Epilogue
Theo
One Month Later
“I don’t think this will work. It’s way too big between my thighs.”
I smirk, barely managing to contain a laugh. June, of course, sees it anyway.
“You’re a child. An actual child.” She sits back, away from the tank she’d been leaning against. She’s straddling a yellow motorcycle, probably the twentieth one she’s tried today, and glaring at me even as the corner of her lip betrays a twitch of her own grin.
“The tank is too big,” she corrects. “What engine size is this one?”
I grab the tag hanging from the bike’s handles and flip it over. “Thousand. Definitely too much for you right now.”
She nods, not arguing for once. When we started looking for a bike for her, I expected way more push back about the parameters I helpfully suggested.
She argued at first because, “You’re not my warden anymore, and I’ll do what I want, Tink.
” But she finally agreed with me after a few of the Saints let her ride their bikes to get a feel for what she likes.
James outright refused to let her ride his Harley, and my Indian Springfield was too big.
She hated Raph’s chopper because “the handles are too high,” and though she had fun riding way too fast on Nico’s sport bike, she ended up agreeing that a “crotch rocket” was not comfortable for longer group rides.
We’ve already told him he has a year to trade it for something American-made, anyway.
In the end, her favorite was Bella’s Harley Iron 883, which we used for her lessons. The bike is, of course, almost exactly what I told her to get: a power cruiser with no more than a 650cc engine to start with.
Despite knowing what she likes, we’ve still been in the shop for over an hour while she sits on bike after bike. I swear, I’ve seen this woman decide to kill someone faster than it’s taking her to pick a damn motorcycle.
“Remember, you’re not committing for life. A lot of new riders trade in after a year.”
“So you keep telling me.” She swings her leg off the bike, a sight that never fails to make my pants too tight, and saunters back to one of the first bikes she sat on when we got here, which feels like several years ago.
I follow her, planting my feet on either side of the front wheel.
Once she’s seated with her feet on the footrests, I pick the bike up, holding it steady upright.
She spreads her fingers along the black tank, her mouth pulling into a smile.
The stillness in her expression is easily recognizable.
It’s the look she gets when something temporarily calms the flames in her chest. I see it after a long ride or a round at James’s gym, which she joined despite Sadie’s protests.
It’s a softer version of the blissful relief in her eyes when she’s coming apart under my touch or slitting a man’s throat.
Which is how I know what she’s about to say.
“This one.” She nods once, smiles wider, then looks up at me. “Definitely this one.”
I can’t help it. I lean forward and capture her mouth with mine, savoring the immediate submission in her lips as she falls into the kiss.
Suddenly needing so much more, particularly of June’s body without clothes in the way or the eyes of strangers pointed in our direction, I break the kiss and carefully set the bike back down.
“Then let’s get the paperwork started so I can take you home and show you what it really means to have something too big between your thighs.”
“You’re an idiot.” But she laughs and threads her fingers into mine, so I’m more than happy to be an idiot.
~
I already miss having June’s body pressed against mine while we’re riding.
Still, I can’t deny that riding side by side to my house, then watching her climb off her bike and shake her blonde hair out after taking off her helmet, is one of the most erotic things I’ve ever witnessed, even with several strands plastered to her sweaty forehead.
I’m on her in an instant, and she has her legs and arms wrapped around me as I carry her inside.
All my attention is zeroed in on her teeth pulling at my bottom lip, so I don’t immediately register that there are too many voices coming from my living room.
“The marshal returns! Care to cease defiling my best friend for a few minutes so she can back me up?”
June pulls away, and I mutter, “I swear to God, I will kill her.”
June just pats my cheek. “Then I’ll kill you, and James will kill me, and it’ll just be a long chain of murder.
And not the fun kind.” She jumps down, turning to greet Sadie, who’s making showing up here too much of a habit.
What’s the point of June still having her own house if her friends come here all the fucking time?
“I’m needed?” she asks, practically skipping to the sunken living room, where Sadie is on her feet, facing James sitting in his chair, arms crossed. Luna is lounging in the center of the couch, arms spread out behind her as she watches whatever scene is unfolding.
