Emery’s POV

I couldn’t help but smile as I walked out of my sister’s room, my heart swelling with joy. For the first time in over a week, I felt like everything was getting back on track. Jo was awake and recovering from her wounds, and knowing those slimy bastard hadn’t tried to hurt her like they did me was a huge relief. She was safe and happy, just like she always had been.

“Come on, Princess, your surprise is waiting,” Brian said, pulling me into his embrace as soon as I reached the doorway. He carefully wrapped his arm around my waist and placed a soft kiss on my forehead, sending a small wave of electric shock through my veins.

I took in a shaky breath and looked up to see those chocolate eyes looking down at me. I couldn’t help but smile as our eyes met, feeling content and secure. I honestly didn’t know what I would have done without him. He was the only one that could bring me out of the darkness, but hopefully now that Jolie was awake and okay, it would start to disappear.

“Are you ready for your surprise?” Brian whispered in my ear as we walked toward the kitchen.

“What surprise?” I asked softly, unable to stop my heart from racing with excitement. I didn’t know why but after talking with Jo, I was starting to feel a little better. Maybe it was because I knew she hadn’t experienced the same hell I had, which gave me some piece of mind.

Brian chuckled, grabbing a picnic basket that was set out on the island. “Just a little something the Rev helped me put together for you,” he explained leading me down the hallway.

I raised a questioning brow at him as we made our way through three vaguely familiar hallways and down a flight of stairs. Behind us I could hear Jimmy’s footsteps and I tightened my grip on Brian’s waist. I didn’t know where we were going but the anticipation was terrifying. I just hoped it was someplace safe where no one would find us.

“Relax, love, you are safe,” Brian whispered in my ear. “No one is going to hurt you. Jimmy is here to make sure of that.”

I nervously chewed my bottom lip as Brian opened the door at the bottom the stairs, revealing our secret beach. I opened and closed my mouth a few times as the warm, salty breeze gently caressed my face. The sand sunk in between my toes and I let out a small sigh. I loved the beach, especially this one. It was our paradise.

“Welcome home, Em,” Brian cooed in my ear, carefully leading me across the beach toward the bungalow. He opened the basket he was holding and took out a blanket before laying it across the sand.

“I thought you could use a break from reality for a while,” he said, helping me sit down the blanket. “And what better place than our little paradise.” The smile on Brian’s face, took my breath away.

“Thank you,” I breathed, looking around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else on the beach with us.

“Relax, it’s clear. Jimmy checked it out and he is going to keep watch for us,” Brian explained, pulling out some food from the basket. I still wasn’t very hungry but I took a few sips of water and leaned back, enjoying the sun.

“Do you like it here?” Brian asked, pulling me into the circle of his arms as he stared out at the shoreline. I nodded and I leaned back into his chest, looking out at the teal colored ocean.

I couldn’t help but let the smile spread over my face as I enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my skin, the warm breeze blowing my hair, and the feeling of peace that washed over me. For the first time since the Viper incident, I felt normal and I craved more of it. I wanted everything to go back to the way it was before.

“Well, isn’t that smile a sight for sore eyes,” Brian smiled, looking down at me as he tucked a stay piece of blonde hair behind my ear that the ocean breeze had freed. “God you’re beautiful, Em,” he muttered, hugging me close and kissing the top of my head.

My breath caught in my throat as I pulled away from him, gently shaking my head. I could feel the blush spread over my cheeks, my heart racing from his word but I quickly pushed it all away. I wanted to believe him but no one could think I was beautiful, not with my battered and bruised face, the hideous scabs on my arms and neck, or the mental scars. I was damaged goods that didn’t deserve Brian’s love and affection.

“Em wait,” Brian said as I stood up and started toward the bungalow, the sun setting over the ocean behind us. He grabbed my arm and slowly turned me around to face him. “I’m serious.” Brian’s eyes were almost pleading me to believe him.

