•Claire's POV•

I moaned slightly in my half awake state as I felt a hand caressing my abdomen. My stomach clenched a little at the odd feeling. Finally, I opened my eyes to see Caiden staring at me.

"Good morning." I mumbled, moving closer. " How long have you been awake?"

"About an hour." He murmured, standing directly in my eyes. His hand was still on my abdomen and it didn't seem like he was going to move it anytime soon.

"I have to go to work today." I frowned and he shook his head.

"You can miss another day." He told me. I placed my hand on the side of his face and gave him a closed mouth kiss, pulling away after a minute.

"I can't. I've missed too many already. Everything is probably behind." I said before sitting up. Caiden removed his hand and sat up as well.

"I love you." He told me suddenly, pressing me close to his body. I frowned not hiding my confusion for all the sudden affection. I unintentionally scrunched up my nose as I studied him carefully.

"Are you drunk?" I asked and he chuckled, wrapping his arms around me, placing his head in the crook of my neck.

"Hey Claire, do you have any - oh god are you two about to have sex?!" Clover yelled suddenly covering her eyes. Andrew poked his head in and smirked.

"Get it man!" Caiden pulled away from me and scowled.

"Why the hell are they staying here again?"

"We were not. Now, what was it you needed?" I asked and Clover removed her hands before walking over and plopping herself down on the bed.

"Do you have any aspirin? "

"In the right side of the cupboard above the sink." I told her and she smiled.

"Thanks! I ended up getting a few photo shoots scheduled for today so I won't be back here till late tonight. Andrew and I are going out to dinner after." She said smiling sweetly at Andrew who returned it.

"What about the other two?" Caiden asked curiously.

"I don't think they'll be here either," Clover said shrugging as she stood up. "Did you guys decide on a name yet?" She asked and I shook my head. I haven't even told him about the gender yet.

"Awe well definitely let me know when you do!" She said and I smiled.

"Don't worry I will," I said before watching her leave the room.

"Speaking of, I have to tell you something," I said, grabbing his hands and looking at him.

"What is it?" He asked curiously and I smiled.

"We're having a boy." I blurted and he stared at me blankly for a minute.

"Cool."

I blinked once, twice, and even three times, hoping he would add to the statement, but that was it. I guess he honestly didn't care anything about him. I was going to have to do this all alone. The thought made my eyes tear up. Gosh, I've become such a baby.

"Yeah," I mumbled, releasing his hands and getting out of bed.

"Do you have any pictures?" He asked suddenly, surprising me. I nodded and opened the drawer in the little table beside our bed. I handed him the envelope before leaving the room. I quickly brushed my teeth and hair, not doing anything special. I was mentally giving myself a round of applause for taking a shower last night I now had plenty of time to get ready now. I was about to head back into the room, but then I heard it, Caiden was talking quietly. To who, I wasn't sure. I put my back against the wall and strained my ears to listen carefully.

"I hope you grow up to look like just like your mother. And before you worry, I promise I'll be the best father possible, " I heard him whisper and my heart clenched. It may seem weird to picture him talking to a picture, but it really wasn't as weird as it seemed. I quietly tiptoed back to the bathroom before taking loud steps towards the room. I walked into the bedroom glancing at Caiden who watched me enter.

"When are you leaving?" I asked as I started pulling off my Soffe shorts and replacing them with black tights and then a pair of black jean shorts. I slip on a nice white shirt and necklace and then a black blazer. The outfit did nothing to hide my bump, but I didn't mind. I wasn't ashamed of being pregnant, I thought as I placed my hand on my stomach. I looked in the mirror as Caiden came up behind me, placing his arms around me, his hand on top of mine.

"Whenever I feel like it." He said and I couldn't help the smile that played on my lips.

"Why am I not surprised?" I brought my head back, pursing my lips. He placed his on mine, giving me a quick peck. Girls this is exactly why we get boyfriends taller than us.

"Because I do what I want," He said smirking and I shook my head.

"It was a rhetorical question." I told him and he simply shrugged.

"I'm stopping to get a latte before work, so I'll see you later." I said pulling out of his arms and slipping on my black heels, making us the same height. He kissed my lips once again before mumbling a goodbye.

