Chapter 15
Ripley
Six months later…
I wake up to the smell of coffee and the sound of a motorcycle rumbling to life somewhere outside.
For a moment, I lie still, letting the sounds wash over me.
The creak of the clubhouse settling. Voices drifting up from the common room. The distant clatter of someone in the kitchen. Ordinary sounds. Safe sounds.
The sounds of what I now call my home.
I stretch, reaching across the bed for Levi, but his side is empty.
The sheets are cool, which means he's been up for a while.
Probably in his office, going over paperwork, handling the thousand small crises that come with running an organization like this.
I don't mind.
I've learned that his early mornings aren't about avoiding me—they're about protecting me.
About handling problems before they can become threats.
About making sure the world is safe before I have to face it.
That's who he is. My protector. My partner. My home.
I swing my legs out of bed and pad to the bathroom, catching my reflection in the mirror.
The woman looking back at me is almost unrecognizable from the one who stumbled through these doors six months ago, bloody and broken and barely alive.
The bruises are long gone.
The haunted look in my eyes has faded.
My shoulders no longer curve inward like I'm trying to disappear.
I stand straighter now.
Take up space. Meet my own gaze without flinching.
I look like someone who belongs here, because I do.
Downstairs, the clubhouse is already busy as all hell.
It's Saturday, which means the weekly gathering is tonight.
Brothers coming in from out of town, old ladies bringing food, the whole extended family converging for a few hours of drinking and laughing and being together.
I used to dread these gatherings—too many people, too much noise, too many opportunities to make a mistake.
Now I look forward to them.
Tawny is in the kitchen when I walk in, wrestling with a massive pot of chili.
"There she is," she says, grinning. "Sleeping Beauty finally graces us with her presence."
"It's eight in the morning."
"And some of us have been up since six, slaving over a hot stove." She gestures dramatically at the pot. "This chili isn't going to make itself."
"Need help?"
"God, yes. Paige was supposed to be here an hour ago, but apparently she had a late night." Tawny waggles her eyebrows suggestively. "With Halcyon."
"Paige and Halcyon?" I grab an apron from the hook by the door, tying it around my waist. "When did that happen?"
"About a week ago. They've been circling each other for months, and finally one of them made a move." She hands me a cutting board and a pile of onions. "Speaking of making moves—how's the teaching thing going?"
The teaching thing. My future. The dream I thought Cain had killed, slowly coming back to life.
"Good. I finished my student teaching placement last week. My supervisor said I have a real gift for connecting with kids." I start dicing onions, blinking against the sting. "The certification exam is next month. If I pass, I'll be a fully licensed teacher by spring."
"When you pass," Tawny corrects. "No if about it. You've been studying your ass off for months."
"I know. I just... I don't want to jinx it."
"You're not going to jinx it. You're going to crush it." She bumps my shoulder with hers. "And then you're going to get a job at some school, and those kids are going to be lucky as hell to have you."
The confidence in her voice makes my throat tight. Six months ago, I couldn't have imagined anyone believing in me like this. Couldn't have imagined believing in myself.
"Thanks, Tawny."
"Don't thank me. Just make sure you invite me to your first classroom. I want to see all those little rugrats falling in love with books."
I laugh—a real laugh, full and free—and turn back to my onions.
By late afternoon, the clubhouse is transformed.
Picnic tables have been set up in the parking lot, covered with mismatched tablecloths and loaded down with food.
Someone strung lights between the trees, and they're starting to glow as the sun sinks toward the horizon.
Music drifts from speakers set up near the bar—classic rock, the kind that makes old bikers nod their heads and tap their feet.
The brothers are everywhere.
Zenon by the grill, flipping burgers.
Behemoth holding court at one of the tables, his deep laugh rumbling across the lot.
Sipher and Klutch arguing about something—probably sports, knowing them.
Stark and Death playing horseshoes near the garage.
And scattered among them, the women who make this world go round. Tawny and Paige, of course, along with a handful of other clubwhores who've become friends over the past months.
Loretta, Salvo's ol' lady, holding a plate of food and watching the proceedings with the quiet satisfaction of someone who's seen a thousand gatherings just like this one.
This is my family now. Rough and loud and fiercely loyal.
I wouldn't trade them for anything.
"You look happy."
