The overhead light was blinding when I could open my eyes.

Cursing the pain in my head, I tried to sit up only to get pushed back down. Startled, I whipped my head up and locked eyes with Vincent. Relief flooded his face as his hand constricted around mine.

"Thank fuck," he murmured, leaning forward to rest his forehead against mine.

My brow furrowed. "Well hello to you too," I said.

"Do you even know what happened?' he asked, pulling back from me to sit down. It was only then that I recognized the walls of his office. Though, now that I looked around, I realized it was trashed. Everything that normally sat on his desk was in a heap on the floor as if someone had shoved it there. Considering I was laying on the desk, there was a high possibility that was exactly what had happened. "Juliette?" he called, reminding me he was waiting for an answer.

"No, I don't. I just remember shoving you out of Sebastian's line of fire."

"And putting yourself right into it," he snapped. My eyebrows rose at his tone. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "You took the bullet he had aimed at me."

As if his words were an incantation, pain blossomed outward from my shoulder. Wincing, I looked to the source of the offense. My stomach rolled at the sight of the blood-soaked bandage, not to mention the bruising creeping out from beneath it. Memories of how I had felt when I saw a similar bandage on Vincent's stomach made me even more queasy. Raising my opposite hand, I prodded at the dressing and flinched at the immediate throb of pain.

Okay, so moving was probably going to be difficult. Raising my arm had taken way more energy than I was expecting. And training was definitely out of the question for a while.

"Brandon dug the bullet out and stitched you up," Vincent said, calling my attention back to him. "It's not the prettiest and it'll scar, but at least it will heal. And you won't die." He shook his head before walking around the desk to the chair that sat in the far corner. There was a flannel draped over it that I could never in a million years picture Vincent wearing. He picked it up and tossed it to me.

Raising my arms to catch it on reflex, I cried out when my shoulder protested against the sudden movement. Before I even had a chance to drop my arms back to the desk, Vincent was there. His hands hovered around me as if he didn't know what to do with them.

Which would be a first.

"I'm fine," I ground out.

I could almost feel him roll his eyes at me. "Let's just get you dressed."

Glancing down, I blushed to find I was only in my bra. Locating the shreds of my own shirt on the floor, I knew that Brandon must have had to cut it off me in order to get to the bullet wound. Sighing, I allowed Vincent to help me ease into a sitting position. His fingers were gentle as they drew the fabric up and over my shoulders. He traced the opening of the shirt to the first button, before making sure every single one was fastened. When he was done, he took me by the biceps and turned me to face him. His eyes were an even darker green than normal as they searched my face. The stubble adorning his sharp jawline was thicker than I had ever seen it.

"Something wrong?" I asked, raising my good arm to cup his cheek. Even that was a strain.

"You mean besides you getting yourself shot? Not at all," he replied, leaning into my touch.

"If I wouldn't have been there, it would have been you. You would have broken your promise." He raised his brows. "You promised to come back to me."

His eyes softened. He raised his own hands to cradle my face. His thumbs pressed against the underside of my jaw, forcing me to tilt my chin and meet his gaze head-on. "That bullet clipped you in the shoulder, princess. I was wearing a vest. I would have been fine."

"He was aiming for your head."

"Then he would have missed."

"He actually lowered the gun when he saw Juliette," a new voice inserted. Vincent didn't let go of me, but he did allow me enough movement to turn and see Arkin. He nodded at Vincent before turning his gaze back to me. "He hesitated, just for a second, when Juliette jumped for you. By the time he pulled the trigger, his aim was already off."

"See?" I asked. "You would have been dead. I saved you. Again." I thought he was going to scold me. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that familiar ghost of a smile playing around the edges of his full lips.

"Is there a reason you're in here?" he asked Arkin, not bothering to look away from me.

"We wanted to see if she had woken up."

"Get out. Tell the others she's fine."

A low laugh left the brunette. He gave a quick, two-finger salute before slipping out of the office. He winked before making sure to shut the door behind him.

"I'm livid with you for disobeying an order," Vincent murmured, his eyes trailing down to my lips. "But, gods, am I glad that you're okay."

"I love you, too," I teased, pushing up on my toes to press my lips to his.

He groaned. The sound vibrated through his chest right into mine. It sent a twinge of pain through my shoulder, but I was going to ignore that. I caught his bottom lip between my teeth and nipped.

The chuckle that rumbled through the room was as much of a promise as it was a threat, and I had to press my thighs together to try and control the heat raging through me.

We had made it. He was alive. I was alive.

And all of our enemies were dead.

For the time being.

My shoulder twinged, but I ignored it as I eased him down into the chair he had been sitting in. The same one I had sat in my very first night in this office. For a moment, I just stared at him. I took in the heat in his gaze and couldn't believe this was where we had ended up. If I had known then, would I have done anything differently?

I didn't think so.

The man before me had upended my entire life. But now, I couldn't imagine it without him.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked, reaching forward enough to catch my hands in his. He entwined our fingers before pulling me into the space between his spread thighs. Vincent was always gentle with me, but with the wound on my chest, he was treating me like I was as fragile as glass. He released my hands in favor of cupping the backs of my thighs, his thumbs moving in lazy circles.

"Shouldn't we go out there? Announce our victory?" My hands settled on his shoulders as he continued to drive me mad with his feather-light touches.

"Lucas can debrief them."

I hummed, tracing my fingers up the column of his throat to tangle in his hair. The movement caused some discomfort, but my focus was on the man in front of me. I needed the distraction, and I think Vincent was picking up on it. His smile turned wicked as I pulled on the hair at the nape of his neck, angling his head up so I could slant my mouth back over his.

