And as bad as it sounded, I had to thank Chase for a few things.
One… for giving me his heart and saving my life.
And two… for giving me his Ruby.
It was a gift I’d eternally be grateful for.
It took a tragic death, a sea of grief, and a mountain of obstacles to get to her, but now that I had her by my side, I would never let Ruby go.
My future may just be beginning, but I know when it ends, Ruby will be right there with me, facing the obstacles of life the only way we can… together.
Epilogue
It had been a whole month since my trip to California. Cap was out of the hospital, and the club was picking up the pieces after finding out the band Grief’s Conviction was gone. Bull seemed to be handling it the worst. I barely knew the man, but I knew grief and survivor’s guilt well, and that man was thrumming with it.
Thorn and Seraph were running around my room, playing with each other as they jumped and wrestled over a toy mouse I had just bought them. Since finding them, I decided to change my house into a cat sanctuary, one that cats without a home could go to until they found a “furever” home, just like my two little blessings. I had posted flyers up all over town, hoping that people would call and help me save more cats.
I’d gotten a few calls, and one of my rescues, a sleek Siamese cat that had gotten stuck in a tree, went to our good buddy Darrius. He was absolutely thrilled to adopt him, naming him Pizza, after his late son’s favorite food. It was amazing how finding your purpose can change you.
Darrius’ non-profit was doing wonders for kids around the area, and even though Cap still went fishing with him every once in a while, Darrius had others to keep him company. The pain of losing his son was still there, much like mine for Chase, but slowly it was getting better. Time and acceptance always made things better.
Cap knocked on the door, chuckling when Thorn and Seraph took off running and hid beneath my couch the second they saw him.
“They’ll warm up to you eventually,” I reminded him.
“You keep saying that,” he said, grinning when Thorn poked out his head and swiped at his shoe as he made his way over to me.
“You ready?”
I nodded. Today was going to be a special day up at his clubhouse, and the fact that I would have a hand in it, made things even better. Cap kind of explained the situation to me, but he kept the details pretty hushed.
We headed out onto the patio where both my bike and Chase’s stood. I ran my hand over the sleek black surface, my heart pounding when I realized this was a huge step to make.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked me.
There was way too much hesitation, but I nodded. “Yes. It’s for the best.” I toyed with my necklace, feeling my late husband’s approval through the small trinket.He would’ve wanted this.
Cap smiled, mounting Chase’s bike as I climbed on my own. The second he roared the chrome beast to life, my heart started racing. This was it. I was really doing this.
After placing on my helmet, and watching Cap put on his, I followed him to the clubhouse, practically holding my breath the whole time. This was a big fucking decision; one I couldn’t believe I was making. But I knew it was for the best. Not only for me, but for the kid as well.
We pulled into his clubhouse parking lot, only to find quite a few people standing around something. Cap grinned, immediately dismounting the bike to race over to the others.
“Has he seen it yet?” Cap questioned Archer, who was standing proudly next to Pincher.
“Nope, but he’s on the way. Juliette just texted me and said he would be here in like two minutes.”
The gates opened, and in came Juliette’s squad car with a confused Scorpio riding as passenger.
“What the hell is going on?” he yelled, slamming the car door the second he exited. “I was in the middle of some important shit, so somebody better be fucking dying…”
The rest of his brothers stood in a line, hiding something behind them.
“What are you fuckers up to?” Scorpio growled, giving Zodiac a stern look.
“It took us a while…” he stated. “It definitely needed a lot of work, but I think we came up with something you will like.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Zodiac—”
