I left behind thirty bucks in cash, even though my meal hadn’t cost more than twelve. Call it trying to get on karma’s good side or whatever; I just felt like making sure I left some good deed behind that couldn’t be considered cruel or dark to someone. I biked over to the shop, shielded my eyes from the sun, and opened the garage doors.
And there, already in the office, to my surprise, was my brother. We shared a look, and he stood up and walked outside to meet me.
“I thought you’d be passed out back in the clubhouse,” I said dryly.
Lane shook his head.
“I didn’t want to tell you this last night because of what you were going through,” he said. “But everything that you felt, I felt.”
Oh, shit.
“I thought killing Lucius and ending the Saints would be cause for celebration, but mostly, it’s just a massive relief,” he said. “When I put the bullet through his stomach, and I said, ‘that’s for Shannon!’ I felt relief for maybe three seconds. And then I thought, ‘But she’s not coming back.’ No one that is gone is coming back, you know?”
“I know,” I said. “I know all too well.”
We leaned against the side of the garage, waiting for customers to come in, but on a morning like this, in a small town like this, people were not exactly busting down the door with mechanical issues and oil changes to be had.
“I spoke with Angela about it,” he said. “She said that she’d made her peace with Shannon’s death once we became a couple. Last night didn’t do anything for her. I don’t fault anyone for celebrating, but for the two of us…”
“It’s different,” I said.
I sighed.
“I suppose at some point we’ll celebrate in our own way. Maybe have a quiet glass of wine somewhere. Maybe relish the fact that the Saints won’t be attacking our compound. Maybe appreciate the fact that peace can be had without looking over our shoulder.”
“Or just enjoy the fact that we can enjoy the smaller things,” Lane said.
“Or the big ones,” I said, which stirred something to mind. “Speaking of, you dropped a bit of a bombshell last night. You said you were going to propose to Angela?”
Lane nodded, wearing a guilty smirk.
“I will eventually,” he said. “Now’s not the right time, though.”
“You mean right before you went into the deadliest battle of all wasn’t?”
Lane chuckled and groaned.
“I want to propose when the dust has settled a bit,” he said. “When emotions aren’t running high. My proposal needs to be about us. Not about the relief. You know?”
“I guess so.”
“And what about you?” he said. “Lilly’s still out there. Are you going to go for her?”
It was a nice thought, wasn’t it? The idea that after everything had fallen into place, the guns were laid down, and the evil was buried, two former enemies could come together in love and harmony. It was a grand idea.
But I didn’t even know if I’d ever see her again, let alone if I’d get to love her and be with her forever.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I said. “I have some ideas.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
I chuckled.
“They’re just ideas,” I said. “But I think the Reapers need to reunite under the Black banner, not the Gray one. Dad didn’t create the Reapers MC, he created the Black Reapers MC. Maybe we have two chapters, one here and one in Ashton. Or maybe we just give up the Ashton location and go back to the way things were. We could also expand out to other cities, other states, even.”
“I mean, we’ll figure that out,” Lane said. “I’m more curious about what ideas you have for yourself.”
I opened my mouth to speak when I saw someone approaching.
But they weren’t in a vehicle. They weren’t even on a bike. They were on foot.
It was... her.
“I got one right now,” I said as Lilly, bandaged, exhausted, and smiling, walked toward me.