I took about ten minutes to get to the closest cafe and I smiled at the wonderful aroma when I walked in. Looking at the menu, I frowned remembering something.

No coffee when pregnant.

After waiting in a line for a minute, we walked up to the counter I ordered and paid for a raspberry lemonade. It took only about a minute for it to be made before I was able to leave. A familiar figure caught my eye in the corner.

Ignore him, just go to work.

I couldn't help myself from walking over and sitting across the man.

"Claire," Jesse breathed out, looking at me in surprise.

"Hi." I said softly, looking at him carefully. He was wearing a light blue shirt with jeans. His hair was in the sunlight that streamed through the cafe.

"How have you been?" He asked me with a guarded expression, worried that I would get mad at him.

"I've been well, and you?"

"I'm sorry, for everything. You know I would never want to intentionally hurt you." He told me, holding his coffee cup tightly in his hand. I looked out the window not responding. "I know it's hard to believe, but you mean the world to me. You make me want to become a better person."

"Then why don't you?" I questioned and he chuckled.

"That's like asking someone why they aren't happy after everyone they've care for has been killed," Jesse said, his blue eyes looking into mine seriously. I was at loss for words, not sure what to say.

"I don't understand your feelings for me, Jesse," I said honestly. "We talked for a few months at most," I said thinking back to a week after we first met.

I let my eyes skim around the room, looking for a familiar face. I smiled when I caught site of the man I met the other night. I walked forward, standing next to the table the handsome man was sitting at. He was dressed in a nice black buttoned up shirt and a black blazer. His hair had tons of curls everywhere compared to when I first met him where it was all straight and only had a few curls in the front. His five o'clock shadow was now even darker and more noticeable.

"Claire," Jesse said, standing up and smiling at me.

"Hi," I said smiling as well. He pulled out my chair for me, letting me take a seat before returning to his own. "You picked a nice place," I said looking around the restaurant.

"I thought you'd like it," He said not taking his eyes off of me. "You look beautiful."

"You don't look too bad yourself. I could barely recognize you now." I told him and he chuckled.

"I clean up nicely, huh?" He sent me a wink, causing me to shake my head at him, my smile only widening.

"How do you like Seattle?" I asked him curiously, trying to strike up a conversation.

"It's nice. I'm used to crazy Los Angeles, so it's nice to see somewhere new. The only place my older brother took me when I was younger was New York and that was back in high school." He said and I listened intently.

"What about your parents? Didn't they ever take you anywhere?" I asked curiously and a dark look crossed his face.

"Parents? I don't know what those are. They never existed in my life. For all I know they're dead." He said and I couldn't help frown as I looked at him carefully, studying his face. Something in his eyes made him seem so dark, so sad.

"I can understand the feeling of never going anywhere. I've only ever lived here. I've never really wanted to go anywhere else I guess." I said, biting my lip as I thought of all the places there are. Sure it would be nice to go visit Paris or London, but it's something I could live without. I was happy here with all of my friends, Caiden, and my job.

"Maybe one day we can go visit somewhere cool. Italy has always sounded nice." He said before taking a sip out of his wine.

"I don't think that could ever happen. My boyfriend probably wouldn't like that and work seems to consume my life these days." I said and his grip on his glass tightened.

"Your boyfriend would be welcomed of course and you own the business. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you took some time off. A week at most." He said just before a waiter came over. He took our orders before disappearing again. I took a sip out of my own glass before responding.

"You're right then. Maybe one day we can go." I responded softly after thinking about it.

"That's the spirit," He said doing a little swing with his arm.

"When are you planning on going back home?" I asked him suddenly.

"Thanks to my past I no longer have a place I call home there. I was considering about making a new one here." He told me and my curiosity spiked. What happened in his past that hurt him? And why did he remind me so much of Caiden?

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Jesse didn't seem surprised that I asked and only looked away, down at the table.

"My brother got me into some trouble and now I'll only relive that life every day if I ever went back." He looked disgusted as he spoke.

