Page 127 of Fight for You

He holds me on his lap for a long time, talking to Titan. When I finally manage to stop crying, I talk to him too. I tell him about Kaleo and how Cade turned into a badass. I tell him about my life and how I'm looking forward to the future for the first time in a long time.

"Thank you for always trying to take care of me," I whisper to him. "Part of me will always feel like it's my fault you got caught up with Kaleo, but I know you just wanted the best for me. Thank you, big brother." I press my hand to my lips and then press it to his headstone.

"Mama, I want you to know I'm going to be okay now," I whisper to her. "I promise you that I'll never stop fighting for myself and for Cade."

"And when she can't fight, I'll fight for her," Cade vows, using his thumbs to wipe away my tears. "I'll love her enough for both of us when she forgets to love herself. You don't have to worry about her anymore, Jana. I've got her now, and I'm not ever letting her go."

His sweet words send more tears down my face.

We sit there for another hour, just talking to my mom and Titan. Sometimes, we cry. Other times, we laugh. But when Cade puts me on my feet a little bit later and presses his lips to my forehead, I feel lighter than I have since the day they died.

"Wait for me in the car, baby girl," he murmurs, turning me toward the rental parked in the grass a few yards away. "I need to have a private conversation with Titan."

I study his expression for a moment—take in the determination in his blue-gray eyes and the confident set of his shoulders—and then I nod.

I press another kiss to Titan's headstone and then to my mom's. Cade watches me as I straighten the flowers and add the ones we brought today to the vases, and then I head to the car so he can say whatever he needs to say to my brother in private. Whatever he has to say is important to him, but I know he'll tell me if I ask. He always gives me what I want. And all I've ever wanted was him.

He's all I will ever want.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Cade

Iwatch January until she makes it to the car, and then I turn back to Titan's grave. Seeing the headstone with his name on it damn near broke me, but my girl was there to hold me together, just like she's been doing for most of my life.

"Hey man," I whisper to Titan and then clear my throat. "When I put a ring on her finger before, I never asked for your permission. I was pissed off and stubborn as hell, so I put that ring on her finger and didn't give a damn if I had your blessing or not. But I'm asking for it now." My gaze drifts from his grave to Jana's. "I promise you that I will be by her side until I take my last breath. No one will ever love her more than I do or cherish her more than I will. I won't let you down again. I won't disappoint you this time. I'll watch over our girl and keep her safe so you can rest easy, brother."

I rake a hand through my hair and exhale. "So if you're cool with me marrying your sister, I could use a sign or something. I'm not really sure how this works. Just don't show up in my bedroom and rattle the doorknobs or some stupid shit like that in the middle of the night, okay? You'd just freak her the fuck out and probably see her naked. No disrespect because you're her brother, but I'll fuck you up if you see her naked…and I don't know how the fuck to fight a ghost, so you're just going to have to give me this one, okay?

"Send me a rainbow or something, I guess? Fuck." I huff out a breath. "I don't even know what the fuck I'm saying. Just…I want to marry your sister, and I need to know you're good with it. And I need you to know that I'll never leave her side. I'll never disappoint you again. I will never hurt her again." I bump my fist gently against his headstone and then lay a kiss on Jana's. "We're going to be okay now," I promise them both. "You'll see."

I linger for another moment like I expect Titan's heavenly voice to come floating down to tell me to keep my hands off his baby sister, but it doesn't. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but at least he didn't ask God to strike me down with lightning or some shit, so I guess that's good enough for now.

When I return to the car, January is curled up in the passenger seat, sleeping. Her nose is red, and her eyes are swollen from crying, but she still looks like my little doll. She will always be my little doll.

I lean over the console to kiss her tenderly on the forehead and then fasten her seatbelt around her before heading back toward home. When I pull up in her driveway half an hour later, she's still passed out. Roman's truck is idling on the curb. He hops out to meet me when I cut the engine.

"What's up, Sasquatch?" I ask him, climbing out.

He flips me the bird and then grins so wide it damn near splits his cheeks. "You ready to come to work for the ATF, fucker?" he asks, reaching out to bump my fist when I prop myself up on the back of the car and shove the keys into my pocket.

I cock my head to the side and arch a brow. "Administrative leave, dude. That means my ass isn't going anywhere until the DEA decides what to do with me."

Basically, until I'm either charged or the case is closed, I'm twisting in the wind. Not that it's stopped me from getting shit done or anything. Now that Kaleo is gone, I've got nothing but time on my hands. The way I see it, Los Angeles needs me just as much, if not more, than Seattle does. Especially with a cartel war festering.

I may not be the monster I've always thought I was, but I'm still pretty fucking scary to those assholes. And I don't need a badge to take care of business when I've got guys like Roman and Santiago in my corner. So I'm doing what needs to be done. The rest will sort itself out eventually.

Roman's grin widens, and he chuckles before clamping a massive hand down on my shoulder. "LAPD cleared you as a suspect about an hour ago, man. You're free."

"I'm…What?" I stumble as shock courses through me, weakening my knees.

"The only prints on the gun were Curtis Kaleo's. Ballistics testing matched that gun to the murders of Adcock, Adams, and Cortez," Roman says softly. "You're free, Michael. Hernandez cleared you as a suspect and officially closed the case since their only remaining suspect is dead. It's over."

"Fuck," I mumble, trying to work moisture back into my mouth. "You're serious."

Roman nods. "The only thing left for you to do is celebrate with your girl and then sign your hire paperwork with Finn Bethel," he says, grinning. "You're free and clear."

"But…"