Chapter 83
Rachel
Three months later
Three months ago, I kissed Dante, and I’ve never looked back.
Surprise! As if anyone was actually surprised. Who else was going to put up with us? It was our civic duty to stay together, just to keep the toxic contained. And together we were, and we were happier than ever.
Sometimes I wondered what the fuck I was doing, but I hadn’t regretted it for a second.
Who knew that all it took to make a relationship work was for both parties to actually communicate?
And I realise the world, its brother and their pet dog (and you , admit it!) have been screaming at us to get our act together and stop the fucking bickering and to actually talk it out for months. But we had to realise it on our own. And we got there in the end, didn’t we?
That’s all that matters!
These three months have been a whirlwind, to say the least.
Starting with the happy news first, my dad had finally left that witch he called a wife, and was in the process of moving into the biker compound.
Jenna and Trex had moved into the clubhouse with me and Dante, and so my dad was going to be taking over her old house.
It was much too large for him, but if it meant he was close, then so be it.
Jenna was more than happy to move in with us.
She hated that house without Shark in it, and she wanted to be around the rest of the club as much as possible.
We were the only family she had. I also knew that if she stayed there, she would withdraw from us.
Grief would take over. I would be able to watch her whilst she lived with me, and make sure she was taking time to be gentle to herself, but also not getting so lost in mourning for Shark, that she basically died with him.
Karen and her parents had come to visit.
They took some convincing, especially because they believed I was being held here against my will.
As soon as they had arrived, Frank had given Dante a lecture, warning him that if he ever hurt me, they would never find the body.
He had a friend with a pig farm, apparently.
I smothered a grin, knowing Frank had my best interests at heart, and Dante had responded well.
He simply told Frank that he was more scared of me than any pig, and that I alone held the ability to gut him on a daily basis with just a few words.
Frank, Pearl and my father had also hit it off, and the three of them went out together almost every weekend.
My dad took the opportunity to travel to Scotland, and they were fast becoming the closest of friends.
Leaving my mother was exactly what that man needed!
Neither of us had heard from her since they split, and I had no intention of reaching out to her.
She was laying in a bed of her own making.
And the best news about Karen visiting? I had seen her eyeing up Pivot. And by the looks he gave her, the feeling was mutual. The old ladies, including myself, were scheming to get the two of them together, but nothing had come of it yet. We were still hopeful, though.
Dante had finally presented me with an official property cut, and I wore that thing every damn day with pride.
The jacket was a gorgeous black leather, that had “Property of Dante” written on the back of it.
However, the old ladies had come together and demanded a change.
Yes, we were not allowed official Devil’s Disciples cuts, but we wanted our own Sin cuts.
My jacket had “Queen of Sin” on the front, right where Dante’s would have said “president.” Jenna kept her “Property of Shark” cut, and we added “Princess of Sin” to the front of hers.
The Devil’s also had “Men of Mayhem” on their cuts, which was their symbol to show that member had murdered someone to protect the club. We had “Mistress of Mayhem” added to the sin cuts, and that was something else I wore with pride, too.
I would do anything to protect my found family, and I wanted the world to know it.
On the less positive side, the truce with the Rough Riders was now over.
Dante had one condition, and that was for regular updates on Gabriella.
She had not been seen in over a month, and showing them grace had long since grown tiring.
Nico had told us Gabriella was none of our business, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than us.
We all knew Gabriella was our business. Because Vienna would never rest unless he knew she was okay.
Nico had sworn we would regret this, but I wasn’t concerned. We had proven many times as a club that we had what it takes to defend ourselves. The club would always have each other’s backs, and if it meant going to war for the woman Vienna loved, then that’s what we would do.
Besides, the club had a secret weapon.
Me.
There was no more running, and no more regrets. This life wasn’t what I had imagined, but I was done denying it.
For all intents and purposes, I was Rachel King, old lady to the president of the Devil’s Disciples. And I would kill anyone who harmed those who fell under my protection.