"Like you said before, you should stay here and make a new life. You don't have to go into detail about what happened, but you shouldn't let it define who you are. Who cares what happened before here. You're in a new place, make new memories, make new friends, find a new love. It's your life Jesse so don't let anyone control how you live it." I said placing my hand on top of his and he looked at me for a long time, making me feel awkward. I removed my hand and used it to pick up my drink, not sure what to say.

"Thank you, Claire," Jesse whispered, his voice hoarse. I stared at him, watching as he let out a deep, unsteady breath. He closed his eyes for a long minute looking down before he looked back up at me. He cleared his throat, "Enough with this sad stuff. Let's go have some fun."

"Wait, what about dinner?" I asked watching him stand up.

"We can get something later," He said throwing a fifty down on the table before holding out his hand for me to stand up and take. I shook my head in amusement and grabbed it.

"Where are we going?"

"Where else do you go at seven o'clock on a Monday night?" He asked wiggling his eyebrows. He surprised me by driving us all the way to the beach.

"Jesse! It's October!" I hissed as we stood in the sand. My heels now forgot in the car.

"And? Don't tell me you're one of those overly professional girls that are too afraid to have a little fun." He said pouting and I lightly smacked his chest.

"Cute, but no. I'm not even close to being afraid Farone." I said narrowing my eyes playfully before rushing off into the water. I didn't mind that my gray, long, lace dress was getting all wet as I stood knee deep in the ice-cold water. I watched as Jesse slowly shrugged off his jacket and took off his shoes and socks.

"C'mon, Farone lets not be a baby now." I said and he a light smile appeared on his face.

"Not all of us have closets full of expensive clothes. Some of us have to take care of the few nice outfits they have." Jesse said defending himself and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't think you completely know me. If I remember correctly you told me all about you. I don't remember me telling you anything about me." I said as he walked into the water, his pants rolled up.

What a baby.

"Your name is Claire Martez, you're twenty-eight years old and you own your own fashion company. You've never traveled anywhere besides here and you have some mysterious boyfriend. Am I missing anything?" He asked looking confident with himself and I smirked.

"I went undercover in an all boys school." He stared at me for a good two minutes, waiting for me to start laughing or something.

"You can't be serious?" He asked looking at me with wide eyes and I shrugged.

"It's a real thing that happened. That's how I met my boyfriend, Caiden. He was my roommate." I told him, moving my foot in the water.

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard," He said bursting out laughing, it was nice to see someone so carefree as he bent over, hands on his knees as he laughed.

"It's not funny!" I pouted and he nodded.

"You're right, that's not funny, It's absolutely hysterical," He said in between laughing.

"Hey, that had to be the most exciting part of my life!" I tried defending myself as I cracked a smile, he laughed even harder.

"Well, Claire Martez, I must say it's a good thing I took the time to get to know you because information like that is very valuable for blackmail," He said after calming down.

"Good luck with that. This kid Jax once blackmailed me over it and in the end I'm pretty sure he was the one who turned me in." I said rolling my eyes.

"Hm, he sounds like an asshole."

"Yeah, he's a complete douche. I only dealt with him because he was my ex-boyfriend's friend."

"You getting more and more interesting every time I talk to you," He said smiling and I shrugged.

"It's cause I got that Martez charm." I said winking and I pretended to wipe off fake dusk.

"Well has anyone every told you that you're a complete dork?" He asked me and I smiled thinking about my little brother.

"Yeah, quite a few times."

I let a sad smile slip onto my face as I thought back to all of our good times. Why did he have to be a killer?

"I've never had someone treat me how you did and whenever I imagine you not in my life I see myself ending up in a place pretty close to hell." Jesse said and I bit my lip as I stared at the almost unfamiliar man now.

"I've told you this before, you can't let anyone else control how you live your life. That includes even me Jesse." I said softly and he looked out the window. Riley wanted me to get through to Jesse and make a connection with him, but maybe that wasn't the way to stop all of this. I think the only way I could stop him is by opening him up to the part of the world he's missing.

"Your heart is made of gold, Claire Martez." Jesse said standing up and shaking his head. He leaned forward and placed a long kiss on my cheek before slipping on his coat and pulling his head away. "But killing is necessary to survive. Killing is how you succeed. And killing is how you don't get caught." He told me with no emotion before leaving the cafe. I placed my hand on my cheek as I stared out the window, watching as he walked down the sidewalk with his head down. Maybe the Jesse I knew is still somewhere inside of there, standing up with my drink I decided to finally head to work, everything else pushed out of my head. I needed to focus.

