Grip Trilogy Box Set - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,204

sent her. It’s a vow that she won’t ever give up on us. Knowing she held the poetry in her heart when she wouldn't even consider me, when I wasn’t even sure there was any hope, undoes me.

“Bristol, oh God."

I touch my forehead to hers, twisting my fingers into the damp hair at her neck. Pressed together, our heartbeats ricocheting, the universe tips, a dazzling lurching. A spectacular axis spinning beyond my restraint, just beyond my control. I once threatened to make her come with my words, but as the stars go blindingly bright and then dark behind my eyes, I realize she’s the one who did it.

Epilogue

BRISTOL

I HAVE AN eye for the extraordinary.

I can spot something special a mile away. That’s how I knew the day I met the man onstage that he was something special. I just had no idea how much he would change my life. Had no idea I would love him this way. I certainly didn’t have any idea he would feel the same.

“I think this is the best song he’s ever written,” Rhyson says to me as Grip sets up “Bruise” for the listening audience.

“You may be right about that.” I lean close to the baby cradled to my brother’s chest. “What do you think, Aria? Is it his best? Is that god-daddy’s best song?”

My niece squeals, and Rhyson and I look at each other with wide eyes in case it disrupts Grip’s performance.

“Here.” Kai sticks a pacifier into her daughter’s little mouth. “Figures you two would get her riled up.”

Rhyson holds his daughter in one arm, and pulls Kai close to him with the other. The contentment on his face squeezes my heart in the best possible way. After all the tumult that marked the first part of his journey, private and public, he somehow managed to make a normal life for himself. As normal as being a rock star married to another rock star can be. Though, intercepting the look Rhys and Kai exchange over Aria’s dark curly hair, I’m not sure there’s anything “normal” about a love that deep.

Glad I’m not the only one drowning. Grip once told me the capacity I have to love could be my greatest strength. Over the last few weeks, I’ve come to believe him. Especially when that love is for the right man, a man who wouldn’t exploit a heart like mine. He never ceases to amaze me with all the ways he proves he’s exactly the one for me.

“So you may have seen some footage of me a few months ago during a ‘routine’ stop,” Grip says from stage, a slight smile on those full lips I love so much. “It got just a little bit of coverage.”

The audience laughs, but there is an underlying tension in the room. The whole night feels like that, as if it’s on the verge of going wrong, though so far everything has gone right. Given Grip’s complicated history with LAPD, the organizers of this event weren’t sure he’d accept their invitation to perform at the Black and Blue Ball, held to promote better relations between communities of color and law enforcement. Maybe that’s why they sent his cousin Greg to ask. With “Bruise” so closely reflecting the message of the event, Grip didn’t hesitate to accept.

“I grew up in the part of the world that gave rise to the Watts riots and Rodney King. I was five years old when Rodney King was beaten.” He gives a quick laugh. “I barely knew my name, but I knew his. He was a cautionary tale for us, and our mothers made sure we knew.”

He grabs a stool and props himself there before going on.

“Even with all that, I thought police officers were dope.” He disarms the crowd with a bright smile. “They had flashing blue lights and sirens. What could be cooler than that?”

The crowd laughs a little, some offer smiles. A few expressions remain tense because some people aren’t sure where he’s headed or what he’ll say. Which side of the black/blue line he’ll land on, and if he’ll come down like a hammer.

“That footage showed me getting stopped in the neighborhood where I grew up. Some wondered if I would do this show tonight.” He looks out at the crowd, eyes dark and earnest. “I’m here because the system needs radical reform. Unarmed men and women are dying. And there are cops who, if they don’t do it, see it and remain silent. Do nothing, making them