I let out a grunt as Mason collapsed on top of me. The knife he'd had in his hand as he charged at me skidded across the gravel. As I struggled to get out from under him, three uniformed officers pulled him up, blood seeping through his shirt from where the bullet has struck his shoulder. My eyes were wide, my whole body vibrating with nerves. I didn't remember the police arriving. I didn't know where that shot had come from. I just knew without it, this afternoon would've ended very differently.
As the cops hauled a cuffed Mason toward one of the three waiting cars blocking the entrance to the alley. I struggled to sit up. I struggled to pull myself out of the chaos of the last few minutes. When I could, I turned to see Wallace behind me, gun still trained in Mason's direction.
My savior was the one man convinced of my guilt. If that wasn't fate playing jokes, I didn't know what was.
Wallace gave me a single firm nod as he holstered his weapon. Somehow, that single nod felt like more of an apology. An admittance that he had been wrong. I returned it with a tight smile, my chest heaving with rapid breaths and adrenaline.
Suddenly my brain told me I needed to find Dylan, and my eyes started searching in a panic. I spotted her, curled up on the gravel behind Lita's car. I'm not sure anyone else had even seen her yet, but I scrambled to my feet, only skidding to a stop to drop at her side.
"Baby, baby, we're okay..." I soothed, trying to pull her into my arms.
I think she was too far into panic mode to even realize it was me as she just folded more around herself and rattled off "No, no, no, no, no."
"Shh, shhh, shhh," I hummed, finally corralling her against my chest. "It's me, baby. It's me. You're okay. We're okay."
Her breathing was quick and shallow as she practically melted into me, still rocking slightly, sobbing and shaking. "Is he gone?" she whispered. "Just tell me he's gone."
"He's gone, baby. He's gone. It's over. It's all over."
Slowly, her arms unwound from her body and instead tightened around my neck. "I thought... I thought..."
"No, baby. I'm okay. We're okay. It's over. It's over, baby."
I closed my eyes and held her against me, clinging to her with some odd mixture of relief and pent-up fear. The chaos around us faded to a dull murmur as I said a million never-ending prayers, both whispered at Dylan and in silence. She was safe. I was safe. It was over. For the first time in our five-month long relationship, we were free.
Finally. Fucking. Free.
It was nearly eight that night before Dylan and I got back to the penthouse. After the police arrested Mason, we were both taken to give a statement, along with Lita and Ryder. Man, seeing Ryder's face when he realized his own family was responsible was heartbreaking. The second I realized Mason was the guilty party, any past we had ceased to exist. It didn't matter that we'd grown up together. It didn't matter that he'd been a part of my childhood all the way until now. He instantly became a stranger, monster, and I was grateful that he was gone, but I knew not everyone would be able to cut it off that easily.
Shayne and Stefan were waiting at my place for us. Shayne was a fucking mess. I think he was angrier at himself than he was Mason. He repeated how he should've known infinite times no matter what I or Dylan tried to tell him. Of course, his sister had spent the last few hours saying much of the same. The blame was strong in the Harper family.
After he finished at the station, Ace came over and gave everyone the lowdown on what he had found, all the things he'd already told me about. Mason had more than one membership on Dylan's page, all anonymous, all sending her a constant barrage of messages, ranging between how in love with her he was, to how horrible of a human being she was for ignoring him. He went from using pet names to a slew of derogatory terms with only minutes between messages. One of Ace's contacts had been able to trace them all to the same IP address, the one connected to Mason's laptop.
Apparently while one squad had descended on the alley, another had gone to Mason's house for a search. Ace had turned in all he had found, and it was Trunchbull that made the call to get a search warrant, and the second I told Ace that Dylan, Lita, and Ryder had ended up at Mason's bar, he called for more cars to meet us there.
