Epilogue
One year later…
Eva rolled over in bed and watched her husband approaching with a breakfast tray. He’d even cut a rose from the garden and put it in a small bud vase. Sentimental man.
They’d gotten married a month ago after a year of living together, a year of loving and being best friends.
After those hectic few days on the run from Brandon and the Brothers, she’d moved in with Jake and gone to work in a tattoo parlor. Her portfolio and machines had been returned to her after the FBI raided the Brothers of Sin compound. She hadn’t lost her work after all.
She’d worked for a great boss who’d encouraged her to branch out on her own when the time came. She’d opened her own place two months ago and business was booming.
As much as she’d liked her boss, it felt good to be in control and building toward a future. No more embedding with motorcycle clubs for her.
Jake’s job took him away from home more than she’d realized, but he always came back to her.
They’d bought a house together recently. She had the picket fence and the two-car garage, but her husband was a tattooed badass who cracked heads for a living rather than a staid lawyer or proper accountant.
She’d added to the tattoos on his sexy body, and she’d even managed to cover the Brothers of Sin with roses and keys, a peach for Georgia, and a Harley. It was done in blacks and grays, her signature colors, but the petals of the rose were red.
She was proud of that tattoo, and Jake loved it. His teammates did too. So much so that she’d started inking their bodies whenever they wanted something.
Then there was her. She was a tattooed woman who liked badassery and shooting high-powered weaponry in her leisure time instead of baking cookies and attending neighborhood association meetings.
Not that she didn’t do those things sometimes, because she did.
That was the point. She could be herself and do what she liked.
Sometimes it was baddassery, and sometimes it was learning to crochet. Whatever.
She’d had to face Brandon in federal court and testify against him. He’d glared at her with such hate in his eyes, but she hadn’t been afraid.
He was a toothless lion. His brothers had turned on him. His business partners had abandoned him. The remaining Brothers of Sin had gotten rid of all the illegal activities and were busy working on being legitimate.
Best of all, Brandon had finally been charged with Heather’s murder. He’d been found guilty, and he’d also been found guilty of murdering Tiffany and hiring the murders of Judge Mason and his wife.
Eva had cried like a baby when the verdict for Heather’s murder had come down. It was the final piece of the puzzle she’d been missing, and she’d wished her mother was still alive to witness it.
Eva had finally gone to visit her aunt, who’d been both shocked and thrilled to see her after so long. Eva had thought no one cared that she’d disappeared, but her aunt had cried and railed at her for never sending postcards or picking up a phone.
She’d felt guilty, but they’d worked it out. Her aunt understood what she’d done and why, but that didn’t make up for lost time. Now they stayed in touch on social media and through frequent phone calls.
“Got an envelope for you,” Jake said as he set the tray with bacon, eggs, and toast down. The fragrant smell of coffee made her mouth water. She picked up the cup and took a sip as Jake handed her the envelope.
She turned it over in her hand. There was a spidery crawl of handwriting on it. No name, just an address. She slipped it open and pulled out a card. A picture fell out and she picked it up. A young boy hugged a rugged old man. He had tattoos and a bandanna, and he wore motorcycle leathers.
“It’s Duke. How’d he know where to send this?”
Jake shrugged. “I may have given him the PO box.”
She opened the card and read.
Dear Eva,
Thank you for the tattoos you did for me.
Sorry about your sister. Wish I’d had the guts to say something sooner.
I wasn’t there when he killed her, but I knew he’d done it when he needed us to lie for him.
I went along with it because it’s what I knew.
I have no excuses, but I want you to know this little boy right here made me want to be a better man.
And so I am, with help from God every day.
Bless you and congratulations on your wedding.
Duke
“Wow,” she said, handing the card to Jake as her eyes pricked. “Guess you can never be too sure about anyone, huh?”
“You can be sure about us.”
“Yes, I definitely can.” She smiled up at him as he perched beside her on the mattress. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Jake.”
“Don’t say stuff like that when your eggs are waiting.” He kissed her forehead.
“Why not?”
“Because they’ll get cold when I bury myself inside you and make you scream my name instead of eating them while they’re hot.”
Eva grinned. “Maybe I want to scream your name. You ever think of that?”
His answering grin was wickedly hot. “That’s what I hope for every fucking day of my life.”
“We can heat the eggs up later.”
“That’s my girl,” he said, moving the tray to the floor and attacking her body with all the delicious moves he had in his arsenal.
Life with Jake Ryan was never dull or predictable. He was a total badass, in and out of bed. And that’s exactly the way she wanted it.
THE END
Thank you for reading Jack and Eva’s story!
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.