“I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and I’m not just saying that. I cant take my freaking eyes off you most of the time.” Brian’s calloused fingers were gently caressing my face as he spoke. “I could look into your eyes for hours and don’t even get me started on your perfect smile,” he said with his own smile. “To me you are perfect.”

I opened and closed my mouth a few times before shaking my head. “I can’t be…” I whispered, my heart crumbling.

I was terrified of what would happen if I let him get close to me or to admit that I loved him too. What if someone came after me again—or worse him? I couldn’t deal with that guilt or loss. Brian deserved someone that wasn’t broken or tainted. But selfishly, I also didn’t want to lose him…

“What does that mean?” Brian’s eyes were bearing down at me with an intensity I had never seen before.

“I’m not any of those things,” I sighed, looking down at the sand and taking a step backwards toward the bungalow. “I’m not beautiful and I’m not someone to be loved…” I said in a barely audible tone. “And I’m not someone who deserves surprises…”

Brian gently took my face in his hand, forcing me to meet his eyes. “Says who, Em?” he asked, shaking his head. “You didn’t’ do anything wrong or cause any of this. It’s my fault! All of it! I don’t know what happened to you with the Vipers, but I can assure you it hasn’t changed how I feel about you. I love you no matter what you look like, what you’ve been through, or what happened. You are perfect to me,” he stated, his thumb gently running over my bottom lip.

“But what if—” I started, tears forming in my eyes. I wanted to shout that he was wrong, but I couldn’t. I wanted more than anything to love him and to tell him how much he meant to me but I was terrified.

“There is no ‘what if’ with us Em,” Brian interrupted. “Look around you! We are in our paradise! You are safe with me and no one is going to take you away from me again. You are the only thing that matters to me,” he vowed. “Nothing is going to change that because you stole my heart the first day that I met you. I love you, Emery Pagano and only you.”

“Y-you do?” I felt a whole new wave of emotions come over me as I looked into his eyes. Brian’s chocolate orbs told me everything that I needed to know, that and the kiss that crashed down upon my lips a second later. It was everything thing I had wanted since I fell for the guy and so much more.

“I love you too,” I murmured against his lips, unable to keep my emotions in anymore.

My heart sored as electricity shot through my body the minute his lips touched mine. All the pain instantly washed way, feeling his every emotion while he kissed me in the most sensual way I had ever experienced. The butterflies were exploding in my stomach and my closed eyes rolled back into my head, my arms wrapping around his neck. I felt like I was floating to cloud nine in an out-of-body experience as my body trembling under his every touch.

At that moment, I couldn’t deny the love between us—I could feel it in ever fiber of my being. There was no turning back now; we were both all fours into this. And for the first time we were both equally vulnerable and there was something refreshing and terrifying about it all the same. We were now in this together and one wrong move would destroy us both and thought scared me to no ends, especially where my father and Avenged Sevenfold were concerned. We could lose everything in an instant but it didn’t matter right now. We were all each other had.


Matt’s POV

“I don’t want you to over do this, babe,” I said cautiously watching Jo take wobbly steps toward the kitchen island. My heart swelled as I watched her move around again, so thankful that she was still with me, but I didn’t want her to get hurt again. I needed her to get better, not take a turn in the other direction. “Take your time, you have all the time in the world.”

It was true. Now that I had Jolie back in my arms I would make sure that nothing ever happened to her again. She was my responsibility and it was about time I stopped dicking around. I knew after all this that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, even if that meant giving up my small empire. I would gladly hand it over to one of the other guys or just walk away from it completely once everything settled down. Hell, I had already slowly started to phase out of it. There was no more fucking around, especially when Jolie was involved. She was all that mattered and the gang life was no life for a girl like her. She deserved so much more.

Jo smiled, meeting my eyes. “Thank you, but I want this. I want to be back to normal… Even though, you won’t ever get me back in whole.”

