Page 113 of Jax & Knox

She takes the gun.

Her hands are shaking so hard I'm not sure she can hold it. But she does. Her fingers wrap around the grip, white-knuckled.

She walks toward Justin. Slowly. Each step deliberate, measured, like she's walking through water.

He's still smiling, blood staining his teeth red. "You think you're strong now? You think those bikers made you tough? You're nothing, Ainsley. You'll always be nothing. You'll always be that scared little girl crying in the bathroom."

She stops three feet away from him. The gun is steady now, aimed at his chest.

"You're right," she says quietly, her voice barely carrying. "I was nothing. When I was with you, I was nothing."

His smile falters, confusion flickering across his face.

"But I'm not with you anymore."

She raises the gun higher, level with his heart.

Justin's eyes go wide, all the bravado draining away. "Ainsley, wait. Wait, we can talk about this⁠.”

"You don't get to hurt my family anymore."

She pulls the trigger.

The shot echoes through the trees, sending birds scattering from the branches above. Justin slumps forward, a dark stain spreading across his chest, blooming like a flower.

Silence.

Complete, ringing silence.

Ainsley drops the gun like it burned her. Her knees buckle.

I catch her before she hits the ground, pulling her against me as her legs give out completely.

"What have I done?" she whispers, her voice breaking. "Oh God, what have I done?"

Jax is there, wrapping both of us in his arms despite the pain it must be causing him, despite the way his breath hitches.

"You saved our son," he says firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument. "You saved yourself. You did what you had to do."

She's sobbing now, her whole body shaking, convulsing in our arms. "I killed him. I killed⁠⁠—"

"You survived," I tell her, gripping her tighter. "That's all that matters. You survived, and Owen survived, and that's all that fucking matters."

Mason steps forward, his boots crunching on the gravel. "Dagger. Clean it. No traces. I want this place scrubbed."

Dagger nods, already pulling gloves from his pocket. "Already on it, Prez."

The brothers move with practiced efficiency, like they've done this a thousand times before. Within minutes, there's no sign Justin was ever here. The body is gone, the blood covered with fresh dirt, the gun wiped clean and disappeared. The second man is still alive, barely, and they load him into a van with no windows.

We load Ainsley and Owen into the cage, the club's SUV. Jax insists on riding with them despite Tiny's protests, despite the way he's swaying on his feet. I stay on my bike, right beside them the whole way, my hand on the door handle every time we stop.

As we ride down the mountain, the sun starts to rise, turning the sky brilliant orange and red.

It's over.

Finally, it's over.

TWENTY-ONE