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.
Who would have thought?
I’m just glad the mob is off our back, and Katie’s brother is selling cheap flip-flops in Florida. Right where the private eye can keep an eye on him.
“You’re right on time, but I was almost late,” Anna mutters as she staggers across the grass under the weight of three camera bags. She’s also juggling a small ladder that is the last thing I expected to see.
“Your punctuality is still hot,” she adds.
“Worked in my favor last time even though I didn’t know I was showing up for something.”
She sets her load at my feet and props her hands on her hips, trying to look annoyed.
“I want it on the record that this is extortion. You can’t just call a professional photographer and inform her she’s shooting a wedding for free.”
“Sure, I can. I did it.”
“Skull, you’re a bully.”
“Anna.” I cross my arms. “Whose pictures blew up the internet? Hot Date Pics went from your second job to you being booked out a whole year in advance.”
“I think it was your bike,” she declares, already pulling out a big camera. “Your face was more of a problem with all those scowls.”
“You’re welcome.”
She huffs, but she’s fighting a smile. “Fine. The wedding shoot is free. But if a single biker touches my equipment?—”
“The club will buy you new equipment,” I say. “We’re flush.”
Really flush with cash thanks to the deal with the deed.
I leave Anna and head for the picnic table under the tree.
Our table.
The one where I stretched out an unconscious blonde two months ago and found the thing I didn’t know I was missing.
Prez is already there, in the shade of the tree, reading off his phone. He’s also muttering under his breath.
“Tell me you’re not practicing.”
“I got ordained on the internet for nineteen dollars,” he says without looking up. “I’m getting our money’s worth. There’s a whole script.”
Oh, Jesus. This is gonna take too long.
“Skip to the good part.”
”Speaking of,” he says, glancing round to see who is listening. “Paid off Pit Bull’s house today so his girl can stay there for good.”
“And the women’s shelter is up and running. It’s been a good few weeks,” I add.
He pauses, nods. “Yeah it has. We’re well on our way to having a fuckton of legitimate businesses.”
“Look at us, all legal and shit.”
He chuckles. “Still a bunch of rowdy fuckers.”
I follow his hand as he points to the parking lot where Rio’s shotgunning a beer.
In broad daylight. In the park.
“Guess it could be worse,” I say as one of the elderly park goers whips out their phone to shoot video.
“Yeah, I hope no one gets knifed.”
He has a point.
“Bout time to get this show on the road,” he announces and my forehead starts to shoot sweat-bullets.
“Is it?” I ask, more breathless than I should be. This goddamned tie just got really tight.
A freaking neck tie. Of all things.
Truth is, I don’t need to ask what time it is. There’s a clock inside my head that’s been counting down for a month. In less than two minutes Katie will arrive with a dozen club guards.
The girls insisted my woman get the royal treatment—a Hummer limo with champagne.
Said it was for her nerves. Kinda like the bowl they’ve been trying to get me to smoke all day.
That’s the last thing I want. This is the most important day of my life.
Right on time, there’s a flash of light from the park entrance as the big, black Hummer beast lumbers into the parking lot.
A dozen bikes surround it. Half in front, half behind. The meanest, deadliest men I know are guarding my woman.
“Excuse me,” a frumpy-looking woman asks, startling me. “Is this a motorcycle gang?”
“A club, ma’am. It’s a wedding.”
“A strange wedding,” she replies, scrunching her nose.
“We do things different. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go meet my bride.”
“You’re the groom?” she exclaims.
“Yep. You’re welcome to stay for cake. There’s also a cut ceremony, which is the part where everyone yells. You’ll want to cover your ears.”
She opens her mouth. Closes it. Then, in a completely different voice: “Is that the Hot Date Pics photographer? From the viral biker shoot?”
“Why don’t you go find out.”
As I stride across the park with my heart doing weird loops in my chest, I’m intercepted by Officer Winford. He’s out of uniform, with a gift bag in one hand and a sweating beer in the other.
“We’re getting calls,” he says. “A lot of calls.”
“You’re off duty, Winford.”
He grins. “Yep, and I’ve got a date.”
I practically shove him in the direction of the gathering crowd so I can get to Katie.
It’s been hours since I’ve seen her. I’m frothing to get my hands on her.
And more importantly to make her my WIFE, my old lady.
The doors to the Hummer open, and I almost trip over my own boots. Beatrice and Jessica pile out of the limo first, in matching black dresses, already pointing at me.
“WE DID THIS,” Beatrice yells across the entire park. “THIS IS US. WE TAKE FULL CREDIT.”
We know. Now the whole world knows.
Katie said they’d pay big time for signing her up for a blind date with a stranger. Now she’s giving them special bracelets as a thank you.
I’m almost to the limo when Katie steps out, and the park goes quiet.
Holy gorgeous brides. I’m one lucky bastard.
My grin is so big it hurts. Everything inside of me settles. Like it does every time she comes near.
“Hey, sunshine.”
“Hello handsome,” she replies in shy voice as she smoothes her hands down her white sundress. “Someone told me there’s a wedding happening around here.”
“I’ve got the intel if you’d like for me to whisper in your ear.”
She giggles, and I wrap an arm around her back, and lean down to whisper in her ear. “I love you. I can’t believe I get to marry you, and I can’t wait to bend you over my bike in that dress.”
“Max!” She scolds, shaking her head, smiling like she’s as high on today as I am.
But before I can kiss my bride, Beatrice is on me like a monkey. “No! Not yet! You’ll mess up her lips.”
