Chapter Twenty-Four Gambit
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gambit
I sit at the table watching as Stone secures our safety for the foreseeable future.
The files we have on the officers involved in the sweep of the other clubs are enough to sink not only the police force, but plenty of higher-ups.
Coupled with the leaked footage from their interaction with Ro, we’re in a position of power.
Telling them plainly that if anything happens to us, everything will be released is an insurance policy they have to respect.
With the non-disclosures signed on both sides, and the police making things legal for us to be viewed as unofficial helpers with no traces in the system, we’re free.
A weight lifts off my shoulders as we leave the office in the expensive hotel room two hours out of town.
“I appreciate everything you did for us coming here and dropping everything,” Stone stops on the outside of the building to shake my hand.
“It’s what I do.”
“And now you’re headed down to Texas.”
“After a vacation with the family. Our sisters both flew up. Betti is going to view San Diego University, and we’ll show them both around.”
“Is she still thinking about leaving her job?”
I nod. “Already put her two weeks in. There’s nothing back in that town but memories and family, which we can visit on our own time.”
“Fair enough. Send her my love. You got one bad ass keeper on your hands.”
“Yeah. I know. That’s why I’m wifeing her.”
Stone chuckles. “Only you two would be getting married in a vampire cosplay event.”
“Don’t knock it until you try it. ‘Sides, we’ll do a celebration with you guys at the end of the week. The ladies said they’d kill her otherwise.”
Stone smiles. “Always a place for you here if you change your mind.”
“South is my home, brother. I don’t mind visiting, but I always find my way back there.”
“Understood. Go make an honest woman out of Rowan.”
“Not possible.” I slip on my sunglasses and make my way to my bike. The women have put their heads together and planned a small, eccentric ass affair, complete with a minister who dresses up like Michael. I didn’t ask how they got their permits, just agreed to show up with a smile and a ring.
I pat her grandmother’s old stone, glad I never got rid of it, even when I was angry.
Who am I kidding? She would’ve haunted my ass.
Running over the memories of our past is a pregame before the main event.
Parking, I make my way to the boardwalk, where I find the girls waiting.
Lotte and Betti are dressed in black lacey A-line dresses with poofy skirts that scream 90s vampires, but it’s Rowan I can’t take my eyes off of.
The pale purple dress is overlaid with a deep purple lace with a mermaid skirt.
The scooped neck bodice shows off her breasts, and the low-cut back is studded with sparkly rhinestones.
The mermaid-style dress billows out behind her, blowing in the wind like a wave of nineties nostalgia made just for us.
Clutching her bouquet of red and black orchids and roses, she beams at me from her spot beside Michael.
I have to hand it to the officiant; he went all out with his spiky blonde wig, flawless makeup, and killer orange and amber contacts.
Rowan’s loose curls frame her face as she holds out her hand for me.
I power walk to her, twining our fingers.
“Dearly undead, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Benoit and Rowan as they enter the eternal covenant of matrimony.” He embodies the cocky vampire with his vocal inflections and grandiose gestures, but I can barely hear him as I get lost in her brown gems. This is a day I thought would never come.
“Do you, Benoit Le Blanche, take this vampiress to be your lawfully wedded vamp in sickness and health in this life and the next for as long as you choose to walk on this mortal coil and beyond?”
“I do,” I say firmly.
“And do you, Rowan Breaux, take this vampire to be your lawfully wedded vamp in sickness and health, in this life in the next, for as long as you choose to walk on this mortal coil and beyond?”
“I do,” she whispers.
I’m downright giddy about what comes next.
“Benoit and Rowan have chosen to exchange rings as a symbol of their eternal love and devotion to each other.” Michael pauses as I pull a ring box out of my inner pocket and open it to reveal my father’s plain gold band, and her grandmother’s heritage diamond with a simple silver band.
“My grandmother’s ring,” she whispers. “I can’t believe you have it.”
I nod. “She gave it to me to keep until we were ready.”
I hand her my father’s ring. “Is this your father's?”
“My mom gave it to me when I turned eighteen. I’ve been holding on to it ever since.”
Michael smiles, showing fangs. “As you place this ring on Rowan’s finger, please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever.”
I slip the ring onto her left hand and repeat the words. Something inside me clicks. A peace unlike any I’ve ever known washes over me. In this moment, I am exactly where I should be.
“Rowan, as you place this ring on Benoit’s finger, please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever.”
She speaks the words, and the ache I’ve carried around since I was a youth washes away. We have the rest of our lives to get things right.
“By the authority vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Everyone, meet the new Mr. and Mrs. Benoit Le Blanche.”
The girls cheer, blowing bubbles at us, and I throw my head back and laugh. Rowan is a Le Blanche, the way she was always meant to be.
“The bride has a surprise for the groom,” Michael says.
“You’ve already given me everything I could want.”
“My big brother the sap,” Lotte calls.
“The city was kind enough to open up the carousel for you.”
“Wait, what?” I stare down at her.
“For a photoshoot.” I turn and find Xia holding up a camera beside Charm.
“It’s a present from the club,” Charm explains.
“Come on.” Tugging my hand, Rowan leads me toward the ride. I step onto the platform, knowing I’ll follow her anywhere. A switch is flipped, the carousel comes to life, and the camera flashes, capturing the moment as we take our first spin as man and wife.
“I love you, Rowan Le Blanche.”
“And I love you, husband. Or should I say daddy?” She smiles, flashing me a dimple, and I dip her between the horses, capturing her mouth in a kiss that hints at what’s to come tonight in the suite I’ve rented that overlooks the beach. After all the pain, I have a new beginning built to last.