Renegade Path

Payback was a motherfucker.

“Let me check.” Juliet jogged upstairs. Overhead, I heard her soft footsteps walking through each room. A few minutes later, she bounded down the stairs.

“I think we’re good to go!” She grabbed her helmet from my hands.

We only had a vague idea of where we were going and what we wanted to see. For now, that suited us fine.

For weeks, maybe months, we planned to live like nomads. Ride from town to town. Move on when we’d seen enough. See things we’d only read about. Let our hearts lead the way.

And that’s exactly what we did.

Epilogue

Vapor

A few years and many roads later…

“Are you all packed?” I shout down the hallway. Juliet’s been dawdling which isn’t like her.

I want to get on the road before sunrise.

“Just a minute!”

“Babe.” I tap on the bathroom door. “Can I bring your bag downstairs?”

She hesitates before answering. “Sure.”

We have a long ride ahead of us to get to Florida. We’re meeting up with Dex at a bike rally.

Sometimes Juliet gets annoyed with Dex for hooking me up with side jobs for Lost Kings all over the country. He’s vouched for me with other clubs he’s friendly with too. Through those connections, I’ve managed to carve out my own niche. Patched by no particular club but respected by everyone I do business with. Vapor—silent and deadly—is how I’m known now. Silent, because I’ll never snitch. Not to cops or to other clubs. Deadly, because betrayal ends in bloodshed.

The riskier jobs get under Juliet’s skin the most. But me not working a regular nine-to-five means we get to spend a lot of time together. And we take impromptu road trips whenever the mood strikes.

Either way, last I knew, she was looking forward to seeing Dex. So I don’t understand the sudden hold up.

“Roman,” she calls out. “Come here. I want to show you something.”

My mouth quirks. “Already saw all of you this morning, butterfly.”

I push the bathroom door open and stare at my beautiful wife dressed in nothing but a pair of white lace panties. Like the greedy bastard I am, I stand there and drink all of her naked beauty in.

“You’re killing me,” I groan. “I wanted to be on the road early. But now I want to take you back to bed.”

“Roman.” She draws out my name in a low, singsong voice and waves something in my face.

“Is that a tampon? You want to push the trip back a few days?”

She doubles over laughing. “No, you goof.”

I look closer. Rapid Pregnancy Detection.

“What is that?” I ask slowly.

“Really, Roman?” She’s the only person in our lives who uses my real name anymore. Love hearing it from her lips.

Holy fuck!

“Are we having a baby?”

“Ding! Finally.” She sets the test stick down and throws her arms around me. “What do you think? Can an outlaw-nomad like yourself take some paternity leave?”

“Butterfly, I can do whatever I want. What about you? You love your job.”

She rubs her hand over her still-flat stomach. “I want this more. I want to give our baby all the love, attention, and chances you and I never had.”

Her earnest words punch right through my chest. I’ll never leave my child at the mercy of the system like I was. “Think it’s time for us to move back to New York?”

“Maybe.”

“Eraser asks about ten times a week when we’re moving back.”

Her mouth curves. He’s still one of her favorite people. “I’d like to live closer to him and Ella.” Her smile widens. “And the other guys too, of course.”

My phone buzzes and I pull it out of my pocket. “It’s Prophet. Give me a second.”

She rolls her eyes. “What does he want now?”

I tap out a quick text telling him I’m headed out of town, before returning to Juliet.

“You gonna tell Dex when we see him?”

“No, maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone yet. Just in case. It’s too early.”

Fuck, now that she’s told me, I don’t want to take any risks. “Maybe we should cancel the trip.”

“No way. We’ve been planning this for months. Besides, it might be the last road trip I take for a while.”

Riding without Juliet at my back? Just the idea seems wrong.

“If we have a girl,” Juliet says in a soft voice, rubbing her hand over her stomach, “I’d like to name her Emma.”

“For Mrs. Shields?”

“Yes.” Juliet glances around our swanky one-bedroom condo. “Without her, we would’ve struggled an awful lot our first few years.”

“Damn right,” I agree. “I wish she was here to see that we’ve turned out okay.”

One corner of Juliet’s mouth kicks up. “I like to think she’s watching over us and she knows.”

“Might be time for me to trade in the Green Flame for a cage.” I’d put a lot of hours into fixing my Harley but suddenly it didn’t seem as important.

“I’d never ask you to get rid of your bike.” Her voice drops. “I love you, Roman. I always want you to be happy.”