"You know," I mused, trailing kisses along his cheekbone until I reached his ear. "I seem to remember you once telling me that most people would be on their knees for you in this office."

With my shoulder, sex was off the table. But this? This I could do.

His breath caught. He pulled away from my grip, but only enough to meet my eyes. His pupils blew out, black swallowing green in a way that made my blood spark in answer. Giving him a coy smile, I dropped to my knees in front of him.

"Guess you weren't so wrong after all."

My mouth was otherwise occupied after that.

* * * * *

"It's healed! Look," I said, rotating my left arm. "I can go back to work."

The three men gathered in my apartment just gave me dead pan looks. My teeth ground together in frustration.

"Jules," Brandon started, running his fingers through his hair.

"No." I hissed, pointing at him. "It has been four months since I worked a shift. This has got to stop."

Dante and Vincent exchanged glances I didn't even want to try and decipher. Those two had become thick as thieves in the past few months, and I still wasn't sure how I felt about it. Dante had returned to 'retirement' as he liked to call it, but he still kept up to date with what we were doing. Still helped Vincent with any advice he needed when it came to dealing with the other gangs in Valarian.

In our city.

We hadn't wasted any time in spreading the news of the end of both the Graham and Kline families, once and for all. It hadn't taken the rest of them long to fall in line. If they had feared and revered Vincent before, it wasn't anything compared to how they looked at him now. And they knew which ring Dante had finally tossed his hat into. After years of staying neutral, he now had a vested interest in Vincent's success.

And no one doubted why that was.

Devyn and I were as good as family to Dante. With how deep we had entrenched ourselves into the gang, he really didn't have much of a choice.

Poor thing.

But now, it was time for me to go back to my life. Vincent had been paying for my apartment for long enough. I had done every single thing Brandon had asked of me in regard to my recovery. But I was going to absolutely lose my mind if I didn't get back to work.

Did I still head things with Vincent? Yes. I was in on every meeting. Every decision. Every move we made was run by both of us. But that wasn't enough. It was ours. It wasn't mine.

Tuxedo? That was mine. And I wanted it back.

The men blew out a collective breath as I crossed my arms over my chest and arched my brows at them. They weren't winning this argument this time. I had let them talk me out of it too often.

Brandon threw up his hands first. "Fine. You're clear on my end. It's up to your boss and your boyfriend at this point."

"Fiancé," Vincent corrected coolly.

My engagement ring suddenly felt very heavy.

"Fiancé," Brandon mocked, rolling his eyes before heading for the door. He hooked an arm around my neck and pulled me in for a bear hug as he passed. My lungs sputtered for air as I hugged him back. "I'll see you guys later. Have fun."

Dante had a smirk on his face when I finally turned to him. His warm brown eyes sparkled, and he held up a finger the moment I opened my mouth. "You can come back on one condition."

"And what's that?"

"You start training with me."

"For what?" I asked, brows drawing together.

"To take over. I'm not going to run that bar forever."

To say I was floored was an understatement. For a few heartbeats, I could do nothing more than blink at Dante.

"You can't be serious." Vincent laughed at my words, trying to cover it with a cough when I turned to look at him. "Did you know about this?"

"One hundred percent."

"Dante!" How dare he tell Vincent first?

This time my boss did roll his eyes at me. "Jules, my plan has been for you to take over for years. Lord knows I wouldn't leave Devyn in charge."

"I can't –"

"You can," he said, cutting me off. "You've been working there for over a decade now. No one else has been there as long as you. There is no one I would trust more. And it would be beneficial to you both for you to be the one in charge. You're one of the most powerful people in this city, it's time to put your name on something of your own."

I was going to be sick.

Vincent moved to my side, and I sank into his warmth. He took my left hand in his, running his thumb over my ring. I could feel the smile on his mouth when he kissed my forehead.

"You're going to be incredible," he murmured, his lips brushing the shell of my ear.

My hand tightened on his as I looked up into the forest green eyes I knew so well. They were sparkling, crinkling at the corners in the way they only did for me.

"And you'll be with me?"

"Every step of the way."

Dante coughed. "That's my cue to leave. 3 o'clock sharp tomorrow, Jules."

Dexter chuffed from his spot on the couch but didn't bother moving as the front door shut.

A silence settled over the apartment. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but after having the hustle and bustle of the warehouse for so long, it felt empty. My eyes roamed over the apartment. The place I had been ever since I set out on my own. For the first time since the day I moved in, it didn't feel like home.

"The offer still stands to move in with me," Vincent said, reading my mind as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

"I didn't want to consider it before today, this was enough." I flashed my ring at him, the single princess-cut diamond flaring in the late afternoon sunlight. "But this doesn't feel right anymore."

"So, what's your decision?"

"I don't want to live in the warehouse. Doesn't really scream 'married couple running an empire' to me."

He grinned, spinning me to fully face him. "There's always the house."

"That's your family home, Vincent."

"What do you think this makes you?" he asked, raising my hand to his mouth so he could kiss my knuckles. "You are my family, Juliette. We'll keep the apartment for when we don't want to drive out to the house after late nights with the gang. But you're right. It's better if we build something that's ours separate from the warehouse."

"I'm not the decorator Alana was," I teased.

"That's obvious," he said, glancing around my home. For the first time at the mention of her name, there was no sadness that crossed Vincent's face. I swatted at him, and he caught my wrist. He used my own momentum against me and pulled me impossibly closer. "But we'll do this together. To the death, remember?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "However slow or swift it may come."

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