“My lips,” I growl and steal the kiss no man, woman, bridesmaid, or natural disaster could keep me from.
Katie sighs into the kiss and leans into my chest, her painted fingernails biting into my leather cut.
“Oh my,” she breathes when I pull back. “That was just what I needed.”
Lord I’m not going to be able to function if my heart shoves any further up into my throat.
Somehow I manage to say, “Me too. Now let’s get this party started.”
“You’re supposed to be over there,” Jessica cries, trying to shoo me away.
I give her a scowl. “Not happening.”
When I offer my arm to Katie, she grabs her bouquet from her bridesmaids and we head across the parking area toward the crowd.
“Oh my,” she says, blushing. “I didn’t know everyone was coming.”
“Course they came. They love you, you got them whipped.”
She gives a little eye-roll. “They love food.”
“Good point.”
As we approach the wedding site, Anna’s shutter is in machine-gun mode.
The brothers form up two lines, a leather corridor from the parking lot to the arch, and my girl walks through a hundred outlaws like she was born to it, smiling at every single one.
Two months ago, everything scared her. Her own shadow. Men. Squeaky hinges.
Now she shines even brighter. I’m completely obsessed with every smile.
When we reach the arch covered in an explosion of flowers, her eyes are wet and bright and green as that first afternoon. She looks up at me and whispers, “Some blind date, huh?”
“Best one ever.”
Prez clears his throat and holds up his phone. “Dearly beloved. That’s in the script. I’m not cutting it.”
Katie relaxes, her smile growing easier as her blonde curls catch the light just like they did on our blind date
“Let’s begin. Got the rings or did you forget?” he asks and a rumble of laughter goes through the crowd.
I hold open the lapel of my cut and fish out the rings. Giving Katie just enough view inside to see the black handcuffs.
She gasps, her eyes wider than her bouquet.
“You didn’t.”
“Wedding night fun, Sunshine.”
She swats me with her bouquet and gives Prez a look. “Can you please get on with it before he does something to really embarrass me?”
“Good luck,” Prez says, chuckling, then he turns serious.
The rest of the ceremony is standard. I do. She does. Rings. Promises of forever.
I’m so choked up, I can barely get out my vows.
“Love you,” I rasp.
“Love you too, big shot,” she replies squeezing my hand.
“Kiss your bride.” Prez kicks my shin.
“Oh shit. Yeah. That’s the best part of all, I was just so busy staring at the most beautiful woman in the world.”
She’s laughing when I kiss her, which has always been my favorite way to do it.
The roar that goes up from the club probably traumatizes a dozen park visitors.
Over at the birthday shelter, a pack of kids start screaming just to join in.
Then Prez raises a hand, and the noise from the club brothers and their dates drops dead.
“One more piece of business,” he says, and Ace steps forward with the folded leather in his hands.
I take the cut and shake it out so Katie can see the back.
PROPERTY OF SKULL
The patch came in last week, and I’ve looked at it every day since like a damn teenager.
“Oh my heavens,” Katie whispers through tears.
Two months ago she’d have stuffed that feeling down where nobody could see it. Now she lets it out in front of a hundred people, because she knows every one of them would stand between her and anything that came for her.
“You don’t have to wear this if you don’t want to,” I tell her in a low voice, just for us. “The vows are the part that counts.”
“Max Gray,” she says sniffles. “Put my cut on me and seal the deal.”
Yes. I am the luckiest of all.
I slide it over her shoulders and she looks hotter than ever in that white dress and black leather.
The club thunders. Engines fire up in the lot, the whole park is alive with celebration.
Winford raises his beer in a toast and mouths *rated G, please.*
Anna is shooting anyway. “You two are gonna blow up the internet again!” she shouts.
Good. Let it blow. I want the world to know Katie is off-limits. Mine. Property of Skull.
The party remains relatively respectable. The real mayhem will happen at the clubhouse. But I won’t be there. I’ve got plans that don’t involve beer funnels and mid-night horseshoe games.
We’ll be in our house on the far side of the compound. The one the club built for us in record time.
“How you doing, babe?” I ask as we head toward the cake—a triple decker with chrome-colored icing and fake leather accents.
“Great.” She snuggles into my side. “I married a tatted-up hell raiser in front of a children’s birthday party.
There’s a cop at my wedding hitting on a club girl.
Our photographer is stuck in a tree because she was trying to get the best angle.
And my husband promised he’s going to cuff me and bend me over his bike. Life is grand”
My cock jolts like she’s hooked electricity to it, but I try to shove those thoughts aside so I don’t drag Katie in that concrete bathroom where we holed up while the mob was circling.
“See,” Katie says, pointing.
Anna really is in the tree and three brothers are trying to help her down. Or look up her skirt…
“How about you?” she asks, looking up to search my expression.
“I couldn’t be happier”
She pokes my leather cut, making the cuffs jingle. “I’m excited about later.”
I sweep her off her feet, claiming that sweet, cherry-flavored mouth with a deep kiss. When I come up for air, I rasp, “Me too, sunshine. You have no idea how hard it is not to steal you out of here right now.”
“Would that be so bad?” she asks.
I veer toward the trail that leads into the woods, heat blasting through my veins. “No one will miss us for a while. They’re busy with hot wings.”
When we finally make it to the cake, Katie’s hair is a little wrecked. There’s not a drop of lipgloss left on her mouth, and I’m not ashamed at all to be smiling like a madman. Because I am. For her.