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~Taylor's POV~

I smirked as I watched Clover rush out of the back of some building. I walked slowly down the alley, hands in pockets.

"Paparazzi a little crazy, huh?" I asked with a raised eyebrow and she narrowed her eyes.

"Do I know you?" She asked me and I shook my head.

"No, but I like to think I'm someone that you'd like to be acquainted with," I said, holding my arms out.

"Yeah, that's what everyone around out there likes to think too. Just keep moving buddy." She said rolling her eyes as she took out her phone. I noticed a few people coming from the right and left making me frown. They were from the gang.

"You need to turn around and walk straight down that pathway." I whispered in her ear and she looked up, she looked around and her eyes widened as she noticed the group of men coming towards her. She did exactly as I said and started walking I lifted my black hood over my head and kept my head down as I walked next to her.

"Who are you, and who are they?" She whispered, glancing behind to see them now behind us.

"Not important. They're from the gang." Her eyes flashed understanding as she nodded.

"Are you with Riley?" She asked and I narrowed my eyes. Riley? Does that mean she was here?'

"Riley's here?" I asked as we fastened our pace, taking a sudden right.

"I'll take that at a no then," She muttered before pausing and placing her hand on the brick wall as she started to remove her heels.

"What the hell are you doing? You can't do that later?" I hissed, they were only a minute behind us at least.

"They hurt." She defended, undoing one strap at a time. " Plus all that's back here is mud and disgusting water." She said distastefully and I shook my head just as the familiar looking guys appeared.

"Back off Taylor. Jesse told us to collect her." A guy named Mike said and I shook my head. Clover looked at me in shock as if she recognized the name from somewhere.

"You see I can't let you do that," I said pulling down my hood.

"And why is that?" He asked narrowing his eyes and I shrugged.

"Because what would be the fun in that." Mike looked at the guys behind him before nodding. All four of them started heading towards me, the other two heading towards Clover. She struggled against their grips and I shook my head. A bunch of amateurs.

As my gaze was focused on Clover I didn't notice the fist flying forward. My face turned to the side from the impact and I placed my hand on my face, rubbing my jaw. Shaking my head, I responded by letting my leg fly up and kick him in the chest. My elbow went back and hit the other guy that was coming up behind me in the jaw. Another guy came up and grabbed my leg as I tried to kick him and in response I slammed my head against his. The guy stumbled back holding his head and I held back the wince from the pain. The fourth guy attempted to punch me, but my reflexes were too fast and in one swift moment he was flipped over and laying on the ground. He attempted to get back up, but I slammed my fist into his face.

I headed over to the two guys who were nervously watching me while holding a struggling Clover.I grabbed one of the guys by the back of his neck and slammed my knee into his stomach about three times before he fell over. The last guy tried to be smooth by jumping on me, his weight made me stumble back and trip over the another a body. He attempted to throw a few punches, but I moved my head from side to side, just barely missing the hits. I hit my knee into his stomach and managed to flip his body over mine before standing up and letting my boot hit the side of his face, knocking him out.

"Wait you're Taylor? You're a part of that gang?" Clover said trying to unnoticeably take steps away from me.

"I just saved your ass so you should know that I won't hurt you," I said crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the wall.

"Why were they here? Why did you help me?"Clover asked before rubbing her hands down her face and shaking her head, fear evident on her face.

"Jesse must have sent an order to collect you. And because I'm not the enemy here Clover." I said, my voice softening at the end.

"He really takes this whole wanting me dead thing to a new level." She muttered, taking her phone out of her pocket.

"Listen, you can't tell anyone I helped you. Just tell everyone you managed to escape. But earlier you asked if I'm with Riley, does that mean she is here?" I asked and Clover kept her mouth shut, not responding. I walked over, snatching the phone out of her hand.

"Does that mean she's here?" I repeated and she looked away from me.