I frowned and looked at her incredulously. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked, my heart rate speeding up in my chest. She couldn’t be pulling away from me after all this, could she? No, I wouldn’t let her leave, not when I just got her back.

“I have scars now, Matt. All over me… I’m not the same Jo before… inside… and even more outside.” She lifted her shirt to show me the bandages and scabs that covered her abdomen and I shook my head. Jo didn’t get it did she?

“And?” I asked, a deep frown forming over my face. Couldn’t she see how much she meant to me, not matter what she looked like? “You think those scars make you any less beautiful to me? You think those scars make you any less a woman to me? God, babe… I thought you were cleverer than this. I love you not only for your beautiful looks, I love you for you. And how badass do we look together now?!” I chuckled, showing her my scares in return.

“You mean, this doesn’t repulse you?” Jo asked and shook my head. How could she think that?

“This shows me how strong a woman you are, how much you went through, and how much an asshole I am for not listening to you, and for not keeping you safe. They will be my reminder to respect, love and always cherish you, babe,” I said before leaning forward and pressing my lips to hers.

It was the first kiss we hard shared in over a week and I could barely control myself. Jo’s lips tasted so good, almost addicting. God I missed this, and I was never going to let it slip away again. Jolie was my life.

“Do you want to eat something? I could make us some?” I asked Jo before pecking her lips one last time. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away for long, but it was good to give her a break. Damn I loved this girl.

Before she could even respond, I started pulling out pans and food, knowing exactly what to make her. “You know, this is like a woman porn, you know that right? You could take off that shirt, and my dream would come true. The man I love cooking for me half naked… that’s what I am talking about,” Jolie teased as slowly pulled up my shirt to show her the death bat tattoo on my abs. I couldn’t help but give her a dimpled smile, thinking how good it felt to be back to normal.

“Don’t talk dirty to me, babe,” I warned and Jo laughed. I couldn’t help but envision her spread out on the counter as I had my way with her… damn it have been way too long. My dick was throbbing in my jeans just thinking about it. “You don’t know what you’re doing to me.”

Jolie talked, laughed, and shared kisses as I cooked her dinner. Everything was perfect and normal between us until I set a plate in front of her and serious expression fell over her beautiful features. She still had some light bruising on her face but most of it had faded away.

“Babe, will you tell me now finally, what had all happened… how you found me and how we got out of there… You know, I need to know this,” Jo asked and I let out a long sigh. The last thing I wanted to do was rehash everything that happened, especially when we were finally back to normal!

“I don’t know if that is the best topic for right now, babe,” I said quietly, looking down at my own plate. I didn’t want to dive back into those emotions that were still so raw within me. Hell, I could barely close my eyes without seeing her battered and bloody body. “We should probably wait unit—”

“Matt… please,” Jo said, putting her hand on mine. I looked up to see those hauntingly beautiful blue eyes staring back and me and I knew I couldn’t deny her the truth. “I need to know.”

I let out a deep sigh and ran my hands over my face, trying to think of the best place to start. “How did you guys find us?” Jo asked, almost as if she were reading my mind.

“Well,” I started, blowing out a breath. I didn’t know how to tell her that I had been working with her father to ‘find’ her, let alone how she’d react. Maybe that was a different topic for breach later… “We got a lead from an event that was happening and we found the Vipers,” I continued vaguely, hoping she wouldn’t ask too many questions. “We followed them back to the compound and we made each and every one of those slimy bastards pay for what they did to you.” I clenched my fists at the memory, the anger returning to me.

“So they’re dead?” Jo whispered, nervously chewing her bottom lip.

Fuck, would she think of me differently now that she knew we killed all those men? Would she be afraid of me? My heart started to race at the thought as a wave of panic washed over me. I swallowed thickly and continued, not wanting to dwell on that idea. “We did what we had to do to get you girls out,” I replied, meeting Jo’s eyes.

“But are the Vipers dead?” she asked again, this time her voice stronger. I nodded and she let out a sigh of relief.

