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Hammer kissed her temple. “Yep.”

Someone handed her a whiskey, but she didn't ask who. That was another thing she'd learned. Nobody let a glass stay empty long inside Monster's Madhouse. Music shook the walls and people danced. Someone screamed from the haunted hallway Monster had constructed behind the clubhouse. Prospects were running the bar. Ol’ladies had taken over two tables. For the first time in years, Angel stood in the middle of an MC clubhouse without calculating the distance to the nearest exit. She didn't know exactly when that had stopped; she only knew it had.

Her phone buzzed, and Angel looked at the screen. It was a message from Crow.

Happy Halloween, Lina.

Then another message.

Sorry. Angel.

She smiled. He was learning. Crow was healing, slowly. He'd gone back to Raven's Hollow temporarily to help investigators sort through what remained of the Nomad Knights. Razor was still in custody, and so was Cole. The records from Elena's ledger had opened investigations Angel suspected would take years to finish. Bishop was cooperating with authorities. And Dominic—Uncle Dom had survived. Angel had spoken to him twice. They weren't magically a family again, but she'd learned something important during the last three weeks—forgiveness didn't have to happen immediately, and neither did relationships. Bishop wasn't her father—not yet, and maybe never. Viper was, because Mateo Sanchez had raised her. He loved her and had chosen her. Blood couldn't undo that, but Bishop was something to her. She was willing to find out what—someday and on her terms.

Angel slipped her phone away, and Hammer watched her. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Crow?” he asked.

She nodded. “He just wanted to say, ‘Happy Halloween.’”

Ghost handed her another drink. “Did he call you Lina?”

“Yes,” she said. Ghost reached for his phone, and Angel grabbed his wrist. “Don't threaten him.”

“I wasn't gonna,” he lied.

“You were absolutely going to threaten him,” she said.

“Maybe,” Ghost grumbled.

Hammer laughed, and Angel looked between them. “You know what?”

“What?” Hammer asked.

“I'm happy.” The words came out before she thought about them. Both men went quiet, and Angel swallowed. She hadn't meant to make it serious, but maybe serious wasn't something she needed to run from anymore. “I haven't been able to say that in a long time.” Hammer's expression softened, and Ghost set down his drink. Angel looked around. “At first, being here scared the hell out of me.”

Monster walked past. “That's the decorations.”

“Not helping!” Ghost shouted. He disappeared into the crowd, and Angel smiled before looking back at her men.

“I thought being around another MC would remind me of everything I lost.” Ghost stepped closer to them.

“Does it?” Ghost asked.

“Sometimes.” She wasn't going to lie. “But it reminds me of the good things too.” It did too. She thought about Viper laughing, Shadow stealing kisses when her father wasn't looking, and her mother dancing to old rock music while she cooked. Halloween at the Nomad Knights clubhouse before everything became ugly. Angel had spent years trying to outrun the bad memories so hard she'd abandoned the good ones too. She didn't have to anymore.

Hammer brushed his thumb across her cheek. “You okay?”

“Yes.” This time she meant it. “I think I finally am.”

Ghost looked at her. “You planning on getting sentimental?”

“Maybe,” she said.

“Should've warned me,” Ghost teased.

“You could run.” He stared at her, and Angel smiled. “Yeah. That's what I thought.”