I sighed at her stubbornness. Thinking about the past and her going undercover, I tried to think of all the new girls that recently entered the gang. There was three of them. I knew for sure she wasn't the one with dark skin and I knew she couldn't be the one who looked like she'd been doing cocaine since she was a baby. "She's that new girl, what's her name again?" I mumbled to myself."Reese, she's Reese isn't she?" I took the sign of her widening as a yes.

"Dammit, she should be smarter than this." I hissed before looking closely at Clover. I placed my hands on her shoulder causing her to finally look at me in the eyes again.

"Never go out by yourself anymore. And remember you never saw me." I told her before handing her phone back and taking out my own. I texted a familiar number for clean up before leaving all the men that were out cold. Clover ran after me and attempted to keep up with my pace.

"What are you going to do about them?" She hissed, looking back at them."I'm Jesse is going to find it odd that you beat up the guys that were sent to get me and -" I placed my hand over her mouth and pulled her back against the brick wall. Her back was against my chest, but I didn't dare to move. There was the devil himself walking out of some cafe place. Clover tried to say something but stopped trying when she realized I wasn't going to remove my hand. My eyes narrowed when through the window I could see Claire sitting there. What was Jesse doing with her?

"Something is up. Just go back inside your little photoshoot thing and don't leave until someone comes to pick you up. And Clover, don't trust anyone you don't know." I told her after Jesse was out of sight. I released her and she nodded before rushing off toward the way we came, awkwardly jumping over the bodies.

Once she was gone I knew I had to get back to one place and that was the gang house.

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~Jesse's POV~

I walked down the sidewalk, hands in my pockets. Thoughts of Claire didn't leave my head making me punch my fist into the building I was walking past. She consumed my thoughts, her body, her face, her hair, her eyes, her smell, the innocent look she'd get on her face when she was thinking. Everything about her screamed for my attention.

"I've told you this before, you can't let anyone else control how you live your life. That includes even me Jesse."

She makes it sound so easy, but my life would be different if she'd just leave fucking Anderson completely. She claims they broke up, yet they still live in the same house together. I wasn't a fucking idiot, I could tell when she lied and I'm not exactly a stranger when it came to her. We spent so many great times together it was almost impossible not to love her.

"Jesse, you should meet Caiden. He's a little distant at first, but I could see you two being good friends. You have so much in common." Claire insisted smiling at me and I stared at the smile grazing her lips before nodding.

"As much as I'd love to I agree that that's a good idea it's not. I'm sure he already hates me for spending every other day with his girlfriend." I told her and she frowned.

"More like every few days, but he doesn't mind. I think he's getting a bit curious about you, though." She said as she took a large bite out of her cookie dough blizzard. " I'm starting to hang out with you more than Nathan and he's my best friend of forever."

"I promise I'll meet him sometime soon." I told her, flicking her nose causing her to do the cute little thing where she scrunches up her nose. She stuck out her tongue at me making me chuckle. She was a fully grown woman, yet sometimes she still acted like she was still only a child.

"Claire?" A voice asked causing her to look over and jump up from her chair. Her arms flung around the males neck making me glare at the guy.

"Gosh, Jeff, I haven't seen you in forever." She said pulling back and he rubbed his hand on her head, making her hair go out of place

"Yeah, it's been a while. How's Caiden? I haven't got any cards about any engagement." The guy named Jeff asked raising an eyebrow and I scowled.

"He's great. I thought he was going to propose about a month ago, but it never happened." She said shrugging, a small frown slipping on her face.

"That man needs to get on it. I mean at this rate I'm going to be getting married before you." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, let's not forget who you even got that little Martez charm from." Claire said and this time it was his time to roll his eyes.

"Definitely not my big sister," He said causing her to pout. A woman appeared at the man's side and Claire pulled her into a hug as well.

"Kim, it's great to you! I see you're taking care of my little bro well." Claire said sending her a gentle smile and she nodded. So he was her brother then. I stood up and decided to make my presence known by standing next to Claire.

"Hey, I'm taller than you!"

"Yeah, It's hard to believe you ever put up living with him so long. He's a pig." She said shaking her head and he placed a kiss on her cheek causing her to groan.

"Ew, what are you a dog?" She said wiping her cheek with her hand and Claire chuckled at the couple.

