Chapter 21

"So why exactly did you nail him in the balls?" Thea demanded, not recalling ever seeing her big sister hurt a fly much less a 300-pound man!

"Because of what he said to me." Luciana mumbled, clearly feeling guilty over the situation and continued seasoning the steaks to pop in the oven. "He really pissed me off…and I sort of snapped…"

"Snapped? No, you didn't snap…I don't even know what the word is for it, but you did MORE than snap. Do you realize you can kill a man by punching them in the balls like that?" Thea cringed at the thought of how much pain Mark was in from both the shot to the groin area, courtesy of her sister's BALLED-UP fist and then getting shot with a hollow-point bullet. "That poor man…"

"I apologized for it…" Luciana still didn't understand why Mark stuck around and didn't kick her to the curb. "By all rights, he should've killed me. I would've deserved it."

Thea could only nod, frowning, wondering the same thing her sister did and concluded Mark loved Luciana, which made her smile.

"So what do you think they're going to do? You realize the only way to get our names cleared is to go straight to the source, right?" Luciana spoke quietly, not wanting the men to overhear their conversation.

Thea nodded, dropping the peeled cut up potatoes into the pot while the water boiled, sighing. "Jon and I talked about doing that, but…Mom and Dad are smart, Luci. They won't fall for a trap like that. We need an…outside source. That's why we went to their clients and almost all of them are dead. The one that's alive we found said they would testify in court, after Mom and Dad were arrested, but that'll never happen unless we have concrete proof." It was exhausting and weighed heavily on Thea's mind, especially now that she was married and her last name had changed again. "Whatever they plan to do, I'm going along with it and I suggest you do the same."

Luciana nodded, pouring the couple cans of corn she'd cracked open into a pot to heat them up on the stove. "I already promised Mark I would as long as he doesn't end up being a martyr."

"Good."

"As promised." Luciana set down a plate of delicious home-cooked food in front of Mark, kissing the top of his head and had her own, sitting beside him at the wooden table. The house was cozy enough, a little rough since nobody had stayed here in a while, but at least it was furnished. "Dig in."

Then they were all sitting down to discuss the next course of action. Thea shook her head at Jon's gusto, knowing her sister's talent was in the kitchen for sure and followed her husband's lead. Nobody spoke while they ate, each in their own thoughts. After dinner ended, Mark approached Thea and asked if she could look at his wounded arm, wanting to know if there was any way to regain full functionality in it. Thea didn't want to give him bad news, but agreed to look at it nonetheless while Jon helped Luciana do the dishes in the kitchen.

Luciana tried to stop him from helping, but Jon ignored her and it made her crack a small smile at her brother-in-law.

Jon was of the opinion that Luciana was a neurotic bitch. He happened to find it entertaining, however, so when she wasn't looking, he snapped her with a dish towel and wound up yelping when she turned the spray nozzle on his face. "NOT THE HAIR!"

"I'm sorry Mark, but I think there's muscle damage that wasn't addressed when it should have been." Thea diagnosed, after looking over Mark's shoulder, poking and prodding, then making him do some exercises with that arm and side of his body. "If we start physical therapy right now, you can regain a good range of motion, but I'm not sure how much." She really wished she had been able to finish schooling or get more on the job training.

"You son of a bitch!" Luciana couldn't believe he snapped her with a towel and made him pay for it, drowning his hair in water along with the floor. "Serves you right, jackass!" Jon would end up being the brother she never had and that thought alone made her inwardly groan.

"What the hell?!" Thea blinked at the flood that happened in the kitchen, her eyes wide along with Mark's, both of them sharing a look of disbelief with each other. "HAVE YOU TWO LOST YOUR MINDS?!"

"He snapped my ass with a towel!"

"SHE TRIED DROWNING ME!"

"Serves you right, jackass!"

"Oh bite me, bitch!"

"Jonathan Good!"

He started laughing, putting Luciana in a headlock and groaned when they both hit the floor like a sack of potatoes seconds later, due to him slipping on the water. "Goddamn it!"

Luciana shook her head, trying to stand up and managed to do it by clutching the kitchen counter. "Get out of here so I can clean this up, asshole." There was no malice in her tone. They had come to a somewhat understanding, the tension between them gone.

"Nah, I'll help." Jon had helped make the mess, he'd help clean it up. Though when she got the spray nozzle again, his eyes narrowed. "I swear to god, you do it and I will drown you in that sink full of soapy, nasty wa- ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!"

"Yeah, you're doing a great job of helping."

"Maybe he should be the worker and I stay at home…"

"Only if you're planning on having kids, darlin'. And even then… you sure you want to risk it? His sperm is probably defective."

