“You’re family now, and family is always there,” he says, rising and heading for the door.
That breaks me all over again.
Malcolm shifts closer, but this time, he doesn’t touch me right away. He just stands there, close enough that I feel his heat beside me.
His arms come around me slow, and careful, like he’s afraid I’ll shatter if he breathes too hard. I don’t fight it this time. I sink into his chest, fists twisting into his kutte. He doesn’t say a word, just holds me while I let go.
After a long minute, his chin dips toward the top of my head. “You stole my bike.”
A weak, breathless sound slips out of me… something between a laugh and a sigh.
“You scared the hell outta me,” he murmurs. “You ever do that again and I’m chaining your ass to the damn bed.”
I lift my face just enough to look at him. “I needed to face Herrera alone.”
His voice drops lower, rougher. “Coming here alone was a suicide mission, Lolo, and I’m not ready to lose you.”
That almost breaks me worse than everything else.
“I wasn’t thinking about living,” I admit quietly, pressing my forehead into his chest. “I was thinking about ending it.”
His arms lock tighter around me. “You don’t get to decide that alone anymore.”
Something in me finally gives. Not loud, not violent, just a quiet, aching crack.
“I miss them so much it hurts,” I mumble.
“I know, baby,” he says. “And it’s gonna hurt for a long time. But you’re not riding this road alone. Not ever again.”
Pressing my face back into his chest, I let him hold me, knowing my family is gone… but somehow, I found my way into a new one.
My family is avenged.
The men who destroyed my life are dead.
And for the first time…
I no longer have to be the strong one.
EPILOGUE
NIGHTMARE
One week later…
Early morning lightbarely slips through the blinds. The clubhouse is quiet in that rare way it gets before the engines wake up and the world starts demanding noise again.
Londyn is sprawled across my chest, warm, bare skin pressed against mine. Her thigh’s hooked over my hip like that’s exactly where she belongs. I run my hand slowly up her back, feeling her breathe. It calms my soul knowing she’s safe.
Alive.
Her fingers trail down my stomach, slow and teasing, like she’s testing whether this moment is real too. A soft sound leaves her as I roll her beneath me, mouths meeting, heat building easy and sure.
No rush.
No war.
Just us.