“I had to Jo,” I started, shaking my head as my mind flashed back to that night. “The way they were talking about you at that party and the way they treated you. The way that fucker was slicing into you like you were a piece of meat! I couldn’t just let them live and have another go. Fuck, I wanted them all dead so they could never hurt you or think about you again. You are safe,” I vowed, looking directly into those haunting blues. “No one will ever hurt you again, Jo. Never.”

Jolie licked her dry lips and nodded. “I know… and I knew you’d come for me, Big Guy,” she said, placing her small warm hand on my arm. “I never had a doubt in my mind… I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”

“And I never will,” I promised. “Just seeing you in that state when I found you, it-it nearly fucking killed me.” I could feel my heart constrict at the memory of holding her lifeless body in my hands, blood dripping everywhere. “I thought I was too late… thought I couldn’t save you…and it was all my fault. I didn’t protect you when I should have just listened to you all along,” I said, my voice shaking. I hadn’t said any of these things out loud before and now the emotion I felt was almost too much to bear.

“Oh Matt,” Jo said, running her hand up and down my arm in a comforting manner. “This wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t any of our faults. Like I told Emery, we can’t keep blaming ourselves for something the Vipers did. It will taint every good memory and good moment we have,” she said and I nodded my head. She was right. “And now that I know what happened, we can continue to heal and move on.”

“But I cant just forget about what those asshole did to you, Jo! It’s engrained in my fucking memory and every time I close my eyes, I see you all slashed and broken on the floor,” I said, the wetness welling in my eyes as all the guilt spilled out. “I failed you! I was the one who wasn’t watching so they could take you away. I wasn’t smart enough to figure out where they were keeping you for a whole damn week! I’m the reason you got hurt…but let me tell you something,” I vowed, taking her hand in mine. “I will never let that happen again. Once everything settles down… Avenged Sevenfold will cease to exist, we will move away from here, and I will give you the life you deserve. That is, if you’ll agree to live it with me.”

Jo opened and closed her mouth, tears lingers at the corners. “Matt… I can’t expect you to give up everything for me,” she said shaking her head. I quickly moved around the island and pulled her into my arms, my calloused hands cupping her face.

“But I want to,” I insisted, staring into her eyes. She had to see the truth there. “I want to give you everything you deserve, because you’ve given me more than I could have ever asked for you. I love you Jolie—”

Before I could even get out the words, Jo crashed her lips against mine. They moved quickly and hungrily as she lightly pulled my hair. There was eager desperation in this kiss and I couldn’t stop her or myself. I needed to feel her, comfort her, touch her, and to have all of her. Jolie Pagano was my life and I saw that now.

“Answer me one thing,” Jolie said, pulling away from me. Somewhere in our heated kiss, I had sat down on the stool and pulled her onto my lap. As I looked down at her, I felt my heart race in away it never had before. I would do anything for her, literally anything. And as crazy as it sounded after only knowing her for a few months, I didn’t care.

“Anything love,” I replied, tucking a lock of her hair back behind her ear.

“If we leave here… will the other’s come with us?” she asked, obviously thinking about her sister. I nodded and pulled her back in my embrace, careful not squeeze her too hard. Part of me was still afraid she would crumble at any minute.

“Your sister is more than welcome to come with us,” I smiled, kissing the top of her head. “As for the others, I can’t guarantee. One of them might want to take over… I haven’t really talked to them about it yet,” I admitted, running my hand over the back of my head. “Maybe Gates would take over?”

Jolie let out a light laugh, and it was like music to my ears. “I hate to break it to you, Boss man,” she said, looking up at me with a mischievous smirk. “But if Emery comes with us, Gates will too.”

I raised my brow and looked down at my little beauty, shaking my head. “What makes you say that?”

Jo let out another laugh as I looked at her in confusion. “I know I’ve been out for a few days, but even I can see that he’s got a thing for my sister,” she giggled, gently patting my chest.

