Aubrielle Chapter 21
It had been almost a month since the guys had taken care of my family and Truce. They’d been hard at work, going through all the information they obtained both from Rome and Dad, as well as what was recovered at the house, including what was in Dad’s hidden safe in the dogs’ enclosure.
He had no idea I’d ever seen him in there, but one night, when my brothers had taken the dogs to a fight, and Dad stayed home, I’d snuck out to see what he was doing outside.
That was how I discovered it. I’d never tried to get into it because it wasn’t long after that night that I moved to Bristol.
I never knew when they’d be gone with the dogs, and I hated to go home anyway, so I didn’t attempt to get into it.
All that information, combined with what Spawn had found on his own, allowed the Punishers, working with the Dark Patriots and the Ruthless Marauders MC in Knoxville, the one closest to Bristol, to systematically take down those involved in dogfighting and the fight ring.
Some met a final fate like my family. Others, the lesser ones involved, had been arrested.
Information sufficient to obtain warrants and arrest them had been sent to the police.
The average bettors were scared into hiding.
We knew they’d eventually find other fights to bet on, but we couldn’t prevent that.
And there wasn’t enough evidence to convict them.
I was shocked at first to find out that Pax kept my brother’s dogs, Attila and Jet.
I thought he was crazy to think he could rehab them.
But even after only a month, he’d made progress.
I found this out when he asked me to come to the storage building.
Pax promised they’d be muzzled. I agreed, but only after Shadow agreed to accompany me.
In the past, even when muzzled and on a leash, Jet and Attila would lunge and bark at me.
I admit. I was scared of them. However, I discovered it was all for nothing.
True to his word, Pax kept them muzzled and on leashes, but there was no lunging or barking.
He had me sit and let him bring them to me.
I damn near pissed myself. But they remained calm.
Then Pax asked me to hold out my hand so they could sniff through their muzzles.
After they were finished, he instructed me to pet them.
Both dogs stood there and let it happen.
When I stopped, they gave a whine of protest. While Shadow allowed them to smell him, Pax explained they were starved for gentle, loving interaction.
They adored being touched. So far, only Pax, Shadow, and I have petted them and been allowed near them.
I was still afraid, but less so than before.
I hoped they could be tamed. I hated to think of them being killed.
We returned to the house, with me smiling, after that day.
I’d gone a second time and planned to do it often.
Pax said it would help them acclimate to people, and I was familiar to them, even if only barely.
I’d asked Shadow how they got rid of the bodies.
The explanation was ingenious. What they did was take them back to Dad’s house.
And out in the kennel where Atilla and Jet lived, they'd started a fire.
They set the scene with not just the bodies of Truce and my family but also of two dogs.
The dogs were the same breed as Attila and Jet, but they had been euthanized at a shelter.
I don’t know how they found them, but the scene made it seem as if an attack had occurred in the kennel.
The dogs went after everyone. A kerosene lamp was knocked over, igniting the wooden structure.
The bodies of the dogs were closest to the door.
The assumption was they’d prevented anyone from escaping, and in the resulting attack and fire, the men had been savaged to death and then burned.
The dogs couldn’t get out, so they were killed as well.
Truce was explained as being there like he often was.
My cousin Whitney had been left stunned, slightly scared, I think.
She’d never been totally independent. I’d gone to see her, thinking maybe we could at least be cordial.
She was my only living relative. Unfortunately, she was the same old Whitney.
She told me coldly that she wanted nothing to do with me.
Her expression screamed jealousy when she saw that I wore Shadow’s property cut.
Her ugly words made my choice easy. I left and never intended to return.
The last I heard from Spawn, she was trying to hang onto Uncle Jock’s house, her home.
It wasn’t looking good, but that was her problem.
As for Truce, Spawn discovered his real name, Solomon Kirk.
He was from Virginia, but not our area. Instead, he grew up in Roanoke and, as an adult, had kicked around in dead-end jobs.
He disappeared, and the fighter Truce appeared three years ago.
He was a loner, so there was no one to cause a stir when he was killed.
Sad when you think about it. Everyone should have someone to mourn their passing.
Another positive, a personal one, was that I no longer worked at Punishers’ Eden.
Mayhem had found a new dancer. She had experience and a following, so it wouldn’t impact the club as much in terms of lost revenue.
And with the backing of the MC and Mayhem advertising her, she’d grow her fans.
Frankie was really nice. I’d had a goodbye celebration with the staff at Eden.
It was Dusty’s doing. I’d been touched. I knew a few were envious of me for finding a way out. I hoped they would, too.
I finished the computer class yesterday. I had two weeks before my last semester started. I was so excited. Shadow had paid for it. I would pay him back. However, I wasn’t waiting until I graduated to start building my career. Troian had been a godsend.
