I glare at Knox, and he just shrugs again like it’s no big deal. I’m going to strangle him when we get home. But then I’m sure I’ll end up giving up. Because what do I really care? I kind of just like riling him up.
“We all good?” Pres asks Vincent.
“Just got the clearance from the Fed. Nobody’s digging too hard into Cobra’s death, and they’ve targeted men inside their own club. The place was dismantled when they got there last night, and someone had set it on fire. Looks like the Five Aces are finished, and the Ghost Riders claim the territory back. My guys are okay with this as long as things keep running like they are.”
Pres nods and looks at me, and I feel the weight of the club’s eyes on me, too.
“You took care of the club, and you made sure we’re all safe for generations to come.” He looks at Casper as she rubs her belly, and then over to Savage who’s got two little kids of his own. “We’re all a family here now, and it’s going to stay that way. We agreed that you’re patched in, regardless if you marry this nerd or not.”
I lean into Knox and laugh. “Thank you.”
“Welcome to the Ghost Riders,” Pres says, and suddenly I hear a champagne cork pop and we’re all being sprayed with suds.
I try to turn into Knox’s chest, but he holds me in front of him so I get covered. I don’t know how many people have bottles, but they all have their fun soaking everyone in the group.
It feels like a time to celebrate. To prepare for a new baby on the way with Vincent and Casper, to welcome me to the club, and to toast the end of the Five Aces. We finally have peace in our town and in our club. No more drama or worry about what comes next. And that’s a pretty great feeling.
As more champagne is popped and more bottles get poured, Knox spins me in his arms and raises me up so we are at eye level.
“I love you, baby,” he says, kissing me on the lips.
‘I love you, too,” I mumble as I wrap myself around him.
I’m finally at peace with myself and my life, and I’ve got someone to always make me feel safe. It was a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. And now we’ve got the rest of our lives to do this thing we call love.
Epilogue
Violet
5 years later…
“What are you doing?” My sister Vanessa leans over in the passenger seat, trying to look at my phone. I’ve been staring down at it for the past five minutes instead of leaving the grocery store parking lot. We were supposed to be back at Mom and Dad’s twenty minutes ago to cook for Mother’s Day, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of Knox for the past three hours, and it’s starting to really piss me off.
Something is up with him, and I’m wondering if he knows and he’s freaking out. There’s something I’ve been keeping from him. I wanted to wait for Mother’s Day. I felt it was fitting, and I could tell everyone at once.
Since I brought Knox home, he’s become a Cassano. One of us. He’d even taken my name when we got married. It wasn’t normal and it shocked me at first when the subject came up. But when we got hitched years ago, he made the decision.
He said my family has been better to him than his own had ever been, and that he’d be honored to carry my name if I let him. He said he’d want our children, when we had them, to have that name. Everyone got a little choked up, even Cas. My sisters all turned to a pile of goo, and even I fought like hell to stop the tears from flowing.
I thought this was something that he wanted. Hell, when I’d gone to the doctor months ago to get my new birth control shot, I was told I didn’t have an appointment. After the third time it happened, I knew it was Knox canceling them. He’d actually hacked into the system and canceled my appointments.
That seemed like he was on baby board, if you ask me, but over the past week he’s been randomly falling off the grid. What the fuck is he up to, and who with?
“You know this place?” I show my sister my phone. It’s a map of Knox’s location on my iPhone tracker. I have it on satellite so I can actually see the building he’s in. Looks like just a bunch of new office spaces.
“I know the new center that was built, but I’m not sure of all the businesses that have been set up there.”