They had also found a hard drive of letters that he had written to Dylan. It read more like some sort of creepy love journal, spanning the entirety of their relationship. They found photos of just her and her and I together, pinned up in his basement, like a terrifying shrine. I shuddered at the thought of what could've happened if he hadn't been caught that day. I don't know if it was out of the surplus of evidence or his own conscience but Mason had immediately admitted his guilt. Of course, he could easily revoke that when it came time for a trial, but for now, he was behind bars and both Dylan and I were okay.
After a few hours of more silence and grief than anything else, the penthouse cleared, leaving Dylan, Noodle, and I alone with our thoughts. It was obvious Noodle knew something was wrong and he stayed glued to his mom's side. I'd always heard that animals had some kind of sixth sense to when their human needed them, but this was the first time I'd seen it in action. Noodle was completely calm instead of his usual bit of madness, staying cuddled against Dylan like a barrier of protection.
The next few days were rather silent. I was glad I'd already taken the time of work so that I could be with her, but Dylan wasn't saying a whole lot. There was a lot of cuddling, quite a few tears. I was there to make sure she ate, and to run her baths when I knew she needed to relax. I held her and petted her hair and assured her everything would be fine. Her heart was broken, that much was clear, and nothing I could do would fix it. But I would do everything in my power to lighten the load.
I ended up taking an additional week off work, and by the end of the second week, Dylan started coming back around. We found her a therapist. Her speech had entirely returned to normal with the occasional bit of raspy-ness, that, truth be told, I found rather sexy. The clouds were really starting to clear away.
In the third week, I returned to the office and Dylan started working more at the club with Shayne. Her cousin that resided in the other half of her duplex, bought the entire thing from her and Dylan moved permanently into the penthouse with me. We renovated the second bedroom into a giant closet/slash studio for her. She'd decided to give up her OnlyPatrons site, now feeling uncomfortable thanks to Mason's abuse of it, but she started making makeup and fashion videos. She needed a creative outlet and this seemed to fit her perfectly. She had fun with it and honestly gained a good following rather quickly, but all I really cared about was seeing her smile again. Because a happy Dylan? That was absolutely everything.
By mid-August, six weeks after the alley, life seemed to be pretty much back to normal. Mason had declined a trial. He'd accepted full culpability and decided to let the judge sentence him to whatever they found to be an appropriate punishment. Ace, though usually a defense attorney, had taken on the responsibility of standing for Dylan, fighting for justice without needing her presence. No trial meant she wouldn't have to see him. She wouldn't have to answer questions. She wouldn't have to be reminded of everything that had happened. All communications from the court went through Ace, and we more than trusted him to do what was right. Since their meeting, he'd fallen for Dylan and her energy as much as I had. He saw her as family, and he was going to do whatever was in his power to make sure Mason stayed gone for good. Considering one of the litany of charges against him was attempted murder, it probably wasn't going to be real difficult. Even less difficult without Mason fighting it, but it was reassuring to know that Ace's fire and passion were on our side.
I arrived home from the office around seven one Friday night. It had been a long week with more contracts and meetings and the monotony of my job. I still enjoyed it more than I ever had working for my father, but more often than not, I just wanted to be home with my girl and our dog. I had, without even knowing it, become a family man. Because that's what Dylan and Noodle, and Ace and even Shayne and Stefan and Ryder and Lita were.
My family.
A family I had chosen. A family that actually supported me, and loved me, and wanted nothing more than my happiness.
The kind of family I had missed ever since the day my mother died.
I walked in the front door of the penthouse and immediately felt something was off. Not off in a bad way, just different. Dylan wasn't listening to loud pop punk in the studio like she usually was, and Noodle didn't charge the door barking at me like I was some sort of intruder. It was silent... too silent.
"Baby?" I called, laying my briefcase and keys on the kitchen island as I always did. "You home?"
I heard the clack of heels against the hard floor before I saw her, and when I did, I just transformed into a man shaped pile of goo. Dylan walked out of our bedroom in the burgundy velvet dress I'd drooled over before a brick was thrown through her front window. It hugged her every curve like it was fucking painted onto her skin. Her dark hair was coiffed and curled like she was some sort of old Hollywood star and somehow, some way, I instantly became more obsessed with the woman that I already was.
