Epilogue
CHAOS
Dust kicks up in the yard as I drop to a seat beside Fang on the porch. Selena bends over one of the three vegetable patches she nagged for us to put in alongside the new barn, a short T-shirt riding over her back as she stretches to put a seedling into its new home. I frown at Darko, standing behind her with the tray of whatever the fuck the little green things are, watching the way her shirt rides up also.
Need to have a conversation with her about stringing the brothers along. I’m not stupid. She’s a teenager, soon to be a woman, and living amongst a bunch of men likely has its perks. But there’s no way in hell any one of these fucks is getting his hands on her.
She can find herself a guy who won’t be on a first-name basis with the local sheriff and who is guaranteed to be home every night for dinner after his regular nine-to-five job.
She’s seen enough of this bullshit for a lifetime already.
“You keep lookin’ at him like that, and he might burst into flames,” Fang murmurs into the neck of his beer.
“How do you know that ain’t the plan?” It’s been a month since we rode down to Oklahoma to be there for Vanessa, and to say I’m itching for confrontation is an understatement. Idle hands and all that.
“Who’s on the chopping block today?” Jinx asks, climbing the porch steps.
“Chaos thinks he can stop the young guns from noticing his sister is a woman,” Fang teases.
“She’s a goddamn girl, still,” I snap, fists tapping my thighs. “Hey!”
Heads turn in the yard at the sound of my voice.
“She doesn’t need you standin’ there like a fucking pool boy, Darko! Ain’t you got jobs you’re supposed to be doing?” Inside. On a goddamn computer or some shit.
He says something to Selena and then sets the tray of seedlings on the ground.
My baby sister glares daggers at me as he crosses the yard.
“Sorry, pres.”
“Fuckin’ will be,” I murmur under my breath, eyeballing the asshole until he goes inside.
The property comes along well. We moved in two days after returning from Oklahoma, but tonight is the first night since the barn was finished a week ago that we’ve been able to get everyone together for a housewarming. Tap rides up with a handful of brothers from the Fallen Aces Nebraska clubhouse—a sign of goodwill between our clubs. I get the feeling I’ll see a lot more of him since our stay in Oklahoma.
Evelyn sure seemed taken with him.
I tap my fingertips against my knees, staring down the driveway.
“Fuck’s sake, man,” Jinx groans, leaning against the porch rail with his arms folded. “Just pull your phone out and see what she’s doing already.”
I flip him the middle finger. Assholes are used to it by now: my need to know she’s okay. Safe. Still with me.
“I did. She left her house already.”
“Then…” He leans back, head turned to look toward the road. “She should be showing up in five, four, three… And, there she is.” He grins, pushing off the rail to nudge me in the shin with his boot.
“Fuck you both,” I say, elbowing Fang as he tries to take a drink to disguise his smile. “One day you’ll get it.”
“Pretty sure he already does.” Fang tips his bottle toward Jinx, who frowns at him as though to say, “Shut up.”
“Yeah?” I rise from the seat. “Got a story for us, brother?”
“Nope.” He stares me dead in the eye.
“She does, though, right?”
Jinx leans to the side to glare at our sergeant at arms. “I said fucking shut up.”
“Come on. Half the fucking male populace probably knows all about her. Why can’t we?”
“What do you mean?” I twist to look at the loudmouth.
“Fuckface here won’t tell us her name,” he gripes, gesturing to Jinx again, “but we all know—thanks to Darko—how many hours a month this guy spends on Only Fans.”
“Right.” Jinx uses his forearm to guide me out of the way. “That’s it.”
Fang never did know when to shut up.
I leave the two of them brawling on the porch and jog down to the yard to find absolute perfection awaiting me. Vanessa walks up the long driveway, Gage at her side. But it isn’t her brother that has me grinding my jaw—it’s the goddamn dress she wears.
Long and swishing around her ankles with each step, the flowy material hugs her hips, tight at the waist and low between her tits. Sleeveless, it puts the ink on her arms on full display. And with the long necklace she’s looped around her throat, I get the urge to use the goddamn jewelry as a leash to guide her where I need her.
Fuck me. The more time that passes, the more I question my sanity when it comes to this woman.
Her gaze lifts, finding me waiting in the middle of the yard, and she smiles.
I’m dead. Fucking wrap me up and throw me off a pier because I’m no use to anyone else now.
Absolutely wrecked for this woman, and I don’t give a fuck who knows anymore.
