Author's Note:

It's been a slice. I love you all and thank you so much for your support, reviews, follows and favorites. You all rock my socks off!

It was really challenging to end this story, and I hope you all like it!

MUCH LOVE!
:)XX

Chapter Twenty-One:
One week later…

Christian POV

I am standing in the abandoned warehouse, in one of the most deserted spots in Seattle, staring at the filth of a man that I used to call father. He looks like an extremely mangled corpse, and knowing that I helped achieve his new look, brings something almost like satisfaction to my heart.

The man in question spits a disgusting combination of blood and phlegm on the concrete floor, "Christian, you have to stop this."

The now familiar spark of rage begins to creep into my stomach at the sound of his pleading. "Stop? You want me to stop doing this?" I stab another small knife into his left leg. Now he looks like he's being pinned to the chair that holds him by various shinny objects instead of the coils of metal chain that are actually securing him.

His answering scream is all I need. I feel some of my rage dissipate, and not for the first time in the past two hours am I thankful that Taylor left Nathan alive for me. I spit in his face. "Did you stop when Anastasia begged you?"

"Ana deserved every single action I had Luke Sawyer do to her." I throw my left arm back, and hit Nathan as hard as I can across his face with my cast. Thing turned out to be useful after all.

I am satisfied by the crunch of his nose and his high pitched scream. There is bright red blood gushing down his face and mixing with the maroon color of the dried blood on his shirt. I grab a fist full of his bloody hair and drag his head back so he has no choice but to look into my eyes.

"Don't you ever speak her name, you useless fucking animal." I snarl at him. "The past two hours have been fun. I hope you've had the time of your life, because it looks like you don't have much time left." I look behind me and nod into the shadows. Taylor, strolls out of the shadows with the object I need to end Nathan Steele for good.

"Are you sure you want to be the one to do this?" He looks concerned, like he doesn't think I'm capable of actually killing the man who raised me.

"I've got this. Thanks Taylor." My voice is calm and sure. I turn to Nathan who is eyeing me with naked fear in his eyes. "Any last words?" I smirk at him.

He narrows his eyes at me, testing me. "You won't really kill your own father, Christian."

"I take that as a 'no'." I stare into his eyes, looking for any hint of regret or remorse for what he not only did to Anastasia, but to many other women as well, but I find nothing. I slowly raise the gun in my right hand, and take my aim at the middle of his forehead. "I hope you get everything you deserve in Hell, Nathan Steele."

"I'll meet you there, Son."

"I'm no son of yours." I stare directly into Satan's eyes as I pull the trigger.

The sound the gun makes as it goes off is one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard in my life. It's over. I did it. He can't hurt anyone ever again. My Anastasia is going to be safe from now on.

"Taylor!" I call out, "clean up this mess please, and call the police. You can tell them anonymously where the notorious Nathan Steele is." My tone is hard and commanding.

"Of course." His voice is voided of any emotion. Nice to see you've swiftly recovered your professionalism, Asshole.

I drop the gun, it falls to the concrete with a loud clatter. I slowly turn around and without a backwards glance, I walk away from the Devil incarnate and back to the arms of my lover.

….

Ana POV

It's been a full week since I was rescued from the awful clutches of Nathan Steele. I was told that Taylor was working with the police to try and capture him while I was being saved, but apparently he managed to weasel his way into escaping the police.

I can't say that knowing Nathan is free has made my recovery any easier. I always had trouble sleeping to begin with, and now every time I close my eyes I have nightmares that he comes back for me. My mom has had to give me Ativan just so I could rest.

But my week in this shitty hospital bed, hooked up to all these fluids and being monitored constantly, has finally come to an end. Today, I am to be discharged, if I promise to keep going to twice weekly counselling sessions and calling my mother if any complications arise.

Taylor has promised me that he will create a solid security plan for Escala, and Christian promised me that he would never leave my side until Nathan was caught and put into the custody of the law. Personally, I don't even give a shit right now, I just want to get out of this fucking hospital.

"Are you almost ready to go, Ana?" I look up and see my future husband, leaning against the doorframe looking like Adonis personified. I can't wait to crawl back into bed with him. My inner goddess winks at me. I guess I should consider myself lucky that Nathan didn't kill that part of myself.

"Christian! I'm so happy to see you. You weren't here when I woke up this morning. Where were you?" I'm sure my lip is sticking out in a pout, but I don't care. I hate waking up alone.

I am rewarded by one of his crooked smiles that melt my insides into warm butter. "I'm sorry baby, I had something to take care of. I promise I'll tell you about it later. First, I have a surprise for you." I cock my head to the side in silent question, "Don't look at me like that. Have you signed your discharge papers yet? We have to get to the police station." He continues to smile at me, not a hint of worry on his face, so I decide to gather my things and let him take me to the station. I hope its good news.