I turn to find Jade standing beside me, a bottle of beer in her hand.
She looks different than she did months ago, when I first noticed the bruises she was trying to hide.
The wariness is still there—that takes time to fade—but there's something else now. Something that looks like hope.
"I am happy," I say. "Are you?"
"Getting there." She takes a sip of her beer, watching the party. "Marcus moved out last month. Got a restraining order and everything."
"I heard. Tawny told me." I touch her arm gently. "I'm proud of you, Jade. That took courage."
"It took you." Her eyes meet mine. "You showed me it was possible. To leave. To start over. To be something other than a punching bag." She shakes her head. "I don't know if I would have done it without you."
"You would have. Eventually. I just... sped things up a little."
"Maybe." She smiles, soft and tentative. "But still. Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me. Just keep moving forward. Keep building your life." I squeeze her arm. "That's all the thanks I need."
She nods, blinking back tears, and drifts off to join a group of women near the food tables. I watch her go, feeling a warmth in my chest that has nothing to do with the summer evening.
I helped her. Me. The woman who couldn't even help herself six months ago.
Maybe that's what healing looks like.
Not just surviving your own trauma, but using it to light the way for others.
The party is in full swing when Levi finds me.
I'm sitting on the tailgate of someone's truck, nursing a beer and watching the chaos unfold.
He appears beside me like a shadow, settling onto the tailgate with the easy grace that still makes my heart skip.
"Having fun?" he asks.
"The best." I lean into him, resting my head on his shoulder. "This is nice. All of it. The people, the food, the..."
"The family?"
"Yeah." I smile against his shoulder. "The family."
We sit in silence for a while, watching the party together.
Zenon has abandoned the grill and is now attempting to teach one of the younger prospects how to play pool.
Tawny is dancing with Behemoth, looking absurdly small against his massive body.
Loretta has cornered some poor hangaround and is probably telling him stories about the old days that will give him nightmares.
"I talked to Salvo today," Levi says.
"About what?"
"About us. About the future." He pauses. "About what happens next."
I lift my head, looking at him. "What did he say?"
"He said I should stop overthinking and just go for it." A hint of a smile tugs at his lips. "He's always been direct like that."
"Go for what?"
Instead of answering, Levi reaches into his pocket.
He pulls out something small—a box, black velvet, instantly recognizable.
My heart stops.
"Levi—"
"Let me finish." He takes a breath, and I realize he's nervous.
This man who's faced down cops and criminals and a lifetime of violence—nervous.
Because of me. "I've spent my whole life building walls.
Keeping people out. Telling myself I didn't need anyone, didn't want anyone, couldn't afford to let anyone in. "
He opens the box. Inside, a ring gleams in the fading light.
Simple. Elegant.
A diamond set in silver, catching the glow of the string lights above us.
"And then you showed up," he continues. "Bloody and broken and so fucking brave it took my breath away. And all those walls I built—they didn't stand a chance. You walked right through them like they weren't even there."
"Levi—"
"I love you, Ripley. More than I knew I was capable of loving anyone.
You make me better. Softer. More human." He takes my hand, and I realize we're both shaking.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
I want to wake up next to you every morning and fall asleep beside you every night.
I want to build a future—a real future—with you by my side. "
He slides off the tailgate, dropping to one knee in the gravel.
"Ripley Tiernan. Will you marry me?"
The world goes silent.
I'm vaguely aware that we have an audience now—brothers and old ladies and hang arounds, all watching with bated breath.
But they don't matter.
Nothing matters except the man kneeling in front of me, his heart in his eyes, offering me everything I never thought I'd have.
"Yes," I whisper.
His face transforms. The hope, the relief, the pure joy—it breaks across his features like sunrise.
"Yes?" he repeats.
"Yes." I'm laughing now, tears streaming down my face. "Yes, you idiot, yes. A thousand times yes."
He surges to his feet, pulling me off the tailgate and into his arms.
The ring slides onto my finger—a perfect fit—and then he's kissing me, deep and desperate, while the crowd around us erupts into cheers.
"I love you," he says against my lips.
"I love you too."
"You're mine."
"And you're mine." I pull back, cupping his face in my hands. "What I want, I keep. Remember?"
He laughs—a real laugh, full and free, the kind I've only heard a handful of times—and pulls me back in for another kiss.