She stopped at the opposite end of the island, and popped out a hip, resting a hand with a black, long manicure against it and just smiled at me.
I chuckled a bit dopily as my eyes roamed her curves. "What in the hell did I do to deserve this?" I asked slowly, my brain barely capable of speaking a sentence, let alone hold back my desire to drool.
Dylan just beamed at me and tilted her head a bit, biting her bottom red painted lip. "We have plans tonight."
My eyes suddenly snapped to hers. "We do? What did I forget?"
She giggled brightly and sauntered toward me. "Nothing, baby. It's a surprise."
I smirked crookedly as her fingers brushed against the lapel of my blazer, and I gazed down at her, my eyes already blown out with lust. "Well, I am ready to be surprised."
"Then follow me," Dylan stated. She stretched her neck and planted a soft peck against my cheek before heading for the front door.
"Do I need to change? Or bring anything?"
"Just yourself, baby."
I quickly shrugged off my blazer and took off my tie, taking the hand she held out to me as she led me into the hall. "Where are we going?"
Dylan just grinned as she headed for the elevator. "You'll see."
Despite the fact that I had no idea what was happening, I followed her without a single shred of nervousness. This woman could've been leading me to slaughter, and I still would've trailed after her like a love-sick puppy. We got onto the private elevator, but instead of hitting the button for the lobby, she pushed the one for the rooftop, which only amplified my confusion.
There was a private rooftop garden atop my building. The residents could book it for parties and events, but I had only been up there a handful of times. One cocktail meet and greet like party for the residents and one time Bridget had wanted to just show off, I think. Maybe more.
But when Dylan opened the door leading out, I knew this was no party. Or at least not a party with more than two guests. The plants and trees decorating the space were wrapped with fairy lights. The usual furniture and been moved off to the sides, leaving the center wide open for a large picnic blanket. The blanket was covered with flickering tea lights, and I could see an ice bucket with champagne and food containers awaiting our arrival.
"Dylan..." I hummed, my voice laced with awe.
She looked at me and grinned. "What? Men aren't the ONLY ones allowed to be romantic, you know."
"Baby..."
She turned around and took both of my hands. "Look. We have not had this easy, Ash. I wanted to show you how much I appreciate you. That's it. You deserve to be spoiled once in a while too, ya know."
I used her grasp on my hands to pull her into my arms. "I know you do, baby. You don't need to prove that."
"Yeah, well I wanted to, so deal with it."
I just laughed as I dipped my face to hers and captured her lips, kissing her long and slow, savoring every second. "You are fucking everything," I murmured against her lips.
She grinned against mine. "You just wait, cowboy. You ain't seen nothing yet."
We had dinner on the picnic blanket. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was our usual: Ming's with an overabundance of Crab Rangoons. Most people probably wouldn't have considered Chinese takeout romantic, but considering all the giant moments that restaurant had gotten us through, it was the most us version of romance that ever existed.
After dinner, we laid under the stars, Dylan wrapped in my arms. We laughed and we reminisced. We jokingly planned out our future, though... I'm not sure either of us were actually kidding. Eventually the talking turned into a content silence, and we just laid there together, watching the sky above and listening to the sounds of the city below.
"Ash?" Dylan's soft voice broke the silence.
"Yeah, baby?" I asked, brushing my lips against her forehead.
She sighed and then sat up. "I'm nervous, so bear with me."
My eyes narrowed in confusion as I sat up behind her. "What are you..."
"Just... give me a second." Dylan took a deep breath before rising to her feet, extending a hand to pull me with her.
"Baby, what's going on?"
Dylan headed for a wooden arbor, decorated with leaves and more fairly lights. She wrung her hands together as she paced a bit, and I, curiously followed.
"What the hell is happening right now?" I asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Okay. I know..." she paused and took another nervous, shuddering breath. "I know we've only been together like six months, but I have... never been more certain about anything in my whole life."
"Me, too, baby," I assured with a smile. "I feel like... I've been waiting for you my whole life."