“This time, she’ll agree with me,” James says.
“Ha. Am I or am I not beloved by the Saints?” Sadie asks.
I smile, remembering the hour-long phone call June and Sadie had last week, debriefing the night she met all the Saints.
She’s been coming here with June and Luna more often, but recently, she bumped it up a notch by wanting to go to the Iron Cage and the clubhouse.
After James muttered something about her becoming a hang-around, she needed a full explanation of each member and how to be the best hang-around possible. June happily obliged.
“Sorry, Jamesy, but Sadie is pretty popular. Raph and Benny love her,” June says.
“They don’t count.”
“I like her!” Luna adds.
“You definitely don’t count.”
“Rude.”
“Ha. They like me. So, I think they’d trust me,” Sadie adds.
“Woah, wait. That’s a different question,” June says.
James nods. “Told you.”
Sadie frowns at June. “Et tu?”
“I’m not saying they don’t trust you. But the Saints have trust issues. They’ve been through a lot,” June says. Which is an understatement.
After we brought her home from her kidnapping and had Valor stitch her up, there were a lot of questions.
Particularly since we had to deal with a dead detective and Kip’s very upset sister.
Unfortunately, the Saints aren’t stupid, and they know that no detective is going to kidnap a random therapist without a damn good reason.
Especially not a therapist who easily slit a man’s throat, then continued on with life as if everything was normal.
Too many members were putting things together.
After a long conversation with June, in which I yelled more than I’m proud of, and several more with James, Luna, and Kip, we came up with a compromise.
We told the Saints that June and I met on one of my private jobs.
To explain Lorry, we offered some truth about his cousin, Solomon.
Not that June killed him but that she was hired by the father of one of Solomon’s babysitters who found out he’d raped her.
June was to ‘take care of the problem,’ which she did, and later Lorry wanted revenge for it.
It was enough. For most of the Saints. I could see suspicion in some of their eyes, though, and they were watching June a little too closely for my liking.
But after officially claiming her as my Ol’ Lady, no one dared to voice their suspicions, even knowing we lied about who exactly June is and how we met.
Still, losing Scottie and having Amber betray us made our lies hit harder.
“Okay, well, they don’t really need to trust me for the plan to work.”
I frown. “What plan?”
“This is where you’ll lose allies,” James says.
“You shut up, Weasley,” Sadie says. Luna laughs. She’s been watching the whole exchange with hesitation, causing a divot between her brows.
“What plan?” I repeat.
The look on James’s face makes the back of my neck prickle. I’m not going to like this.
“This amateur sleuth here wants to emulate Amber and infiltrate the South Five to be our spy.”
Yup. I hate it. From the look on June’s face, she hates it even more. This might be the first time we’ve agreed on any plan for dealing with the gang.
“Absolutely not,” June says.
“You’re not a Saint—” I start.
“Which is exactly why it should be me! They don’t know me, so they won’t suspect me.”
“Gangs don’t just let anyone in,” James says.
“That’s why I’ll target Bowie. I’m hot. Men like me.” She winks at James.
“Women do too,” Luna mutters. Everyone ignores her.
“Sadie, no,” June says. “This isn’t your fight. I don’t want you involved.”
“It’s your fight, which means it’s mine,” Sadie argues.
“Those guys are dangerous,” I say.
“I can hold my own in a fight!”
“Listen, I love a crazy plan as much as the next girl,” Luna says. “But I’m afraid they’re right. This isn’t a good idea.”
“Well, I don’t need any of your permission. And it’s too late anyway.” Sadie crosses her arms. “I already have a date with Bowie next week.”
James shouts something about being stupid, and Luna shakes her head, but my attention is locked on June.
Her entire body has gone taut. A cloud fills her eyes, but not like the smoke warning of her need for blood.
It’s more like a fog of fear. The sight makes me want to slaughter the cause of her fear.
Since killing Sadie would be counterintuitive, the only other option is to get rid of the threat against my little reaper’s best friend.
Dealing with the South Five just became my number one priority.