She spoke to one of her clients, asking if the author minded if I took a run at editing one of her books.
Troian had explained that I was trying to get into the business and ultimately wanted to be an author.
Her client had agreed. I signed the necessary paperwork to protect her intellectual property, and then I was given the book to edit.
When I was done, Troian and the author would compare it to what Troian came up with.
I was nervous, yet thrilled. I started working on it on Wednesday.
I had ten days to get it done and return it to the author.
With so much good happening, the entire club gathered tonight to celebrate and hang out together.
The atmosphere in the common room was light, filled with conversations and laughter.
When we first arrived, I was surprised to see Shadow’s family there.
They’d hugged us and said they’d been asked to come see everyone.
It had been a while since they had been here to see the whole club.
Shadow and I tried to visit them every couple of weeks.
We were seated happily chatting about what was new.
Some of the Punishers and their old ladies were with us.
The bigger kids were running free. It was slightly chaotic, yet it was family—the kind of family I’d always wished for.
Shadow had excused himself to speak to one of the guys.
I sent him off with a kiss and remained seated.
Blythe Marie was telling the table about one of her cases.
She loved her work as a social worker for at-risk kids.
Blythe was careful not to violate HIPAA privacy laws, but the placement she managed would improve that child’s life.
Lark was with us. Since she worked with kids like that at the Fortress of Bravery, Lark loved hearing about others’ escapes from terrible home situations.
Glancing up, I saw Shadow coming toward me. He had an expression that shouted anxiety. I sat forward and held out my hand.
“Shadow, honey, what’s wrong?” I asked.
The room around us quieted. Instead of taking my hand, Shadow stopped before me, then dropped.
It took me a couple of moments to note the position he assumed.
He wasn’t crouched or on his knees. Instead, he was kneeling on one knee, his other leg bent.
And his hands were out in front of him, cradling a small black velvet box.
The kind of box a ring would come in. My breath caught.
He’d told me he wanted to marry me and that a ring was in my future. I hadn’t thought it would be this soon. Meredith was seated next to me, grinning like mad. Blythe lightly clapped.
“Aubrielle, I told you this day would come. Now that we’ve got everything negative out of the way, I hope you’ll say yes to being my wife.
I love you. I’ve never come close to feeling like this about anyone.
You are my old lady, the love of my life.
I want you as my wife, the mother of my children, and to grow old with me. Will you marry me?”
Shadow’s voice was steady. Love glowed on his face. The only sign now of his anxiety was the slight tremor in his hands. I scooted closer to him.
“I want nothing more than to be your wife, to have your babies, and grow old with you. I love you, too,” I leaned closer to whisper, “Braxton.”
His smile was blinding as he opened the box and took out the ring. He held it up. It was breathtaking. The lights made it sparkle. I held out my shaking hand for him to slip it on. As he did, it was clear to me that Shadow knew me.
It wasn’t a typical diamond engagement ring.
Those had never been my style. What he placed on my finger was me.
It was a twig-like, twining black band that held the stones.
I wasn’t sure what metal it was. The central gem was moss green, with twig-like dark inclusions.
It gave it a forest-like appearance. I’d never seen anything like it.
Scattered along the band were small emeralds, I think.
“This is black gold, and that big stone is called green moss agate. Those twig-like lines inside it are iron or manganese deposits. The smaller stones are emeralds. If you don’t like it, we can get you something else. I just thought a diamond wasn’t you,” he explained.
I curled my hand into a fist to prevent him from removing it.
“Don’t you dare take it back. I love it. And you’re right, diamonds aren’t my thing.”
Shadow’s response was to lean forward and kiss me.
As he did, the room erupted into applause, chorus after chorus of congratulations.
He kissed me thoroughly, and I returned it.
When we eventually broke it off, there were hugs, handshakes, and kisses to deal with.
We stood for that. My face ached by the time we were done due to smiling so much. I kept glancing down at my ring.
“There’s a band that matches it. I purchased it, too, in case you decided that you liked this one,” he told me.
“I love it. Are there men’s wedding bands in this same black gold? Would you wear a wedding ring, too?” I asked.
“There are, and I most certainly will wear a ring. I want everyone to know I’m taken.”
I hugged him closer. We hung out for another hour before we called it an evening. His family refused our offer to stay at our house. They said we needed the privacy. They planned to return home tonight. As we hugged them goodbye, Meredith whispered in my ear.
“I’m so thrilled my son found you, Aubrielle. Welcome again to the family.”
All I could do was hug her tighter and whisper brokenly, “Thank you.”
We finished our goodbyes and gave the room a big wave before exiting the clubhouse. Anticipation hummed through me. I knew what I wanted as soon as we got home. I needed to seal our engagement.