"Good point…"

"Hey!"

"Don't you – JON!" Luciana ran out of the kitchen, only to slip and crack her own backside on the floor, soaked from head to toe. He grabbed the nozzle and began spraying her down, only for her to sweep her leg out to make him hit the floor and snatched the nozzle away, hitting him directly in the face. "YOU COCKSUCKER!"

"Alright children, that's quite enough." Thea watched Mark scoop Luciana over his good shoulder, knowing it wouldn't hurt him since her sister weighed lighter than a feather and glared playfully down at her husband. "What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Good?"

"Uh, I love you?"

Thea snorted, shaking her head and proceeded to clean up the mess. "Bedrooms and bathroom are upstairs!" Thea shouted, shaking her head and trying not to snigger at the way her husband looked. Like a drowned puppy and he even had his lip out. "Not working buster."

"She started it." Jon grumbled, helping Thea clean up and then trapped her against the counter to softly kiss her, lifting her to plant her backside on it so she was at his eyelevel. "I think your sister likes me."

"I think you're delusional." Thea remarked, sliding her hands up and down his wet t-shirt before peeling it off his body. "But I love you anyway. Now stop distracting me and get to cleaning."

"You're soaked, darlin'," Mark commented in a lazy drawl, a wicked smirk on his face as he carted her drenched ass out of the kitchen. "And not from me, I'm jealous."

"You're jealous of your former partner?" Luciana laughed and it turned into a gasp as his hand collided with her wet jean clad backside, slapping him his return since he had her over his shoulder still. His response was a low deep growl and it sent shivers down her spine. "Alright, put me down, big guy, so I can change into dry clothes."

"Former partner?" Mark echoed, letting her down and stepped back to examine her, shaking his head. She needed a shower, that floor had been a bit on the dirty side and a wet Luciana had seemed to gather it up with her clothing. "Still my partner, darlin'."

There were still bounties to collect, people who still needed the law to catch up with them. And then there were probably people like her and Thea out there, innocents being hunted and he frowned. She had complicated the hell out of his life. When she smiled at him, he found himself smiling back. Totally worth it.

"Well, he quit so I didn't know if you guys buried the hatchet or if he was quitting bounty hunting." Luciana looked at the dirt on her arms sticking to her skin and groaned, knowing she needed a shower. She looked back at Mark and took his hand, pressing herself against him in just her bra and panties. "Wanna help me clean up?" Already pulling him back towards the bathroom, Luciana could see his eyes darkening and they smoldered over as her bra fell to the floor. "You look like you could use a cleanse too, big guy." Pulling his shirt out from his jeans, she pushed it up over his head as far as she could reach and felt him yank her into his arms, managing to turn the sprays on before his mouth claimed hers.

When Jon and Thea heard the floor – it was an old building – creaking above them, followed by the pipes groaning as water rushed forth and then giggling… they both smacked their foreheads. "So…"

"Uh no, don't even think it. Go watch baseball or something. I'll finish up in here."

"But I'm soaked babe!"

Thea flashed him an innocent smile. "You could always go join them."

After a steamy shower, with a much-needed reconciliation between them, Luciana felt better than she had in a long time. She stepped out and felt Mark wrap a towel around her body from behind, his face burying in her neck. After it was tucked in securely between her breasts, Luciana turned around to admire him in just a towel and slid her fingers up his slick chest. The scar where the bullet pierced him did nothing to deter her desire for this man, just heightened it because he'd taken it for her. Saved her life. It probably wasn't the best place to confess to him how she felt, but Luciana had learned a valuable lesson while running. Life was precious and also far too short not to take a leap every once in a while.

"I love you, Mark." It was a simple, heartfelt confession and the truth shined through her teal eyes back at him, not an ounce of trepidation or nervousness.

"After everything I've done to you?" Mark asked curiously, blinking his green eyes when Luciana simply nodded up at him. Jesus Christ, he knew she was insane, but… clarification was always a real gut check. "Darlin', I…"

He closed his mouth, not about to repeat the words just to be repeating them. Did he love her? He stared down at her, taking her in thoughtfully, and reflected on their time together, before and after the big reveal.

"Are you sure?" He asked quietly, knowing how he felt, but really hoping she wasn't having some sort of Stockholm syndrome or survivor's issue.

