“Not for a little while,” Zip said. “We wanna make sure all the shit is wrapped up here before we bring them home.”
“What other shit? Dev is gone, apparently. What else is there to handle?”
Boxer scratched his chin. “Alejandro’s men are cleaning the streets looking for the Iron Horsemen. It’s not a bright idea to be riding around Waco wearing a cut right now.”
“Don’t watch the news,” Zip said. “They’re reporting solely on the crime wave. It’s bad.”
“So it really is over,” I said in amazement. After weeks of fear and terror, of being on lockdown and the losses, it was done.
“Yeah, it is,” Boxer said with a nod.
“Have you talked to Joni?” I asked Zip. “How’s she doing? Is everyone okay? Silas?”
“They’re fine. The kids don’t know anything that’s going on. Silas is doing well from what Darcy said.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. One less thing I had to worry about.
There was a knock on the door, followed by Knight popping his head in. He looked at me in concern. I nodded for him to enter. He walked through the door and held it for Zip and Boxer who moved toward the exit. Boxer grasped my big toe and gave it a tweak before leaving.
Knight came all the way into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He examined me for a long moment and then said, “Christ.”
“I’m okay.”
He shook his head. “You’re not the one who’s supposed to be reassuring me. I’m supposed to do that for you. I sat with Colt, you know. When they brought you back from surgery. The both of us sat by your bed waiting for you to come out of anesthesia. Your boy was a real wreck.”
“And you?”
He sighed. “Same. Boxer and Zip…did they tell you about Colt?”
“About how he’s gone? Yeah. They said he went for a ride to clear his head.”
“I don’t know you well,” Knight said slowly. “So I’m gonna need you to be honest with me.”
I looked at him in confusion. “Okay.”
“What’s your mental state? I mean, how fragile is too fragile?”
“You know where he went, don’t you?”
After a moment, he nodded. “I followed him to the parking lot. We had some…words.”
“You had some fists, you mean?”
He smiled slightly. “It might’ve come to that. I got protective over you. He landed a punch. I hit him back. Then I made him tell me where he was going.”
“Where did he go?”
His eyes met mine. “To get your revenge for you.”
I dreamed the devil climbed into bed with me.
He held me in his arms, kissed my lips, tasting of violence and seduction. He smelled like gunpowder and leather, woodsmoke and man.
He felt solid and real, but I knew he was a figment of my morphine-induced imagination. I cried tears of bereavement because I knew once I opened my eyes, he’d be gone and I’d be alone again.
So for the time being, I gave into his touch, I gave into the feeling of not being so alone.
And when I came in my sleep, his lips were there to steal my cries.
I cracked an eyelid, taking a moment to get my bearings. My head was not resting on a pillow, but on a warm male chest.
“Colt?” I whispered.
“Hmm.” His fingers played with my hair.
“Where did you go?”
He paused. “I thought Knight told you.”
“He did.” We were silent a moment and then I asked, “How?”
“I asked Flynn for his help. Cost me a bit. To be there at the end.”
“What did it cost you?”
“Alejandro Garcia is still going to have some jurisdiction in Waco through the Jackals. They’ll take the East side. We’ll take the North side. Garcia will branch out east toward Louisiana when he wants to expand. Sanchez will branch out north toward Idaho.”
“Divide and conquer, eh?” I asked.
“Criminals gotta eat too, babe.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess they do.” I paused. “You think Alejandro and the Jackals will keep their end of the bargain?”
“I don’t know. I guess time will tell.”
“What about the bloodshed? Waco’s seen enough, don’t you think?”
“We stay on our side, they stay on theirs. I’ve talked to Franco. He’s assured me that Sanchez doesn’t want to see the loss of innocent lives. Can’t say the same for Garcia.”
I traced the warm skin that peeked out from the collar of his T-shirt. I couldn’t worry about that now. There would always be unknowns. Danger would continue to lurk around the corner. I was an MC president’s Old Lady. It came with the territory.
I didn’t ask if he got to be the one to pull the trigger, or if he was just there to watch Dev’s life come to an end. Not that Colt would tell me, anyway. And it had nothing to do with the fact that we weren’t married and I wasn’t protected under spousal privilege. He wouldn’t want it to weigh on me.
“Were you mad when you found out I’d left?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you still mad?”
“I don’t think so.”
“No?”
I tilted my chin up to look at him. “Thank you. For making sure it’s truly over. Thank you for being there for me.”
His gaze softened. “You’re welcome.”
I rested my head against his chest and snuggled up against him.
“Mia?”
“Yeah?”
“Marry me.”
Epilogue
One year later…
* * *
“Silas,” I said into the phone. “Silas, take a breath.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m just excited. You and Colt will be back in time, right?”
“Yeah, honey.” I looked at my husband, who was naked from the chest up and slowly undoing the button of his jeans, a wicked glint in his eye.
“We’ll be home. First place in the science fair. Like we’d miss watching you get that big blue ribbon. I’m proud of you, Silas.”
“Thanks,” he said. “It was all because of Ramsey. He helped me.”
“You should call and tell him you appreciated his help.” I grinned at his enthusiasm, even though I wasn’t terribly excited that Ramsey Buchanan had taught my son how to rig delayed timers for bombs and disguised them as heat lamp timers for chicken coops in an agricultural setting. Hopefully winning first place at the science fair meant that Silas was on a solid, academic path instead of a criminal one.
“Where are you guys now?” Silas asked.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Colt strip off his jeans, quickly followed by his boxers. He gave himself a few pumps and leered at me.
I turned to him and gave him a sharp glare, which only made him laugh.
“We’re in Florence, Oregon,” I said. “Tiny little town off the coast. There are sand dunes here, Silas. Do you think Captain would love the beach?”