“Can the club use it?” I ask, ignoring the gasping sounds coming from Callum.
Prez steps forward. “You give me the green light, I’ll make sure no one else is hurt over that deed and the money is used for the right things.”
“Take it. Make it go away.” I pass him the document.
The Prez tips his chin toward Skull. “She’s a fucking keeper. But you might want to give her the key so she can take that cuff off before she figures out how to kill you with it.”
He has a point. I’m still a little mad over that, but I’m so grateful that Skull showed up in my life and saved me from a fate I can’t even imagine.
I turn to Callum, shaking my head. “I hope you’re happy. Now you got nothing. Don’t let the gate hit you in the ass on the way out. And don’t ever, ever come within a hundred miles of me again or these men will do what they’ve been wanting to do all along. This is my family now and they’ll never screw me over.”
Slider and Skull close in around me as Ace jerks Callum to his feet, dragging my crying brother off in the other direction.
I reach for my man. “We need to talk about some things,” I say as I lead him toward the clubhouse, but I don’t make it far before he scoops me up in his arms.
“Are we talking about you becoming my wife?”
I blink at him. Wife.
I like the way that sounds far better than old lady.
“No. About these cuffs. What do you use them for?” I ask, scowling up at him. “Becuase if you locked me up with handcuffs that you use on those other women, buddy you’ve got a lot of making up to do.”
“No,” he says, laughing. “I use them for dealing with people I collect money from when I have to scare the piss out of them.”
“Oh, that’s much better.” I sigh. “But maybe we should get another pair, because…”
“Don’t even say it, I’ll have you chained to that bed so fast your head will spin.”
It’s already spinning. So I whisper, “Maybe you should get another pair because this time when you lock me to the bed, I want to be celebrating being engaged to a tatted up, hell raiser who calls me sunshine and makes me scream his name.”
Epilogue
This is exactly the right place.
Riverside Park on a Saturday afternoon in the summer is the perfect place for a wedding.
A hundred and six Harleys line the parking lot in rows so straight it looks like a military funeral, except everyone’s smiling.
“You okay, there?” Ace squints at me. “You’re sweating.”
“Fuck off. You try being in love.”
”Aw, hell no.” His poker face slips for a second and is replaced by a grimace.
“Jesus, man, is that an emotion?” I say laughing. “I think we need to call a medic.”
”Fuck off,” he echoes and slaps me on the shoulder. “Seriously, bro, I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. Means a lot.”
And it does. He’s the kind of man you can count on. No matter how bloody the job.
Or coordinating a bunch of rowdy bikers into some semblance of order for a wedding.
As he walks off, an ear-splitting squeal comes from the playground. Another horrible rendition of Happy Birthday drifts over from the picnic shelter.
Two months ago I stood in this exact spot waiting to collect cash for a debt. Today I’m waiting to take a wife.