…

"I'm sorry. Can you please repeat that?" I am shocked and pretty fucking sure I heard this guy wrong.

"We received an anonymous call earlier today containing the possible whereabouts of Nathan Steele." I nod impatiently at him to continue. "We arrived on scene and found Nathan Steele dead with various body parts missing, including his… um…" The officer looks uncomfortable.

"Was his penis really missing?" Christian pipes in. The officer just nods, his face going pale. I don't blame the guy, he was one of the officers on the scene and apparently Nathan looked pretty damn gruesome. Someone must have tortured him for days.

"He's really dead?" I ask for the fifth time in the hour that I have been at the station.

"Yes, Miss Grey. Nathan Steele is really dead. And if I might add, off the record, that it looks like he definitely got what was coming to him." He clears his throat. "We really just wanted you to come down to the station so we could tell you personally. I also wanted you to know that you, your family and your security crew all have solid alibies, so we won't need to bother you anymore."

My eyes shoot wide, "You mean to tell me that you thought my family or security had anything to do with this!?" My voice cracks on the last word. Christian rubs my back soothingly.

"Naturally, it was an assumption we had to make. I don't want you to worry though, Miss Grey. Whoever did this to Nathan was extremely thorough in cleaning up their mess. There was no fingerprints or DNA, other than Nathan Steele's."

"Thank you, officer." I stand and shake his hand, letting Christin lead me out of the building and into a waiting black SUV. There are tears streaming down my face. They are tears of gratitude, and joy. I am safe. I am free. Finally, my personal devil is gone.

….

Christian is sitting beside me on the couch in the great room of Escala. We arrived around twenty minutes ago, after Taylor had the building secured. I have been enjoying his warmth and the sound of his heartbeat under my ear as I snuggle closer to him. I am home.

I am just drifting off as Christian gently pushes me up and tells me that he has a surprise for me. He looks slightly nervous, and I watch him walk to his bag and pull out a large white envelope. What the hell?

"Okay, you have my attention. What gives with the envelope?" I smile at him, trying to encourage him.

"Grace and Carrick noticed something strange while I was in the hospital. Nathan wasn't listed as my birth father, and they think my mother may have had an affair with a man named, Christopher Keller." He looks away from me and runs his right hand through his hair multiple times, causing it to stick out in crazy directions. I just sit there with my mouth hanging open, waiting for him to finish his story. "They tracked this guy down while I was unconscious and I guess he left a blood sample so that I could get a DNA test done if I wanted when I woke up."

"Oh…" I feel bad, but I'm just not sure what to say. He looks so hopeful.

"I decided that I wanted to do it. So that's what I was doing when you woke up alone this morning." He smiles shyly. "I wanted to look at the results with you, you know, just in case the outcome isn't what I want." He looks like a lost little boy, and my heart breaks for him. My poor Christian.

I pat the couch next to me, "Come sit with me, and let's look."

"Okay." He whispers.

"Just so you know, I will love you always and forever, no matter what, Christian." I kiss his lips gently. "Now, go ahead and open it."

His hands are shaking slightly as he shoves the envelope into my hands. "Will you? I don't think I can, Ana."

"Okay." I slowly tear open the seal, my hands are shaking too, and my heart is hammering in my chest. I want so badly for Christian to get the results he wants.

I quickly scan the document and find there are tears of joy streaming down my face for the second time that day. "What? What does it say?" He urges me on.

"Christian, I think you need to get in contact with your real father." My lips are curved into a smile so big, I feel like my face could crack.

"You're kidding!" He swiftly grabs the page from my hands and reads it quickly. "Oh my god. Ana! This is amazing. Holy shit." He is crying now too.

I pull him to me and hug him tightly, "I am so, so happy for you baby."

"I'm not a monster." He whispers awestruck.

"Well, you can be my monster." There is amusement in my voice, but he looks at me with hurt and confusion in his light grey eyes, "You can be my monster in bed." I smirk at him as he picks me up and starts walking towards the bedroom, his lips soft on mine.

I let Christian make love to me for the first time in months. He is soft, gentle, sweet, and warm. He holds me tightly, showing me that no matter what happens between us, we will always find a way to make it though. He is my anchor, my serenity, and my strength. For the first time in months, I feel alive and safe. For the first time in months, I know that I will be okay, that we will be okay.

A/N:

I hope you're all following this story... (Hint, Hint... Nudge, Nudge) "WHAT!? This story isn't complete!?"... Precisely.

Is that wedding bells I hear...?

And I'm sure you're all wondering "What the hell happened to Sawyer?"

Have no fear, there will be no plot holes here. ;)

Stay Tuned...