I start toward the two of them, Gage swiveling his head between her and me before saying something to Ness and veering toward the clubhouse. I like the guy. He’s proved a man of his word; we need those around here. He’s also earned the respect of most of the brothers with his input into the plan to systematically destroy their stepfather’s empire, which bodes well.
Sometimes wonder if he’d be the type to patch in.
“You took way too long,” I tease as I near my woman.
Vanessa smirks, raising her chin in defiance. “Promise it’s worth it, hero.”
“Yeah?” I scoop her up as soon as she reaches me, hands cupped around that juicy fucking ass to hold her off the ground and against me. “What had you delayed?”
“Patience, pet.” She cups my jaw with her slight hands, kissing my lips.
I ignore the taunts from the porch, shifting her weight to one hand to throw the assholes a middle finger with my other.
“You going to put me down?” she asks, leaning back and setting her hands on my shoulders.
I relent, placing her booted feet to the dirt. “Only so I can watch you walk in that hot as fuck dress some more.”
“This?” She glances down at the flowing garment. “It barely shows any skin, Chaos.”
“Don’t need to for me to like it.” I take her hand. “Come on. I’ll show you the barn.”
She tilts her head back to look at the massive structure as we walk. “They did a real good job, hey? And so quick.”
“Best workers around.” I hitch my thumb at the prospects setting up the lights and tables for later when we step inside.
They ditch their jobs and flee, leaving me alone with the center of my world.
She lets go of my hand and wanders farther inside, studying the various decorations. Club insignia is proudly displayed along the wall in permanent art fixtures, and various used parts from over the years are hung to spell out the name we decided on for the structure: Purgatory. Because if we’re all going to hell for our actions here on earth, this is what we hope it looks like.
Vanessa points to the two bikes parked at the far end in a V formation. “Isn’t that one yours?”
I nod. “Sure is.”
She peeks at me over her shoulder, a wicked grin on her dark lips.
“What are you thinking, woman?”
“Well…” She sways her hips as she walks, purposefully making her dress sweep side-to-side. “Aren’t you supposed to christen something when it’s new?”
“The bike ain’t new, babe.” But I like where this is heading. I prowl after her.
“Maybe not.” She gestures to the building around us. “But the barn is.” Eyes dark when she looks at me. “You guys living here is.”
“Stop dancing around what you’re trying to say.” I back her up until she nudges against the Harley. “Are you asking me to fuck you on my bike?”
“Do I have to?” My woman bites her bottom lip. Vixen knows precisely what she’s doing.
I hook a finger on the underside of her dress along her collarbone and trace down until the back of my finger brushes her nipple. Fuck. She doesn’t have a bra on. “Somebody might walk in, baby. See what we’re up to.”
“Isn’t that half the fun?” Her foot hooks my calf, tugging me closer.
I step between her legs and reach down to gather her dress so that it doesn’t restrict me. “You want to be watched?”
“I thought you got that idea already.”
Devil save my soul. “How is it possible that I fall more in love with you every time we’re together?”
“Tell me when you figure it out because I ask myself the same thing.”
Shit’s getting busy in the club. The new weed runs are going well, and we’ve offloaded the loading dock after clearing our name concerning those kids’ bodies. Matthias is still a thorn in my side, but we have plenty of land to sort him out should it come to that.
The only unknown is the pressure from the Devil’s Breed still pushing at our gate.
“What’s the matter?” Ness reaches up and pushes my overgrown hair out of my eye. “Where did you go?”
“I worry, babe.” I fidget with the edge of her dress, avoiding looking directly at her. “Worry that the shit I do will get you hurt.”
“Chaos.” She whispers my name like a prayer. “I’ve already been through hell, and I’m still standing. I think I’ve proved I’ve got this, right?” She huffs a little laugh, fussing with the hang of my cut. “Besides, I’ve got you to protect me.”
“Scared that one day I’ll slip up and won’t protect you when I need to the most.”
She sighs, caressing my cheek and jaw. “You don’t talk to your brothers about these things, do you?”
“No.” I flick my gaze to hers. “Why?”
“Because they all worry about the same stuff.” She smiles softly.
I know it at heart. I’d be stupid not to figure they all share the same worries, but still, I’m so good at judging my shit and holding myself to a different standard. “I’m buying you a gun.”
“I don’t want one.”
“Then I’ll get Circus to teach you how to use a knife properly.”
She hitches an eyebrow. “Fine. Maybe.” They’ve become friends over the past month—my woman one of few who can get the mystery to talk. “Can we christen this bike now?”
“Like that was ever off the table.” I hitch her off the ground and set her on the seat. “Hold on to something, babe, because this is about to get rough.”