Picnic tables have been set up in the parking lot, covered with mismatched tablecloths and loaded down with food.
Someone strung lights between the trees, and they're starting to glow as the sun sinks toward the horizon.
Music drifts from speakers set up near the bar—classic rock, the kind that makes old bikers nod their heads and tap their feet.
The brothers are everywhere.
Zenon by the grill, flipping burgers.
Behemoth holding court at one of the tables, his deep laugh rumbling across the lot.
Sipher and Klutch arguing about something—probably sports, knowing them.
Stark and Death playing horseshoes near the garage.
And scattered among them, the women who make this world go round. Tawny and Paige, of course, along with a handful of other clubwhores who've become friends over the past months.
Loretta, Salvo's ol' lady, holding a plate of food and watching the proceedings with the quiet satisfaction of someone who's seen a thousand gatherings just like this one.
This is my family now. Rough and loud and fiercely loyal.
I wouldn't trade them for anything.
"You look happy."
I turn to find Jade standing beside me, a bottle of beer in her hand.
She looks different than she did months ago, when I first noticed the bruises she was trying to hide.
The wariness is still there—that takes time to fade—but there's something else now. Something that looks like hope.
"I am happy," I say. "Are you?"
"Getting there." She takes a sip of her beer, watching the party. "Marcus moved out last month. Got a restraining order and everything."
"I heard. Tawny told me." I touch her arm gently. "I'm proud of you, Jade. That took courage."
"It took you." Her eyes meet mine. "You showed me it was possible. To leave. To start over. To be something other than a punching bag." She shakes her head. "I don't know if I would have done it without you."
"You would have. Eventually. I just... sped things up a little."
"Maybe." She smiles, soft and tentative. "But still. Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me. Just keep moving forward. Keep building your life." I squeeze her arm. "That's all the thanks I need."
She nods, blinking back tears, and drifts off to join a group of women near the food tables. I watch her go, feeling a warmth in my chest that has nothing to do with the summer evening.
I helped her. Me. The woman who couldn't even help herself six months ago.
Maybe that's what healing looks like.
Not just surviving your own trauma, but using it to light the way for others.
The party is in full swing when Levi finds me.
I'm sitting on the tailgate of someone's truck, nursing a beer and watching the chaos unfold.
He appears beside me like a shadow, settling onto the tailgate with the easy grace that still makes my heart skip.