“Since when? I thought he was just helping her through her recovery,” I said, feeling very confused. Had I missed the signs that much while I was worrying about Jo and her recovery?

Jo raised a brow at me and I let out sigh. “For weeks now,” she mused with a small smile. “Why do you think he’s been acting so weird or protective? It’s not because he has to… it’s because he needs to.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, still not completely buying it. Though she had a point with his odd behavior.

“Watch for yourself when they are together,” Jo shrugged, kissing my cheek before turning back to her dinner. “Em hasn’t said anything lately, but from what little I’ve seen since being awake, something is going on there.”

I pursed my lips as I watched Jolie eat her dinner. Never in a million years did I ever think that Gates would fall for a woman, let alone one that we kidnapped. Though, I never expected to fall in love either, it was just never in the cards for me, not until I met Jo. Those Pagano girls had definitely changed our lives for the better, and we were never letting them go.

“Jo?” I called from my office a few days later, hearing the bedroom door shut. She was supposed to be resting up and taking a nap and resting up while I dealt with her father’s obsessive calls.

For the past week, Pagano had been calling every day to check up on the status of our search. He wanted updates and to be involved, so we made up tasks to complete in a fake investigation, where we all played a part. It was almost like Pagano was obsessed, thought something seemed a little bit off, like he had gone slightly made. Maybe the bidders from his auction were getting anxious to receive their prizes. God that made me sick! There was no way either of the girls were going back to him after that—no way in hell!

I just didn’t know how to tell Jo about our communication with her father. Would she be upset, or would did she still think it was a good idea to fake their deaths? To me that was the easiest way out of this mess, though I wasn’t sure how we were going to pull it off. I would have to meet with the guys later tonight to talk about our next course of action.

“Jo? Is that you?” I called again, only to hear a light shriek echo down the hall. My senses were on red alert as I quickly jumped to my feet, assuming the worse. Had someone broke in without the alarms picking it up? Had she hurt herself?

I quickly bolted from my office down the hallway to see Jolie, Jimmy, and Zack wrestling over the remote for the TV. What the hell was this? Jo was supposed to be resting, and certainly not roughhousing with these idiots!

“What the hell is going on in here?” I yelled, grabbing the remote out of Jimmy’s hand and holding it above my head. “Have you lost your damn minds? Jo is supposed to be recovering, not wresting with you asshats!”

Jo instantly turned to look at me with a patient look. “Relax, babe, we were just having a little fun.”

“Yeah, let her live a little bit,” Zack said, earning a nod from Jimmy. “Besides the doc cleared her yesterday to start doing normal activities again.”

“He said start not jump right in with the most reckless thing you could think of,” I grumbled, pulling Jo safely into my side and kissing the top of her head. “We need to ease her back in, not ruin her progress.”

“It’s not going to ruin my progress,” Jo countered. “I appreciate you looking out for me but I’m fine. I know my restrictions and I promise I wont do anything to re-injure myself.”

“But Jo—”

“You have to trust me, Big Guy,” she said, her hands on my chest. “I will be careful… but you know what?” she asked as I pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. “The doctor also said I was clear for—”

“Shads, Gates, you’re gonna want to come look at this,” Johnny interrupted, rushing into the room.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snapped as Gates and Emery looked up from the couch. They had been sitting there talking the whole time but it wasn’t until now that I noticed them. Gates had his arm around Emery and was whispering in her ear and she had a small smile on her face. Maybe Jo was right.

“No,” Johnny said, his eyes looking slightly panicked. “You’re gonna want to see this! It’s not good…”

We all quickly followed Christ back into his office to see the large screen TV blasting the news.

“Fuck…” I hissed, running my hand over my face as panic set in.

Notes

So Em finally heard Brian... and as we all know, she loves him too! But will it last before they blow up at each other again? What did the guys find on the news?

Tell us what you think!