Dylan gave me a sweet smile and nodded. "Me, too. It's always just felt right. Like this is where I belong. I've been in love, or thought I was, a couple times in life, but this... this is different."
I gave her a pursed smile and brushed a palm against her cheek. "It's everything, baby."
She swallowed hard and nodded. "It is... and even though it might feel a bit rushed, I think it's time."
"Time for what, babe?"
I watched Dylan's chest rise as she took a deep breath and in the next moment, this woman, my dream girl, sank to one knee.
I let out a surprised burst of laughter. "What the fuck are you doing?!"
"I asked myself that, too, but here we are," Dylan responded with a chuckle. Her right hand moved and lifted the corner of a rug as she pulled out a ring box. "Asher Wilde..."
"No! I'm supposed to do this! Not you!"
"Fuck sexist stereotypes. I'm proposing, fucker."
I burst into laughter as she cracked open the red velvet box in her hand, revealing a gun metal colored band, with tiny black stones embedded around the center.
"Asher Wilde, I love you more than I ever knew possible. And, though it's fast, I've never been more certain that it's right," Dylan stated confidently, her dark eyes staring up into mine. "Will you marry me?"
I laughed and shook my head, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Oh, god... I can't believe you're doing this right now."
Dylan's eyes went wide with worry. "What? I mean... we can forget..."
"No, baby." I took her other hand and tugged her to her feet. "Your ring will be done in a couple weeks. I was shooting for a Christmas proposal but like fucking always, you gotta be in a hurry."
Dylan's nerves instantly melted into laughter. "Really?"
I laughed, scrubbing a hand through my hair and nodded. "Yeah. Shayne went with me and helped design a ring like a month ago..." My voice trailed off a bit as I eyed the open ring box in her hand, "... and oddly enough, it matches that one pretty perfectly."
She bit her bottom lip and ran her index finger down the line of buttons running the middle of my chest. "So... is it safe to assume that is a yes, then?"
I laughed and pressed my forehead to hers, rubbing our noses together. "That's a fucking hell yes. Of course, I'll marry you. I've never wanted anything more."
Dylan let out a little squeal and threw herself into me, our lips instantly colliding together in a passionate fury. My hands gripped the fabric on her hips as our tongues danced together, rich with passion and love and lust, all wrapped into one. I tugged her body against mine, as if I was attempting to pull her into me, still kissing her with everything I had.
I growled a bit as she finally pulled away. "I'm thinking we should probably move this party back indoors..." I smirked, nipping at her lipstick smeared lips.
Dylan grinned back. "I dunno. I told Trey not to let anyone up here..."
I arched an eyebrow. "Rooftop sex? That's... that's one we haven't checked off the list yet."
"We can check it off on condition..."
I nuzzled my face against the side of her head, my voice a gravelly response in her ear. "Name your price, baby."
"You let me put this fucking ring on your finger."
I laughed and pulled back, holding out my left hand. "Claim me, baby."
Dylan grinned as she plucked the band from the box, tossed the box aside and slid the ring onto my finger. She looked up from my hand and beamed at me. "That's it. You're officially mine now. Women will see this and run the other way."
"Baby, I've been yours since that night you didn't wanna play darts with me," I stated. "You were all angry and intimidating and sexy as all fucking hell. I was instantly a lost cause."
"I really didn't want to like you," Dylan stated as her arms draped over my shoulders. "I tried to fight it."
"You... usually try to fight me on most things."
"Oh, you just wait, buddy. You just signed up for a lifetime of this."
"And I wouldn't want it any other way."
"Smart man."
I smirked and kissed the tip of her nose. "So... about that roof top sex...?"
Dylan playfully rolled her eyes but started pulling me back to the fuzzy blanket we'd only just had dinner on. "Always the sex with you."
"Says the girl who started all of this with a hand job in a club bathroom!"
"I didn't hear a whole lot of complaints outta you that night."
"And you never fucking will."
THE END
Aside from the forthcoming Epilogue 😉