“It was my idea!”
“You’re so full of shit!” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “Why do you always want to take credit for the things I do?”
“You didn’t even want to come to therapy!”
“Oh, so you’ve got one thing right! But even if I didn’t want to be here — no offense, Doc — it was still my idea that you come here!”
“And it was my idea for you to come!” Dante snapped back.
“But I started the original plan! You’re—”
“Does it really matter whose idea it was and who is right and wrong here?” Doctor Ashleigh asked, sounding utterly exasperated with us.
We both twisted our heads in her direction and looked at her. “Duh,” I said. “Of course it matters. Because this is typical of Dante. He always wants credit for any improvements made!”
He grinned at me and I grinned back. Sure, we were bickering, but it was light-hearted. We knew it didn’t truly matter.
“I’m more interested in why there’s a large, bearded man sat in the corner,” she replied.
“That’s Vienna,” Dante replied with a shrug.
“Nice to meet you, Vienna. Why is he here? It’s unusual to have someone else join the therapy sessions.”
“Vienna is unusual,” I said.
“And I was dragged here,” Vienna piped up.
“Now you know how I feel,” Dante muttered.
“Ah-ha!” I laughed, poking him in the chest. “So you admit you were dragged here, therefore proving it wasn’t your idea!”
“That’s not what I said!”
“But it's what you meant!”
“No, it’s what you want me to mean!”
“But why is Vienna here?!” the doc all but shouted at us.
“No need to shout, doc, jeez,” I muttered. “He’s here because we kissed. We all agreed we should probably work through that.”
“You kissed him ?” She asked, her eyes widening with shock as she looked back and forth between Dante and Vienna. “That’s Vienna? Tell me, Rachel, was it the Gandalf beard that did it for you?”
“Oh, nice one, Doc,” Vienna snapped. “Real professional. I think we need to lay some ground rules here.”
“Right, but you’re not actually part of this therapy—”
“This beard is a work of art, and it should be respected as such. Dante, grab one of those notepads so we can write down the rules.”
“No.”
“Good lad. Rule number one—”
“Hair buddies should not grab ass?” Dante interjected.
“Well, yes, that goes without saying, and obviously I was going to get there in a minute.”
“I’d kind of like it said now.”
“Fine, fine, write it down,” Vienna waved him away. I caught the doctor's eyes and chuckled softly. “Rule number two! Are you writing these down, Dante?”
“No.”
“Excellent. Rule number two—”
“Vienna should shave?” I interrupted, earning me a scowl.
“Thou shalt respect the sacred beard at all times!” He near enough shouted, standing up on the chair and beating his chest with one hand.
“It’s a shit beard.”
“I’ve never liked it,” Dante agreed.
“It’s… unique,” Doctor Ashleigh grinned.
“Fuck you all,” Vienna hissed, sitting back down and slouching in the chair, sulk mode activated.
"You already tried that," I laughed, and then widened my eyes as I was met with the fierce, angry glares of the other three people in the room. “What? Oh, come on! That was funny!”
“Rule number one, Rachel!” he hissed, throwing a cushion at me. “See, Dante, I told you that you should have written them down. Hair buddies don’t grab ass! Hey Doc, did you know he made me get it tattooed on my ass?”
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah, he said I’d never forget… actually, do you wanna see?” Vienna asked, standing up and beginning to pull down his trousers.
“No, no!” she stammered. “That’s quite alright. I’m not even sure what that quote means.”
“Oh, well, it’s simple, really. Me and Rachel are hair buddies and—”
“Can we circle back to you, kissing Rachel? I feel like that’s the most important thing here.”
“I was getting to that part,” Vienna muttered, sitting back down.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ll get to that in a minute,” Dante said, waving her away with his hand. “What’s really important here is the therapy worked, and it was my idea.”
I laughed and punched him on the arm.
Somehow, even though it seemed impossible at times, we had got through this.
We were going to be okay. We had made it.
It was finally time to start the rest of our lives.