"Ew, Jeff. " Claire muttered, shaking her head in disgust. "Oh, by the way, Jesse this is my brother Jeff and his girlfriend Kim." She quickly introduced and I held out my hand, giving them both a polite smile.

"It's nice to meet you." I said shaking their hands.

"I'm surprised you even have any friends still. All you do is work. You can't even come to your brother's new apartment." He said dramatically and I couldn't help but smirk as I watched the engaged between the siblings as she slapped his arm.

Thinking back to the sweet encounter I couldn't help but remember how strange the encounter was. If my brother treated me in such a way and didn't end up dragging me to prison with him then I probably wouldn't be such a cold hearted killer. I walked into the liquor store where one of my guys was working. I paid for a bottle of whiskey before leaving again. The prison was what made me into this killer I am. It made me into something that I never wanted to be. I remember the days when I first got there and all I'd wish for is a different life. Caring parents, loving brother, or even a house that didn't have the smell of pot everywhere I go. That thought didn't take long to disappear when they let us out to have lunch together at the prison.

"This place isn't that bad." Jackson said taking a seat in front of me and I ignored him, looking at the food in disgust. He acted like it was some temporary place. I was going to spend nine years here. Nine years I could have used to turn my life around.

"You spend your time moping around here or you can grow a pair. You need to get it through your head, Jesse. Killing is necessary to survive.Killing is how you succeed. Killing is how you don't get caught."

I stared at the bottle in my hand and threw it against the house, the glass flew everywhere, but I didn't care and only went inside.

"Jesse, they didn't return. I think the agents got to them." Jacob said and I sneered at him.

"I want Clover Thompson in my possession. Why is it so hard for one of you to get her? I've dealt with those agents before. They aren't as scary as they look. All it takes is one fucking shot and they're dead. They aren't the only ones who trained." I hissed at everyone who was nearby.

"But some of us don't kill and you know that. We don't want to all end up in prison like you when those agents take us out." A guy said and I looked at him. I couldn't remember his name, which meant he wasn't important anyways. I grabbed a gun out of the back of my waistband and didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, the bullet flew through the air and hit directly in the center of his forehead. His body hit the ground, his now empty eyes wide open as he laid there motionless.

"Killing is necessary to survive. Killing is how you succeed. Killing is how you don't get caught." I told everyone around me as a girl ran over to him, sobbing.

"How could you?" She hissed, looking at me with hatred and I sent her a dark smirk.

"He should have known to shut his mouth." I told her and she shook her head, pushing the hair out of the blonde's face. She laid her head on her brothers chest as she cried nonstop.

"Jesse, he was the one who told you about Clover." James said and I looked over at the dead body and shrugged. "And he was living with her at the moment."

"Hm, well shit happens and now he's not. I'm sure Jasmin can keep an eye of Mrs. Thompson by herself without the boy. Unless she wants to get something off her chest too?" I asked turning my head to the side, daring her to argue as well.

"Don't worry I wouldn't dare to mess with the oh so important Jesse Farone." She said and I shook my head.

"Learn how to hold your tongue or else you're next." I warned before walking away. I should have felt bad for killing the girl's brother, but I couldn't get myself to feel remorse. After all, killing is how you don't get caught.

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A/N: Ello Loves! This was a long chapter (longer than usual) with lots of flashbacks so I hope you like know what happened a little in the past nine years. Feel free to let me know what you think cause I'm very interested in your thoughts for how it ended. And I'd just like to say a quick RIP Chris Levine. I wasn't planning on killing him off, but it happened just like it did with Eddie in the third book. I got so into writing that next thing you know I just killed someone. And that is Jesse and Claire on the top/side.  The epilogue for the first book was really for people who only wanted to read the first book with a happy ending. At one point I did have a note that told people not to read the epilogue if they were reading the rest of the saga. (I don't know if it's still there.)

What are your thoughts on the side you saw with Jesse when he was with Claire?

Were you happy with Taylor and Jesse's POV? Is there another specific point of view you want?

Thoughts on Chris dying? Is anyone going to miss him?

Overall opinion?

Anyways, you all know the drill,

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~KittyKat<3