t know it was you. I only saw you after Darrin and his men got you out. I knew Matthew couldn’t just let you go, so I followed them here. I watched over you and I was here when Augusta called you mom and I began to hope. Hope against hope that this girl was mine. Then Matthew admitted it all while he was holding a knife to her throat. I thought he was going to kill her right there in front of me. I was never so scared of my own brother in my life. Then she faked a faint and Matthew was exposed. I didn’t hesitate. I shot him but I wasn’t the only one. Tate and Renegade shot him as well. We pumped three bullets into his chest and I thought Matthew was dead for sure.”

“But now, we all know he’s not,” Mira whispered.

Travis shook his head. “No, he’s not. He’s out there somewhere thinking he has to strike back. And he will. He’ll come after us, all of us because he can’t just let this go. He’ll come after all three of us now and no one around us will be safe until someone stops him for good.” 

Mira turned her head to look at Augusta and Renegade. Then she turned back to Travis. “So what exactly do you need us to do then?” she asked.

“Well, I need to go with Skeeter back to Jasper,” he told her as he looked into her eyes. “They said they could protect me there. I told them I wouldn’t go without you and our daughter. They said you and Augusta could come too. I know you might not even want to come but I have to ask. I never stopped loving you Mira and I know I don’t have any reason to think you’ll want to take up where we left off but I’m hoping you will give me another chance. Do you think we can try again? You and me? And I want to get to know my daughter. I want to find out just what the two of you went through all this time. I want to find out where you lived and how you got by all these years. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you like we never got to do all those years ago. I know we have to do our best to stop Matthew but I don’t want us to have any more time apart. We lost so much because of him. So I guess what I’m asking is, will you give me a chance to finally take my place in your life?”

Mira stared at him with tears in her eyes. She took a deep breath and said, “I never thought I’d see you again. I really believed you were dead. They hid you and all I could do was mourn you for a long time. Losing the love of my life hurt, but raising Augusta was my saving grace. She represented us. She showed me why I needed to go on with life. But yes, I’ll give you a second chance. I can’t speak for Augusta, she’s her own woman but I’d like to see if what we had once, we can have again.”

With shimmering eyes, he gave her a smile as he raised her hand in his and gently kissed her knuckles.

A long moment of silence went by as they simply stared at each other, realizing that this could actually happen. Being together again. They both looked over at their daughter.

 With tears in her eyes, Augusta nodded. “I’d like to finally know you too, Dad. Mom hadn’t said much about you but yeah, I’ll go with you.”

“I hope you don’t mind but I’ve fallen for your daughter,” Renegade spoke up. “I think I was supposed to find her for a long time now. She arrived here and I just knew her when I saw her. I knew it was true. So I think I’ll just tag along. You know, to protect her and her mom.”

Travis smiled at him. “More protection for them and as I can see…Happiness for my daughter. It sounds good to me.”