I braced myself for the fallout, hoping like hell Carbon would be easier to contain with a wounded arm. The big man sank to his knees and pulled his sister to him with his good arm. His body shook with silent sobs while Reese allowed her cries to be heard. When I heard Carbon say, “We got him, Reesie. It’s finally over,” I knew their tears were tears of relief.
“Thank you, officers. They needed that more than you will ever know,” Phoenix said, extending his hand to them.
A man in light blue scrubs approached our group. “Excuse me, I’m looking for the family of Coal Martin.”
Phoenix cleared his throat, “That’s me.”
“May I speak freely here?” the doctor asked. Phoenix nodded. “Mr. Martin is out of surgery and in recovery. We will need to keep him for a few days. He’s a very lucky man. We removed three bullets and got the bleeding under control. The bullets didn’t hit any major organs, but they did significant damage to several of the larger vessels in the abdomen. Had he not gotten here when he did, well, it was touch-and-go there at first, but he stabilized and pulled through. You can see him as soon as he is moved to a room.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Phoenix said, reaching out to shake his hand.
The first officer cleared his throat to get our attention. “We’ll let you get back to your family and friends. We have all we need from you for now and we know how to get in touch with you if we need anything. Thanks for helping us out on this one.”
We had just entered the waiting room when another doctor came in. “Family of William Anderson.” Shannon stood and followed him into the hallway. She returned a few minutes later to tell us that Boar made it through surgery and was being moved to the ICU.
Thinking I would have a few minutes of reprieve, I dropped my ass into a chair and pulled Reese into my lap. Not even two minutes later, Copper showed up. I swear the room was busier than Grand Central Station. “You folks need a place to stay tonight?” he asked.
Sounds of agreement echoed through the room. “Me and a couple of the guys brought some cages up here. We can take some folks back to the clubhouse if anyone wants to leave. I’ll leave two cages here in case some of you want to stay and need transportation handy.”
Phoenix walked over to Copper and pulled him into a bear hug. “Thanks, brother. You’ve been a Godsend every step of the way this past year. Appreciate it.”
Copper gasped in mock outrage. “Who let Phoenix grow a pussy?”
“Fucker,” Phoenix shot back and clipped his shoulder.
I patted Reese’s thigh to get her to stand, “Come on, sugar, let’s take James to the clubhouse. I need a shower and about 20 hours of sleep.”
EPILOGUE
Duke
“Reese! Let’s go! We’re going to be late!” I shouted up the stairs. She had been in the bathroom for over an hour getting ready for a party at the clubhouse. I had no idea what was taking her so long, but I had been ready to go for well over 30 minutes.
She came down the stairs looking just as gorgeous as she always did. “Calm down, I’m ready. I just wanted to make sure I looked nice.”
I gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “You always look nice, sugar.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, but tonight is different. This is the first time I’ve ever been to a patch-in party and it will be the first party I attend as your Old Lady. Sue me for wanting to look good.”
“Shut it, Reese, and get your ass on my bike,” I growled and swatted said ass.
Reese and I moved in together pretty much as soon as we returned to Croftridge. She asked to see written proof of my divorce before she agreed to move in with me. Thankfully, all I had to do was file the papers and it was a done deal.
There was an empty house on Phoenix’s farm property that he said we could rent for a steal. I didn’t think Reese would go for it, but she did. She said she didn’t want to live on the farm forever, but it was okay for the time being. It was close to Ember and Mrs. Martin, both of whom loved to babysit James.
I thought it might take some time for Reese to be comfortable leaving James with a babysitter again, but she was surprisingly okay with it. Of course, that might be because the culprits who orchestrated our son’s kidnapping would never be a threat to his safety again.
Omen was found dead in his hospital bed a few days after everything went down. Thankfully, it was after Coal had been discharged and no Blackwings were anywhere near the hospital. Boar, however, was still there. We’ll never know, but I personally believe Boar was behind Omen’s death.
Melissa was arrested for numerous crimes. I have no doubt some strings were pulled and favors called in because it was quickly decided she was mentally incompetent to stand trial. She’ll be reevaluated periodically, but, as I understood it, she’ll never be found competent and will spend the rest of her days in the maximum security wing of the state mental hospital.
My musings came to an end when we pulled through the gates of the clubhouse. As expected, the place was packed. We had parties almost every weekend, but this particular party was special. The president’s son was being patched in.
After Coal was discharged from the hospital, Phoenix and the Martins sat down and told him about his biological parents. Having known about his adoption from an early age, he took the news in stride. Regardless of his paternity, he was receiving his patch just shy of a year prospecting because he risked his life when he charged into the line of fire to help his brothers.
Fingers snapped in front of my face. “Did you hear me?” Reese asked, clearly annoyed with my lack of attention.
“Sorry, sugar. What did you say?”