"I didn't make anything easy on you though, Mark. I was a royal cunt to you, to be frank. You did what you thought was best and, at the time, you did see me as a criminal. And I abused you just as much, most of it verbal, but I know I still pissed you off with some of the things I said." Reaching up, Luciana caressed his face with the back of her hand and then settled her hand on top of his fresh scar. "You took a bullet for me and saved my life. I'd be crazy not to love you for that reason alone. You didn't have to save me, you could've stayed where you were and I wouldn't be here right now. I've told you this. And all that time we spent together in Houston, getting to know each other…" He didn't feel the same way about her and Luciana had expected it, not surprised. "Even before you came clean to me about you and Jon being bounty hunters, I knew how I felt about you. I fell in love with you in Houston, before all of the bullshit." They'd been together for several months before all hell broke loose. "I'm telling you this just in case something happens. At least you know how I feel and, whatever happens going forward, whatever you and Jon have planned, my feelings won't change." It wasn't Stockholm syndrome when she'd fallen for the big man prior to the shit hitting the proverbial fan.

Their time in Houston had haunted him in those first weeks on the road as doubt and regret had hit him hard. Once Jon and Thea had run off and he had gone to Luciana's house that day, everything had gone downhill and he had never hated himself more. Sleeping with and caring for someone he hunted was never a good idea. The fact that after all that had been said and what had happened, and they were still here, together, now spoke volumes.

"I love you too, darlin'." It was all he could say and it was the honest truth.

Tears swelled in her eyes the moment those words came out of his mouth and Luciana didn't have to question if he meant it. She knew he did. "I believe you."

Softly brushing her lips against his, her arms snaked up to wrap around his neck and felt Mark lift her with ease, his strength still overpowering even with the bad arm. Hopefully, Thea could help him get it back to full power one day, but if not, Mark would have to be very careful if he wanted to continue bounty hunting. Her face buried in his neck, breathing him in and could smell him even under the soap he'd used in the shower. Mark sat down on the bed, easing the pressure off his arm from holding her up and Luciana merely sat there, sliding her fingers through his hair soothingly.

"Hey, fuckers, enough fornicating!" Jon interrupted their lovely little moment, banging on the door. "Thea says it's family time, you've had plenty of time on the road to do nasty shit to each other."

"Jon! That's not what I said!"

"I'm paraphrasing, babe." Laughing, Jon headed down the hallway and then down the steps, catching his wife in his arms.

"I'm thinking about killing him. Any objections?"

Glaring at the door, Luciana shook her head and locked eyes with him, stroking his face with her fingertips. "Mmm none whatsoever. Though, Thea might." She smirked, hearing Thea berating her husband for pushing their buttons behind the door. "He's such an asshole, how do you put up with him as a partner?"

When Mark merely shook his head, she giggled harder and pecked his nose before reluctantly extracting herself from his lap to get dressed. Under normal circumstances, he didn't mind Jon's oddness or jackass tendencies. The man was amusing. However, when it came to Jon interfering in his bedroom life… that was cause for death. Sighing, he pushed himself upright as well, tipping his head to the side to admire the view as he slowly got dressed as well. He could only imagine what Thea saw in the loose screw.

"You're the one who gets him as a brother-in-law, darlin'." He teased.

"God don't remind me!" Luciana grumbled, not amused with that revelation and pulled on a pair of white cotton pants with a long sleeved white knit top.

It was cold in Cincinnati compared to Houston and Luciana had clothes for every season. She never knew where she was traveling next, but knew she wanted it to be with Mark. Once he was dressed, she took his hand and laced their fingers together, accepting another lingering kiss from him. It was time to talk everything out and come up with a plan to get out of this mess once and for all.

"Plenty more where that came from, big man. Lead the way."

He could already see Luciana was gearing up for battle and really hoped Jon had kept his trap shut this time. They knew their current ideas were a little extreme and he also knew Thea wanted a few days of rest and just enjoying being together, but… life unfortunately didn't work out that way. Sighing, he walked down the stairs with her, rolling his eyes when he spotted Jon and Thea cuddling and necking on the couch.

"All right, kids, play time is over…"

"But… daddy…" Thea teased, scooting away from her husband on the couch and smiled at the pair. "You two look a lot better, more… relaxed." Luciana and Mark both had been carrying a tenseness about them and she didn't want to know what the hell they had done to rid themselves of it.

"So let me get this straight: You two can neck and fornicate, but we can't? You are a hypocrite, Jonathan Good." Luciana informed him with a playful sneer, plopping on the loveseat with Mark and felt his arm wrap around her shoulders, snuggling into his side.

Instead of talking about what was to come, shooting the breeze and Jon had kept his mouth shut as Mark ordered. It was nice having family time together and Luciana concluded, at the end of the night, she wasn't alone anymore. Thea wasn't either. They had a new family, two men who had taken them into their lives and loved them more than their own parents ever did.