"Any offers on the condo yet?" He picked up the fork and took a bite of pie.
"Not yet, but there were three couples that looked this week. I'm staying hopeful. It would be nice to get her moved up here before it starts snowing."
"We can always move her up early. It isn't going to cost her anything to stay in the motorhome."
"Oh, you should hear Amelia talk. She's so excited about running the RV Park and has ideas about how to run it more efficiently—you know since you told her about the problems that creep up during tourist season." Grace stopped to take a bite and then continued. "The skills she had working at the nursing home as the entertainment director will come in handy, I think."
He grunted, finishing the pie. Losing Hank still bothered him.
As one of the originals and his MC brother, Hank failed to move on from his past and take what he learned through the Alpha Bio Project to change his life around. But the demons reared their ugly head, and his urges weren't acceptable. Before anyone was aware of the struggle Hank was going through, he'd slipped into the river. They found his body ten miles downstream.
Hank could damn near hold his breath for that distance, and the fact that he'd chosen to go against his training and end his life probably gave his MC brother back his freedom. He'd gone out the way he wanted.
Prez approached the table. "Speeder's taking Trina and Laurel home and then going to return to take your post. Go ahead and take the night off."
"We can stay."
"You need the break." Prez lowered his voice. "It's been a hell of a summer. Take your woman and enjoy yourself. We've got enough men to handle the get-together."
"'Preciate it." He dipped his chin, his appetite gone.
Alone with Grace, he turned her head and kissed her. She gazed up at him, waiting for his reaction. All he tasted was apple pie.
He winked. "You ready to get out of here?"
She grabbed their paper plates and stood. While she dumped the garbage in the can, he visually checked in with the other originals. They had forty percent of their members out. The rest of them were locked inside the clubhouse, trying to get a handle on their new life. It would come. It only took a little training—much like when they participated in the Alpha Bio Project.
Grace hurried back to his side and latched her fingers in his hand. He led her out of the fence and to his Harley.
She climbed up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Before he could shift into second, her hand wandered, teasing his cock.
By the time he pulled into the driveway, his jeans were uncomfortably tight, and all he wanted to do was take them off and give Grace what she wanted.
She slid from behind and landed in front of him, hanging onto his neck. Kissing him deeply, she backed away toward the house, crooking her finger for him to follow.
He threw his leg over the bike, adjusted his dick, and stalked after her. At the door, he unlocked the house and slapped her ass, sending her toward the bedroom.
Inside, he reached over and picked up the padlock on the shelf. Sliding it through the latch, he snapped the padlock closed.
Every night, he lock Grace inside the house with him to make sure she stayed safe.
And he planned on doing that for the rest of his life.
Epilogue
Sequestered one thousand, three hundred, and forty miles away from Avery Falls, Idaho, the controller of the Alpha Bio Project flipped the monitors on, lighting up the wall in front of him. He sat down in the chair and studied the frames.
Pleased at what he viewed; he pushed the intercom button. "Come in here."
Less than a minute later, the handler walked into the underground room. Excitement filled him. The project had succeeded beyond his expectations.
"How long until you have the next group of men ready for the trip?" asked the controller.
The handler double-checked the papers on his clipboard. "The flight is scheduled for Monday. That's four days to get them prepped and sedated."
"Perfect. I'll make sure to meet them upon their arrival."
"Will the other handler be working with the next group?"
"Unfortunately, he's no longer working with the Alpha Bio Project." He looked at the handler. "I trust you can run things by yourself."
"Yes, sir."
"I believe you're a fan of warm weather."
"I enjoy the sunshine." The handler stepped closer. "Where are the next group of men going?"
"The big island."
"Hawaii?" The handler raised his brows in surprise. "That'll be a change from what we're used to in the Bitterroot Mountains."
"Indeed, it will be." He flipped all twenty-four switches in front of him.
Each monitor changed views. He sat back and steepled his hands. The work in Avery Falls was completed. The men were left on their own to live independent lives. He would continue to observe them through the cameras placed inside the homes and in the gyms to continue their training.
"Isn't that...? The handler stepped forward, studying the screen. "Isn't that the woman I contacted about the photography assignment?"
"Yes. Grace Lambert." He hummed in approval. "She's now living in Avery Falls with Kyle Bowman, aka Keenan, aka Fifteen."
"Is she from his past?"
"No." He chuckled warmly. "I had the pleasure of sitting beside her on one of my flights back to the states a few years ago. Hm, I can't recall where we were coming from, but she struck up a passionate conversation about the rain forest with me. I enjoyed her enthusiasm."
"The other two women, Bonnie and Laurel, certainly worked out well for the two participants." The handler hugged the clipboard to his chest. "Will you bring other women in for the rest of the men?"
"The three men who have settled down and built a family unit will be examples for the others." The controller nodded in satisfaction. "Humans have a natural instinct to want what others have. I'm sure they can move forward on their own. Avery Falls has enough females populating the area during the tourist season for them to seek a partner."
The handler moved behind the control center and stared up at the monitors. "This is amazing."
"Yes, very much so."
To see what they'd started with and where the men had ended up during their progress with the Alpha Bio Project was a fascinating journey. He took pride in what he'd created.
The handler pointed. "What makes this group of men succeed where others have failed?"
The controller clicked on the first monitor, zooming up to the participant. "A lot of the credit goes to this man. Demon, president of Avery Falls Motorcycle Club. A natural leader. He controlled the men outside of the program and has created a biker club, emphasizing the loyalty and bond they all share."
"Was he always a leader?"
"Sometimes, those who have no choices and are at the whim of others, if given a chance, will take a different approach to change the outcome of their life. His drive to be someone else was extraordinary."
"He was a follower?"
"Not quite." He tilted his head, watching Demon stand at the front of the clubhouse. "Demon found himself relegated to hitman status in a mob in Seattle with a debt he could never pay. There was no escaping. The project gave him a way out, and he took it. He has become someone who can control a large group of men—killers, as it is."